It's really challenging, but good, to be away from all your close friends and family. Lately I've felt the tug on my heart to know and trust that Jesus is enough. I've been struggling with trying to be friends with everyone, all the while ignoring God. In my quiet time tonight Jesus spoke to me about friendship through James 4:4-6. Don't get me wrong, friendships are very important. But when friends supersede (v. to replace in power, authority, effectiveness, acceptance, etc. as by another person or thing.) your friendship with Jesus, something is awry.
James 4:4-6 You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
To quote Beth Moore "friendship with world is vastly more convenient because we live on the crowded pinhead of it's epicenter...No one who lives in this world is a friend of God accidentally. We make a choice where we want to be most present. A hard choice."
What is so beautiful is that God actually desires friendship with us! Exodus 33:11 paints a beautiful picture of this: "The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. We have a natural propensity to flip the verse and picture Moses talking to God like a friend. The great significance is the reverse.
That's all for now, just reflecting on what it looks like to be a friend of Jesus, and not the world. It will look different in my life, than others, but its always good to ponder.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Sunday, March 18, 2012
It's been so long since I've blogged, I don't even know where to start to update all 3 of you! It's been a bit since I've put up pictures so I'll put up some pictures of the sweet kids I've taken care of lately. These pictures are from a recent trip to the Hope Center. It's where our patients can stay if they live far away and need wound care, or are having surgery coming up and need a place to stay. It is so amazing to see their transformations. Some of them I met on screening day, others I met in the ward.
The very first kid I've taken care of! He had surgery on the Africa Mercy before so he was not keen on Yovo's or nurses in general, hence the look on his face.
There is a long story that goes along with this patient, maybe I'll tell it soon, but for now all I have to say is it is a miracle that she is still alive, and that we have been able to help her. God has worked miracle after miracle with her.
Lovely *Alisha. She is the sweetest thing! When she was on the ward she was so serious, and rarely interacted with us. Right before her discharge to the Hope Center is when we finally got to see her personality! On this visit she told me she wanted to be a nurse and live on the boat! I almost cried, it was the sweetest thing.
Oh *Comon! I need not say much, the mischievous look on his face says it all. He and his mom insisted that he is 17 years old, but nobody was buying it! I'm pretty sure he's under 13. That's beside the point. It was such a blessing to see the transformation in the relationship between him and his mom. When I first took care of him, his mom was so angry and frustrated with him. She would hit him, and he would cry and throw tantrums. By the time he left she was so joyous, and singing praises to the Lord!
Oh sweet *Luminaire, her name fits her so well! She is such a joy and her laughter is absolutely contagious.
Funny *Yani, she was burned when she was a baby and we first took care of her a couple years ago when the ship was in Togo. When I first took care of her she was really shy and wouldn't look me in the eyes, but after her surgery to fix her eye and reshape her nose she was laughing and playing with all the other kids! It was so sweet to see her personality unfold.
Another sweet, sweet child. I admitted *Pru and got to take her to surgery and pray with her before surgery. It was the most precious thing to see her bundled in a blanket, being carried down the hall by her dad and praying over her.
All of our patients receive mirrors with their admission packs. You couldn't imagine what an impact a mirror makes. *John was burned on the left side of his face to the point his eyelid was not functional. We were able to fix his left eye so that he could blink and have full function of his eye. When we took off the first dressing all did for nearly 3 hours was look in the mirror at his new eye. His smile says it all.
*Names changed for patient confidentiality
The very first kid I've taken care of! He had surgery on the Africa Mercy before so he was not keen on Yovo's or nurses in general, hence the look on his face.
There is a long story that goes along with this patient, maybe I'll tell it soon, but for now all I have to say is it is a miracle that she is still alive, and that we have been able to help her. God has worked miracle after miracle with her.
Lovely *Alisha. She is the sweetest thing! When she was on the ward she was so serious, and rarely interacted with us. Right before her discharge to the Hope Center is when we finally got to see her personality! On this visit she told me she wanted to be a nurse and live on the boat! I almost cried, it was the sweetest thing.
Oh *Comon! I need not say much, the mischievous look on his face says it all. He and his mom insisted that he is 17 years old, but nobody was buying it! I'm pretty sure he's under 13. That's beside the point. It was such a blessing to see the transformation in the relationship between him and his mom. When I first took care of him, his mom was so angry and frustrated with him. She would hit him, and he would cry and throw tantrums. By the time he left she was so joyous, and singing praises to the Lord!
Oh sweet *Luminaire, her name fits her so well! She is such a joy and her laughter is absolutely contagious.
Funny *Yani, she was burned when she was a baby and we first took care of her a couple years ago when the ship was in Togo. When I first took care of her she was really shy and wouldn't look me in the eyes, but after her surgery to fix her eye and reshape her nose she was laughing and playing with all the other kids! It was so sweet to see her personality unfold.
Another sweet, sweet child. I admitted *Pru and got to take her to surgery and pray with her before surgery. It was the most precious thing to see her bundled in a blanket, being carried down the hall by her dad and praying over her.
All of our patients receive mirrors with their admission packs. You couldn't imagine what an impact a mirror makes. *John was burned on the left side of his face to the point his eyelid was not functional. We were able to fix his left eye so that he could blink and have full function of his eye. When we took off the first dressing all did for nearly 3 hours was look in the mirror at his new eye. His smile says it all.
*Names changed for patient confidentiality
Thursday, March 1, 2012
JOY
There's so much that's happened since my last blog post, but I want to jump ahead to my shift last night and then I'll catch you up later!
Today I heard a resounding, be JOYFUL. It started with bible study in the morning where we talked about anguish morphing into joy. Not just physical anguish, but mental, emotional torment type of anguish that steals joy. It occurred to me a couple days ago, in stark contrast to the Africans I take care of, that I have very little joy. Despite having much to be joyful for, and they little, I remain incapable of expressing joy. I started my evening shift with a little anguish because it was my first day on the Plastics ward, with new translators, new patients, new coworkers, and a heavier patient load. After dinner some of the kids on the ship came down to visit the patients in the ward. We broke out into a full on worship concert. I took a step back to drink in the scene around me: Beni, one of the volunteers on the ward, guitar in hand; Jeff, a Canadian crew member, and Fred with jimbaye drums ready to start on queue; a few patients confined to their beds, wrapped in bandages that support their new faces and limbs; and the rest, mostly kids, dancing in the middle of the ward. The guitar starts, the drums follow quickly behind, and the patient's and caretakers all join in to sing worship songs to the Lord! Nurses, mom's, and patients dancing and singing with JOY. Nothing compares. There's nothing better to set your heart to JOY than singing, worshipping, and dancing with your patients! It's amazing what God can do through worship. How he aligns our heart's with His. I sang. I danced. I was filled with joy.
Today I heard a resounding, be JOYFUL. It started with bible study in the morning where we talked about anguish morphing into joy. Not just physical anguish, but mental, emotional torment type of anguish that steals joy. It occurred to me a couple days ago, in stark contrast to the Africans I take care of, that I have very little joy. Despite having much to be joyful for, and they little, I remain incapable of expressing joy. I started my evening shift with a little anguish because it was my first day on the Plastics ward, with new translators, new patients, new coworkers, and a heavier patient load. After dinner some of the kids on the ship came down to visit the patients in the ward. We broke out into a full on worship concert. I took a step back to drink in the scene around me: Beni, one of the volunteers on the ward, guitar in hand; Jeff, a Canadian crew member, and Fred with jimbaye drums ready to start on queue; a few patients confined to their beds, wrapped in bandages that support their new faces and limbs; and the rest, mostly kids, dancing in the middle of the ward. The guitar starts, the drums follow quickly behind, and the patient's and caretakers all join in to sing worship songs to the Lord! Nurses, mom's, and patients dancing and singing with JOY. Nothing compares. There's nothing better to set your heart to JOY than singing, worshipping, and dancing with your patients! It's amazing what God can do through worship. How he aligns our heart's with His. I sang. I danced. I was filled with joy.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Nursing...a universal profession?
Differences of working on a hospital ship in a 3rd world country...
- We recycle and sterilize everything! Those little plastic medicine cups we would throw away after putting 2 pills in it...yeah we sterilize those. It's funny how in 2 short weeks I've changed from being weirded out by sterilizing those, to now wondering if there is anything else we can sterilize and re-use!
- 8 hour shifts. I never thought I would get used to working any less than 12 hours and 4 days off a week, but here I am loving 8 hours. The time goes by so fast! Especially day shift; you eat lunch and then its practically time to go!
- Spiritual life. It's amazing that we get to pray together for our patients, and fellow nurses before and after each shift. Often we sing worship songs, and the patient's will sing along, too! After every morning shift, the day nurse takes the patients up to deck 7 and some volunteers have games and worship music. There is nothing like ending your day worshipping the Lord with your patients! Praying with your patient before they go into surgery.
- Having babies around. I took care of my first peds patient my very first day of work here. It was awesome and scary all at the same time. Patient's are allowed one caretaker to stay with them throughout their hospital stay, and sometimes that means that the patient might be a Mom and her "caretaker" is her 6 month old baby that we get to play with all day! That has been one of my favorite things here, and the Moms don't mind you taking their baby, strapping it to your back, and walking around all day!
- Caretakers sleeping under the bed. You read that right. Forget about the fold up cots, our family members sleep on a mattress under the bed! It's amazing that they don't even second guess sleeping on the floor, its actually more unusual to sleep on a bed!
- Having to explain how to use a toilet
- All the patients in one room, no curtains, no doors.
- No bedside tables, IV poles, or monitors
- Patients helping other patients
- Watching what you throw in the trash. Anything can be resold i.e. empty cans of Ensure so we have to take off the labels, or cut our IV tubing so it cannot be reused.
- Changing linens three days a week
- Walking your patients to the OR
- Taking 1 minute to get to work
- Living a few doors down from your patients
- Being a walking blood bank. I was notified tonight that there is a patient with my blood type having surgery tomorrow. Because there is no way to store blood, if they need blood for the patient they will call me and I'll donate my blood, walk it to the OR and administer it right then and there!
Hope this gives you a little insight into my world, and helps you think about yours a little differently! Good night!
- We recycle and sterilize everything! Those little plastic medicine cups we would throw away after putting 2 pills in it...yeah we sterilize those. It's funny how in 2 short weeks I've changed from being weirded out by sterilizing those, to now wondering if there is anything else we can sterilize and re-use!
- 8 hour shifts. I never thought I would get used to working any less than 12 hours and 4 days off a week, but here I am loving 8 hours. The time goes by so fast! Especially day shift; you eat lunch and then its practically time to go!
- Spiritual life. It's amazing that we get to pray together for our patients, and fellow nurses before and after each shift. Often we sing worship songs, and the patient's will sing along, too! After every morning shift, the day nurse takes the patients up to deck 7 and some volunteers have games and worship music. There is nothing like ending your day worshipping the Lord with your patients! Praying with your patient before they go into surgery.
- Having babies around. I took care of my first peds patient my very first day of work here. It was awesome and scary all at the same time. Patient's are allowed one caretaker to stay with them throughout their hospital stay, and sometimes that means that the patient might be a Mom and her "caretaker" is her 6 month old baby that we get to play with all day! That has been one of my favorite things here, and the Moms don't mind you taking their baby, strapping it to your back, and walking around all day!
- Caretakers sleeping under the bed. You read that right. Forget about the fold up cots, our family members sleep on a mattress under the bed! It's amazing that they don't even second guess sleeping on the floor, its actually more unusual to sleep on a bed!
- Having to explain how to use a toilet
- All the patients in one room, no curtains, no doors.
- No bedside tables, IV poles, or monitors
- Patients helping other patients
- Watching what you throw in the trash. Anything can be resold i.e. empty cans of Ensure so we have to take off the labels, or cut our IV tubing so it cannot be reused.
- Changing linens three days a week
- Walking your patients to the OR
- Taking 1 minute to get to work
- Living a few doors down from your patients
- Being a walking blood bank. I was notified tonight that there is a patient with my blood type having surgery tomorrow. Because there is no way to store blood, if they need blood for the patient they will call me and I'll donate my blood, walk it to the OR and administer it right then and there!
Hope this gives you a little insight into my world, and helps you think about yours a little differently! Good night!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Screening day....a day of hope for many
Screening day was last week...I can't believe so much time has passed and I feel that I blinked and now its a week and half later. Forgive the delay, I wanted to show pictures so that you can see with your own eyes what many experienced that day. I'm afraid my words won't do it justice.
We left VERY early on Wednesday...4:30am to be exact! The sun wasn't even close to coming out. As we rode along the streets in our Land Rover caravan something struck me. There were many shop owners, and their families sleeping outside, on the ground, with no blanket, and no pillow. It hit me as I was thinking about how poorly I slept the night before because it was loud, or my roommates woke me up, or because I was cold (the AC is on full blast in the ship!). Then I stopped, and I saw the people I came to serve sleeping on the ground. It's funny how that happens, you think you've come to help them, but they in turn have helped me so much more. I came here to let go of my comfort and yet I find myself still clinging on. We arrived to a short line, only 130 people! We prayed that only the people we would be able to help come, but 130 was kind of cutting it short! As the day wore on more people eventually came. My job for the day was to take medical histories from patients that were screened for potential surgery. Before they came to me they waited in long lines, some alone, some with their families in tow. For many it was their last hope, last chance to be "normal" again. For some it was life or death. For others it was an answer to prayer.
This isn't going to be pretty; for a lot of us it was an emotionally draining day, and without the love, hope, and promises of Jesus it would have been unbearable. Many came who we had to turn away. Do you know how it feels to squash someone's dreams over and over and over? The escorts (God bless them) had to take each and every "no" across a long field, usually in utter silence. But they did not walk away without comfort, and love; they were prayed with, and reassured of the love God has for them. Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Some were crushed, but many were thankful that we came to help their people! It was amazing and humbling to see. They are truly living the commandment to "love your neighbor as yourself." I can say that I would not have that response if presented with the same situation.
Okay, enough with the depressing and on to the hopeful! God did AMAZING things at the screening. The one thing that hit me most that day was the overwhelming sense of peace. In a situation were there are many people gathered in a small area, and desperation is certain, it could have been chaos. It wasn't. It was absolutely calm. We were able to see almost half of the people that were in line, and have started surgeries this week! The ward is full of excitement and energy as our first patients come out of the Operating Room new people. I will leave you with some pictures from screening day...ENJOY.
single file amazingness
precious kids
no words necessary
tears
History taking area...I'm way in the back
Goiters were such a huge problem...it's as simple as salt
More cute babies!!!
(the one picture of me at screening day...haha I look so pensive)
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God"
We left VERY early on Wednesday...4:30am to be exact! The sun wasn't even close to coming out. As we rode along the streets in our Land Rover caravan something struck me. There were many shop owners, and their families sleeping outside, on the ground, with no blanket, and no pillow. It hit me as I was thinking about how poorly I slept the night before because it was loud, or my roommates woke me up, or because I was cold (the AC is on full blast in the ship!). Then I stopped, and I saw the people I came to serve sleeping on the ground. It's funny how that happens, you think you've come to help them, but they in turn have helped me so much more. I came here to let go of my comfort and yet I find myself still clinging on. We arrived to a short line, only 130 people! We prayed that only the people we would be able to help come, but 130 was kind of cutting it short! As the day wore on more people eventually came. My job for the day was to take medical histories from patients that were screened for potential surgery. Before they came to me they waited in long lines, some alone, some with their families in tow. For many it was their last hope, last chance to be "normal" again. For some it was life or death. For others it was an answer to prayer.
This isn't going to be pretty; for a lot of us it was an emotionally draining day, and without the love, hope, and promises of Jesus it would have been unbearable. Many came who we had to turn away. Do you know how it feels to squash someone's dreams over and over and over? The escorts (God bless them) had to take each and every "no" across a long field, usually in utter silence. But they did not walk away without comfort, and love; they were prayed with, and reassured of the love God has for them. Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Some were crushed, but many were thankful that we came to help their people! It was amazing and humbling to see. They are truly living the commandment to "love your neighbor as yourself." I can say that I would not have that response if presented with the same situation.
Okay, enough with the depressing and on to the hopeful! God did AMAZING things at the screening. The one thing that hit me most that day was the overwhelming sense of peace. In a situation were there are many people gathered in a small area, and desperation is certain, it could have been chaos. It wasn't. It was absolutely calm. We were able to see almost half of the people that were in line, and have started surgeries this week! The ward is full of excitement and energy as our first patients come out of the Operating Room new people. I will leave you with some pictures from screening day...ENJOY.
single file amazingness
precious kids
no words necessary
tears
History taking area...I'm way in the back
Goiters were such a huge problem...it's as simple as salt
More cute babies!!!
(the one picture of me at screening day...haha I look so pensive)
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God"
Monday, January 30, 2012
Shake what yo momma gave you...
Have you ever done a congo line in church? As of this morning, I have officially been part of a congo line at church. Yes, you read that right-a congo line. You know, the kind they do at weddings where you dance around in a single file line, and laugh and sing. It was like that, but so much more awesome 1. because African's actually know how to dance, and 2. they were doing it in praising the Lord! They take to heart what David said in Psalm 66:1:
"Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise!"
Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds!"
According to our standards the people in Togo don't have much to praise God for. They don't have a two-story house with 3 cars and a boat. They don't have a retirement fund or any money in savings. They live for today and are thankful for today. They dance and sing to Jesus because He is enough. I need more of this heart attitude myself!
Coming here has made me realize what is truly important in life. Having sold everything I own, and pack 6 months of my life into 1 suitcase and a duffel bag was really eye opening! More and more I realize why Jesus said "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21 NIV) Where's your heart at? Mine is broken, and ready for repair. Praying for more of Jesus and less of us.
Love you all!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Going Postal
Some of you have asked about sending "snail mail" to the ship. So I thought I would fill you in on some of the nitty gritty. Packages sent by mail usually arrive in roughly 2 weeks, and cost me $8.80/lb (yes, that is in addition to the postage you already paid!). I kindly request that if you are going to send a package either make it light or throw in a couple bucks to help with that cost =) Okay so enough of that, here's where to send mail:
Stephanie Fiduk
Mercy Ships IOC
M/V Africa Mercy
P.O. Box 2020
Lindale, TX 75771-2020
USA
I will try and write back snail mail but it might take a while to get to you because we wait for people who are going back to the US to mail it for us!
Okay so enough of that, many of you have asked for pictures! I had great plans to take many pictures, until I went outside! The humidity here is so high that my camera lens immediately fogged up =( I have some pictures to share and more to come.
* Here is my cabin! There are 3 "rooms" in a cabin, each with a bunk bed, closet, and desk. There is a bathroom to the left (out of the picture) for 6 girls! So far it hasn't been bad, but wait til we start working! Surprisingly it is more spacious than I expected.
* Here's my "room." My Bunk is the messy one on top! haha
* It looks deceivingly foggy out, but it's just the humidity playing tricks on you. It's actually quite beautiful. The water is blue and the sky is full of big fluffy clouds. When it's windy here the sky turns "overcast" but it's just the sand from the Sahara Desert!
Well that's all for now. Stay tuned for next time...I'm going to an orphanage on Saturday and Church in the city on Sunday. I can't promise pictures of the orphanage because I'm not allowed to bring a camera, but maybe Sunday. Love you all! See you soon...
Stephanie Fiduk
Mercy Ships IOC
M/V Africa Mercy
P.O. Box 2020
Lindale, TX 75771-2020
USA
I will try and write back snail mail but it might take a while to get to you because we wait for people who are going back to the US to mail it for us!
Okay so enough of that, many of you have asked for pictures! I had great plans to take many pictures, until I went outside! The humidity here is so high that my camera lens immediately fogged up =( I have some pictures to share and more to come.
* Here is my cabin! There are 3 "rooms" in a cabin, each with a bunk bed, closet, and desk. There is a bathroom to the left (out of the picture) for 6 girls! So far it hasn't been bad, but wait til we start working! Surprisingly it is more spacious than I expected.
* Here's my "room." My Bunk is the messy one on top! haha
* It looks deceivingly foggy out, but it's just the humidity playing tricks on you. It's actually quite beautiful. The water is blue and the sky is full of big fluffy clouds. When it's windy here the sky turns "overcast" but it's just the sand from the Sahara Desert!
Well that's all for now. Stay tuned for next time...I'm going to an orphanage on Saturday and Church in the city on Sunday. I can't promise pictures of the orphanage because I'm not allowed to bring a camera, but maybe Sunday. Love you all! See you soon...
Location:Lome, Togo
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