Saturday June 26

Halfway through my time here already and other than work there I seem to have done little else! The local restaurants and hotels with swiming pools have been an added attraction and have been visited. One of the local hotels has a 50m pool so I have made use of it about once a week. I also run in the mornings since that's the coolest time of day. There are always at least two of us and I have gone out with our beloved Ghurkas who thankfully have not run too fast!

The last week has seen the government implement a fuel price increase and it caused something of a disturbance. Nothing that the ship's security couldn't handle well and safely. The traffic jams simply meant that staff couldn't get to their clinics and while this does have a knock on effect as they always do at least that was the main problem.

The 2 main surgeries of eyes and VVF continued during the week with us operating on about 18 - 20 patients. These ladies really do just touch my heart when I bcome involved in their care. Whilst not able to speak their language verbally our non verbal communication often works well and they respond to the human touch of gentleness and kindness. I ended up with a very wet shoulder one day as the doctor struggled with a spinal block. My usually stance is to have the ladies rest their head on my shoulder as it helps to put the spine in the correct poistion for the procedure - remembering that I'm just over 5 feet tall so they have to bend their heads down. The lady wept almost silently and we decided a general anaesthetic would be preferable. She held my hand as she went off to sleep still able to realise that we meant her no harm but were seeking to help her. It is such a privilege to be able to serve these ladies in this way.

The arrival of my daughter at the weekend meant a trip to the border of Ghana. People watching is always interesting and seeing how the border guards deal with the community that makes its living around the border. I had one young lady come to me seeming to want help but she was talking in fast french and kept talking into my face even though I tried to tell her I did not understand her. Finally she left me alone and I noticed how the guards indicated to me to move away from her - they obviously knew her well. I was approached by a couple of folk wanting advice about dental clinics and eye problems and with those I was able to help. yet again some of it was non verbal communication but they understood. By the time my daughter was walking through the border gates I was sat under the shelter of a corrugated tin roof with the policeman who had asked me about his eyes!

The rainy season has been particularly bad this year and many of the rivers are swollen and have broken their banks. Some of our day volunteers have had their homes flooded to the extent that they have no dry space at all and yet they still manage to come in and help us and look clean and smart when they arrive at the ship. We continue to lift these men and women in prayer as we could not manage without them and memories of floods back at home enable me to have a level of empathy with them. 3children have died during the week because of the floods.

There have been yet more arrivals and departures which encouraged my gateway group to have a meal together on Tuesday night as one of our group was leaving and we had a great time of laughing and sharing. Gateway was the course I attended in Texas at the beginning of the year, run by Mercyships at their HQ - otherwise known as the International Operations Centre (IOC). Most of the those attending came to the ship in February and it has been great to meet up with them all again and to be able to have a ready made group of friends onboard! More about Gateway next week!