The Hope Center

Earlier this week we - Eli, Caroline, Emma, 2 of our friends from Gateway - 'Chelle and Joanne - a translator (sad to admit that I didn't catch his name) and I -  loaded into a Land Rover (total excitment for the kids - there's just something special about riding in the "back back") and coursed through the streets of Conakry to the Hope Center.  The fantasic Joanne Thibault (pronounced te-bow...as in Tim Tebow.) worked her magic at the steering wheel.  She's a braver woman than I. 

Eli won the "you better not smile" game.  He actually didn't smile. 

Just a little bit gianormous amount of cuteness.

'Chelle is one of the ship's photographers (she's an incredible and gifted gal - she does an amazing job of capturing the heart & beauty of God through her pictures!) and Joanne is one of the writers on the Ship (a lovely lady who has a way of bringing Hope and Healing and Truth through her words and interviews!).  They had "official Mercy Ships business" to do.  The Cash's just went along for the ride. ;)

Here are some pictures Chelle took:

The Hope Center  is basically a place for patients to go when they are well enough to be out of the hospital but still need some kind of medical attention (dressing changes, physical therapy, etc.).  It's for people who live outside of the city of Conakry (or wherever the ship may be at the time - there's always a Hope Center where the ship is!) - it's for people who can't just go home and come back easily or repeatedly.   The Hope Center is just one of the tangible ways Mercy Ships is so very thorough - I've been impressed as I've realized that, whenever possible, every obstacle is removed for people to be able to have life-changing surgery and to recover well (another example of removing obstacles: Mercy Ships will pay for transportation to/from the ship for patients and a care giver if they are unable to pay for it themselves.  Maybe that seems like a given to you, but it was incredible for me to think about the fact that sometimes the only thing standing between life and death for someone - literally and/or figuratively - is a taxi fare or bus ticket.)

The Hope Center is a neat way for the crew to continue to connect with patients - another level of investment into their lives.  A team of volunteers goes over multiple times each week to play games and blow bubbles and share life with the patients.  Many nurses will go on their days off to visit the patients that were released from their care in the hospital.   

Here's a link to an article about the Hope Center in Lome, Togo (the last Field Service location) just in case you want to read more (fun fact: it was written by Joanne!).    

So our visit on Tuesday was good.  I was glad (and am still glad!)  we went - thankful for a chance to stretch ourselves a bit.  I enjoyed playing with the kids and trying to learn a few French phrases from the adults (Carey Bray, I wish you were here with your French speaking skillz).  Emma ended up taking pictures with my camara most of the time...Eli read a book...and Caroline played a bit and then just sat a bit.

Here are some of the pictures that Emma took (most of the ones she took didn't turn out very well...but it was neat to see her interacting with the kids as she took pictures)(who knows, maybe she'll be doing 'Chelle's job someday!):



This sweet girl was burned badly. She's healing so well and looking so good!!!

This cute one insisted on sitting in my lap & really wanted Emma to take his picture! 

Yup, cats at the hospital. Emma insisted on capturing them with the camara.

A picture of the photograher!



Blocks on the floor. Enough. Amazing.


Now this next part, I'm not so sure I'm going to explain very well.  Basically, I want to be transparent and say that I've had to surrender how I THOUGHT my kids would be "on the foreign mission field" and embrace how they actually ARE. Before we got here, if you told me we would be visiting kids in the Hope Center, I would have thought "Yes!  We're going to the Hope Center...my kids will love it and will be happy to do it.  We'll all play with some kids...laugh...hug...high five....sing some Jesus songs....etc.  Everyone will have a great time and we'll just all serve the Lord together!!" And yes, that is happening - kind of - but it's not happening how I thought it would.

 

God's been helping us to ease our children into serving here...ease them into Africa....ease them into the sometimes hard to look at faces and bodies of the patients...ease them into the smells and tastes...ease them into a new world and way of life.  At times the steps certainly seem smaller and slower than I would like....but I'd much rather go at God's pace than mine!!  I think Eli, maybe more so than the other 2, has a hard time with the physical deformities that are so present in the life and work of the ship - maybe because he is a little older or maybe because of his compassionate heart.  He just doesn't want to look at them...and I understand that.  I'm trying to help him see past the outside...and realize that these kids would love and appreciate his smiles and a boy to play with!  It's also an easy way to remind him of why we're here and what the ship is all about.  It was a big deal for him to be at the Hope Center and be "ok" being there - so that's why he was allowed to read a book - being there was the step for him.  One step at a time, right?  One step at a time.
 

My prayer lately for our children (and for me and Nick!) is that God would put a deep desire in us to love and serve those around us -- Mercy Ships Crew, West Africans, the sick, the well, our co-workers, our friends, our teachers, each others -- to love deeply and serve thoroughly.  I'm praying that for you, too.  May we all love and serve those around us - whether we are living on a ship off the coast of Guinea or in a mansion in Beverly Hills (though I don't think this blog has any readers that live in Beverly Hills...)...or in an apartment in China or a house in Columbus.  Whether it is easy or difficult or somewhere in between...whether it's comfortable and convenient or ridiculously stretching and inconvenient.  May we love deeply and serve thoroughly those around us. 
 

Surely there will be more to come.