Sex workers...

Every once and a while we meet a person who is beyond description...Inez Hart is one of those people. She's the the kind of peson who's personality fills up the room as soon as she enters.Her very presence commands respect. She carries herself like an African with great dignity, she dresses like an African in brightly patterned dresses complete with a head scarf, she even talks like an African but she is a white woman who grew up in Wisconsin. The Lord has called her to work among prostitues and has given her a vision to establish halfway houses for these ladies can be discipled and learn some type of skill. She has traveled the world for the last 30 years establishing these houses in countless countires around the world--Canada, the US, the Carribean, parts of Africa. In addition to a huge heart the Lord has given her the gift of evangelism; she's one of those people who can start presenting the gospel withing 2 minutes of initiating a conversation. It's amazing...

So how do I know this woman? We've recently crossed paths since I joined the HIV/AIDS education team a few weeks ago. This past Friday several of us girls from the ship linked up with Inez and one of the local ladies Ethel with the intention of hanging out with some of these ladies who work as prostitutes (or sex workers as they are called in Ghana). We arrived just as it was getting dark to a particular area of town where there are several clubs and that is known to be frequented by sailors who come ashore for beer and cheap pleasures. It was still a bit early so we walked the block checking out the area. The idea was to show up in the area where these ladies work and share the love of Jesus with them through sitting and talking with them, encouraging and affirming them as people created in the image of God, sharing the gospel with them and praying for them. Inez said these ladies want desperatly to be loved and most of them are on the street because they have no other way to earn a living. So Ethel and Inez, who have already started building relationships with many of the ladies, started calling them over to where we were sitting in one of the allies. The first girl I talked to was just a few years older than myself and from Liberia, her name is Princess. Trying to draw her into conversation was harder than pulling teeth. I was grasping for any way to connect with her but felt like I was failing miserably. After about 5 minutes of sparse conversation I asked her if I could pray with her...

By the time we left 2 hours later I was frustrated, angry and felt dead on the inside. Frustrated at the crowd of 20 or so men who had gathered around us making it impossible to talk to any more of the ladies after my brief conversation with Princess. I was Angry at the men who came to use these women as objects. Angry at God who sees these women's anguish and seemingly does nothing. Angry at the injustices in this world. Saddened by its brokeness. Angry at myself for being incapable for extending grace to the men who so quickly gathered around us. In my mind I was protesting, "Lord I didn't come to share the gospel with these men, I came to talk with these women who need to know that You love them. God these men aren't really interested in hearing the gospel they just want to talk to a bunch of young white women.I came for the woman Lord!" I guess what my heart was really saying was, "Lord these men don't deserve your grace!" I have been sitting in front of this computer screen for over an hour trying to find the words to articulate my thoughts. I am ashamed of the hardness of my own heart. Ashamed of my reaction to these men because it reflects a deeply rooted attitude of my heart that needs desperately to be redeemed. Somewhere in my heart I fool myself into believing that my own good behavior has earned God's favor and grace. Do I really understand so little about grace?? The night wasn't what I hoped it would be... I wish I could write a glowing story of how I gave hope to a lady battered by the sin of this world but instead I feel only a deep sadness at the destructive way sin has so successfully destroyed relationships (our right relationship with God, and right relationships with each other).

Sailboats!

About once a week I walk the 40 min or so it takes to reach the lighthouse near the port. I am fasicnated by the local fishermen who head out to sea in the afternoon in their sailboats with their homemade plastic or canvas sails. I really want to ride in one but I haven't made friends with any of the fishermen yet =). They stand in their fishing boats and sing before they head out to sea, it's really cool.




Here's a pic of me and my roomies, we recently had our fourth roommate join us. Penny and Anique (from left to right) are both from South Africa and Caroline to my right is from TX just outside of Dallas. They are really fun girls, we all work in different areas on the ship which usually allows each of us to have at least a little bit of alone time in the cabin.

You are special!!

“You are special, do you know that Jay?” He wouldn’t look me in the eye as I sat next to him in the grass. In reply he ducked his head and stared at his lap. I wasn’t sure he had heard me until the corner of his mouth turned up slightly and he mumbled, “why am I special?”.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t understand you, what did you say Jay?”
“Why am I special?” ,he repeated, a little louder looking up to meet my gaze.
What to say Lord??? How can I possibly convince him in one conversation that he is infinitely precious to you?? Help Lord!!
“Well…” I stalled a moment as I tried to think of a concrete answer, “Because God created you special and unique, there is no one else in the whole entire world just like you, no one who thinks the same way you do, no one who feels the same way you do…” My words sounded lame even to my own ears. I knew what I was saying was true but it sounded generic. I glanced at his face to gauge his reaction, his expression was open, he looked as if he desperately wanted to believe the words I was saying but he didn’t seem convinced. Silence fell between us. I studied my hands in my lap, as I grasped for the right words, absently noticing the dirt smudged across my fingertips. That’s it!
I grabbed Jay’s hand and turned it so his palm was facing up, “You see the pattern on the very tips of your fingers, no one else in the whole of Africa, in the whole wide world has the exact same pattern on their fingertips. Do you know why people sometimes put their thumbprint on important legal papers?
“…Because they can’t write their names?” he replied, while he studied the tips of his fingers with interest.
“Well, yes”, I answered, “but also because each person’s fingerprint is unique and it can be used to identify who they are. God made you with very specific details”
A small glimmer of understanding seemed to light his eyes as he continued to study his fingers intently.
“And you know what Jay?”
“What? he replied, glancing up once again
“God loves you and he knows you by name.”

Jay was orphaned at age 3. The people who killed his parents during the war are now on the hunt to find him so they can kill him also. He remembers hiding in a bush and hearing the men who killed his parents searching for him. He was found by his uncle and was immediately taken to the UK for safety. He was safe for more than nine years…until 3 months ago when his parents’ enemies discovered his location in the UK. He has now been brought to Ghana, to the sisters of Charity orphanage in hopes that he will be safe. What must it be like to be only 13 years old and know that there are people in the world who want you dead? And who are so intent on that purpose that they are willing to travel to another continent to accomplish it? Does he live in constant fear? Does he remember what it feels like to be safe? I only see little Jay every 2 weeks or so but I pray for him often. Please pray that the Lord would continue to protect him, and that the Lord would reveal Himself to Jay in a very real way. He is a smart kid, there is an intensity about him that draws me to him. I am thankful the Lord gave me a simple way to illustrate His tender care and design of us. Pray that the Lord would whisper to Jay’s heart that he is infinitely precious to the God of the universe…and that when he looks at his hands it would remind Him of God’s special design and plan for His life.

Beautiful Rosina!!

This is my friend Rosina. She has a beautifully resilliant spirit and a determined faith. I cared for Rosina the very first day she was admitted to the ward and in the days following her surgury. Initially she was very reserved, but I watched the way she observed everything going on in the ward and occasionally I would look her direction and catch a shy smile. Something about her quiet manner drew me to her. I so wanted to know what she was thinking behind those deep brown eyes. Sometimes her face reflected sadness, sometimes pain-, sometimes amusement-the left side of her face remained swollen for at least a week and a half following the removel of her nueofibroma, making it difficult to see her eyes. She seemed to me a person of deep sadness but I could not determine the source of her sorrow. Somehow with each smile directed towards her, each time someone sat and held her hand, each time someone took the time to talk with her somehow through the little attentions she received the Lord began to heal her heart. Rosina is illiterate so sometimes when work was slow me or one of the other nurses would sit by her bed and read scripture to her outloud. Her stay on the ship didn't cure her of her sadness and it didn't cure her completely of her physical deformity but...the process of healing has begun physically,spiritually and emotionally. God is able...He will continue the work He has begun.

My favorite Rosina memory are the times she would teach me phrases in Twi, one of the local languages. She would say a word and I would try to repeat it after her. She would corrrect my horrid pronounciation and I would try again. I don't think I make a very good pupil but by the time she had finished teaching me a few phrases we were both laughing. It provided entertainment not only for her but every patient within hearing range. I didn't mind being the source of amusement, it was worth seeing her smile. The picture at the top was taken on screening day, the day she was scheduled for surgury. The picture with the two of us was taken on the ward the day she was discharged. The thing she is wearing on her head is a pressure garment in order to keep large scars from growing. She will continue to wear it for an additonal 3 months.

Basic Safety Training

These pictures are from my Basic Safety training course out in Texas in preparation for coming to the ship (April, 2006). That's right I can fight a fire, flip a life raft, and... well there is not much you can do once you get into those bright red gumby suits. I don't know if I would really want to be rescued looking like that...

There were two parts to the course: Fire fighting and water survival. Many people in the group are now my fellow crew member or will be soon. I thought these pictures would be good for a chuckle. I was pretty excited about gearing up like a real firefighter...

Cape Coast Excursion

These pictures are from my Cape Coast adventure last weekend. Left is a photo of the Elmino castle we visited, formerly used to house slaves. It's the oldest castle in Sub-Sahara Africa. All sort of unimaginable atrocities occured within it's four walls. It was built by the Portuguese, was conquered by the Dutch, eventually came under the control of the Bristish, and is now maintained by the Ghanian government.

We stayed in a lovely little hotel right on the river overlooking the busyness and bustling of the port area. It fascinating to watch the fisherman repair their nets and the women bartering over the price of fresh fish. I stood at the window of my hotel for nearly an hour watching the bustle of daily activity, feeling like I was peering into a different world. A world I know nothing about, it almost felt as if I was stepping back into time, kind of sureal. For the first time I felt like I was really in Africa-- a small herd of goats ran down the middle of the main road completely unattended, children shouting to one another from across the streets, older men greeting one another with great dignity, women stopping to chat and share the latest tidbit of news before moving down the street with their youngest child tied securely to their backs and their most recently aquired purchase balancing on their heads. It was all so interesting!!

After touring the Elmino Castle we drove out of town to the second castle, the Cape Coast castle. We decided not to go in but opted instead to wander on the beach for a bit. We encountered these three young girls along with a handful of other young children. I tried to join in their hand clapping game but was only somewhat succesful. They were patient teachers but finally I resigned myself to observing. This picture of the girls on the beach captured the second game they began to play. As far as I could figure, it looked to be similar "paper, rock, scissors" (except it's played with their feet and is very fast. I didn't even attempt to learn this one. I did get to teach them one dance, the chicken dance. Heck yes, that's right I taught the chicken dance to three young African girls on the beach in Ghana. They were pretty fast learners. It made me realize there really isn't much to the chicken dance...

The third picture is most of the girls I went with it was a fun group...