Well, it turns out Madagascar is beautiful. The countryside is full of lush green rice fields, roads are lined with fanned out palm trees, walls are draped in bright bougainvillea, and the entire country is surrounded by beautiful white beaches and clear blue sea. The people are friendly, hardworking and joyful. It would be easy to confuse this trip with an exclusive, exotic vacation were it not for the people bathing in dirty ditches throughout the countryside, or the 50,000 women with known obstetric fistulas, or the underweight babies with untreated cleft palate. And that's just to name a few things. It's a strange juxtaposition of beauty and richness with poverty and disease.
I started my work in the OBF (obstetric fistula) clinic this week, bringing me back to my work on a similar ward in Guinea nearly 3 years ago. It was great to be a part of this ministry to fistula patients once again, where emotional and spiritual healing are just as crucial as the physical recovery. Throughout my orientation process I was regularly informed that this new OBF clinic is really an answer to prayer and a gift to both mercy ships and the people of Madagascar. It is an integral piece of sustaining and growing the medical capacity of this nation, as local surgeons learn from experts in fistula repairs from around the world, biomed technicians earn certifications in maintaining the equipment resourced to the local hospital, and nurses are trained to provide an uncompromised level of care to each patient. I've only just started working, so I will have many more details to come.
I won't bore you with the specifics, but I'll just say that it took 4 days of travel to get to the ship (with no hitches), I am now settled into a flat with several other nurses from my clinic, I am officially 'oriented' and ready to work, and maybe I'm still a tad jet lagged. I don't know what to make of all this yet, but I am praising God for his sustaining hand in an otherwise exhausting week, and I cannot wait to see how He continues to work through this ministry to transform lives.
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| Malagasy countryside |
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| Vibrant palms lining the roads |
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| Gathering to wash in the waterway (look beyond the second bridge) |
So glad you have arrived safely after such a LONG journey. Praying for you and the VVF clinic and I know that God has great things prepared for you and for the ladies. Wish I was there with you again. Sending lots of love xox Love your old roomie Jess :)
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