Monday 21 December 2015

a picture says it all...

What has been happening in Madagascar, you might ask?! It's a good question, so here's a little insight....

We arrived back in Madagascar at the end of August and in the last few months, we have seen some phenomenal things unfold - from life transforming surgeries - to vast growth in our medical training programs that literally impact the entire country.... to little club feet that have been straightened... here are some picture that tell the story...



                                       

Our mentoring opportunities for nurses, doctors, anaesthetists, surgeons and even the sterilising and biomed technicians have grown once again this year...

                                        

Not to mention the many courses... Check this wonderful video out to give you an idea of some of the medical training we have been doing - 'Lasting Impact' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT8i_bRjgMU


This is a group of 16 local nurses we are in the midst of training to take over the Fistula Centre we will leave behind and hand over to an organisation called 'Freedom from Fistula'... they are a precious bunch - trained nurses but previously unemployed... this is hope and building for the future...


We have been able to renovate many of the buildings at the local University Hospital and the results are incredible...


The Ponseti and Biomed building before... and after....

And...


The Rehab and Biomed Department before... and after...


Where children with Club Feet get treated using the Ponseti (non surgical) casting method...



And feet that were bent begin to dance... how incredible to think they will never know what life was going to be like for them...


And...



The HOPE Centre where over 200 patients are housed pre and post surgery whilst for B&B... before... and after...


And... The Operating Rooms before... and after...


The University Hospital really has been transformed. 

And not just that...


there's the long lines of patients for the Dental Team (above) - who have treated over 3000 people since September this year


Our Patient Selection Teams have searched for patients in 11 different cities... and seen literally thousands and thousands of potential candidates....




And whether it's the ladies who have had their Obstetric Fistulas repaired (122 since September)...



Or the kids with bent legs (106 since September)...


Or the natural beauty that is just Madagascar...




(I'm the one nearest with my foot poking out of the water whilst searching for tropical fish!)...


Thank you God for your amazing grace that loves, trasnforms and heals hearts for eternity... we give you all the glory....



And if all this leaves you hungry for even more... check out our overview of our previous Field Service here in Madagascar October 2014-June 2015 https://vimeo.com/132544326





Sunday 20 December 2015

amazing grace... happy chirstmas!

Beauty for ashes..... the weak become strong.... what was sent to destroy us, God uses to strengthen us... these are all truths for children of God and somedays I wonder… how did I get to receive this amazing grace? I didn't do a thing....

It's nearly 7 years now since my feet lifted from the tarmac of Cotonou's runway to board a plane home. I knew my mercy ships work was somehow coming to an abrupt end in Benin, but I couldn't stop it and as I found myself in a mixture of tired and empty, I had no idea what life would look like once I got home. It was an uncomfortable season, that's for sure. But over the course of the years that followed.... He restored it all. He led me on a journey that opened my eyes to His beauty in ways I had never known before. I was met with arms open wide and all I felt was amazing grace.

It's who my daddy is. When God restores, He always restores to a place better than it was before. He aggressively pursues restoration. He is always revealing his restorative character here on Earth. He just can’t help it. Think of all those crunchy dead leaves – new ones already in the process of popping out – or the seemingly dead bulbs getting ready to burst their pure beauty through the winter ground. And in the Spirit, it’s the same. Whatever comes towards us, God positions himself to redeem... He allows it to benefit us... for it to somehow become an asset in our lives. The enemy simply cannot destroy the purposes of God. Encouraging, isn’t it. His heart is so set on restoring every lost and broken thing in our lives that we cannot help but be overwhelmed by His goodness. And as He does so, He is exalted! Our task is to somehow let the goodness ooze out and let others see the love song that we are a part of. That doesn’t mean there won’t be scars along the way, but even those, He arranges in such a way that somehow speaks of His beauty. He is always revealing who He is.

And so last month when I found myself in Benin again.... the Country I left, wondering if I would ever return.... and the same Country I returned to last year for a couple of months to prepare for the ships arrival.... the one we ploughed so much energy and love into... the one we so desired to see God's heart for... to dream big for... to call Heaven to Earth for... and then from where we had to suddenly leave as a result of the Ebola crisis… how our hearts were broken.... the hope we brought and then had to snatch away. It all felt so unfair and didn’t make sense. But all the while, God was nurturing it and keeping it safe…

So it is with great delight that I can share that Mercy Ships has decided to go back to Benin for 10 months beginning next August 2017. Maybe it just sounds like just another Country. Another decision... just some more work. But in my heart it's not. And in the heart of God, I know it's not. He’s in the midst of restoring hope and releasing His amazing grace. I know He is. He can’t help Himself.

Last month, I was privileged to be part of an Assessment trip to Benin for us to begin designing our surgical and medical capacity building (training) programs there. We collected all sorts of pieces of information that form part of a larger puzzle that help us better understand the needs in the Country and how some of the things we can do fit in with that. It was a wonderful time to re-connect with those we met last year. And the grace extended blows me away - we were not met with bitter hearts who had tasted the hope we’d offered and felt abandoned but by hearts that were warm and open and... Oh, so kind. It can only be God. He is the one that nurtured that hope. The One who promised He loves them. The One who promised He would never leave. The One who is ever present and reminds me that we are mere fleeting parts in His story.

Benin... You speak to me so much of Gods redemptive heart. You hold memories of fun, of amazing grace, of generosity that knows no bounds.... may it just get more beautiful. May the plans Mercy Ships had for your people just get bigger... May the delay that felt so discouraging be used by God to propel us to even greater things for you. May Jesus give us eyes to see what you need, how we can help.... May His face be seen...

It makes no sense... But this is grace...

And I pray you meet it this Christmas too – the gift of God’s own Son – amazing grace given for you.

With love and Happy Christmas all the way from Madagascar!

KWW


Sunday 20 September 2015

restoring design

What’s it all about?

It’s been a busy few weeks as this place has swung into action. The Hospital laid dormant for a couple of months – it became a thoroughfare, a building site, a warehouse…. a place I did not recognize.

But as the mooring lines landed just 3 weeks ago and the medical staff stopped their work as cooks and cleaners and dining room workers and returned to Deck 3... the place took on new life. The work of the Father became evident in it again. He was making it all new. He had been there all the time.

You see without the building site part, it could never be the Hospital part. We don’t exist independently. Without the restoring and creative work of the engineers and electricians and carpenters…. this place we call a Hospital would have crumbled away a while back – or at least not be functioning as well as it does. Every year there is work unseen – pipes are laid, rooms are renovated, floors are re-laid – it all goes on when the Hospital staff have escaped… our part of the ‘body’ takes some rest whilst another part works diligently.  They do it for us. They do their part, so we can do ours. Humbling isn’t it.

And that’s what our Hospital is all about. That’s what is at the heart of it. Our Heavenly Father – He’s always restoring His design. Whether it’s in our furnishing and function… whether it’s in the hearts and minds of those who work here as our rough edges brush up against others… or whether it’s a tumour invaded face finding it’s form again or an arm able to envelop another for the first time in years…. it’s all about restoring function.

It’s endless.

Whether it’s the songs of the ladies who pace the corridors on their daily walks as they recover from the injuries of traumatic labour – the unity they find, the solidarity, the safety – healing not just for their leaking bladders but in their hearts too. Or the cries of children as they process the fear and the unknown of being on a big white ship…. and find love…. or even the simple hernia that has troubled a proud man for years that gets repaired….

Restoring design. It’s the heart of our Father. And it’s what we’re all about.

So here’s to 35 weeks of surgery ahead, to the sharing of knowledge, to the mentoring opportunities that will deposit hope and release life, to clubfeet which will learn to dance on the injustice that they were born into.  To the thousands of Malagasy who will teach us not of the ‘poor and needy’ but what it is to be rich in heart and beautiful in spirit. To the opportunities to learn from each other and discover new life. To restored design in whatever form.

We watch with thanks that we get to be a part of the story. For all the restoring that He has already done and will continue to do…. we give Him all the Glory.


Sunday 6 September 2015

here we go

Hello from the ocean blue! Having spent a few weeks in Durban, South Africa whilst our Ship got fixed up and ready for the season ahead, we're finally on our way. In fact last night I sat outside to eat my dinner and spotted not just a whale nearby but LAND! We could quite clearly see the south eastern coastline of Madagascar and a sense of, 'it's really happening' dawned on me and I realised once again the privilege to live on this floating home.

The last few weeks have not been without their trouble and even after we set sail, we had more hitches that held us up a few days before we could finally say that we're on our way. The unexpected few extra weeks in South Africa have been a good time to reflect and team build, not to mention see some of beautiful South Africa. I even found some snow, and yes, I did have a little sledge down a slope! I'm certain God is not the author of 'bad things' but I do see how he uses delays and things like this - we've been on our knees and the time has forced us to fix our eyes on Him... and to remember where our hope comes from.

As we look to the time ahead in Madagascar, I've been thinking about all the opportunities that lie ahead. God is infinitely creative and always has fresh ideas. It's an exciting life with Him, isn't it?

Have you thought lately about what ideas.... what seeds you are planting into the future generation? Your friends? Your family? Your own life? Are you planting seeds of life? Ones that will keep on bearing fruit?

It's a joy to work for an organization who lives and breathes the things that make my heart beat. To work with like minded people who care about the same things I care about and who get mad about the same things I get mad about. It's refreshing. It enables me to myself somehow. It gives me courage to stretch and reach for the Jesus dreams that have been planted inside me. And what a privilege it is to stand on the shoulders of those who have walked before me and who have dared to believe.

How can we do the same? How do we face such never-ending need? Such devastating poverty? How do we know which seeds we should plant? And where? There are opportunities everywhere! These are questions I find myself asking - as Hospital Director on the AFM - and as Kirstie Randall living in Community here. How do we do it? How do we not run dry? How do we not grow weary doing good?

In Isaiah 55:8 it says that God's thoughts are not our thoughts. And His ways are not our ways.

Jesus wasn't driven by need and opportunity.

Jesus only did what the Father told him to do.

Good ideas only last until a better idea comes along. Good ideas inherently lack capacity to withstand pressure.

God ideas have resurrection life and can never die.

Are the seeds that you are planting releasing their potential? Do you need to do some pruning? Get rid of some bad ideas? Even some good ones? Good ideas compete with God ideas.

It's my prayer for me - for my team - for us as an organization - as we embrace a new Field Service and all the decisions ahead. I pray that we would strip ourselves from selfish ambition, from pride, from anything that would tangle our hearts and minds from discerning what the will of the Father is.

So that we may walk with a freedom and a heart that is committed not to good ideas that jump at every opportunity and need in front of us, but to the God ideas that He breathes into us.

I'm looking forward to all that lies ahead - whether it's a couple of thousand surgeries or stories of transformation people experience when they take part in one of the many medical training courses we will be running,... or in the new Obstetric Fistula Centre we are setting up or in the new Ponseti Clinic (Clubfoot treatment). Whether it's stories of transformation of buildings as we renovate the Operating Rooms in the local University Hospital, or of people's hearts and attitudes - including my own - it all thrills me, because it's what we're all about. It's what Jesus is all about. Redemption. New hope, new life. Love it.

Grace, peace and all wisdom to you as you sift through the dreams in your heart and find the ones Jesus has planted right there. Run after them!

Much love as always, KWW

Monday 25 May 2015

rich and beautiful

7 months in Madagascar. Rich and Beautiful. That’s what it has been.

It’s been a topsy turvy few months and if I could pick out a few things that I’ve tried to learn along the journey, this is what they would be…

Live in Heaven – you have access to EVERYTHING you need
Be Un-offendable – you can afford it
Dream big – NOTHING is impossible
Yours to carry – not mine (burdens)
Don’t listen to monsters
It’s Jesus I serve – no-one else

I could expand… but… I don’t know if I need to. It all comes down to love… to having an understanding who I am a daughter of… to knowing the life of freedom that I am called to… to living as someone who knows they are LOVED. I haven’t figured it out yet but I am thankful for all the ways He has allowed me to love – the opportunities to express my Father’s heart. It’s been a tough few months – but I am thankful for the journey that it has brought me on and for the rich and beautiful places it has taken me.

The repaired cleft lip smile, the sweet giggles of those whose obstetric fistulas are now closed, the running feet of those once bent, the waving arms of the ones that were once crippled by terrible burns, all those who have been empowered with knowledge, with love, with the tools to do what they were made to do… the pure joy of the market seller whose smile broadens when my eyes meet hers, to those who have so much to share, whose hearts are so rich and beautiful beyond compare, to those who know what it is to hope, to trust, to love even when they have so little in terms of ‘stuff’… to the endless sea of lush green rice fields, to the mountain peaks and rainforest galore, to the jumping lemurs and to the sweet sweet tastes of your plentiful fruits – mangoes, coconuts, litchis, apples, bananas, pineapples, oranges, limes, passion fruit... strawberries even!. Madagascar you are rich and beautiful and it has been a joy and an honour to serve you and your people!

One of my beautiful friends got a few people on board to summarise our last few months here in Madagascar and I think she’s captured it really well… (see if you can guess which my line is J ):

Psalm 136 – The Africa Mercy version
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good… His love endures forever.

He opened up an entire new region of Africa unexpectedly… His love endures forever.
To Him who equipped us for the task… His love endures forever
Who brought us through the mist of the unknown and rough seas… His love endures forever.

And kept us safe in our precarious berth… His love endures forever.
To Him who kept us safe from tropical storms… His love endures forever.

Who provided all of our water…
His love endures forever.
His faithfulness confirmed His promise in ways seen and unseen…
His love endures forever.
Who connected our paths with the right patients…
His love endures forever.
He saw us through every surgery… His love endures forever

To him who heals bodies even when surgery or medicines fail… His love endures forever.
He healed every wound… His love endures forever.
Who restores movement to contracted joints…
His love endures forever.
Whose presence filled our Hospital causing infections to vanish, new skin to grow and left hearts overflowing with hope… His love endures forever.
During stress filled times, He answered my every page… His love endures forever.

To Him who provided our largest HOPE center ever!... His love endures forever.
He saved lives through training! … His love endures forever.
Who provided a way for us to minister to orphans, the elderly, prisoners, the deaf & disabled… His love endures forever.
To the ONE who created the colourful richness of harmony in the music of Madagascar and blessed us with a day crew that sings praises while they work…
His love endures forever.
And opened the floodgates of the internet…
His love endures forever.
For the everlasting supplies of fruit & veg…
His love endures forever.
For the day when the cheese came…
His love endures forever.

To Him alone who created all the lemurs…
His love endures forever.
Who provided a close friend at just the right time…His love endures forever.
He kept us safe in 3 different countries… His love endures forever.
To him who alone does great wonders… His love endures forever.
Let us give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.



And so I find myself nearly on my way home – 7 months of surgery and it’s time to pack up this floating Hospital and let it sail again. My heart is full and I can’t wait to be a part of the adventures that are planned for our next 10 months here in Madagascar this August. From a hugely expanded health education program that will span the nation, to setting up a Regional Fistula Centre that we hope will leave a lasting legacy that will bring hope and healing to thousands of women in Madagascar, to a Ponseti clinic which will treat 100s of young children with club feet… not to mention the 12 towns around Madagascar that will be visited by our teams to find patients that need the help of our usual array of life transforming surgeries on board or the many many rich and beautiful spirits that I will get to share life with… friends, patients and colleagues… I truly cannot wait!

But first, I look forward to seeing some of you back home…

Until then… live as someone who is LOVED.

Rich and beautiful. His love endures forever.


KWW xx

Saturday 14 March 2015

unforced rhythms of grace

It 's good to remember, isn't it, that life isn't just about us or even the people around us. Well in some senses of course it is, because we are part of one very beautiful body and without anyone to share it with or to complement what each of us bring to the table or without someone else to hold up our arms when we feel weak, we would likely frazzle and whither away. But in the midst of it, it' s not all about me getting it right for anyone else, or anyone telling me I 've done a good job or even about adding a shiny gold star to my lapel - when it seems like it is for these things, I enter a relentless cycle that never seems to find completion. I 'm never good enough, I 'm forever wishing I did better and I 'm always longing for more and wishing I didn't let myself or others down. The uncompleted cycle leaves me in this twisted trap of guilt and pride and fear and insatiable want and it steals from the simplicity and beauty that was meant for me. It keeps me from remembering that it 's Jesus I serve.

Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I 'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won' t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly. Matthew 11: 28-30

Read it again... slowly... it will take a few weights off your shoulders and likely loosen a few chains you might have let settle around your neck.

Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won 't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.

So in amongst our busy lives and the things that try to take a sneaky piece of our peace, I am slowly learning that we have to actively, consciously, whole-heartedly reach out for another way. The way that doesn't treat you like a puppet and demand that your limbs and heart jump with every fleeting tug, but the way of grace. And even when you long for the stillness of that grace and even when you know what it looks like, it is hard to find. I can testify to that. These last few months have been far from a walk in the park. I feel like my job has forced me to embrace all sorts of newness and challenges that have been way too big for me - big enough to overwhelm me and big enough to make me feel awfully small. But in amongst it all, I have found that all my heart really needed to know, even amongst a million unknowns and a million challenges and a million times when it has felt like the waves are too big... all I really really wanted to know is that I am a child of God. No longer a slave to fear, but a child of God. Surrounded by the arms of my Father.

And so this journey continues. May be you were hoping for lots of patient stories from me - don' t worry, there are plenty of those. Our Hospital doesn't stop pouring love out and that kind of love can' t help but transform hearts, inside and out. It' s beautiful. The tumours keep disappearing, the cataracts vanishing, legs are made straight and the signs of deepest fear and rejection are cut out with a sharp knife, leaving healthy places for love to grow. These things never stop happening in this incredible place.

Sambany was a fine example of that this last month. For 19 years he walked around with a growing facial mass of over 7 Kilos and when told of the risk of death that surgery would bring, he commented that it didn't matter, his spirit was already dead. So you can imagine the joy it is to see a tumour free, liberated Sambany. New life before him. And there are hundreds of others like him, not as noticeable on the outside, but perhaps even more powerfully changed on the inside. It' s why I am still here. There 's nothing my heart wants more. The lure of money or a nice house or a fancy car or a bit more independence just doesn't cut it. I can ditch those things fairly easily but - even then - it' s something more sneaky that lures me in. It 's something that you can' t walk away from as easily as those other things. It follows me, it haunts me and it steals from me: the opinion of others. It' s without doubt the hardest thing to walk away from. And it 's without doubt the most powerful thing that keeps me from remembering in this place: It's Jesus I serve.

And that 's why working here is about so much more than the surgery we do, or the people we meet or the lives that get transformed. Yes those things are huge. But bigger than that, Jesus is guiding me by the hand, he is leading me towards the day when I won' t care about what others think but instead will boldly declare, ' I am a child of God' . I reckon I have walked a little closer these last few months, a chain or 2 has gone. I 've been desperately discovering what it is to learn the unforced rhythms of grace and to know that... it' s Jesus I serve. But I 'm not there yet.

We' re here in Madagascar until early June, when we'll hop over to South Africa for our usual Ship MOT and then we will make our way back to Madagascar for another 10 life breathing, spirit transforming, mountain moving, impossibility defying, love overflowing months. I will pop home for a few weeks in June and also try to learn some more French for a few weeks in Switzerland in June/July. Sharing God s love, His life and His truth is all I really care about and for that, relationship is key. One of the privileges of my job means that I get to build vision and communicate with key leaders in the countries we work in. The most effective way to build relationship is to learn the language and I hope to make some strides forward with that. I want to do my job well and I want to serve the nations we are called to with excellence and with deepest respect. My stumbling French has a long way to go, but I will take one step at a time...

Praying hugest love over you. May his abounding grace wash over you where you need it most and may your fears be drowned in perfect love.

Love always, KWW

Friday 13 March 2015

It's Jesus we serve

It’s Jesus we serve

It’s good to remember, isn’t it, that life isn’t just about us or even the people around us. Well in some senses of course it is, because we are part of one very beautiful body and without anyone to share it with or to complement what each of us bring to the table or without someone else to hold up our arms when we feel weak, we would likely frazzle and whither away. But in the midst of it, it’s not all about me getting it right for anyone else, or anyone telling me I’ve done a good job or even about adding a shiny gold star to my lapel… when it seems like it is for these things, I enter a relentless cycle that never seems to find completion. I’m never good enough, I’m forever wishing I did better and I’m always longing for more and wishing I didn’t let myself or others down. The uncompleted cycle leaves me in this twisted trap of guilt and pride and fear and insatiable want and it steals from the simplicity and beauty that was meant for me. It keeps me from remembering that it’s Jesus I serve.

Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly. Matthew 11: 28-30

Read it again… slowly… it will take a few weights off your shoulders and likely loosen a few chains you might have let settle around your neck.

Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.

So in amongst our busy lives and the things that try to take a sneaky piece of our peace, I am slowly learning that we have to actively, consciously, whole-heartedly reach out for another way. The way that doesn’t treat you like a puppet and demand that your limbs and heart jump with every fleeting tug, but the way of grace…. And even when you long for the stillness of that grace and even when you know what it looks like, it is hard to find. I can testify to that. These last few months have been far from a walk in the park. I feel like my job has forced me to embrace all sorts of newness and challenges that have been way too big for me – big enough to overwhelm me and big enough to make me feel awfully small. But in amongst it all, I have found that all my heart really needed to know – even amongst a million unknowns and a million challenges and a million times when it has felt like the waves are too big. – all I really really wanted to know is that I am a child of God. No longer a slave to fear, but a child of God. Surrounded by the arms of my Father.

And so this journey continues. May be you were hoping for lots of patient stories from me – don’t worry – there are plenty of those. Our Hospital doesn’t stop pouring love out and that kind of love can’t help but transform hearts, inside and out. It’s beautiful. The tumours keep disappearing, the cataracts vanishing, legs are made straight and the signs of deepest fear and rejection are cut out with a sharp knife, leaving healthy places for love to grow. These things never stop happening in this incredible place.

Sambany was a fine example of that this last month. For 19 years he walked around with a growing facial mass of over 7 Kilos… when told of the risk of death that surgery would bring, he commented that it didn’t matter, his spirit was already dead. So you can imagine the joy it is to see a tumour free, liberated Sambany. New life before him. And there are hundreds of others like him, not as noticeable on the outside, but perhaps even more powerfully changed on the inside. It’s why I am still here. There’s nothing my heart wants more. The lure of money or a nice house or a fancy car or a bit more independence just doesn’t cut it. I can ditch those things fairly easily but  - even then - it’s something more sneaky that lures me in. It’s something that you can’t walk away from as easily as those other things. It follows me, it haunts me and it steals from me: the opinion of others. It’s without doubt the hardest thing to walk away from. And it’s without doubt the most powerful thing that keeps me from remembering: Its Jesus I serve.

And that’s why working here is about so much more than the surgery we do, or the people we meet or the lives that get transformed. Yes those things are huge. But bigger than that, Jesus is guiding me by the hand, he is leading me towards the day when I won’t care about what others think but instead will boldly declare, ‘I am a child of God’. I reckon I have walked a little closer these last few months, a chain or 2 has gone. I’ve been desperately discovering what it is to learn the unforced rhythms of grace and to know that… it’s Jesus I serve. But I’m not there yet.

We’re here in Madagascar until early June, when we’ll hop over to South Africa for our usual Ship MOT – and then we will make our way back to Madagascar for another 10 life breathing, spirit transforming, mountain moving, impossible defying, love overflowing months. I will pop home for a few weeks in June and also try to learn some more French for a few weeks in Switzerland in June/July. Sharing God’s love, His life and His truth is all I really care about and for that, relationship is key.  One of the privileges of my job means that I get to build vision and communicate with key leaders in the countries we work in. The most effective way to build relationship is to learn the language and I hope to make some strides forward with that.

Praying hugest love over you. May his abounding grace wash over you where you need it most and may your fears be drowned in perfect love.


Love always, KWW