A Time To Dance....

There have been a variety of surgeries performed on board this floating hospital ship but none of them has caught my attention quite like the VVF, fistula repair, surgeries that began about 3 ½ years ago.

"According to United Nations statistics, an estimated two million women in Africa and South Asia suffer from vaginal fistulas. A fistula occurs during long or obstructed childbirth, when the baby's head presses against the bones of the pelvis for hours, sometimes days. The pressure destroys part of the birth canal tissue, leaving a hole through which urine or feces continuously leak. A woman might live with the unpleasant smell and unrelieved shame of this ostracizing condition for decades. In many cases, the baby dies during the difficult childbirth".

In January a team from the ship went 10 hours inland to screen potential women for this surgery. Several were selected and they boarded, along with some male relatives to help care for them, a small bus to make the trip to Cotonou for the surgery on board the ship. Because they were from various villages in the North they were from different tribes and spoke a variety of languages. Even though this had the potential to be a frightening experience, coming to the city and boarding a ship with a peculiar culture of its own, they seemed to adjust quickly.

One of these women was as young as 14 while another had lived with a fistula for 20 years. But they all had one thing in common, they had lived with shame. Many had husbands leave them because of the smell while others were unable to sell in the market for the same reason.

This is one of the things I love about doing what I do. Being a part of helping to restore dignity to these women and showing the love of Jesus. I am not able to frequent the hospital ward on the ship often but the few weeks of the year that we do VVF surgeries that is where I can be found in my free time. There's something about these women that captures my heart. Their recovery after the surgery is usually about 2 weeks so I am able to spend some great time with them. Whether it's painting their nails, watching the Jesus Film in their language, doing a puzzle, or explaining what the love of Jesus means to them, it is a precious time to me.

When it is time to go home we have a tradition on the ship (borrowed from a fistula hospital in Ethiopia). Each women is given a new dress, as most of their clothes are soiled from the leaking, and have a celebration in the ward with dancing, singing and many smiles. We celebrate their recovery and praise the One who made it possible. Over 30 women had a VVF surgery on board in January and are going home with not only a new dress but a new life.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die, .
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance.....