Lines In The Sand

I live out my life on a surgical ship. Seven days a week, 24 hours a day… I am together with these people more than we’re apart. After a while, the ways of living on a ship become the ways of life.

A few rules I’ve learned:

#1 - always keep score

#2 - do what you can to out smart the other guy

#3 - don’t make friends with the enemy

#4 - everything, EVERYTHING is a competition.

But, there’s another way to survive this life, a way that no one seems to tell you about… one you have to learn for yourself.

#5 – its not about the competition (at all!) There are no winners or losers. Victories are counted by the number of lives saved.

And once in a while… if you’re smart… the life you save… could be your own.

Its all about lines: the finish line at the end of the race, waiting in line for a chance to prove you know what you’re doing, and then… there is the most important line: the line that separates you from the people you work with.

It doesn’t help to get too familiar, to make friends. You need boundaries between you and the rest of the world.

Other people are far too messy.

Its all about lines. Drawing lines in the sand and praying like hell that no one crosses them.

But at some point, you have to make a decision. Boundaries don’t keep other people out, they fence you in. Life is messy – that’s how we’re made.

So, you can waste your life drawing lines… or, you can live your life – crossing them.

But here’s what I know: if you’re willing to take the chance to let others cross your boundaries… the view from the other side is spectacular.

Worst Case Scenario

As medical professionals, we live in a world of worst case scenarios. We cut ourselves off from ever hoping for the best – because too many times, the best doesn’t happen.

But, something extraordinary occurs, and suddenly, best case scenarios seem possible. And every now and then, something amazing happens, and against our better judgment – we start to have hope.

As medical professionals, we are trained to give our patients just the facts. But what our patients really want to know is… will the pain ever go away… will I feel better… am I cured? What our patients really want to know is: is there hope?

But, inevitably, you find yourself in the worst case scenario… when the patient’s body has betrayed them, and all the science we have to offer has failed them. When the worst case scenario comes true: clinging to hope is all we’ve got left.

Don't get me wrong... there ARE medical miracles.

Being “worshippers at the alter of science”(as some might call us); we don’t like to believe that miracles exist, but they do.

Things happen.

We can’t explain them.

We can’t control them.

But they do happen.

Miracles do happen in medicine. They occur everyday… just, not when we need them to happen.

At the end of the day: when so many prayers are answered… and so many aren’t... we take our miracles where we can find them.

We reach across the gap, and sometimes… against all odds… against all logic… we touch.

I See A World In Need Of A Savior

The last three months have been predominantly hard here in Africa. Without going into much detail… lets just say Satan has been aggressive from all achievable angles, and with immense force. God and I had been in… well, not a good place starting May 15th.

June, unhurriedly, was slightly improved, but not with God and I… just, life in general.

July utterly flew by with little to no God to speak of... and now its August.

23rd to be exact.

And I’m happy to say that God and I have had a hell of a week together. As earlier stated – I don’t want to give away too much of my story, but… you have nothing to worry about. I’m not unaccompanied. You see, that’s one of the things that has made these last three months manageable. I am persistently… relentlessly (and I use those words with great love) enclosed with a great, and enormous support system. I have the best of friends here who tell me that they love me… almost everyday. We share in laughs, embrace during tears, remain strong when others aren’t, and lean on them when we are weak.

The other thing that has been a complete life-line these last three months has been a song that Neal Woollard and his worship band had written. Its not a new song… but its not world famous (yet) either, so you may not know it… but the lyrics… the lyrics have allowed me to realize why I’m here.

Fill my eyes with all that You see
Let my heart feel what You feel
Fill my mind with Your compassion
Burden me with what burdens You
We seek Your heart, seek Your will, we will follow
Let my feet move where You need them
Let my words speak how You’d speak them
Let my life say, “I’ll follow you”
Let me love like You do
We seek Your heart, seek Your will, we will follow
I see a world in need of a savior
A light to the dark, Your shining glory
I won’t wait anymore
I hear you call me to something more
I will go, I will speak
Of Your name, of Your glory
I will go
And we, the church will rise
Like a sun, hope for the world
Your bride, spotless and pure
Beautiful, marvelous
And we will be Your hands, Your feet
Your love, Your hope to everyone

~ Need Of A Savior, written by Neal Woollard and The Crossing

Press Release From Norway

Stavanger Norway, August 12, 2009 --- Mercy Ships Norway has announced that Kristiansaand’s Start players in the Premier League game against Fredrikstad this coming Sunday will be wearing the charity’s logo on their jerseys. The goal is to promote the charity in Norway and the promotion is donated free of charge.

This special arrangement is due to a collaboration between Mercy Ships, IK Start, and the soccer team’s main national bank sponsor, Sparebanken Sør. Board chairman for Mercy Ships Norge, Erling Natvig, is very pleased with the opportunity. In his opinion this is important in the organization’s work to help even more people.

“We are thankful that IK Start and Sparebanken Sør wish to do this for us. Having Mercy Ships promoted in this manner is very valuable. We wish to help the poorest of the poor, but to do so, we need to be better known in Norway,” said Natvig.

“Our humanitarian efforts are primarily directed to local and regional activities. However, as a central bank in connection with the annual TV fund raising action, we have also contributed beyond our national borders for many years,” says Gry Moen, Marketing Director for Sparebanken Sør, whose logo normally decorates the Start jersey.



“When local enthusiasts in Mercy Ships asked to borrow our advertising spot on the Start uniform for a game, it was easy for us to say yes. We know that Mercy Ships gives many people new opportunities for a better life. In addition, we are impressed by the volunteer effort and enthusiasm of the individuals who operate these hospital ships. We cheer on Start and Mercy Ships and wish them the best of luck in their future work,” she stated.

IK Start channels its community service through its daughter company Start Life Support AS, and supports projects both nationally and internationally.

“Start Life Support is Start Football’s community service program, and has a goal of helping those less fortunate locally, nationally, and internationally. We already have many ongoing projects, but when the request from Mercy Ships came, we thought the dedication and work was so exciting, that it was not difficult for us to promote the project. Mercy Ships efforts on behalf of the poor is unique, and for us to have the opportunity to use our own stadium to tell about this wonderful work feels very right” said Director Helge Josdal, Start Life Support AS.

Mercy Ships is an international Christian charity which utilizes hospital ships to bring medical aid to some of the world’s poorest countries. In recent years, the organization has concentrated its work in West Africa, giving free aid to the people of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Benin Togo and Ghana. The organization has the world’s largest privately owned hospital ship, Africa Mercy, and helps thousands of people each year.

Sacrifice For The Unexpected

The key to being a successful medical professional is what we give up:

sleep

friends

a normal life.

We sacrifice it all for the thrill.

There are days that make the sacrifice seem worth wild. And then, there are the days when everything feels like a sacrifice. And then there are the sacrifices that YOU can’t even figure out why you’re making.

A wise man once said that you can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything for it. What he meant is… nothing comes without a price. So, before you go into battle, you better decide how much you are willing to lose.

Too often, going after what feels good means letting go of what you know is right.

And letting someone in, means abandoning the walls you spent a lifetime building.

Of course, the toughest sacrifices are the ones we don’t see coming. When we don’t have time to come up with a strategy to pick a side, or measure the potential loss – when that happens... when the battle chooses us and not the other way around… that’s when the sacrifice can turn out to be more than we can bear.

No one believes that their life will turn out just kind of ok. We all think we are going to be great, and from the day we decide to be medical professionals – we are filled with expectation.

Expectations of the trails we will blaze, the people we will help, the difference we will make, great expectations of who we will be, where we will go… and then – we get there.

We all think we are going to be great, and we feel a little bit robbed when our expectations aren’t met.

But sometimes our expectations sell us short.

Sometimes, the expected simply pales in comparison to the unexpected. You’ve got to wonder why we cling to our expectations... because the expected is just what keeps us steady, standing, still.

The expected is just the beginning.

The unexpected is what changes our lives.

18 Will Be A Good Year

Adolescence is often an awkward and self-conscious time. During the transition into adulthood, physical appearance and peer recognition are extremely important. For 17-year-old Gyslain, teenage life was even more complicated due to a massive tumor growing on the side of his neck.

As a baby, Gyslain was quite healthy. But when he was three years old, his mother noticed a faint lump on his neck. His parents initially thought it was the result of a recent vaccination. However, when the lump began to grow, they realized it was something far more serious.

They took him to a local hospital in Benin, West Africa. The doctors were intimidated by the location of the tumor and the complex procedure that would be required to remove it. As a result, Gyslain and his parents were turned away. They tried other hospitals – with the same result. Eventually, they gave up in despair.

It was a very painful time for his mother, Leonie. She desperately wanted to help her son. To make the situation even worse, neighbours and relatives began to say that Gyslain had an evil spirit inside of him. Leonie shared her son’s shame, but her faith kept them both strong. She simply says, “If God gave Gyslain this problem, I trusted that He would take care of the problem. That was all we could do.”

The years passed. The tumor increased – and so did the harshness and humiliation of the taunts and insults Gyslain suffered from his peers. Gyslain wanted to fight back, but a fear of aggravating the tumor restrained him. He also felt vulnerable when exerting himself physically. Carrying heavy loads or even just running around caused Gyslain to feel pressure in his neck. He was scared that the tumor would grow larger or even burst.



Despite all this adversity, Gyslain developed close friendships with three boys his age. On weekends and in their spare time, they would wander the countryside and explore new places. For Gyslain, this acceptance from a few individuals was extremely important to him.

Gyslain also managed to get a job working as a mechanic’s apprentice in a garage. And his job put him in the right place at the right time for an incredible answer to prayer.

On a sweltering, humid day Gyslain’s boss asked him to fetch a broken motorbike. Gyslain set off to meet the man whose vehicle had ceased to function and found him stranded on the pavement of a busy road. When Gyslain introduced himself, the man did not respond. Instead, he stared blatantly at Gyslain’s tumor. Gyslain had dealt with such reactions for 14 years, so he simply continued to work with the bike. He was abruptly stopped when the man grabbed him by the shoulders. Wide-eyed and smiling, the man excitedly told Gyslain about an organization in Cotonou that could heal his tumor for free!

Gyslain had never heard of a Mercy Ship, and thought the man might be crazy. Besides, he could not afford the cost of travelling for eight hours to the port of Cotonou.

Once again, Gyslain took hold of the bike and began pushing it in the direction of the garage. But the man persisted. He offered to drive Gyslain to Cotonou, provided Gyslain could cover at least half the cost of fuel. “Who is this man?” Gyslain asked himself. “And why does he want to help me?”

A few weeks later, Gyslain was standing in a line with hundreds of other people, anxiously waiting to hear whether the doctors of Mercy Ships would be able to help him. The man who had been so eager to help Gyslain was standing beside him. His name was Kahou. Gyslain had eventually realised that Kahou was just a man with a loving heart.







Because of Kahou’s concern and the skillful surgeons onboard the Africa Mercy, Gyslain received a free operation to remove the hindering mass from his neck. Now the tumor – and his shame – are gone! He is a walking testimony to God’s faithfulness. “If you have your trust in God, nothing can destroy you,” Gyslain attested. “A tree can fall if the wind blows, but with trust in God, you will stand strong.”



As Gyslain nears his 18th birthday, he is enthusiastic about the future. “I want to continue training as a mechanic,” he said. “It is a good job, and when I have enough money, I am going to buy some land and build a house.” Gyslain’s newfound confidence and energy are evident in his eyes and in his voice. Thanks to Mercy Ships, his life has been transformed.

Old Wounds

People have scars in all sorts of unexpected places, like secret road maps of their personal history, diagrams of all their old wounds. Most of our old wounds heal – leaving nothing behind, but a scar… but some of them don’t.

Some wounds, we carry with us everywhere, and though the cut is long gone… the pain still lingers.

So... what’s worse: new wounds, which are so horribly painful or old wounds that should have healed years ago and never did?

Maybe our old wounds teach us something: they remind us where we’ve been and what we’ve overcome. They teach us lessons about what to avoid in the future… that’s what we like to think. But that’s not the way it is, is it? Something we just have to learn over and over and over again.

In life, we are taught that there are seven deadly sins. We all know the big ones: gluttony, pride, lust.

But the sin you don’t hear much about is anger… maybe its because we think anger is not that dangerous, that we can control it. My point is, maybe we don’t give anger enough credit… maybe it can be a lot more dangerous than we think. After all, when it comes to destructive behavior – it did make the top seven.

So, what makes anger different from the six other deadly sins?

Its pretty simple really, you get into a sin like envy or pride – and you only hurt yourself. Try lust or coveting and you’ll only hurt yourself and probably one or two others. But anger, anger is the worst… the “mother” of all sins. Not only can anger drive you over the edge, when it does – you can take an awful lot of people with you.