Safe arrival in Tenerife

After 10 months in Benin and 10 days on the Atlantic it was wonderful to dock in Santa Cruz this morning. I didn't expect myself to be so emotional about it, but with Mr. Theodora's trumpet playing I was really touched. Dag

By the way, Mr. Theodora always welcomes our ships with his trumpet and he has done that since the Anastasis docked in Tenerife for the first time in 1991.

Sieh

One of the best things happening to me this year was to see Sieh Moore become crew on the Africa Mercy. Sieh was a dayvolunteer/translator with the dental team in Liberia but didn`t have a job to go to once the ship sailed. A few days before our departure we managed to make plans with Sieh to go to Ghana to take a DTS (Disciple Training School with Youth With A Mission) and later to join the ship in Benin. Sieh`s hard work, his skills, honesty and big smile makes him a valuable team member - as the Assistant Dental Coordinator.
He has never been outside West Africa and the sail to Tenerife is huge to him. It is fun to experience it with him :-) The picture was taken during the last fire drill before we sailed. Dag

Santa Lucia

December 13th is the day of Santa Lucia. In accordance with the Scandinavian tradition we had a proper celebration on board. 11 Norwegians and 2 Danes walked with candles, sang traditional hymns and served pastries. The Lucia performance is unbelievable popular among the crew and the midship town square was packed with spectators. Jorid took on the task as baker and prepared by making 317 Saffron rolls ("Lussekatter"). Dag

Waterspout

Yesterday we saw an interesting phenomenon on the port side of the ship - a waterspout. As a foreigner I`d never heard the word before, but seeing it gave me a pretty good understanding of what it was. It is described as a tubular portion of the cloud over the ocean, laden with mist and spray, resembling a solid column of water reaching upward to the cloud from which it hangs - like a small tornado.

Anyway, it looked cool. Dag

Goodbye, Benin.

We sailed from the port of Cotonou this morning and land is still visible on the horizon. The last 10 months in Benin has been special to us. We leave behind good friends but take with us wonderful memories from a rich time. Goodbye, Benin. We'll continue to pray for you! Dag

Thomas, Harald and Frode

Once again the team from TV Inter is here to do some shooting for "Fride på skipet". This time Fride's pet, Kaptein Sabeltann, is more in focus and he has been filmed on various locations. Thomas (the Producer) has shown us some half edited, unfinished episodes, and they look pretty good. The guys will wave us good-bye when we sail. Dag

auntie Rikke

Over the last years auntie Rikke has given the kids an advent calendar for the month of December. No exception when we're in Africa :-) Some Norwegians brought along a bag of gifts for each Sunday in advent. Thank you, Rikke!! It is highly appreciated. Dag

Jorid and Rikke the last time we saw her, July 08

The Last Supper

As a last "Thank You" to our wonderful team of dayvolunteers/translators, we met for lunch at a local street restaurant. Gifts were exchanged, speeches held and we had an emotional time together. After working alongside each other for 10 months it feels strange to separate. Some will be greatly missed... Dag

Interesting restaurant - the food was prepared on the street.

The last picture of the Dental Team in Benin 2009.

And yes, some will be greatly missed - like my friend, Florent.

Norwegian crew

From time to time Mercy Ships Norway wants to have a group shot of the Norwegians on board (2 were missing when the picture was taken). This time we even had an extra dentist here - Shelley, in the middle. It was great to serve alongside her and I hope she has started a trend that will bring more of our Norwegian colleagues on board :-) Dag

Hospital closed!

This morning the last few patients were discharged - among those were two of "my" VVF ladies. They have both had wound complications, and have been here for over one month! Their wounds have been healing in such an amazing way the last week - surely a "God-thing" - He who can do so much more that we can understand!

I always get a little emotional when patients with complications finally get ready for discharge, and today was no exeption. I have grown so fond of these women who have endured so much, and gone through their hardship with such patience and grace. /jorid

Clinic closed

The last dental patient has been seen at Avotrou and the clinic is packed and closed. We treated the last patient on Friday and this week was used to do an inventory, clean, pack and move all our equipment to a container on the ship. It feels good to be done but it was also strange to leave the clinic for the last time. As always the kids were standing along the road yelling and waving "Yovo, yovo!"- meaning "White man, white man!". I am really ready for a vacation but also thankful that we can continue the work in Togo next year. Dag

Prison Civile Cotonou

Last week the dental team provided treatment to the inmates of the local prison in Cotonou. Of the about 2500 prisoners we were able to offer treatment to more than 300, which actually covered most of the acute need. The prison compound is like a small village with lots of stuff to buy off tables along the narrow streets. It is run by the prisoners themselves - some kind of a hierarchic system, and the only hired guards are soldiers by the gate and in the tower. Unlike Monrovia Central Prison (that we served in last year) I don't believe anybody is starving in Prison Civile Cotonou. Dag

"Praise instead of despair..."

Once again a time of VVF surgeries is over, and most of our patients have been discharged. Only two ladies still on the ward. As always it has been a busy, but rewarding time. Every time I feel tired and a little discouraged, I just take a look at photos from a previous dress ceremony, the celebration of successful repairs... These women really do get a new start, a new chance to a normal life, and it is such a blessing and privilege to take part in that!

One of "my ladies" being prepared for her dress ceremony.

What is VVF? Vesico Vaginal Fistula; an abnormal opening between the bladder and the vagina, most often caused by unrelieved, prolonged, obstructed delivery. The baby usually dies and the woman, if she survives, is left with a constant leaking of urine. 

This hardly ever happens in the Western world, as professional healthcare is given to women giving birth. In developing nations, however, there are millions of women suffering from this condition. And it is a horrible condition, as the smell of urine often causes these poor women to become outcasts. Our VVF program is called "Hope Reborn", and it truly is! I wish you could see their smiles and joy when they, after the surgery, realize that they are dry.... 

"To all who mourn in Israel, He will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair!" Is 61:3

Our VVF surgeon Dr Steve Arrowsmith and a visiting surgeon, Dr Sa'ad Idris, earlier this year.

Braids!

Saturday Linde got her hair braided, and from previous braiding, she knew she wanted really thin braids. Thinner braids=more work: It took two hairdressers 11 hours!! But it looks beautiful, and Linde claims it was all worth it! -jorid:-)

Bunkering

Refuelling doesn't mean stopping by the nearest gas station. To fill the tanks of the ship is complicated, time-consuming and extremely expensive. Twice this field service we have moved the ship to a different dock for bunkering. This time a bunker came alongside us which made it a lot easier. During the night we got about 700 000 liters of fuel, and I don't even want to think about the cost... Dag

Beaver Fever

Giardia is a single-celled parasite that causes an infection of the intestines with a bad diarrhea as the end result. 2 1/2 weeks ago when swimming in the, not too clean, brackish water at Bab's Dock, Bendik must have swallowed a handful or two too much. The last 8 days has been spent in the restroom and our little man is weak. We started to worry that it was something seriously wrong, so a sample showing that he is currently sharing his food with some Giardia is actually good news. 5 days of proper treatment (Metronidazol) is expecting to get him back to normal. By the way, Gardia is often spread from beaver feces, hence the name, Beaver Fever. Dag

This is a picture of Bendik taken on the day of the parasite attack. As you can see he doesn't have too much extra weight to share with an opportunist...

Cruising for Murder

On Saturday, we celebrated my 14th birthday with a murder mystery party: Cruising for Murder. It occurs during the "Captain's Cocktail Reception" onboard the M/V Mystery of the Seas. The whole point of a murder mystery party is to pretend to be your character and talk to people, and then eventually, figure out who is the murderer. The characters for this murder mystery party were a couple celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary, three ambassadress contestants, captain and his daughter, an officer, cruise director and towel boy, a travel critic, purser, bartender and waitress, and the unlucky victim, the ship's own showgirl. These characters were given to fifteen different people (everyone from 7th grade to 12th grade), including myself, and my brother and his friend Wesley. The party was a great success, and everyone had an amazing time. At the end of the party, we had awards for the person who guessed who the murderer was, the person with the most money (that he/she had got whilst blackmailing and bribing other players), the person with the best costume, and the best performance.

Linde

P.S. Sorry there is no pictures yet, I don't know where they went, but I'll put them on the blog as soon as we find them...

Fjortis

Many of you won't understand what "Fjortis" means but it is Norwegian slang for being 14 years old. The meaning of the word covers the attitude and the challenges of being 14, and the fact that you are about to enter adulthood. You are no longer a child, or at least you believe so yourself... Crazy enough, Linde turned 14 on Wednesday and is now a Fjortis. Despite her age she was woken in the morning with cake, singing and pictures :-) Dag

m/v Sharon

From our cabin window (aft deck 7) we can see the m/v Sharon that came in a few days ago. She serves as a ferry Benin - Gabon and was Saturday packed with people (see picture). Apparently most of these people were illegally on board. However this may not have been noticed if the Sharon hadn't banged into us on her way. Currently we have a hole in the bow (don't worry, we are not sinking) and there is a lot of police activity on board the m/v Sharon. Dag

m/v Sharon to the right

VVF in Benin, round three

The wife is busy these days. The last round of VVF surgeries ended this week and with that the wonderful celebration of those who are dry. Many of the women still need to stay on the ship for recovery but some have already gone home. The pictures are from the first Dress Ceremony earlier this week. Dag