Christmas Day

Today is Christmas Day and I decided to visit Joseph, one of our dayworkers', church. Of all the churches I've visited here I think this one was my favourite. I could just sense it as I came in, something in the atmosphere that made it feel like home. I cannot point out what made it different from other churches, maybe it had to do with the way they related to each other; somehow my spirit felt at peace there.

The African people I've met here sometimes remind me of my grandmother in that sense that they like to feed me. Still trying to digest our Christmas brunch I tried to decline food after the service, but as that is not a very polite thing to do around here I changed my mind. I explained to the lady that I was too full and only wanted a small small portion. She said she understood and came back with a double portion; no point in arguing. I ate half of it and started thinking about starting a diet soon. After all, I have been told that my face has become more round, like a mongolian face. Although this was meant as a compliment, I feel I don't want to start looking too Mongolian; if the face becomes round, other parts grow bigger too. Pretty much all of my Christmas presents consisted of cookies and sweets, I reckon this "diet" thing won't be very successful. It never was...

All Love and Merry Christmas

African Beat

Yesterday I was invited to come and listen to my friends as they were playing at a wedding in town. They shared their meals, their tea and even their profits with me, and the fact that I didn't really contribute with anything seemed to be of no importance. They made space for me even though there wasn't really any space, and it warms my little heart. It's fascinating how things that wouldn't fit in two cars back home can be loaded in a single car in Africa without too much hassle. If the load is bigger than the car or if there are three people hanging off the back of the car is a lesser issue. How on earth we managed to drive with 7 drums, two big speakers, an amplifier, personal bags and 8 passengers (driver excluded) on bumpy dirt roads is to me a mystery. Also, I now understand why they created the automatic car; a gear stick takes up a ridiculous amount of space.

Drumming as the ladies were shaking it up

Packing up, safety first (of course)!

Just add a few more drums and bags + 9 people and that's our ride!

Six of my boys

All Love

Seeking Trouble

Sometimes I wonder how I manage to find trouble everywhere I go. Maybe I'm drawn to trouble, or I create trouble... anyway, I kinda like the thrill of it. It's like the pleasure of going off piste, you know there's gonna be a few trees and rocks in your path, but then there's the pleasure of untouched snow and not knowing what's around the next corner. I cannot recall regretting going off piste ever... even if I come out with a slightly scratched board, covered in snow and sweating. So, just as I like going off piste in the snowy mountains, so I enjoy going off piste in the heat of Africa. Do I get myself into trouble? Bet you I am! Will I regret it? There's just one way to find out...

All Love

Language Lessons

I was thinking coming to Guinea would help me catch up on some of my old school french, and slowly but surely it's been coming back to me. Although my grammar is horrible and my phrases extremely simple, it's nice to know enough to get by. Now, in Guinea there are over 40 different languages, and I decided to try and learn some phrases in the most common tribal language in Conakry; Susu. My favourite phrase at the moment is M'balanki diki, which means "What are you wearing/how did you dress?!". Now it turns out Susu and French isn't enough as most of our VVF patients come from the tribe of Fula, and as I appreciate being able to communicate with my patients I've slowly started learning some Fula phrases. One of the most useful ones is "ayanohandu kakabine" which is a polite way to ask someone if they've had a poop. I also learnt that So'sata is a way to say you don't like something. The women say that to me when I tickle their feet. If nothing else, me trying to speak Susu and Fula is a great source of laughter to most of the locals, and I love hearing my patients laugh. And just for the record, I have no idea what the correct spelling of these phrases are.

All Love

How to Reconstruct a Face

Today we had a teaching session by Dr Gary Parker, the surgeon that has been performing max fax surgeries on board for more than 25 years. I don't think I realised how complex our faces are; the nerves, the muscles and the bones and how it's all connected. When we see patients with massive facial tumours sometime's it's easy to forget that it's not just a lump that is to be removed, but the tumour is integrated with the bones and affects blood vessels and muscles, and it doesn't just grow out, but spreads within the skull. So, these patients basically need to have half of their face removed, not just the surface, but once the tumour is out they have a gaping hole in the middle of their face. This is the most fascinating bit; when Dr Parker reconstructs a new face out of titanium and bits and pieces of bones and muscles, trying to make it look as normal as possible and remain fairly functional. Because, as he said, it's not very nice if you try and eat and the food comes out of your eye socket. And even though they'll have some scars and their skin will be a bit saggy, their face slightly uneven and they will lose a few teeth, at least they won't have to suffocate to death as the tumour slowly blocks the airway.

All Love

How the Heck Do I Love You?

Trying to type serious matters whilst having Disney channel on in the background is a challenge. "I'm Mr biscuit and I'm searching for the perfect biscuit". And I just smeared chocolate on my keyboard. Sweet!

I don't know if you've ever decided to get really into something and invest a lot of time and energy in that one thing. Occasionally I do, but it rarely lasts long. Recently I decided I would invest my time in trying to get closer to God, spend more time in prayer and reading the Bible and stuff like that. I discovered that although my desire was there and my heart was completely engaged, something was missing from the equation. If Jesus said our joy should be abundant, then why did I feel like mine was running on very low levels, especially when I took time to exquisitely seek him? I just felt so serious all the time and from knowing God I knew something just wasn't right.

Then it hit me, as I was ploughing through the gospel of John, that I made the mistake of thinking the more time I spent reading about God, spending time in prayer and reflecting on his nature, the more love for him I would get and the happier I would become. But this is not true. It's true that by getting to know him better I find more reasons to love, but it rarely increases my joy. And then in John 14 and 15 Jesus mentions that we love him by keeping his commands. And we remain in his love by, again, keeping his commands. And what are these commands? Well, there's pretty much just one: love one another. So we love Jesus by loving each other and we remain in his love by, again, loving each other. And then he goes on to saying that when we do this, the joy that Jesus had will also be in us, and it will be complete; complete joy. So, to me it seems like the key to joy is to love the people around us. When I focus only on God and forget to love the people around me I will step out of God's love and I will lose the joy. A bad deal! So back to love, let's look at how it's done by checking out the most quoted wedding passage, 1 Cor 13: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

Sometimes I like reflecting too much and I forget that it's not worth much unless I start to live it. So when it comes to application, how do I apply this in my life? Maybe if I choose one person in my surroundings, preferably one that slightly annoys me just to make it a little more challenging. I decide to be patient with this person, and kind. I decide not to speak in a disrespectful way to or about this person. I will not try and make myself look better than them, I won't brag and I choose to see to their interests before my own. When they annoy the crap out of me I decide to let go of the anger and forgive them whatever they've done, however many times they've done it before and will do in the future. I choose to always protect the person, to trust the person and to never give up on him or her. And to persevere in doing this.

Now that I've written this I doubt that I'll ever experience complete joy, because loving people like this is not very easy. Yet this is how God loves us, and maybe at some point at least we will get a little bit closer to loving each other properly...

All Love

The Day I Made New Friends

Today I had the day off and decided to go back to the park where we met a dance group a few weeks earlier. There was rain in the air, and it was a refreshing cool morning. I'd been to the 6 o clock prayer meeting and felt so happy I couldn't help but sing as I walked through the port out to the bus stop. When I arrived to the park I sat down to read and not even the smell of burning trash could spoil the enjoyment of being off the ship.

And it got better!

After making some new acquaintances I ended up in a small room that was currently the home of 7 young musicians. I found myself surrounded by nine guys playing various rhythm instruments, singing and dancing. They insisted on teaching me how to play and I demonstrated how remarkably uncoordinated I am; it was a great time and we shared much laughter. There was a sense of community in that little room, we were all friends breathing in the same smoke, sweating in the heat of the day. Their generosity put me to shame, although they had very little they still offered me drinks and insisted on paying for my taxi fare on returning to the ship. They asked me if I'd come back and I said I would.
I love making friends!

All Love