11 days in Togo, West Africa: epilogue

It's time to wrap up. It's been seven lengthy posts, and 3 months, since I went to West Africa and Mercy Ships.

When preparing for our debriefing, we were warned that we'd have much we want to say, but honestly most people won't be that interested. That makes sense. They weren't there; they didn't meet the people, smell the air, sleep in the beds. When others go on adventures, I probably react the same way. So perhaps this epilogue is just for me and my teammates. And my mom, sister, grandma and maybe a friend or three.

I was expecting to write a totally different epilogue, probably with too many words and philosophizing. But Alison recently shared her photos with us, and a couple other teammates also wrote to me. So below are some of Alison's photos. At the very end, I'll still have some philosphizing. =)

This is the Seamen's Center, where we stayed in Togo. (There wasn't room on the ship.) It's a nice place for sailors to stay. And they have a pool! I wanted to go in, but I was always too tired at the end of the day. However, Alison went in almost everyday. =)

Another view of the Seamen's Center. These are the buildings we stayed in.

A woman who sells bread, resting with her kid.

They don't have McDonald's in Togo. But an enterprising person made this restaurant. (Apparently, their food is decent, too.)

In the U.S., truckers sleep in their trucks. (I think there's a little bed in the back of the cab.) In Togo, they sleep under the truck.

Remember this photo? It was taken at the Fishing Village Church.











The Fishing Village Church. Services are held inside the building on the right. I believe children's Sunday school is in the tent on the left.




Our team leader was Bill, but we were called "Team Alison," after Alison, here. She's been on half a dozen Mercy Teams! Alison travels all over the UK to talk about Mercy Ships, on a totally volunteer basis.

I love the "Ghostbusters" look!





A rusty exercise bicycle from the ship's weight room. Cleaning this was one of Alison's main jobs.






A friend helps Alison clean the bike. I think Alison would say that having the right tools really helps!






Alison at a Mercy Ships facility called, "The Hope Center." Hope!

From Mercy Ships, from Alison

Alison and Christine, with the cleaned and repainted exercise bike!

Christine and Alison are both from England, but they didn't know each other until this trip.

Christine cleaning the Starbucks Cafe.

Louise and Christine enjoying some ice cream on the ship.

Louise is a nurse from Vancouver. She loves to travel.



Louise practicing the djembe.

When I tried to get my sister's djembe past Togo customs, an official wanted us to bribe him. I was going to duke it out with him alone (figuratively!), but Louise stuck with me and even took charge. It still wasn't going well, and I was starting to get worried, when suddenly the official said, "Are you with Mercy Ships?" We said we were, and his attitude did a complete 180. He said, "Thank you for coming! And please come back!" Fascinating. (And thank you for sticking with me, Louise!)

Louise likes Scrabble a lot. (And especially the variant, Words with Friends.) Ernest is the ship's Scrabble champion. In a close four-player game, Ernest won.

I think we all wish there had been time for a rematch!

The team at breakfast in the ship's cafeteria. Let's talk about Peter, on the far right.

Peter is Alison's husband. They have some kids and dogs. =) Peter works for another non-profit, but he was still gung-ho about Mercy Ships!

Louise, Bill, and Peter pose in one of the cargo holds. I don't know what triggered this photo, but I love Bill's pseudo-serious expression and the way Peter's looking at them.



Peter in the Starbucks cafe with Jim Twining. Jim taught Peter how to make all the drinks in the cafe. It was amazing to watch Peter go from knows-nothing to barista. Of course, some people are very particular about their coffee drinks, so I think there's always something to learn.

Here's the menu for the Starbucks cafe. It may be hard to read, but almost all drinks are $1 or less. Monday is crepe day (50 cents each), and Friday is waffle day (75 cents each).



Two of the ship's crew working in the cafe. The guy on the left is a really hard worker and very helpful, but his name's on the tip of my tongue! (I think it was Biblical?) The woman on the right is Deb. She took me under her wing and was patient with all my questions.

Doesn't this guy look like a doctor? This is Gene, the 79-year-old Texan who was the first teammate I met. Gene was in scrubs to watch the doctors perform surgery.

If you can't tell, Gene's having an *awesome* time.





Gene at the Fishing Village Church, loving the kids.











Alison taught Gene how to make "a proper cup of tea." Here, Gene checks his watch to make sure the tea bag is left in for the "proper" amount of time. =)




We had dinner at one authentic African restaurant. This one.







I got to choose precisely the fish I wanted.











Our food being grilled outside the restaurant.








One of the ladies went to the restroom at the restaurant. When she got back, someone asked, "How was it? Do they have running water?"

"… Yes. But you should really just see for yourself."






Jim and I in the cargo hold. I love this photo because it looks like both Jim and I are little kids, amazed at just the clouds in the sky. In reality, we're waiting for the others to throw potato chips down to us. And we were inside, so we couldn't see the sky.

Nevertheless, I think Jim still has a lot of childlike wonder in his heart. (And me? … =)

Oh, and the hand in the bottom-left is probably Peter's.

This is the candy supply room. All week, I wanted to try organizing this, so I was glad to get the chance.

You know what I learned recently? Not everyone *wants* to organize things. Isn't that interesting? =)






Our djembe instructor, Briggs, with Alison, me, Louise and Christine.







My mixed breakfast. I often have to tell my friends that I'm not a "foodie." But there are a couple of upsides: 1) I can honestly enjoy food that others dislike, and 2) I can enjoy food mixed in weird combinations. I believe I'm holding a bowl of scrambled eggs topped with rice krispies, oatmeal and bread, plus whatever else was there. (It's the result of putting everything I liked from the food line on top of one another.)

We went to a pizza place in Togo. Mmm!!











A child enjoying a bottle of water.




















A caregiver with a baby. Note that the baby has a cleft lip. Thankfully, that's one of several surgeries that Mercy Ships performs. (Presumably, the caregiver was helping the baby until strong enough to undergo surgery.)







In Togo, women use their head to carry loads. They can do this even while walking down the street, holding something else in one arm and doing something with the other arm.








When I see these photos, I can't help but think of the women in Africa and what their lives must be like. They are so strong and resourceful. They work so hard.








In the United States, we generally associate hard work with success. We believe the two are correlated. I think that drives a lot of people and also gives them hope.








What if that weren't true? Would you still work so hard? Would you take the same risks? What if you worked hard for many years, and then a corrupt official or a jealous relative took it all from you? Or if you never seemed to have enough for food, housing, and medicine, no matter how hard you worked?

Final question: Is closure good?

I used to say "yes," firmly. Personally, I like resolving things. Also, I've seen how a lack of finding closure, especially due to fear, has haunted others. But I think I'm starting to change my answer to, "to a point." If you think about it, closure is artificial. Rarely are doors completely closed; rarely is a process completely stopped. I may want closure so I can stop thinking about an issue, but that doesn't mean the issue is actually resolved.

When I began these posts on Mercy Ships, I was hoping to find closure. Closure on what I learned and what I would do now. But when I look at my life, and the lives of others from my trip, there's a lot still up in the air. One man buried his wife of 53 years last year; he wonders if his time has run out, or if the Lord still has years of service planned for him. A woman wonders how to transition at home, and if and when she'll return to the ship. Another person serves while also dealing with a recent divorce, finding a new job, and putting her kids through college on her own. A patient had incomplete surgery, because she had to heal for the second surgery, and the ship had to leave before then.

And me? I am still trying to find that "zone" for writing my programs, and I am still trying to know Jesus.

Serving with Mercy Ships in West Africa will continue to shape me for quite some time. And perhaps we will meet again. Or perhaps not. I'm learning to rest, perhaps even to revel, in that uncertainty. To trust the Good Shepherd, even as I get to know him.

Or perhaps to really know him, I need to trust him.

To Mercy Ships and the people of Togo: thank you. =)