February just flew by. Our first month of surgery has passed, we are starting week 5! Only 12 more weeks to go before our time here in Togo is finished. My job as OR general/VVF team leader has gotten more exciting & busy about two weeks ago when we got our first general surgeon. We are quickly becoming the inguinal hernia repair team! On average we will do about 20 general surgery cases a week, 19 of those will be hernias. It’s not a very thrilling surgery, but it’s a much needed surgery here. Without the surgery these men won’t be able to work, thus not being able to provide for their families & if left untreated, they could develop complications that could kill them.
 |
| Dinner on the dock with our Day Workers |
Last Thursday we had our weekly community meeting out on the dock & invited our day workers (the local people that help us take care of the patients, cook, clean, do maintenance work around the ship & teach us about their culture) to join us for dinner & worship. It was so much fun! We grilled hotdogs on the dock & soon after everyone was up dancing & praising God in English, French & Ewe (one of the local languages). We danced until well after dark, listened to a message & then danced some more. One of my new favorite songs, that I can’t get out of my head, goes like this:
.JPG) |
| The music starts & everyone is one their feet |
"Akpe Dada ye dze ne
Yesu de mi tso kume
Eye nami agbemavo
Y ate Akpe dada a edze ne"
"Akpe Dada" (pronounced: Awk Pay Dada) is Ewe for "Thank you Father"
Last weekend was a ship’s holiday for us, meaning we got a 3 day weekend! Time to get away & explore Togo. A small group of us went north about 2 hours to a nice town called Kpalime (pronounced: Pal lo may), known for its waterfalls & mountains. We stayed at a YWAM (Youth With A Mission- Mercy Ships used to be part of YWAM when it first started) base outside of Kpalime, up a steep road on the side of a mountain, away from the hustle & bustle of city life. The only sound we heard up there was birds, crickets & the wind blowing up the mountainside. A very relaxing time. The base was situated halfway up the mountain. The rooms were sparse, but very comfortable with 2 sets of bunk beds, windows with screens & even electricity! The food was wonderfully simple & filling.
 |
| The YWAM base |
 |
| The group @ the base of the waterfall |
Saturday, we went into Kpalime via Zimmy Johns (motorcycle taxis) & found someone to take us to one of the many waterfalls around the town. A short drive up a bumpy dirt road, we came to a small cement building with a small stream running next to it. The building was a water treatment plant that the village used to treat the water before piping into their village. A very simple, but effective system, using settling tanks & chlorine to purify the water. We followed the trail upstream through the dense jungle until we came to a beautiful waterfall. We couldn’t get in because it was the village’s water source, but being near the water’s spray cooled us off nicely. We ended our time in Kpalime stopping at a local restaurant for coca colas & fanice (frozen yogurt-type treats).
 |
| The waterfall |
 |
| Hiking up the mountain |
Sunday, we decided to explore the mountain above the YWAM base. We asked for directions to the trails to the top & set out a little after 8am- before the 90+ heat set in. It was a pleasant uphill hike through the jungle; occasionally through the trees we could see the valley below. We climbed higher & higher until the trail came out behind a local church building in a small mountain village. As we emerged from the trees, the choir in their cap & gowns (think graduation) were singing & dancing into the church, a small one room building made of wood boards & a tin roof. We stood outside watching & listening, because we weren’t dressed appropriately to go to church, but soon we were invited in by the congregation. The small building was crowded with the alter- dressed in bright pink alter cloths, a 6 piece brass band playing on one side & the choir in their cap & gowns on the other side. The choir would sing one song, the band would play another song with the congregation singing along (songs that we recognized like “Onward Christian Soldiers” & “Thine is the Glory”) Every once in awhile, another choir would stand up in the middle of the congregation & sing some songs before sitting down again. The service was all in Ewe & French, I had no idea what the sermon was about, but it was fun to just listen & watch the pastor get so animated with his talk.
 |
| With Christian, our village guide |
After the service, a gentleman came up & offered to give us a tour of the village. The village of about 2,000 people was situated on the side of the mountain, just shy of the top. From the town square, we could see for miles, even in to Ghana, & the view was amazing! The village was none like we have ever seen. The houses were in good condition, the streets clean & there was electricity & running water. A large school building was next to a new church building being built, with a large soccer field that had the same amazing views that the rest of the village enjoyed. The people were very friendly & we were invited back anytime to visit. Heading back down the trail, we all decided that if we could all live there & be quite happy.
 |
| The mountain village |
Blessings
I spend most of my days in the general surgery rooms fixing inguinal hernias, a very common, very dangerous condition here in West Africa. Because of the West African work ethic of carrying very heavy items on their heads, starting at a very early age, they often end up with hernias. This condition impacts their lives greatly. The pain keeps them from working as hard as they used to, or even from working at all. The hernias go left untreated for years, getting bigger & bigger, until its noticeable outside their clothes. The patients, usually men, can't provide for their families, often turn to drinking because they have nothing else to do. If left untreated, they could have serious complications that could make them very sick &/or kill them.
.JPG)
