It's almost September...WOW

It’s been a while since I’ve wrote one of these, and I really don’t enjoying writing these, but a lot has happened that I would like to tell you about.

We are currently more than half way our outreach here in Sierra Leone: here are some fun stats

  Mental Health – Primary Care Workers, Kids Camp, and Church Leaders are happening in August/September                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

 Church Leaders - There have been over 600 church leaders who have attended

 Sixty-six Plastics surgeries have been completed and they begin again first week in September

 Orthopedics completed 173 surgeries and Ponseti, casting program continues

 Almost 500 General surgeries have been completed.

 The Eye Team have completed 600 surgeries and have provided over 6000 eye evaluations

 The Dental Team has seen over 6,300 patients and done over 21,000 procedures

Eye Screening

PRETTY AWESOME! HUH??

So In June I was able to take some vacation, I went home to see my family for 3 weeks in Baltimore, as some of you already know! That was awesome!! I was really missing them especially my little nephew who turned one while I was home!

Lil Marty in the outfit i sent him from Togo Last year

Dylan at his 3rd b-day party!

Marty in the Outfit i got him for  Easter.

Leaving so soon after arriving was difficult but I knew that God had plans for me here. When I came back it was difficult to want to be here a lot of my friends had left the ship while I was gone, their commitments with mercy ships had ended so the social aspect of the ship was weird and that was something I really loved before. My position on the eye team was also changed without my knowledge while I was away. And I was not happy at all, I felt lost and couldn’t figure out why I had came back to a place full of strangers and un-needed … at first my anger, disappointment and hurt feelings made me want to leave the ship all together, I was ready to find something else to do or somewhere else to go. I started looking at nursing school again I figured out  if I had all the necessary classes to go to a four year college and peruse a bachelors’ of nursing  I even filled out a few applications for next fall, I started planning on leaving the ship in December . Thankfully I had not made any real plans, because I finally realized that it was my anger and frustration that made me want to leave and that when I extended I was completely confident that God wanted me to stay here… so that is what I’m doing I’m staying till at least my commitment is finished. That’s sometime next march…and then we’ll see what God has planned. I would really to go back to school maybe I’ll start again next fall but again I’m waiting for God to reveal his plan to me.   

So I bet your wondering what I do now since my job was eliminated….

I work as the Peri-op eye team Coordinator, that means I am on the ship in the hospital 4 days a week Monday – Thursday, I work with a register nurse  typically one with ophthalmic experience  and 3 Day Volunteers, people from Sierra Leone that help us with translating and various others tasks. Our Job is to get the Patients ready for surgery, we give them gowns, wash their face, give them drops to numb, dilate and clean their eyes, and take  vitals. we also sing ,pray, talk and color with them to pass the time. After they have surgery we take vitals again give them bread and tea and instructions to rest and come back the next morning for their first post –op appointment. It is neat to be able to interact with the patients more than I did before, but it also gets super boring waiting for the patients to come back from surgery. I’m taking this time as a nice break from being crazy busy and stressed because all to soon that will start again most of the eye team will leave by the time we need to pack up and will not have returned when we start to set up next year. Next year the plan is for me to be the tech/screening team Coordinator the position I had last year and wanted a break from this year. I’m looking forward to going back to Togo; I’ve asked HR if I could have the same Day Volunteers as last year so I hope all that works out.  

I bet your also wondering what We do for fun here….

Typically on the weekends we go to the beach…but its RAINY season now in full force….Im pretty sure its rained everyday for the past month or so at some point and this past week I think the only day I saw the sun was yesterday…which makes the beach a lil less then fun when your wet and cold and cant dry off and get warm… but we still go sometimes hoping for the sun to make an appearance…. We also like to go to the craft market and buy fun earrings that are hand made out of wood or beads   or go to crown bakery for a yummy latte and a nice breakfast …..most of the nights during the week are spent on ship  on Monday night I go to a small group bible study currently were doing a beth moore study on ester, on Tuesday I have youth group, Wednesday I work in our Starbucks café making coffee or selling snacks , Thursday we have community meeting, usually consisting of worship and then a message.

youth Beach Trip

Beach with some Great Friends!! 

Some prayer request:

·         *For the people of Sierra Leone to see Jesus is us, to understand why we are here.

·         *For  complete healing for our patients

·         *For health and safety for crew members and day volunteer’s

·          *For direction and clarity  for my future, I want to follow Gods will for me life

·        * For happiness, peace and comfort.

If you’re interested helping me help the people of Sierra Leone you can do that in two ways First and most importantly through prayer and secondly financially online at http://mercyships-us.donorpages.com/crewmates/hickeys/ or by writing a check and giving it to DEPC, with my name in the memo here is the address…Dundalk Presbyterian Church 1973 Merritt Blvd Baltimore Md 21222……Thank you for letting me share my experience with you, I’m sorry I don’t do it more often and for your Consistent love and support!

January - April

Its quite a long time since ive blog so im gonna break it down by month and give you all a lil summary of what ive been up too!

January

we still lived at applesbosch things were a bit up the air we thought we would move on the ship early in the month and it ended up not being until the end of the month! More and more people arrived everyday, it was nice but strange to see our small community of whom everyones name i knew start including strangers again. I stopped working in the galley and started back with the eye doing some initial planning for sierra leone with woody and robin but mostly doing lots and lots and lots of scanning charts! i also began being involved with the youth group sometime around this and  i  have really  enjoyed getting to know the kids here. while still in Durban we took the kids out for a day of fun at water park It was awesome!!  The end of the month finally came and we moved back on board, it was busy day but everyone pitched in and it took much less time then i ever would have expected.

February 

We Started off  the month living in Durban, and preparing to sail. The hospital was preparing with lots of meetings cleaning , waxing floor and planning. One of my favorite things during this week of prep was when there would be a over head page for everyone to come help with the frozen or refrigerated  foods, i know crazy food being involved in something that i loved lol, but really it was so fun there would be so many of us lined from the truck, through the pilots entrance on the starboard side down the OR corridor down the stairs and around the corners to the fridge or freezers and we would pass boxes, bags, and buckets one by one. it was a neat way to see our community work together. Im quite fuzzy on most of the dates since its been awhile, but i think maybe on the 11th is when we left Durban and set sail for Capetown and again im fuzzy i think it was a 3ish day sail full of dolphins and seals it was so awesome to sit on the bow of the ship and watch the dolphins jump and play in front of the ship.  i do know we arrived in Capetown on Sunday the 13th and as soon as the ship was cleared by customs and  we were allowed of the ship everyone made a made dash to see as much as they could in 24 hours, most of the stuff i saw i had seen when i was there in November but it was cool to ride around on the tour bus and to see it with different people. Sunday night we had a nice dinner with our friend Estelle who is a teacher on board the ship and her friends from capetown since that is where she is from. Sunday Morning started with a few of us looking into to helicopter rides, the guys went first so the girls went to have some breakfast and then on to our helicopter, which was so neat it was a really smooth ride until we went though a lil valley and then it got a bit rough which made us a lil nervous, it was cool to see table mountain, the city and the coast we had drove through the day before on the top of a double decker bus from the helicopter.  We than spent the afternoon doing a lil tourist shopping and having lunch at the best burger place in Capetown Cafe Royal. 

We left Capetown and started on our  2ish week sail to Sierra Leone full of work and fun and rolling seas which cause our flat bottom ship to roll quite a bit, which made it interesting to try to sleep on the top bunk which is where i was at the time, so for the first few nights i slept with the the bed belt on then i decided the floor was a better place for me to sleep. so we worked normal hours having meetings and preparing for our arrival and after hours we would play games and watch movies, the only time i got sea sick was when i played sardines with the youth group, i had a great hiding place so i went first and laid between the windows and couch and it took about 45 mins before everyone found me and by then i was surrounded and squished by smelly hot teenagers not a good place to be for that long of a time lol. the sail also had some neat events planned such as worship on the bow, movie on Deck 8 thats the top  so basically a movie under the stars, sock golf, a pirate dance party and sail Olympics. For sail Olympics my team was the wizard of Oz so we dressed like Dorothy, the lion, the tin man and scarecrow. I was the Lion  we teased my hair and made it stand up crazy it was pretty awesome! 

We arrived in Free town Sierra leone the end of the month, there was about 60 people waiting for us on the dock when we arrived, a new gateway class, a mercy team or two and the advanced team. it was fun trying to figure out who all was out there waiting for us as we got closer it got more exciting seeing friends i hadn't seen since i had left the ship last june. It was a busy last few days of feb, starting to unpack.

MARCH

Finally started meeting new members as the started arriving and started training and working with day volunteers. we had our first mass screening like the 2nd week we were here and it was not pretty, we had to leave before seeing most of the patients our safety as well as the safety of the patients was being compromised. i never would have imagined doing CPR and suctioning a Pt, that would die on that day or standing at wall trying to prevent people from jumping over to rush inside, it was a traumatic day for most people involved the screening process But the good news is we have since been able to do a second mass screening which went very smoothly and i think we were able to fill alot of the surgery schedule until august or so with that screening. our eye team started screening  the week after the first screening it started chaotic and has finally started to settle out i think and pray it has. we screen every monday for eye surgery.we had our first two weeks of surgery with what looks like will be some really positive outcomes  some people who would not have been able to see anything at all before can now see :) thats def my fav part of what i do here! seeing people so happy with there restored Sight and knowing that we are all doing this for the Glory of God!

Let's see what else can i tell ya about march i went the beach a few times for a few walks through the busy city...my bunk mate leah left and i got a new roomie angie it was bitter sweet for us to see leah go but she went home and got engaged to her BF and is planning a june wedding! and angie is a great roomie i love her!!

i think that might be it for march

APRIL

So it finally April i think ive caught you all up on the important stuff! this month we havent had any eye surgery we have done some extra screening and are going to go to koidu this week its about 6 hours from freetown where the ship is from what ive been told. Our plans are to do drive on tuesday and then do 300 children's eye exams on wed and another 300 children's eye exams on Thursday and drive back on Friday. im excited for this new adventure for our team, please keep us in prayer for health and safety and that we would be able to see all 300 children each day and that we would be a blessing to the communities we go to serve.

Some more news for April, Our ship is on severe water restriction for some reason our  water consumption is up from last year and we are having a hard time getting enough water in for the amount that we are using, i dont know the sources that we get our water from but i do know that it is local water and once it is piped on board that we treat and filter it which is a process that  takes 2 or 3 days since the rate that we are getting isnt covering the rate in which we are using, the Laundry has be shut off, no one can shower, our crew galley is closed and we are using plastic silverware and plates  to eat.they are even talking of possibly cancelling surgeries b/c the sterilizers use so much water.  please pray that situation is cleared up soon that our water consumption problems would stop and that we would have an adequate supply of water to allow for showers and laundry and have to cancel no surgery's! 

ive recently posted new pics on Facebook so check them out!!

sorry this was so long! its hard to blog often but i do apologizes i want all of you to feel like you are on this crazy amazing adventure with me! 

a fun lil trip!

Who: Stephanie she planned the trip, Sharon and Alex married couple, and myself
What: a Day Hike to see some Rock Art...this stuff is super old
   and a Drive up the Sani Pass into Lesotho in a land rover
Where: Drankensburg Mountains and The sani pass
When: Dec 26th- 29th
Why: cuz we can!!

So on the 26th we drove from applesbosch to the drankensburg where we were gonna be staying in a hostel a the bottom of the mountains. on monday at about 8 am-ish we went for a long hike up the mountain which was beautiful we got to see 3 rock art sites which were really neat and then we hiked back down the mountain and got caught in a really awesome gum ball sized hail storm with thunder and lighting crashing around us! on tuesday we drove up the Sani pass into Lesotho its the only way to get into the country from this side of the mountain, it was a rough ride!! but very beautiful and neat to learn about the history none of which i could re-tell haha . the the following we day we drove back to applesbosch.

Now the Good stuff::
Pictures!!

the Hail storm we got caught in

me and step walking across the lil bridge

Sharon and I catching our breath!

Rock art

12-24-10

Im in Beautiful sunny warm ( today) Applesbosch  South Africa. This is the First time ive spent Christmas away from my family, i was really upset about the idea of not being home for while. But as time has passed and not to sound cliche but the reason for the season has been brought up numerous time. Ive been reminded of why i am here to Serve God and Serve Others being with family is wonderful and great but is not why God brought Jesus to earth for us! Lets remember what this time of year is really all about!! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! 

just a little update...

So today is December 20th, I left home almost 4 months ago now and wow does time fly!!

so since its been so long since ive updated my blog im going to do it in Sections hopefully this help keep things a bit clearer, in my mind as i write this and in your's as you read it! : )

 From Sept 1st till Nov. 8th -Sobona Sonke ( so all may see)

I was with the Mercy Ships Eye Team Working in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. We Worked in 9 Different Clinics/ hospitals, thats one Per week!  Our  Eye team was made up of 9 people, Dr Glen the surgeon and his wife Kim, Woody the Optometrist and his wife Robin, Henry and wife Mampho our spiritual support/Chaplains, Glenys the OR nurse, and myself. Our team was split into two team Screening and Surgical. I worked as the screening team coordinator along with with woody, Robin, henry and mampho, the others were the surgical team. we would split up during the week, the screening team going to different area which were typically over an hour away from the surgical sites.During the 9 weeks our screening team moved more than 18 times, going to one area for the work week and then meeting back up with the surgical team on the weekends. It was an amazing experience full of laughs and tears. There were many aspects that were much harder than anyone would have imagined But it was amazing to see God provide Growth all round!

                                                  
                                            


We work in Tight       Spaces!

We help move cars




or read books!

               The TEAM!









A dinner party with local surgeons and their familys.



From  Nov 8th till Nov 22nd  VACATION

Noel one of my best friends from home and her mom Maryann came to visit!! I met them in Capetown which is in the Western Cape of South Africa. They spent two weeks here with me and it was amazing! We rented a    car and drove from  Cape town to Gansbaai. While we were driving we stopped along the way to do lots of cool things like see pengiuns, Whales, monkeys, ostrich, taste wine and beer, pet cheetahs. We also took a tour of a local township in cape town called khayelitsha, road the cable car up table mountain at sunset, and we went shark diving!! and all that was in a little over one week! We then flew from capetown to Jo-burg to start our 4 day safari at Krugger National Park, Where we saw lions, Elephants, Rhinos, hippo's, all kinds of deer, wart hogs, Buffalo, different species of birds and lots of crazy bugs!! It was so much fun to see them and all of the wonderful places and animals here in south Africa! I feel very blessed to have friends that would travel so far to see me! and To have an awesome creator, the one and only God!

View Larger Map

Noel Ma and I at dinner

Penguins! 

Shark Diving! Im in the Cage!

Wine Tasting!

My FAV!!

ZEBRA!

Nov 22nd till Now- Applesbosch!

Applesbosch was an abandoned school campus, and is now where the Non-technical Crew of the Africa Mercy live, there are 4 Dorm builds 2 for family's 1 of guys 1 of girls, a large kitchen/ dinning room, a gym with volley ball nets and a trampoline and a stage that was used for the mercy ship academy's Christmas play, theres also classroom which were used by the Mercy ships academy and office building which are used by human resources, the finance department and other necessary departments. There is lots of space for the kids here to run and play, we can often here cows mooing or have goats run through the campus, were are in a very rural area about 3000 ft above sea level and 1 1/2 hours from the city! Quite a different experience then living on the ship, there are less people here and the number are steadily dropping as Christmas approaches, Everyone has there own room which is so nice. Since there are so many less people the Community environment is much more inclusive which i love!! I Currently work in the galley helping cook lunch and dinner   , if you really know me you know eating is my favorite so im really enjoying it, and i work with a great group of people that make it lots of fun!!

Now i bet your probably wondering why im volunteering with Mercy Ships and living on land? crazy huh?
well our home/ the ship is currently having some repairs done, the generators were old and needed to be replaced and there was some other things that needed fixing so the ship could run more efficiently to be able to help more people in West Africa. The ship was in dry dock for some time and now is floating while having to remainder of the repairs, were hoping to move home sometime in the middle of January and then sail to Sierra Leon the beginning of February...I think!

Prayer Request!
* For God to continue reveling his will for my life,  for me to take Steps of faith According to His Promptings.
* For The Ship as it continues to be worked on and the men that are working on it.
*For the crew here to remain safe and healthy, Physically and Spiritually.
*For new relationships/ friendships as new crew arrive.
* For my family and friends at home that i miss so much!!
* For Continued support spiritually and financially!

If you wanna see more pics check out my facebook!!

If you'd like to become a partner in my mission you can do so by donating at the following website:
https://connect.mercyships.org/page/outreach/view/crewmates/hickes

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
LOVE
Shannon

Sabona Sonke - So all may see!

1 team
9 people
9 weeks
2,440 miles driven
18 moves
9 clinics
3000 -Patients screened
601-Cataract surgery's performed

SERVING GOD = PRICELESS!!

Time for an update...

i know its a bit over due.

So Monday will start the 5th week of our project/ campaign, it's called Sobona Sonke which means so all can see, here in The Eastern Cape of South Africa. We are partnered with the Fred hollows Foundation, and the Eastern cape health department to provide  training to surgeons on a procedure called msics  and to transfer skills to hospital and clinic staff that will improve efficiency and decrease the number of people blind from cataracts. The first three weeks were spent in Port Elizabeth, the surgeons worked at a district hospital there, while our screening team, thats the team i am on, worked at three different clinics in PE for one week each uitenhage, motherwell, and grahamstown. The second three weeks which we are now in week two of are being spent in Queenstown. The surgeons are at founders hospital at the Sobona eye center, and my screening team will move each week, we spent last week in stutterhiem, this coming week will be aliwal north, followed by cofimvaba. We will then spend our last three weeks in Umtata, the suregon will again stay at one hospital while the screening team moves to three different locations.

Each clinic and hospital had it own complications,, we basically start from square one each week  with new staff and a different understanding of why we are there. One thing that remains consistent from week to week is Gods hand in all of this, we are always reminded of His grace in love in our lives, the  clinic staff  and the community volunteers that help us with translation and praying for our patients.

Being here has been such a blessing ive had more alone time than i have ever had in my life which is both good and bad. Good because ive had lots of time to spend with God and work on my relationship with him its also given me lot of time to  read..if you know me well you know im not a reader haha, and its been bad b/c at times i am bored out of my mind which leads eating lots of junk food lol

South Africa is quite unquie as it is still considered a developing nation some places seem just like home shopping malls, paved road, movie theaters, restaurants and then there are things that remind you that you are not in the us anymore like driving one the other side of the road, which is difficult enough to get used to now add that i am driving an american left side drive vehicle, which is why we drive as a team haha the passenger has to see if it is safe to pass the big truck that is 30 km/h under the speedlimit on  a two lane road one lane going in each direction, Not to mention the monkeys on the side of the road where you would usually find squirrels  and zebras and elephants instead of deer. I am def enjoying my time here Please continue to pray for us as we build relationships with the others that we work with and with the patients we come in contact with that we would be a light shining for Gods glory!

Here are some pics of what we've been doing!

well we have been doing alot more than fighting over benches and seeing wild life but it wont let me upload the rest of the pics! check out my facebook to see more fun stuff!!
<3