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From Eamon Rooney: "Women in the Congo have a real rough life. For starters one in twenty seven of women will die from a pregnancy related issue. One of the main ways the hospital combats this statistic is by providing life saving c-sections to women who are at death's doorstep. This little baby is one of the hundreds of of babies that are save through c-sections every year. On a postoperative checkup, this little boy's mother asked Dr. Joseph Mapes Harvey what he thought she should name her new son. Dr. Harvey suggested that she name him after me, because I assisted in her surgery. She agreed, and now there will be a little Eamon running around Impfondo for many years to come."

From the Mercy Ships Facebook page about one Stephen's pediatric patients from Impfondo:

"Back in November, Ravette walked into our lives wearing a beaming smile and a pink ruffled dress on a pair of some of the most crooked legs we’ve treated. Thanks to some fancy turnbuckle casts, a surgery, months of physical therapy, and endless support from her mother, Ravette is now cruising around the dock on straightened legs. This week she said “Bye-o” one last time as she smiled and stepped out of our lives and into a bright new future. Thank you for brightening our lives, Ravette!" #MSCongo

Part of our Sunday Night Live gathering.  Just in this section of the room, there are four countries represented.  (We also had some Canadians present.)  With so many nationalities, most of not living in our "passport countries" we have lots of cultural experiences and beliefs.  Sometimes, this enriches our team, at other times it is a challenge.

Dorette Skinner, a South African living in Thailand wrote about some of the lessons she has learned for the What I Learned Series on the Djibouti Jones blog. Even though our country is different, I found myself nodding along with the principles represented by her experience.  This lesson learned especially resonated with me, but all ten lessons are worth reading:

"I will never get used to some things, and it is okay. Seeing women begging on the sidewalks with babies on their laps should always bother me. Seeing prostitutes walking around on street corners should always break my heart. I don’t have to accept lady-boys as normal only because I live in a country where there are basically three genders. I do not have to go to the temples or give food to the monks. I do not have to bow down to their idols. I have learned that the things we are simply not willing to accept also make us who we are. It is part of what we believe and trying to justify it for the sake of others would also be unfair to them."

Read the rest here