Growing in God’s Mission

We have been given the tremendous task of bringing hope and healing to the forgotten poor in Madagascar. In reality, we ourselves are realizing the hope and healing that God has for us each day. It has been incredibly exciting to watch Africa Mercy become a hub of excitement and activity, filled with teams of medical staff and patients. The dining space and hallways are buzzing now that the hospital has reopened, and the cabin spaces have become much more full. While the hospital was closed in September, Mercy Ships partnered with a local hospital called The Bethany Hospital Center to tackle a large warehouse of broken or expired goods that needed clearing out. I volunteered a day with the team, popping pills from their packs for disposal. Emptying the warehouse would help the hospital save rental costs, and the Mercy Ships crew cleaned and painted one of their operating rooms.

The official opening of the hospital came on September 30th, but some patients have been receiving treatments in our dockside tents before that as well. In our dockside tents, we have multiple spaces set up for dental treatments, admissions, outpatients, rehabilitation, screening and pre-/post-op eye examinations. One of the first things to start back up was the eye clinic. Can you imagine being blind and receiving your sight?! God has been so good, and it has been so encouraging to see people who have lived in such challenging circumstances receive such a gift. One especially challenging situation we learned about was a baby boy who came here extremely malnourished and needing eye surgery. It took a massive team of health professionals to assess and help him gain enough weight for a safe surgery. Just this week, after a long and very, very challenging journey, he received that surgery. It was a miracle! He still has a long journey ahead of growing, but praise God that he was able to have the surgery he needed in this critical time period.

Dan has had to say goodbye to a team member on his IT team and ” see you soon” to another team member who was able to go to Texas for training this month. He would love to have more IT people join his team, as serving a ship and hospital of this size is keeping them busy! He would love for you to continue to pray for God to bring people with the right skill sets to his team.

I have continued to fill in occasionally at the reception desk to relieve the team of some breaks and meals, but there hasn’t been a steady need for that, so I have been looking for more opportunities to get involved and help out. Recently, I have found out about an opportunity to help the Hope Centre Manager with some administrative tasks that would greatly help her. I would be doing the payroll for about 53 Malagasy day crew who work at the Hope Centre in town and also helping with some other tasks related to the Hope Centre. I am excited and a little nervous as some of these tasks are new to me. Please pray that I will catch on quickly and be able to be a great help to her.

The kids have been working very hard at school and completing a lot of homework and school tasks. This coming week, they have midterm tests, and so this weekend has been filled with studying (along with a good old-fashioned game of Nerf capture-the-flag in Midships). I am so proud of them for doing their best in school and for being good friends to others on the ship. What a unique way for them to experience school and day-to-day life!

Speaking of living on a ship, this morning, we were privileged to be able to get a tour of decks 1 and 2! Ivan had been speaking to the Chief Engineer onboard, and he was offered a tour of the engine rooms! The Chief Engineer has been serving on the Africa Mercy since it was first acquired and has seen it transform from a Danish rail ferry to what it is today as a hospital ship. It was donated/purchased in 1999 and had its first voyage as the Africa Mercy to Liberia in 2007. Such an interesting transformation, and what a huge amount of working parts to look after! We are so thankful to our Marine crew, who play such a vital role in our ship.

Looking forward, we will be able to engage with more patients as they allow visitors once again in the evenings and during outside deck time. Pray that we will be able to share God’s love and encourage them despite the challenging language barrier. We want to give the patients space to rest and heal and also let them know how much God loves them, which can be a tricky balance while recovering from surgery on a hospital ship!

Tomorrow, we plan to go once again to the Hope Centre for their church service. It is so encouraging to see patients and their caregivers transform from discouraged and dejected to filled with renewed hope for the future. Please pray for each individual who comes through our doors that they will receive the healing they need and that God will guide the hands and words of those caring for them.


Comments

9 responses to “Growing in God’s Mission”

  1. Anne Maier Avatar
    Anne Maier

    Hi Crouton family. Thanks for the update and the pictures. I love hearing what God is doing there. It is useful to know specifically for things to pray for. Thank you. My prayers are with you.

  2. Carroll Croutch Avatar
    Carroll Croutch

    Thanks so much for this update on all you are doing. We appreciate knowing how best to direct our prayers for all of you and the work/ministry you are doing. We continue to hold each of you up in prayer. Thanks so much for the pictures. It is so good to see your smiling faces. May God continue to bless each of you, all the workers and patients, and the work/ministry of Mercy Ships.🙏

  3. Cathy Martin Avatar
    Cathy Martin

    We are glad it continues to be an awesome experience for all of you.
    We will pray for your specific needs and that the Lord will use you for His honour and glory!
    We miss you ❤️

  4. Really encouraging to read these posts and the amazing work you guys are.doimg

    Keep up the great work

    God bless

    Ken

  5. Steve Peng Avatar
    Steve Peng

    Looks like you are all happy and settling in. We miss you back home- but so thankful you are serving in this way. Praying for you all!

    Steve

  6. Irma Doerksen Avatar
    Irma Doerksen

    Hi to the Croutch family. Thanks for your interesting update. You’re all looking great. Keeping you in prayer! Happy birthday Dan!

  7. Alison McLaren Avatar
    Alison McLaren

    Thank you for the continued updates! It’s so wonderful to hear about the transformative work you’re able to be a part of over there.
    Miss you!
    Alison

  8. Thanks for your Messages. How nice, to be able to help, hope all is will. Happy Thanksgiving. Love Anne.❤️

  9. JP Sunga Avatar
    JP Sunga

    Love getting to follow along your adventures here. Thanks for sharing, looking forward to the next one.

    Hope you all are keeping well!
    JP

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *