Life here on the Global Mercy is getting busy. We have been in Sierra Leone for around 3 weeks now and all the preparation for the hospital to open is completed. The first patients come on board today and the first surgery will be performed tomorrow morning. You may be thinking "What have you been doing for those 3 weeks? Didn't they just do surgery there this past Spring?"

Our family representing the USA while sailing into port!

Well, the amount of cleaning, organizing and preparation that needs to be done has surprised us all. We have all been able to volunteer in different ways to help get the hospital open.

Lauren and other 6-12th graders had fun cleaning floors and walls.

Jaclyn has been helping in the rehab department with cleaning, organizing materials and getting to know her coworkers.

The hospital also hosted an "open house" last week geared toward kids so they could see what happens downstairs. This was all done in a family friendly way with M&Ms being medicine, gummy bears in patients bellies, etc.

Surgeon Sam scrubbing in for surgery!

"What do you think Doctor Sadie?"

Nurse Lauren learning to take patients blood pressure

Although this is seen as a fun event for kids, it also brought good conversation afterward. Kids saw just how many "stations" patients move through while here (pre-op, surgery, PACU, rehab, etc). Our kids also got excited about how we can visit and play with kids while they are healing. It is easy to move through our days of school, meals, homework, fun with friends and not think about the whole reason we are here-to bring hope and healing!

Another event I (sadly) did not get photos of was the hospital prayer walk last week. 15 groups of approximately 10 people each went through each room of the hospital and prayed for the people who will work there (doctors, nurses, chaplains, etc) and patients as they serve. It was a special time to show how preparations are not only physical preparations but mental/spiritual as well.

I'll end this with a few more photos of life here lately-