Our field service in Dakar, Senegal is complete! The last patients were sent home from the Global Mercy Dakar, Senegal. During this field service over 800 surgeries were performed and patients came from Senegal and The Gambia. As well, more than 600 local healthcare professionals were trained to strengthen Senegal’s surgical systems long after the Global Mercy sails away. Among these are professionals like Dr. Mohamed Sabounji, who is currently training to become Senegal’s first pediatric orthopedic surgeon. After participating in mentoring on board the Global Mercy during this field service, he’s now another step closer to completing his studies and providing in-country care to future patients. During this field service, there were 1,184 volunteers from 59 nations and 272 national crewmembers working in 30 different areas. After two years of volunteering with Mercy Ships, we are still in awe of the incredible work they do and the lives they change!
School in the Academy was finished on June 16th so Araina, Amayah, and I flew back to Canada. Chris stayed on board to help pack up and get the ship ready to sail back to Tenerife and will fly to Canada on June 28th. For the next 2 months, while the Global Mercy is in Tenerife, it will be equipped to be ready to sail to Sierra Leone in August for the next field service. The girls and I flew with another Mom from the ship (Lindsay) and her daughters (Evie & Abby( who are from Winnipeg, Manitoba. We were so blessed to travel with them all the way to Montreal before we had to go our separate ways. Hanging out in the airports together made the long trip so much better! Before we left we had to say goodbye to two wonderful families and many other friends we met on the Global Mercy. The goodbyes are a lot harder than I anticipated. I expected to feel sad leaving our friends and family back in Canada but never anticipated that saying goodbye to our ship friends would be so hard.
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way.
~ 2 Thessalonians 3:16
Our first stop in Canada was in Calgary, Alberta to visit our friends Lorelei & Roger Yee and their children Malia and Will. They had a very special night planned and took us to Kananaskis! The girls were very excited to finally have some Timbits from Tim Hortons for the first time in over 2 years! Being in Africa has given us such a different perspective of life here in Canada - we definitely appreciate things like health care, fresh air, water, toilets, a clean environment, and being able to communicate in English to name a few.
Next, we went to Penticton, British Columbia where my Mom and sister live. Our son, Ethan, is working in Penticton for the summer and living with my Mom. We will be here for the next couple of weeks and Chris will join us next week. It's so good to be reunited with family and especially Ethan after not seeing him for a year!
We are excited to visit with as many friends and family as we can while back in Canada. We will be in Penticton and then in Regina around July 12th until the beginning of August. Please reach out to us if you would like to get together. Chris's cell number is (733)333-2329 and Shae's is (236)853-6320.
What an incredible journey we have been on for the past two years. We want to sincerely thank all of you for being part of our Mercy Ships journey. Thank you for your encouragement, and support, and for making this possible for us financially. We are going to return to the Global Mercy in August to begin the field service in Sierra Leone and then transfer back to the Africa Mercy once it is ready and head to Madagascar in February. If you would like to support us financially, you can click this link if you are Canadian: https://mercyshipscanada.akaraisin.com/ui/mercygiftsfundraising/p/AttwaterFamily2023
U.S. citizens can donate here:
Praise:
- All of the patients who have received life-changing surgeries during our time in Dakar
- The girls had a great semester and love everything about the Academy
- The opportunity to be home in Canada this summer.
Prayers:
- a restful and rejuvenating time in Canada
- Continued peace as we navigate many upcoming transitions and changes.
- The Africa Mercy refit process will be completed on time so the ship is ready for field service in Madagascar in 2024.
- For Mercy Ships as an organization, there are many complexities and moving parts as they work toward staffing two vessels.
With lots of love and gratitude,
Shae, Chris, Araina, & Amayah
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