What it's like to live on the African Mercy

I was very apprehensive coming onto the ship because I have never lived in such close proximity with so many people. Before I came I heard that we would be placed in a birth (room) with between 6 and 10 people. Hearing that had me worried as all of those people would be women.

So I was placed in a 6 berth cabin which is about the size of my bedroom. This means that I live in VERY close contact to those around me. We sleep in bunk beds and are lucky to have cubicles with curtains on each one so that we have a little bit of privacy. I had such lovely welcome words on my door when I arrived. I sleep on the top bunk which can be quite interesting when you have to use the bathroom at night as there have been certain stories of people falling down the ladders. My roommate is such a sweetie. She is an older lady from Switzerland who doesn't speak much English but tries her hardest to always make sure that I am comfortable and ok. At night when I need the bathroom she will turn the light on if she hears me getting up.

My cupboard is a lot bigger than what I thought. I could of easily brought more clothes but they wouldn't be needed as I am in scrubs all week long. We also have shelves to put our books and other things on. Our cabin has its own bathroom with a shower and toilet. We even have space in our cabin for a shoe rack which saves alot of space.

Living with so many people definately has its pros and cons

Pros:

• Always someone to talk to at any time of the night
• Fashion consultant instead of a mirror
• New experiences e.g. people eating weird things
• Learning new languages
• Infinite possibilties of meeting new people because there are always people arriving and departing 

Cons:

• Hard to get alone time unless you leave the ship
• Sharing a bathroom with 5 other people does cause some challenges when you need to pee
• Misunderstandings that arise from living with people with different cultural backgrounds
• Everything is new and it takes a while to settle in

My beautiful room (top bunk)

P.S Since I started writing this blog I have moved into the cubicle next door (still in the same cabin). I have a really awesome bunk buddy whom provides me with CRAZY amounts of humor haha. 

Salama

Salama Friends and Family

I finally have a chance to sit down and write about the adventures I have had thus far. I thought that it would be hard to find things to write and talk about but so much has already happened in the few days that I have been here.

It was so special to spend my last day in SA with my cousin Lauren and her family in Pretoria. There is something about hanging out with family that is so relaxing and supportive. They really blessed me with love and quality time. The best part though was hanging out with little Zoom Zoom (Zoe) who is just a bundle of joy and fun.

The whole international flight thing really scared me as I had never travelled internationally alone before and I was scared that something would go wrong. Luckily everything went smoothly and I made it through in good time. When I arrived at the gate I got the greatest surprise of a girl wearing a Mercy Ships hat. I sat for awhile and wondered if it would be weird to go and introduce myself but then decided to just bite the bullet. I am so glad I did because through it I made my first 3 friends.

Marie-Claire was the one wearing the Mercy Ships hat. She is from Australia but originally from Puerto-Rico. Her role on the ships is an OR Nurse.

Marie-Claire

Next was Krista who is from Canada. She will be working as a PACU Nurse. I was extremely excited to hear that she was also staying for 3 months and was keen to go on adventures too.

Krista with her first taste of litchi

Lastly was Jan who had served before on Mercy Ships. She is a real hoot and you are sure to never have a dull moment with her around.

Jan 

Meeting these ladies defintely put my mind at ease because if this is what the rest of the Mercy Ships crew was like then I would be fine.

Safely arrived in Madagascar

I was luckily enough to have 3 seats to myself on the plane flight so I invited Claire (Marie-Claire) to come sit next to me. The next 3 hours flew by with us talking the whole way there. Upon arrival we were quite overwhelmed with the paperwork we were required to fill out but luckily we were met by Cathy who helped us through the process.


I thought I would be prepared for poverty because I have experienced it first hand in South Africa but it still hit me like a ton of bricks. The houses are all on top of each other with people flooding the streets. All the houses had a french influence to them but were so run down it was barely noticable. We were taken through small roads and eventually came to our guest house. The people in Madagascar are lovely and so hospitable.

The capital, Antananarivo

My room where I was sleeping reminded me of the place we went to in Pennington with our youth group (as you can see in the pictures).  Me and Krista were roomies. I spent most of the time outside watching the storm go crazy and then watching the most incredible sunset which I felt was a warm welcome to all of us.

Toilets 

The trip the next day to Tamatave was an experience to say the least. Two near head on collisions, toilets in the ground, roller-coaster type roads etc. You catch my drift.

Our bus for the 9 hour trip to Tamatave

Finally arriving at the ship was a flood of emotions. The excitement build up from the last few months and the long journey to get to it just made the waterworks flow (I was doing so well before that).

View upon arrival 

My welcome balloons from Michelle :)

So the ship is pretty huge. Took 2 tours and a few walks around to kind of know my way around it. I work on the dock which is nice because at least I still see sunlight. My team that I work with are amazing and it is just so incredible having God the centre of it all. We start every morning with a devotional time and then can pray for patients when we feel like we need to.

Mhairi

I have made an awesome scottish friend when I arrived. Her name is Mhairi. She had been travelling around Madagascar for the last month. Her job on the ship is a dentist. She is so much fun and has a love for adventure and is kind of like a local now.

Katy with the cast I made 

I have also been learning so much. I have an incredible co-worker Katy who has been teaching me so much. She is such a sweetheart and has so much experience behind her so I am really enjoying learning. She is a pro at casting so I made my first cast and this morning (2/12) I did my first cast on a patient. Was such a cool feeling :)

Another amazing thing about the ship is they employ day workers who are local people that are assigned a department to work with. They function as translators but have been learning how to do some of our treatments. We have an amazing guy called Marco that works with us. He is so talented and is so much fun to have around. He is also teaching me Malagasy which is going pretty well.

Marco with his drawing 

I am so sorry it has taken so long to post this (I have been doing a little bit every day since Monday). There are so many other things that have happened but there isn't enough time to tell all of them. Please feel free to contact me and we can chat about my time here :)

I am still looking for donations for my trip. If you would like to donate my banking details are:

I got litchis from the locals 

FNB

Account Holder Name: K H Wills

Account No.: 62445765045

Branch No.: 220426

Type of Account: Cheque Account

Please put reference: *MERCY SHIPS* 

Valema

Kaylee

38 days and counting....

So today is 38 days till my big adventure. I have been counting the days and updating everyone regularly, but only recently has it started to become a reality. When I found out on the 1st July it was so real, but having to wait so long has caused me to get caught up with work and other things. I have had so many people in the past few days ask how many days to go and ask me how I feel about it, that I got really emotional on Sunday afternoon.

When I say emotional it involves both good and bad emotions. I keep looking at posts by Mercy Ships and am so excited to be a part of the life change for many of the patients, while I am there. From the pictures I have seen the island of Madagascar is possibly one of the most beautiful islands to visit and somewhere that I have been wanting to travel to. I can't wait to go exploring and meet the local people when I have breaks. There is something about going to places where people have so little yet they are so content with what they have and still have so much joy. I look forward to this trip for how it is going to change my life. It is a little bit daunting going by myself without knowing a soul on the ship, but I am keen to “start afresh” meeting new people and enjoy getting to know them.

I don't know if you can call them bad emotions I think it is just my inner self having a mini freak out. My family is my everything and have been geographically close and there for me throughout my life; so it is going to be tough not being able to have them within easy reach. It will also be a good thing, as I will have to 100% fend for myself and I am sure I will grow because of it. I also started to think about all the friendships I have made this year and even though its only a short 3 months, you still miss out on peoples' lives. On the ship I do have access to WiFi internet, but because of my busy schedule I won't have much time to communicate with everyone back home. I do hope that I will be able to blog often, in order to update everyone on my time and the experiences I am having. 

This trip has come at the perfect time in my life and I truly believe God is involved in everything that has happened this far and will be with me throughout. He put Philippians 4 vs 13 on my heart at the moment which says "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Although I am a strong cookie and determined to make the most of this, this scripture will become even more real to me during this adventure.

I am still needing funding for my trip especially for my account on the ship. Should you be interested in sponsoring me please go onto my mercy ships account page http://mercyships-us.donorpages.com/crewmates/KayleeWills.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and please respond in the comments section should you want to chat to me or ask me any questions :) 

Kaylee Wills = PIN CUSHION

 Nervously waiting for my injections

So this is a long overdue post since I was a pin cushion nearly a month ago already. Yes thats right a pin cushion haha. My injections weren't nearly as bad as everyone had told me they would be but I definitely could have done without them. I still have to go back in the next 2 weeks for boosters so bring on more injections. But for those of you who tried to scare me, I was apparently the perfect patient and very relaxed. God had my back :)

A total of 5 HUGE injections

The aftermath (pin cushion arm)

Don't look if you hate injections haha

One of the the special donations I have had towards my trip has been one that has come indirectly from my granny. She passed away quite a few year ago now but had left my mom with some shares. My gran had a big heart for the poor and needy and would go out of her way to help them or lend a helping hand. My mom made the decision to sell these shares in order to give me money towards my trip. I think my gran would have wanted this and been very proud to see what I am doing with my life and especially because I am following the dreams god has placed in my heart. I think she would be even happier if I met a Jewish boy on the trip to marry (she was a huge lover of god's chosen people) haha.

I just want to extend a huge thank you to those of you that have already donated to my adventure. It has allowed me to pay for flights and have my immunisations done.

My US Dollar account on the ship is now open and accessible for secure donations in any currency: Simply click on my Fundraising Site address below to visit my personal fundraising page @ http://mercyships-us.donorpages.com/crewmates/KayleeWills to make a secure online donation.  The graphic on the RHS of the page indicates the amount still outstanding for my accommodation and meals on the ship. This is my account on the ship from where I pay my boarding from, the amount needed here is $1 500.

I am still needing funds in my South African account for things, such as medical aid and cellphone contract. The amount still needed in this account is R15 000. The account details for a contribution towards these costs are as follows:

FNB

Account Holder Name: K H Wills

Account No.: 62445765045

Branch No.: 220426

Type of Account: Cheque Account

Please put reference: *MERCY SHIPS* 

Stay tuned for the next installment of the blog which will hopefully be sooner than later. :)

Plane tickets booked...No turning back

I sat at the travel agent while my payment was being processed and it suddenly got very real to me (also cause that's the most amount of money I have ever spent in one sitting). I decided to only book my international flights through a travel agent and do the domestic flights myself as I get discount with Discovery and Kulula. It turned out that my domestic flights came to R922 and I had R972 in Discovery Miles so got my domestic flights for free, God is so good. 

I leave for my big adventure on the 27th November 2015 and will go spend the day and night with my amazing cousin Lauren and her fandamily. I decided to do this as to not take any chances with missing flights, sleeping in airports etc. My flight to Madagascar leaves the next day at 10:00 am and is only a 4 hour flight which is great for people like me who seem to get sick on every international flight. My whole trip will be just over 3 months in length and I will arrive back on South African shores on the 29th February 2016 (will only be back on the 1st March in Durban though)

I had an sms that came through the other day with a donation of R1500 into my account. I just want to say a huge thank you to this person and everyone else that has donated. I am truly so blessed to have so many people that believe in me.

I have been putting them off but next blog will be about the infamous injections...

Destination: Mercy Ships

So I have decided to start blogging again as I have been accepted to go onto an incredible adventure: MERCY SHIPS :) :) :)

My journey to Mercy Ships

I have always had the sense of adventure in me from a young age. This sense of adventure never left me and during my community service year last year, it was revived again with me working in the community and being away from home. I had the desire to travel somewhere new and help those in need, while gaining valuable life experience.

I started my new job at the beginning of this year and enjoyed the work, met amazing people and got such incredible experience. I still had this need inside of me to go on an adventure, but had no idea to where and to do what. I had been praying to God for a while about it and stumbled upon Mercy Ships while scrolling Facebook one day. The excitement that brewed up inside of me while looking through the photos and reading the success stories was immeasurable. While on holiday in PE my cousin was praying for me and confirmed that this was the right direction for me to go in. The whole process to applying for the ship took some time, as it required a full medical examination, in-depth application process, references and paperwork. It took me about a month to get it all together and at the end I started having doubts as to if I should go.  I submitted my application anyway and hoped for the best. A turning point in the whole process was when I sat down with my mom, sister in law and friend who drilled into me the desire that God had put inside of my heart and challenged me not to doubt it, as it is His plan and so I should not fear.

On the 1^st July I was officially accepted onto the ship - the joy that exploded upon hearing the news, was amazing. God is so good. I start my service on the 29^th November and finish on the 27^th February 2016.

What is Mercy Ships?

Mercy Ships is an American based organisation that has a ship “Africa Mercy” that has a fully equipped hospital on the ship that provides first-rate medical professionals, state-of-the-art medical and surgical facilities and health-care training to communities in West Africa, that lack those critical services. The ship is currently in Madagascar, which is where they will be for the next year and therefore where I will be placed. Please take a look at the following links for more information and to see some of the amazing pictures and stories that touched my heart.

Website: http://www.mercyships.org.za/home.html

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MercyShips?fref=ts

Instagram: mercyships

What will I be doing on the ship?

I have been accepted as the hand therapist during my stay on the Africa Mercy. This requires me to provide a specialist rehabilitation service for post-operative plastic surgery patients following burns, contracture release and correction of congenital deformities.

While on the ship I will be living in a multi-berth (6-10 beds) in a cabin which has no windows or a porthole.I will be sharing the space with other women working on the ship. Storage space is limited to a small closet and one small drawer. This is all going to be quite an adjustment as I am used to living on my own and having all the clothes that I need available. My parents were kind enough to buy me an early christmas present of a Kway duffel bag that they advised we used instead of a suitcase because it is easier to store away. 

My early Christmas present from my parents 

Mercy ships relies on a team of volunteer crew members who pay their own room and board, travel and personal expenses while serving. This allows the general Mercy Ships donations to be used for direct patient care, community development programs and other costs associated with its field service initiatives. 

I want to thank the following people who have donated or pledged to my adventure so far:

• Fawn and Nigel Jopson
• Christie and Steve Roberts
• Dave and Tracey Mclearie
• Craig Mannheim
• Tina Chetty
• Errol Wills 
• Gabi and Brad Wills
• Dan and Rachel Smither
• Lauren and Paul Henning
• Lorin Ash
• Coral and Alan Wills 
• Hayley and Ryan Braun

Please contact me on kaylzwilz@gmail.com if you would like to be involved in some way.

My next part of my journey is booking my flights and getting around 8 injections so watch this space to hear more...