The Unexpected Screening Day

Imagine it. It’s the night before the release of the tickets to the movie you have been WAITING to come out for over a year and a half! You’ve gotten together with your best friends, roommates, and an assortment of other random people to camp outside of the theater overnight to be the first in line the next day when they open the doors to sell the tickets. You huddle together, perhaps with a tent or simply a sleeping bag on the sidewalk, chattering, laughing, and gradually dozing off into the night, eagerly anticipating the glory of your persistent wait of tickets the next morning!

Now, imagine this same nighttime scene outside of a similar wall. You are in line alongside 10, 50, or 100 other people sitting or lying down, huddled on blankets and makeshift beds. You’re eager for morning in this line as well, only instead of giggles and light-hearted chatter, worry and fear leave a tense silence among the gathering crowd. Instead of waiting for the tickets to your sought-after movie, you await the opportunity to see a medical doctor you or your loved one has been unable to afford these past 1, 3, or even 15 years. You’ve heard a mercy ship was coming into the port of Freetown, a ray of hope in your desperate and destitute situation. Perhaps now the tumor that has been growing on the side of your neck, encapsulating the left side of your face can be removed. Perhaps now your child’s bowed legs can be restored and they can walk to school without ridicule and isolation. Perhaps now your baby that has been unable to eat well because of their cleft lip can gain weight and fully smile at you for the first time. Perhaps… perhaps… perhaps…


All these were the hopes of the people who lined up outside of the national stadium in Freetown, Sierra Leone, the night before the mass screening on March 7th. I was told by one of the first patients I saw that morning, that he had slept in line all night long to secure his place in the line. Desperation converging with hope. Hope that relief might come. Hope that someone might take notice and be able to help. It was that hope that drove individuals and families to wait in line, not only all night for some, but for hours upon hours the next day in the 90+ degree F heat beneath the unforgiving rays of the African sun. Many people who came to us outside of the stadium walls had used a majority of their precious resources to pay to travel however far, to reach the stadium early that morning. Most did not even have food or water. The only thing that kept them in line, waiting for a chance to been seen, was hope.

Yesterday, March 7th, the mass screening day for Mercy Ships took place. I was a part of the mid-morning team (which meant I only had to leave at 5:30am rather than 4am like the security crew) that arrived around 6am to begin setting up chairs, tables, and signs to transform the Freetown national sports stadium into a fully functioning screening/triage center. By the light of headlamps and flashlights we set up and dispersed the furniture and medical supplies; excitement and anticipation building for this long-awaited day. Eager Mercy Ships volunteers from throughout the ship numerous areas (the galley, public relations, housekeeping, hospitality, and reception) as well as the medical teams (The eye team, dental team, doctors, surgeons, OR staff, and ward nurses) hummed with nervous expectation until the first of our patients began arriving with the first hour of light, and we began our screening day outreach. None of us knew the tragedy that was to come.

All morning I was working with one of our doctor’s and an OR nurse, screening for general surgery patients. With the help of two fantastic translators, our team of five began to evaluate all of the potential general surgical patients- mainly hernia repairs and goiters. We slowly gained momentum as the morning went on, getting into an efficient “groove” of seeing and assessing patients for surgical candidacy. Suddenly, around 11am, I got word from another staff member that there was trouble down at the gate of the stadium. Alison, the OR nurse working with us, left to assist other crew at the gate and I continued looking after patients with the doctor.

What happened in the next hour and a half – maybe 2 hours, was a blur. Through pieces of information here and there, I slowly heard that the “trouble” at the gate was, in fact, a storming of the awaiting crowd into the gate, trampling or injuring 13 people- one of which died, and two other left with life-threatening injuries. Our emergency response team, and the majority of our medical team was there triaging and caring for the injured patients. Before I knew it, non-medical staff were being escorted out and driven back to the ship. I tried to reassure patients as I waited for things to smooth back over into a flow of patients once again- only it didn’t. Within 30 minutes, we all evacuated the site leaving half-screened and unscreened patients behind. The entire Mercy Ships staff was heartbroken to have to leave SO many in need not only at the gate, but waiting in the buildings, unseen and unscheduled for surgery. It will take time for all of us to process through the terrible events of that day, but plans are being made as we speak to re-organize and continue screening. If you could please lift up the Sierra Leonean people, the victims of the gate storming, and the Mercy Ships staff in prayer, that would be greatly appreciated.

I would like to leave you with the words of Don Stephens, the Mercy Ships founder, regarding the events of screening day:

“Mercy Ships is deeply saddened by the tragic events that occurred today during medical screening at the Freetown National Stadium when a crowd stormed the gate resulting in several injuries and one life lost.

Mercy Ships personnel working at the site attended the injured and accompanied them to local hospitals.

‘Our hearts and prayers are with the individuals and families of those affected by today's events. The occurrence of this incident in the course of activities intended to restore lives is tragic. We move forward with tremendous sadness, but great determination, to assist as many people as possible in the next ten months,’ stated Mercy Ships Founder, Don Stephens.

Mercy Ships exists to serve the forgotten poor and has served Sierra Leone five times over the past two decades, also helping establish two land based health care facilities. For the next ten months, Mercy Ships will be providing surgeries for qualified patients while working alongside the Sierra Leonean Government to support its five-year healthcare plan and strengthen the functions of the national health system.”

Thank you for your continual (and previous) prayers. We all look forward to a new course and plan for future screening efforts and pray for comfort and God’s provision for those who were left unseen and untreated in the wake of what happened March 7th.

I Arrived!!!

Freetown, Sierra Leone: 4 March, 2011.



Hello everyone! Yes, I have arrived safely! I apologize for the delayed message. Because the ship got into port so late (on the 27th- the day before I arrived), the hospital preparations on deck 3 have been maddeningly intense! The morning after I arrived (or you could say the morning I arrived, since it was at 1am), I started working with our team of ward nurses double bleaching/deep cleaning every inch of the wards (floors, ceilings, cupboards, pipes-you name it). Needless to say, tonight, after a week of that cleaning, all I can smell is pool and my yellow nails are cracking as I type this message. However, the good news is we have 2 wards set up that actually look like wards! Yaaayyy!!!! We had to unload all of the beds, equipment, and supplies out of shipyard containers, store them, clean them, and then sort them to their appropriate locations. We have about 30 ward nurses here already, and we all have been busy all week bleaching, bleaching, and bleaching. The challenges of pulling out equipment and supplies from 6 month storage on a ship meant things like locating all of your suction canister pieces from 3 separate locations, finding and replacing broken items, and even finding an entire container flooded and full of 6-month old moldy supplies. Very unique challenges to say the least!




Once again, I am blessed by the variety of cultures on the ship- nurses and staff from Switzerland, Holland, Germany, England, U.S., Canada, Benin, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Japan, Scotland, Australia, and New Zealand to name a few. SO fantastic and fun getting to know so many people. I will admit I’ve felt a bit burned out from the craziness of this past year as I’m coming into this outreach, but I know that it puts me in a place of deep need before God, realizing that it needs to be His strength working through me, or I’m not going to make it. For those of you who don’t know as well, I’ve accepted a position here as a charge nurse, something I would never do at home, but felt God leading me to step into this outreach. To be honest, I’m scared to death and feel so inadequate for the position, but I know, once again, that God will be my strength and wisdom.



Different from the Togo Outreach of 2010, we will be doing one mass screening day to attempt to go through everyone in Sierra Leone and assess and schedule those in who will receive surgery during this outreach. We had multiple small screening days last year that I helped with once, but this outreach it will be an all-or-nothing event! All crew members are involved, and we are planning to see thousands of people that day! I’m not sure what to expect, but will for sure be bringing plenty of water and sunscreen. Screening day is March 7th (this coming Monday), so prayers for God’s provision and direction in bringing the right patients to us, would be fantastic.

Praise God, I had a safe flight and arrival to the ship with all of my luggage and belongings (minus a couple items I randomly left in the UK during my trip. I had a FABUOLOUS time during my interim trip to the UK seeing beautiful sights, cities, and people. A few of my favorite pics from the trip:


A shot of me in Manchester, England.


The 2010 Harriman Lodge UK staff reunion.


The Roman baths in Bath, England.


Edinburgh Castle, Scotland (my favorite city in all of the UK). :)

I was incredibly blessed to be able to spend the time in the UK I did visiting friends and experiencing wonderful hospitality of so many people. THANK YOU!!! It was a great way to get over jet-lag and have a bit of a break before arriving for my 4-6 month outreach in Sierra Leone. I’m hoping to get out and see a bit of Freetown tomorrow with a group of friends, and am SO excited to get out into the culture! Blessings to you all in your snow-filled days! (Not sure if you’d be wishing for the 90+ F temperatures and humidity here). Lots of love and HUGS.

Along the way to the Africa Mercy...

So the past 4 weeks since my last posting were pretty much filled with the insanity of finishing my job in Troy, NY, packing, driving home, unpacking, finishing getting ready for my overseas trip to the UK and Mercy Ships trip to Sierra Leone, seeing family & connecting at home, unpacking, repacking, and heading out again! (I'll back-up and fill in on those details after I get pictures uploaded). :)

Catching up to now...

I’m writing to you aboard a train traveling from Manchester to Milton-Keynes, England. I’m 3 days into my 10 day layover in England and am still having a hard time believing that I’m actually here. Do you know when you plan an event or activity for months; think about it, make arrangements for it, dream about it, and then all of a sudden… BOOM, you’re there and it feels surreal. Well, that has been my experience the past few days- traveling aboard trains and buses throughout London, and southern England. Seeing Harriman Lodge friends, eating my beloved prawn cocktail flavored potato “crisps” (chips), drinking black current juice, an continually asking where the “rubbish bin” or “lou” is. How I have come to love my British friends and their country, experiencing so much friendliness and hospitality from London on north.

It is such a different experience traveling through England for the second time. The first time I was here was 2 years ago with my friends Erin and Miriam for a 14 day trip to Ireland, England, and Scotland was my first international traveling experience. I remember it being overwhelming, frightening, and exciting all at the same time. This time, the excitement and some anxiety remains, but the experience is one of much more ease and enjoyment. You see, after traveling around West Africa and Honduras where you have not only a language barrier, but significant cultural barriers to worry about, traveling through a country like England with the same language and Western culture seems like a piece of cake. No, it hasn’t all been easy or smooth sailing. In fact, the train I happen to be on right now is one I ended up finally getting to 2 hours after I initially was suppose to. Wrong time, wrong station, missed trains, etc, have been the tune to my song today. But God is good, and my friends here, gracious and understanding. I’m SO excited today to get back to Milton Keynes, because I get to have my first experience of a British “Sunday Roast” I heard praised up and down all summer by the British counselors at Harriman Lodge. I’ll have to let you know how that experience goes!

But, enough about England! I’m sure many of you are wondering… “Hold on! I thought you were going to Sierra Leone!? What’s all this stuff about England?”
London Heathrow airport was my mid-point stop between the US and Sierra Leone, and, as I had many friends in England, I decided to take a layover to visit them to get over jet lag. So, here I am! The trip started out as a 7-day layover, but got extended to a 10 day stay after the Africa Mercy Ship was delayed in South Africa.

For a Mercy Ships update, I spoke to my dear friend, Laura Coles, 4 days ago and got the update on the status of the Africa Mercy’s sail. Laura called me from the actively sailing ship and said that they so far had pretty smooth seas with all the new generators working full force. Praise God! They left South Africa last week and are set to arrive in Freetown on the 25th. I’m set to arrive on the 28th, so if there are any further delays, I may be in Freetown awaiting the ship’s arrival myself. An adventure either way. Laura moved into our room (we’ll be bunkmates) and said she saved us a back room (the most spacious) and has my bunk awaiting me. I am SO excited to be returning and see all my old friends jump back into the Mercy Ships ministries. One new addition this outreach as well, is that I will be joining the charge nurse team- something I was asked to do and am excited and scared to death for when I get aboard!

Until then, I’m going to continue my visit around the UK, especially up in the Edinburgh, Scotland; one of my favorite cities in the world. Well, I could go on and on, but will stop for now and fill you in with pictures and more news soon! Blessings to you all! Thank you all for your prayers! (I needed them SO much as I almost missed a couple flights and my luggage due to delays when I flew out in the 17th). I miss you all SO much in Minnesota (and NY), but don’t miss the weather at all! Ha ha! Will write again soon!

Delay of the Africa Mercy in Durban, South Africa!

"OH NO!"
That was my first thought as I read the urgent email from Kristin, my Mercy Ships correspondent.
The Africa Mercy has been in the shipyards of Durban, South Africa for the last 5 months undergoing huge repair work of replacing all of the ships generators with new ones. This process as included cutting away the side of the ship to take out the old generators and replace them with new ones. This is also why the Togo 2010 outreach was only 6 months long versus the usual 9 months for an outreach. Major updating and repair work were needed to get done over a 6 months time span.


A photo of the first group of nurses volunteering during the 2010 Togo outreach (I'm on the top of the land rover). :)

So... as repairs continued, delays occurred (as they often do) with the much needed testing of the new generators. Currently, the Africa Mercy is one week behind schedule, leaving those of us who were going to arrive the 25th, to re-book our tickets to arrive a few days later, on the 27th or 28th. This is ALSO subject to change- so I'll keep you all updated as time moves closer to their departure date! :)



I can't tell you how excited I am to return to the Africa Mercy. This year, since my first experience on the ship and the leap of faith I have felt God calling me to since, has been both a difficult one and one filled with joy and experiences I never would have imagine. I think God is just like that, though. When we are willing to give up something we see as good, he blesses us with some other good thing we never would have seen if we would have continued upon our own "grand" little path (or so we often think). Giving up a steady job in my hometown close to all my family and friends to move to Harriman Lodge in NY for the summer, back home to MN-unemployed for 3 months, then back out to NY for a traveling position has been anything but my own plans and ideas. I am SO thankful, however, for God's promise to always go with us and call us unto more of Himself.

As of now, my plans for Destination Sierra Leone have only been slightly altered. Because of my great experience at Harriman Lodge where I met all kinds of great staff from the US and Europe, I'm planning a week long layover in the U.K. to go visiting my British/Scottish friends on my way to Sierra Leone. The delay of the ship by a few days has only extended my layover in England (a REAL bummer, I KNOW) ;). I'm excited for that time go visit old/new friends and transition over to Sierra Leonean time prior to arrival on the ship! :) Yay! I can't wait!

We'll I'm off to work now (into my 4th week already with my travel assignment!), and work has been busier than ever.
May we all take a moment to enjoy God today and praise Him for His faithfulness!

Snow, Snow, Snow!!!

Whew! A view from my window after the 12/26 East coast blizzard blew through Albany. We got over 10 inches of snow, and other parts of New York up to 24 inches! CRAZY! Apparently, Albany rarely gets more than a few inches of snow a year, and news reports state this is one of the largest snowfalls in the past 4 years! We all REALLY know, however, that they just needed a Minnesotan to move to town. ;) It feels just like home now! Good thing I brought the snow with me. :)

Life has been steadily getting more settled for me here in Albany. In fact, today I went out shopping on my day off and, for the first time, drove EVERYWHERE without using my GPS! I was SO excited!!!! It's nice to feel like I know a little bit of the city, am getting the feel for the Northeast culture, and also settling into work. I've been working about a week or so on my own now, and it has been getting SO much better. I definitely am getting used to the flow more, settling into the norms and standards there, and overall feeling like a "good" nurse again. :) I'm getting back into starting IV's (got 2 difficult one x2-3 attempts the other day, and the other 3 on attempt #1 for all my fellow nursing friends!) and doing assessments and nursing skills work, which has been fantastic. I really missed it in many ways. I miss Minnesota nursing, however and hope to be back there working someday soon. :)

The loneliness has subsided quite a bit, as well, for multiple reasons. One, just getting to know my co-workers and feeling a sense of belonging with them, and working more hours overall (at least 5 days a week) has helped the time pass a bit quicker. In addition, I have been able to do some visiting of nearby friends. :) Laura Coles, a friend of mine from Mercy Ships (the one who actually got me into travel nursing) is travel nursing in Northern Massachusetts. She and I both had Christmas day off and were away from our families, so we decided to spend the holiday together! Yaaayyy! I, in turn, had the privilege of driving through the beautiful Berkshire Mountains Christmas day.



The breathtaking sight from the cold, crystal covered top of the Berkshires. As I was standing at the top, my nose felt numb and I thought to myself, "this feels just like home". :) I WISH Minnesota had these kind of mountains, though. :) That and the ocean too.... hmmmm... ;) We'll have to work on that. ;)


Above, Laura and I on our Christmas day walk at Natural Bridge State Park- an old marble quarry site. I saw my very first marble waterfall(pictured below). It was very much like a walk through Narnia. :)



I'm back to work tomorrow, glad to be busy again, but enjoying the day off as well to do some relaxing. I'll keep you all posted again soon. Much love!

Albany-1 Week In

So, it's been a week since I first arrived in Albany. In many ways it feels like I've been here for years, and in others, it seems like I just arrived and unpacked.

It's funny how out ideas of things or ideals are so often not the reality we experience. Perhaps its from watching too much Disney or Hollywood movies, or even being too much of an optimist by nature. Whatever the case may be, I have found myself here; the place where the "rubber meets the road". My excitement and anticipation of this move to Albany has all but since been worn away to reveal the stark, challenge of reality.

We often assume many things about ourselves- what we think we are, how we see ourselves, but its often in the light of the best possible circumstances. For instance, when we see ourselves as confident, outgoing individuals, usually it is in places we are familiar, or with people we know. When you shake all of that up- you can see an entirely different side of yourself than what you imagined.

Maybe all of this is mumbo-jumbo to you, and I apologize if it is, but I share it because it is something that is deeply on my heart at this moment. While God has been SO faithful to provide me with SO much- this job with guaranteed hours, a reliable car, safety in traveling, a place to stay and food to eat, I have struggled to keep my chin up. I never realized how much of a people person I was, how much I needed others around me until now- as I'm living alone in a strange city, without friends or anyone to experience it with me. It's honestly all I can do right now to fight discouragement and loneliness. I am so thankful for my family and friends and those who continue to pray for me and encourage me to continue to offer myself up to the Lord, to see this season as one which the Lord has prepared and has a PURPOSE in. I know the Lord has great things to teach me in this season, and, praise His name, He even spoke to me of the loneliness of this season over a year ago to begin preparing my heart. I guess now I only have the choice to follow and obey or sit and despair. Thank you so much for the many of you who are praying for me and encouraging me. I am nothing, apart from Christ, and see more of that as I come face-to-face with myself in the midst of these challenges.

On a note of progress, I finished 2 days of orientation to the Medical-Surgical floor of the community hospital in Troy, and had a great time learning from all the friendly staff members there. The floor is much like one big family, and it was really neat to see their teamwork and know that I get to step into an already well-oiled team! :) I was quite overwhelmed with the amount of things to orient to in only 2 days, so thankfully I get to have one more day of orientation before I'm on my own next week. Ahhh!!! I'm so nervous, but I know God will see me through. They use a type of nursing called "team nursing" where, instead of having 3 or 4 patients you are solely responsible for, you have a group of 8 patients to a group of an RN, LPN, and CNA. An effective system, but one which I'm hurridly grasping at to learn.

I just wanted to put up a couple of pictures of my family before I left home just because I realized that I didn't put a post up about my new niece, Abigail Susanne, who was born October 24th. So.. here's a couple of pics to brighten up this post. :)


Abigail Susanne Helweg, born October 24, 2010 weighing 6lb 3oz, 18 1/2 in.


Her first smile captured on film by yours truly! Auntie Anna gets double points for capturing both Bekah AND Abigail's first smiles on film! :)


Isaac and I... the cool ones, OBVIOUSLY. ;)


My all-time favorite- me and my "mini-me", my 2nd niece, Rebekah. It's CRAZY how much she resembles me not only now, but also looking back at my baby pictures. Crazy, crazy! I personally love it, ha ha! But I'm sure the one ginger (red-head) looks a bit odd in the brunette family. ;)


Finally, a picture of my small group Bible study at our Thanksgiving meal! I LOVE and miss each and every person from there SO much! ... there are just no words. :)

About time for a post update!

My new "home away from home".




Hanging out with those crazy Bennor's! :)


Our family picture this Christmas season! :)

Hi everyone! So sorry I haven't kept up on my blog... for a while nothing changed, and then, all of a sudden, everything started changing!

My last post was on November 3... since then, I continued applying for every job I could through my travel nursing company-still with NO results; no phone calls, no interviews, NOTHING. I continued praying and wondering what on earth God was up to... didn't He know how much I needed money to be able to go to Sierra Leone? Why was I still living at home with my parents and without a job?

Well, with the encouragement of a friend and feeling I had given my first travel company enough of a chance to find me a job, I applied with a new travel company- Medical Staffing Network (MSN)-the InteliStaff branch. I applied with that company, going through that entire process once again, and was moving towards working per diem for hospitals in the Twin Cities from now until I left for Mercy Ships Feb. 17th. There was one contract job that I put my name in for in Albany, NY when I first applied, but I didn't expect to hear from them, and actually forgot about it during the hustle and bustle of starting up in the Twin Cities.

I knew the last possible day I could have time to be hired to finish out an 8 week contract position would be Wednesday, Dec. 8. So, what does God do? Shock the socks off of me and throw my plans back into my face! On Tuesday, Dec. 7th, I got a call from the nurse manager at the hospital in Albany asking for an interview. After about 15-20 minutes, she offered me the job and asked, "When can you start?" WHAT??!!!??!! I was SHOCKED! "As soon as possible" I answered. The 2 days following were a whirlwind of phone calls, emails, signing and scanning documents, and finding out about my housing arrangements when I got to Albany.

Thursday night, after a Christmas celebration with the family, I packed my car, and Friday morning I left at 5:30am for Grand Rapids, MI (my half-way goal) where I got to stay with the Bennor's. After that 15 hour driving day, I only had 11 hours left to go on Saturday and arrived at my extended-stay hotel in Albany at 11pm. I have a couple of pics of the room- it's perfect. Small, but has everything I need- compliments of MSN (as part of a contract. NICE, I know!). Whew! So I've just been finding my way around Albany, stocking up the cupboards and settling in, waiting for my first day of orientation tomorrow (Wednesday). I'm so excited to be working again!

Thank you SO much to all of you who have been praying for me these past few months.. it has been a very challenging time for me learning faith, trust and patience to a degree I never imagined. I'll keep up better now in the days and weeks to come, so stay tuned! :)