Cameroon, Senegal, y España  – a month of transition.  Earlier this month in Cameroon, it was time to say goodbye (but I prefer ‘a la prochain’ in French for ‘until next time-soon’) to my friends – day crew (local workers), patients, caregivers, partners, training participants, and crew who were at the end of their commitment.  We had various events to help with the closure – Thank You Event for our partners from the government and other organizations / Thank You celebration for our amazing day crew who served with us for ten months / our Academy High School Graduation for two / Final Visits to the various Mercy Ministries sites – orphanages, blind school, and deaf school.

Part of my responsibilities here on board is related to our reporting – from weekly and monthly narrative reports to our local partners in Cameroon which was primarily the government, four types of statistical reports for different audiences, final narrative report for the entire field service and our individual final project reports (32 + 9) – written by team leaders but I edit and insert all the statistical and financial information.  One of our core values is: ‘Be People of Excellence in All We Say and Do’ and a sub-point is ‘Monitoring, evaluating, and improving performance’ – I think about that as I put in the long hours.  When I am updating the numbers, I don’t think of them as numbers because I know behind each patient and with each training participant there is a life that has been impacted – we believe for hope and healing for them.  Our final statistics:  2,746 surgeries, 9,220 dental patients, 89 healthcare professionals mentored, 1,441 healthcare professions attended training courses, 34 with the nutritional agriculture course and 204 partner site visits with Mercy Ships including the Jesus Film with local churches.  If you are curious and would like to see the detail, please check my web site: www.KeithBrinkman.com – KRB Archives.  This is accomplished as we serve together as teams:  I serve on various team including the Executive Team, senior Management Team, Mercy Ministries Team, and International Programs Team.

An update on some of my patients I have shared about in the past:
*  Rubain and his father left for the four day/night journey to their home in the Far North – after the amputation of his lower due to gigantism – a prosthesis was hand crafted and made to be adjustable as he is a teenager boy still growing – he left smiling and I received messages after they arrived safely at home to reunite with his mother and siblings after six months away.
*  Carlos – was finally able to have his surgery after waiting a long time since his registration – though it wasn’t something that could cured with surgery alone – so for him we are still praying for his healing.  He was anxious about an upcoming test to leave primary school, I was concerned as he was away with us and not able to study, but he contacted and shared that he passed his tests – so proud of him. 
*  Axel – my dear friend who went for eight surgeries to find his healing – he is at home, we chat via SMS and Facebook Messenger – a very grateful patient.

I am most thankful as I know I don’t serve alone but there are those who are partnering together with me through your prayers, encouragement and financial gifts.  Please know that you are a part of the lives that have been transformed in Cameroon.  We are now preparing for Conakry, Guinea four our fourth visit – I look forward to reunions with my friends there.  After Guinea, we will be in Dakar, Senegal – we made a courtesy stop there after Cameroon and before coming to España for our repair and maintenance period.