Life Change

It is such a privilege to see such life change, and be inspired by the hard work Ibrahima put in to get where he is now. Read his story below..

Gratitude

The Barki kids say “Thank you”!

A quick note.  See the below text in bold if you are a regular financial supporter.

 

Hard to believe that our time with Mercy Ships will end in just a little over 2 months!

As expected, it’s been a very busy time, but there’s also been a little time for reflection.

I must say that I remain truly grateful for the continued generosity of our family and friends.  We initially started out on this adventure with a 2-year commitment.  Jamie and I thought if we sold our house, cars, and the rest of our possessions, we could fund ourselves over the 2 years.

That’s where you all came in.  Our friends and family stepped up to sell t-shirts, put on bake sales and garage sales, and many have given so incredibly generously.  Some of you gave one time, and some of you have been giving monthly…for 4 years!  We remain so appreciative of you all!  There’s no way we could have continued this adventure on our own.

It’s a great example of God being able to do more than we could every ask or imagine.  We offered God 2 years of service with our own finances, and He provided for double that amount of time!

We want to say “Thank You” to all of you who have joined us on this journey.  Maybe you prayed for us once, or maybe you pray for us regularly.  Maybe you donated once, or maybe you’ve been giving regularly.  Maybe you helped us with the logistics of moving our family to a hospital ship, or maybe you are helping us move back.  Regardless of what you’ve done, we are truly grateful.  None of this happens without you!

One quick note for our financial supporters.  Mercy Ships has changed its online fundraising platform.  If you have been donating monthly, then you should not need to do anything extra.  However, if you want to start a new donation, our new support page can be found here.

Our Mercy Ships fundraising page will remain active until August 2019 in order to help us as we transition back to the US and set up our new life.  If you choose to support us through the end, your gifts will stop automatically at that time.  Thank you!

 

 

A New Chapter

There’s no easy way to say it.

We have decided to end our time with Mercy Ships after the Guinea field service.  It’s been an extremely difficult decision for us, but we feel it’s the right one.  It’s hard to even type these words!

We did not take this decision lightly.  After much prayer and discussion, we feel like this is the direction God is taking us right now.

We have loved every minute of our time on board.  It’s challenging to describe what it’s been like to be a part of such an extraordinary organization and community.  Of course the patients and the surgeries have been amazing, but it’s also been pretty incredible living with people from over 40 different nations.  We can now look at a world map and point to so many countries where we have friends.

The bizarre thing is that as much faith as it took to say “yes” to Mercy Ships, I think it’s taking just as much to return to the US.  Of course we miss everyone back home, but the ship has become a new home.  Jamie and I and the kids are all comfortable here.  And now, there are so many unknowns.  Where will we live?  Where will I work?  Where will the kids go to school?

I feel like I’m planning two futures.  One for the ship (finding a new Anesthesia Supervisor and making sure the anesthesia team is staffed well), and one for our family.  

Please pray that God would be leading us as we make these decisions.  Sometimes so much uncertainty can lead to worry.  The good news is that the Lord is faithful.  When He calls us a certain way, He is faithful to provide.  He has done that through our Mercy Ships adventure, and He will do it again.

Please pray for us as we prepare to make the transition back.  Our commitment with Mercy Ships goes through the beginning of June.  People have warned us that returning home after 4 years away will be a shock.  Things will be different than we remembered.  People’s lives have moved on, and we’ve been changed by our experiences abroad.

Please also pray that we would finish well.  That while we are making plans for the future, we would also be present here and enjoy our last few months on the ship.

Thank you to all of you who have accompanied us on this journey.  It has been an unbelievable ride!

January & February

Anaesthetists Dr. Brian Barki and Dr. Erik Andersen together with MCB mentoring participant and Anaesthetist Dr. Joseph DONAMOU (GIN) and MCB day crew translator Pierre.

Ward administrative assistant, Jamie Barki, says goodbye to a patient and her father.

Anesthesiologist, Brian Barki, plays with a patient on the ward.

Anesthesiologist, Brian Barki, and a translator play with a patient on the ward.

People gather around to say goodbye to a patient.

People gather around to say goodbye to a patient.

Wow writing an update is difficult, there so much going on all the time!  We’ve had our friends the Andersen’s leave the ship and go back to Australia, our Tulsa friends the Beasley‘s visit, Chinese new year, Hannah got to blow the whistle on the ship to test the whistles and so many miracles through the healing of patients!  We’ll have specific stories of patients soon, we just need to make sure we don’t share anything confidential.  So, most of these pictures are of just us.

I wish you could all see Brian work with our patients and local anesthesiologists.  I’ve never seen anyone with such a great balance of professionalism and goofiness that puts everyone at ease.  He is such a great teacher.  God has gifted him and uses him daily.

I (Jamie) have been working in our chaplaincy department this past year and got the chance to speak at our church service on Matthew 7.  It was a great new challenge and I actually really enjoyed it.

One of our patients recently left.  He had become friends with Brandon and he spoke English. He is such a remarkable young man who has persevered through so much.  I’m hoping to share his story soon.

 Brandon has been taking a fishing class on Fridays through the academy’s “student life” program.  He has really enjoyed it, and even gets up many days at 6am to go fishing!  More info soon!

Merry Christmas!

It’s difficult being away from home during the holidays, but we had a great day nonetheless.

It started with the Dutch tradition of leaving our shoes out in the hallway on Christmas Eve. Everyone then goes around the ship putting gifts in everyone’s shoes. The kids always love this.

We had an awesome Christmas lunch that so many of our crew and local crew worked hard on. Part of the lunch was an absolutely incredible cake in the shape of our ship. It took one of our crew members months to design and make it, and I was pretty sad to see it being cut to pieces, but it was delicious!

After lunch, we had a surgery to do that presented some challenges. The surgery itself went well, but I had to place a special IV called a PICC line in the patient. We had some technical difficulties with our equipment that made things hard, but our on-call team was so extraordinarily patient and helpful. We worked til nearly 8pm…on Christmas…as volunteers, and not one complaint or even a hint of impatience.

When everything was finished, I thanked everyone for their help and apologized that things went so late. Everyone on the team said something along the lines of, “No problem. Whatever is best for the patient.” This is after having to do emergency cases on both Sunday and Monday. This place is special.

Got to finish the day with a showing of “Avengers: Infinity War” on the big screen in our main meeting room. First time to get to see it. Great film!

So, we end this day missing home, family, and friends, but also grateful that God would choose to have us here in such a special place with such an amazing community.

Hoping that you all had a great Christmas Day too, and that you know how much God loves you.

Merry Christmas!

Rough Week: An Update

First of all, thank you to all of you for your prayers and encouragement.  It was exactly what we needed.

The week ended okay.  We had one emergency surgery early Saturday morning (4:00am) that ended well.  I saw the patient this evening, and he was smiling and in good spirits.

Got news that my father is doing better.  He should make a full recovery without surgery.  Please pray for continued healing.

Our dear friends left the ship today.  Difficult doesn’t begin to describe it.  Goodbyes are always so hard.  Jamie and I feel it, and the kids feel it too.

You might say, “Only 3 years?” but for those of you who haven’t been on the ship, ship life is intense.  3 years can feel like 10.  Imagine seeing someone literally every day for 3 years–living and working and going to school together all in the same place.  Often on the ship, if we don’t see someone for a day or two, it feels like weeks.  It’s hard to explain.

Today’s goodbye got me thinking about time.  I found myself being grateful for the time we shared, but also asking myself, “Did I use my time with the Borrows well?”  Surely there was more I could have done or said.

It’s kind of like life in general, I suppose.  It’s a good reminder that when I reach the end, I want to be able to say, “I spent my time well.”  Sure there will be things that I could have done more or differently, but I hope to not have any regrets and to be full of gratitude for a life well spent.

Here’s to a new week…

Rough Week

It’s been a rough week.  Long, busy days.  Surgeries that haven’t turned out as planned.  My dad has been having some health issues.  Our close friends that have been on the ship with us since 2015 are leaving this weekend.  We could use some prayer and encouragement.  Thank you to all of you who continue to walk this journey with us.

We Made It To Guinea!

We sailed into Conakry, Guinea yesterday after a 5-day sail.

I (Brian) always have mixed feelings about sailing. I like the idea of it. I enjoy being out in the middle of the ocean. I love the team-building and community-building that happens on the sail.

I just don’t like actually sailing.

Even though this was a smooth sail (thank the Lord), that gentle rocking just makes me want to sleep. I feel like a little baby being rocked in a cradle. At least this sail, no couches or dishes went flying.

This morning was our first opportunity to go off ship. I joined a group of my fellow crew on a run. It was nice to set foot on land and to see some of the city. Immediately, though, I could tell the difference between Conakry and our previous destinations. The poverty here is much more tangible.

The United Nations uses the Human Development Index to measure a country’s progress. Guinea ranks 183 out of 188. People are literally struggling to live.

We’ve been told there are 6 anesthesiologists in the entire country!

Still, Mercy Ships has been to Guinea several times, and so many of the long-term crew say it is their favorite country.

I look forward to getting to know the people and experiencing the warmth we have been told about. I also look forward to all the miracles that God will perform while we are here over the next 10 months.

Thank you for continuing to pray for us and support us. Thank you for making this possible!

Arriving in Guinea. It’s rainy season, and it was pouring!

When we enter a port, the crew get to hold the flags of their home countries. It’s very cool seeing all the flags lining the deck.

The arrival ceremony. The First Lady can be seen in the middle of the action.

Just finishing the first run in Guinea with my friends Emmanuel and Fred. Always a good feeling to be finished!

National Geographic Update!

Exciting news for those of you, especially in the US, who have been waiting VERY patiently for the National Geographic series on Mercy Ships. It’s now available to stream online!

You will need a cable/satellite provider.

Enjoy, and if you watch Episode 2, please do your best to disregard my funky Friday attire. I’m not always that ridiculous!

Go to https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/surgery-ship/.

Happy streaming!

See You Tomorrow!

Hey Tulsa Friends!

Just a reminder that we will be at the Church at Battle Creek tomorrow (Tues, June 19) from 6:30-8-30pm. We hope to see you there!