President's Dinner

In November we had the honor of attending a dinner in Cotonou given by the President of Benin, Dr. Yayi Boni. Not long after the ship arrived in Benin, the president issued an invitation to the entire crew of the Africa Mercy (all that could come) to a state dinner. A few weeks ago it came to pass and our family and most of the crew were able to attend. (That's Joey and me in the photo below on the left. By the time we entered there were no tables with five free seats so Jenny, Bethany and David sat at another table.)The president gave distinguished national awards to the founders of Mercy Ships (Don and Deyon Stevens) and three key administrative crew members. Don presented Dr. Yayi Boni with a framed photo of the Africa Mercy in Cotonou made up of many smaller photos taken during our work here. That was an honor to me also because I had taken that photo of the ship from the nearby fishing village. It was a very nice dinner followed by dancing by several dance troupes from all over Benin. It was one of the more notable events of our time in Benin. (Photos by Debra Bell)
John