The Rolland Record

God is Faithful

2011-08-08T16:42:00.005Z

Lots of interesting things have happened since we returned home from Africa. We have looked for six weeks or so for a place to live in the mountains without success. The area we have been planning to live in in western North Carolina is very rural and finding a place to rent has not been easy. We knew we couldn't buy a house now because we don't have enough income to approach a bank for a house loan. Despite our many prayers, we have been tempted to be discouraged, but we felt like the Lord was just having us wait on Him. As we began our search around the first of July, he led us to read Psalm 37:

v.3-9 " Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret - it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land."

He also reminded us of His words in Isaiah 30:

v. 15 " This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: 'In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength"

v.18 "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him."

This past week God provided in an extraordinary way! We will soon have a rent-to-own agreement signed on a place that will give us much more space than we had hoped for, allowing us to have friends visit, even large families from the ship or relatives who may want to visit. We have been dreaming about the possibility of having enough room to extend that kind of hospitality freely, and the Lord has provided it! We are very thankful for that! And Bethany has not only been accepted into the local Christian school to which we applied, but will likely receive a full scholarship for the year! That brought tears to my eyes and to Jenny's as well. God has blessed us abundantly beyond our imaginings.

All of this seems to have happened at almost the last minute. God often asks us to wait down to the wire like that, in part I'm sure to develop our ability to trust in Him. Thankfully, he's not offended if we don't wait perfectly. We had been going around actively enquiring about rental properties and enrolling Bethany in public school just in case the other fell through. I guess we could have saved ourselves some of that headache, but maybe that's part of learning to walk by faith. God has been faithful and we are believing that He will provide all that we need in the coming months and years as we walk in His Kingdom, not relying on what we can see, but on His wisdom and goodness. Glory be to God! We are on an incredible journey with Him! It's really fun in times like this to see what He can do, to see what He can call into existence out of nothing!

Just today, in Walmart, Jenny received a two-fold word from fellow Jesus follower and missionary, Juan Suarez - the word 'TRUST' and Ephesians 3:20-21: "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

The day after the details with the house and Bethany's school were settled, Jenny got a call from the ship asking her to return as soon as possible to Sierra Leone for several weeks to help the hospital with critical needs. Jenny initially thought that it just couldn't be done now with our move coming up, but we will manage in her absence. Hopefully she will be leaving for Africa by week's end and provide some relief there. That will make it hard for those of us left here, but we believe that this is also part of God's plan, so as with the house we can't yet pay for, we will walk this out by faith and see where the Lord takes us. God is faithful, so shall it also be with us. May God grant us the grace we need to be His faithful servants wherever He sends us.

John & Jenny

Terra Firma

2011-07-27T19:38:00.003Z

In June we left the ship to return to North Carolina. We said goodbye to our friends who have become family to us and headed for the airport. It was a tearful time for all of us and it was pretty hard to watch our children say very difficult goodbyes to their friends. We will be living in western North Carolina and offering assistance to John’s parents as needed, as they face challenging aging issues. We’re very excited to be of service to our family and just to be able to spend time with them, as they are also transitioning to the same area.

Even though our time on the ship is over for now, Jenny will still be volunteering with Mercy Ships by assisting the Programs Department with Hospital Standards, Policies and Procedures. The details of her involvement are still under construction, but we believe that it is going to be possible for her to collaborate remotely to help move this project forward. She is very excited to remain involved with the hospital on the Africa Mercy which also gives those who graciously support us financially the opportunity to also stay involved.

So, now we are facing the next chapter in the life of our family. We are in the midst of a major transition, trying to get our lives back together here in the U.S. Our three kids are enrolled in schools in western North Carolina, but we are still looking for a place to live there. We have one car now and we have cell phones for communication. We are making pretty slow progress, but I hope in a few months I will be well on my way toward generating an income and that Jenny can have a supplemental part-time or occasional work at a local surgical hospital scrubbing and circulating (that's what she really loves and she needs to maintain her practical O.R. skills).

Before we left Sierra Leone it was business as usual on the ship for us with Jenny working as O.R. manager and me doing photography. Business as usual except for challenges with very dense traffic, water shortages on the ship and in the community, daily blocked air conditioning intakes due to the huge volume of plastic trash in the water (that required our ship's divers to daily remove trash from the intakes), and a few other not so usual kinds of challenges. Sierra Leone has been an exceptionally challenging field service for the crew of the Africa Mercy. The country had its big 50th independence day celebration while we were there and I had an opportunity to get to know some of the members of the Sierra Leone Single Leg Amputee Soccer Club, a very inspiring group of positive-thinking guys, most of whom lost legs to violent men during the recent civil war, who get together and play soccer on Saturday mornings.
We had an interesting trip home too. The trip to the airport was a real adventure. We rode in a convoy of ship vehicles to the Government Wharf, transferred to the ferry (with all of our bags containing what we could bring home of our clothes and household items, etc. - ugh!), transferred from the ferry to our ride (organized by the ship) on the other shore, and then finally through security and the check-in counters at Lungi Airport. Actually I was quite amazed at how well the whole process went, we were blessed to have a lot of honest guys help with bags and such. It could have so easily been a fiasco, but it wasn't that bad.

Eventually we arrived in Brussels for our 6 hour layover after a 2 hour stay on the tarmac in Banjul, The Gambia (a man had to be evacuated from the plane there due to a medical emergency). Our plan for our layover was to meet the O'Briens, friends that we know from our time in the military in Italy . Before we met them, David had complained of abdominal pain and fainted twice, once in the airplane as we were disembarking in Brussels and once in the floor in the airport terminal. We had seen the crew physician on the ship just the day before and knew he had some abdominal issues of some sort, but had been assured it was okay to travel. Our connecting flight to Washington, D.C. had been delayed 8 hours because of heavy turbulence on its previous flight. I was not comfortable with pushing David any more after having flown all night so I just asked if we could reschedule our flight for the next day, same time. No problem. What a blessing that delay was for us! The O'Briens invited us to overnight at their house and that afforded us a great opportunity to really reconnect with them. We had already been regretting the fact that we hadn't remembered that they were living in Belgium until after we had purchased our airline tickets. Our kids really enjoyed hanging out with their kids as well and we adults even got to visit the Neuhaus Belgian Chocolate outlet! What a wonderful visit we had!!!

David seemed better the next morning. We boarded the train for the 45 minute ride back to the airport. David had to visit the toilet and passed out again in the bathroom, and then again after we returned to our seats on the train. Bethany was very concerned about all of this and I must admit it was a bit unsettling to us adults too. When we arrived at the airport I was thinking of leaving David with Jenny in Belgium with our friends til David could see a doctor. At about that time we passed right by the airport clinic! We walked in and in 5 minutes David had been examined by the physician, given a prescription for some gas pills and we had been reassured for the second time that he would be okay to travel home. How good God had been to us to provide a free extended layover, a great 24 hours to rest with great friends, and a physician to see David at a moment's notice. We didn't plan any of it and yet He provided it all so beautifully.

The rest of the trip went well. Bethany had a bit of fear as we boarded our small plane from Washington to Greensboro. None of us had seats together on that flight and because I had not checked in at the gate right away, I almost got bumped. A kind lady had offered to switch seats with Bethany, so I had the window seat and Bethany was next to me in the isle seat. She was very nervous on take-off and wanted me to close the window. I delayed just a moment and there appeared a brilliant rainbow in the clouds out our window. I was able to reassure her through that that God did care about her just as He did mankind when He promised that He would not destroy them again as he had done with the flood. How nice to see that symbol of hope and love in the sky at just that time when Bethany was afraid.

When we arrived in Greensboro, Jenny's parents picked us up in a stretch Hummer limousine. Pop, Jenny's dad, works some in his retirement for the Black Tie Transportation company. We were not expecting that kind of treatment, but it was really nice, if not a bit surreal after our time in Africa. I know many would shudder, but we had to park the stretch Hummer at McDonald's for a burger. The things you miss, huh?!

For the past three years, whether in our work, school or community, we have been challenged to “serve wholeheartedly, as if (we) were serving the Lord, not men” (Eph. 6:7). There have been joyful days and stressful days, but we have grown in faith and love with our international family on the Africa Mercy. It still amazes us that such a ministry can function with people from so many different cultures coming together to live and work. It's success is evidence that the Lord has built the house. We give Him all the glory!

John

Screening Day - Take 2

2011-04-10T20:56:00.002Z

Success!

"Therefore, as it is written: 'Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.'"

On Saturday, March 26, 2011, Mercy Ships held a second screening day in Freetown and the Lord redeemed the first! The day was a testimony to the beautiful way the Body of Christ functions as many people from various departments on the Africa Mercy worked together so that we could link up with people that have conditions that we can help with our particular surgical specialties.

Our day began dark and early as we carivanned through town to the Minister of Health and Sanitation's "Pharmacy Board".

In fact, the beginning was really the afternoon before as a team of folks hauled truckloads of stuff to the site and began preparing for screening and crowd control. There was a security presence on site from that time forward as they not only managed the lines that were forming, but also educated those in the lines on the conditions that we can and cannot help. This proved to be a very productive exercise that kept people with inappropriate conditions from having to wait for many, many hours for nothing.

Daybreak came and we began admitting people into the gate to go through the stations to record information, health histories and then to be seen by a surgeon. If it was decided that we could offer surgery, the patient would proceed to the data entry station and on to the scheduling station where I was with a team of OR nurses assigning dates for surgery.

Below is a sweet baby with a cleft lip. She's holding an appointment card so she can come to the ship with her mamma for surgery.

A woman with a tumor of the mandible has her blood pressure checked. Here I am looking all serious & professional in black and white...assisting Orthopaedic Team Leader, Kathleen Haydon, in scheduling orthopaedic surgeries.

Our Managing Director, Donovan Palmer (in the blue ball cap) escorted the Minister of Health and Sanitation, Haja Zainab Hawa Bangura (in the light blue top), around the site.

The Lord blessed us with orderly, peaceful crowds and cloud cover until the line outside the gate was gone. Everyone was inside the gate and proceeding through the stations before 9:30am. And by 2pm, the last patient for the day was being scheduled. What a difference from the previous screening day! I believe that God wanted to remind us that we are not in control, but when we trust Him in our weakness, He shows Himself strong!

Jenny

Screening Day Mourning

2011-03-10T19:15:00.005Z

Monday, March 7th, was our first big screening day in Freetown. Lots of preparation had gone into mobilizing all the people and resources we would need to screen thousands of potential patients. Our team assembled (mostly between 4:00 and 5:30am) at the national stadium, including a large number of local police, security personnel and translators, and so did thousands of people seeking what we could offer. At past screenings there had often been some isolated problems in the crowd, but this time things were very different. The following is my personal account of what happened. By 10:00am as our screening process was progressing the crowd outside the stadium had become agitated and the security forces present were struggling to maintain order. The crowd pressed in toward the area near where people were being brought into the stadium grounds. At around 10:25 a large, steel car gate at the front of the crowd burst open under the pressure. The lock was broken off and the steel bars in the concrete were bent back and dislodged. The result was heartbreaking. As the people in the front of the crowd suddenly flowed through the gate, those in the rear pressed forward causing people to stumble and be trampled. One man was killed and 12 people hospitalized. Several minutes later the police were able to get the gate closed and restore some order. Many of our medical crew immediately began treating the injured and preparing them for transport to hospital. Screening was discontinued and our crew packed up and returned to the ship much earlier than planned. Among the first to leave the stadium were the Academy kids who had come to help entertain the children of adult patients who had come to the screening. It was a very tense and very sad day for all involved. There is a statement on the Mercy Ships website at the following link: http://www.mercyships.org/blog/entry/screening-day-update#

There are also a number of newspaper articles that can be found online (keywords that worked well for me in finding articles: "stampede freetown stadium"). There has been a great deal of effort poured into analyzing the event since by our leadership to identify ways to improve safety at screenings. It is a far more complex event than one might think. They have also been trying to come up with stategies on how to reach those still in the city who we were unable to connect with at the screening. There were a large number of people in the crowd on Monday who had very visible evidence of some of the kinds of problems we can treat. It seems clear to me that the crowd at the screening and the tragedy there highlight the extent of desperation that the people here feel. The crew have been processing this past week and working through the emotions and questions that have come with this event. It hasn't been easy at all, but we have to move forward. I trust that God will give us the grace to do that.

John

Arrivals

2011-03-08T19:53:00.010Z

A couple of days after leaving Durban we arrived in Cape Town. (Above are photos made by Airserv as the ship left the shipyard in Durban.) The ship refueled in Cape Town and the crew had about 24 hours to visit the city. We were docked at the V&A Waterfront, a very active and interesting part of town. There were lots of sea lions in the water in the area and the kids really loved watching them interact with each other. We had a chance to visit Table Mountain and to get acquainted with the city bowl (downtown area). Others ventured further afield and went to see a penguin colony on the peninsula. We really liked Cape Town and would have loved to have spent more time there, but the ship needed to get to Sierra Leone as soon as possible. We considered ourselves very fortunate to have had a day in Cape Town and left with thankful hearts, some photos, some groceries and a take away pizza. (Below is a video still of the ship leaving Cape Town that was sent from the Mercy Ships South Africa office.) After leaving Cape Town we sailed for about two weeks across pretty remote stretches of the Atlantic. We didn't see very many other ships, but occasionally would pass some dolphin pods. We crossed the equator and passed through a little squall simultaneously on February 24th. The captain let us know on the overhead announcement that we wouldn't see the dotted line you usually see on globes because we would be passing directly between the dashes. He was kidding of course! I like that he has a sense of humor. Most of the crew gathered on the outdoor sections of deck 7 to mark the occasion, but other than that there wasn't much to see. We arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone early in the morning on February 27th. There were large numbers of people on the dock, many of which would be coming to live on board the ship. They were part of the advance team and Gateway (Mercy Ships' long-term crew preparation program) participants who had been working in country during the weeks and months prior to our arrival. There was a lovely local band there that played a number of songs and the Minister of Health spoke. We all really enjoyed being reunited with friends we hadn't seen in a long time. There is a nice slide show of the arrival made up of some of my photos and the photos of the other photographers present (at least four of us - two on the ground and two on the ship) at the following web address: http://www.mercyships.org/blog/entry/the-africa-mercy-arrives-in-sierra-leone

After the arrival, everything was very very busy on the ship, as we had fully expected, getting ready for the screening and the beginning of surgeries and putting all the pieces together to do the work we had come to do - an enormous undertaking I must say! Fortunately some prior upcountry screening had already been done and land based facilities had already been prepared for support of hospital, eye and dental functions. A large team of local day volunteers had already been assembled and prepared to join us as well. The advance team always works so hard to prepare the way for the ship's arrival. They did a great job! It's a little hard to believe that we are here. It's really nice to be back in West Africa. Sierra Leone is a predominantly Muslim country. It is full of friendly people and overflowing with need now nine years after the end of a bloody, eleven-year war. Freetown is so full of people, in fact, that it is difficult and dangerous getting around in town. Driving is very difficult due to the narrow roads, which often have deep concrete trenches on either side, and the enormous number of pedestrians using the roads not only to move from one place to another, but for any number of daily activities like selling items and even bathing children. It is a lot like Monrovia only the roads seem much more narrow and crowded. It will be an interesting field service.

John

Departures

2011-02-11T12:52:00.005Z

The last weekend in January we all packed up and left Appelsbosch to return to the ship. There were some mixed feelings, but mostly I think everyone was ready to get back to living on the ship even if it meant doing without some things like electricity and air conditioning periodically while the final projects were completed. We were very happy to leave the dampness, mildew, bugs, rats, etc. at Appelsbosch, not to mention the long daily drives back and forth to the ship for Jenny. It was a good season there - there were blessings and relationships made - but the time had come to get back to the ship. We had been preparing to return to the ship for some time, but when move day came there was a buzz of activity with loading the moving trucks and convoy of Land Rovers. I must say that the move back seemed far easier than the move to Appelsbosch as much of the work was done in increments ahead of time. Of course our cabin initially looked like a disaster area as we worked on unpacking and settling back in. It didn't take that long though - nothing like a move would be from home to home in the U.S. with the mounds of stuff I remember moving from place to place. Jenny and I are getting pretty good at it too with nearly as many moves as we have years of marriage. Now we are pretty settled in our cabin. The last of the shipyard work was completed and we set sail out of Durban yesterday. The port pilot who guides ships in and out of port was lifted from our ship by helicopter as we approached open ocean. The tugs helped us along and stuck with us though the harbor. Jenny was impressed by how much we are like tugs for one another from time to time, offering a little help through the tricky stretches, even a nudge or a tug or two to get us going in the right direction. There was a huge push to complete all the work and get all the preparation work done for sailing, but it all got done and its hard to believe we're actually at sea now. All the usual drills, briefings, and stuff took place earlier this week and now we're rocking and rolling, literally. Next stop, Cape Town, South Africa. We were going to spend a week or so there and do some P.R., but since the shipyard work took longer than hoped, we will probably have a little over 24 hours to visit and to pick-up/drop-off crew. After our brief stop in Cape Town, we head for Sierra Leone and the huge work of getting surgery underway. We should pass by off the coast of Cape Agulhas between Durban and Cape Town, the official place were the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. Later on our way to Sierra Leone, we should cross the equator and become "shellbacks",or at least the civilian equivalent thereof. I'm sure both events will be a little anticlimactic in that there are no lines in the ocean and nothing really to see, but it will be fun anyway. We have departed Appelsbosch and the shipyard and are on our way again. God is faithful!

John

Flexibility

2011-01-24T18:00:00.005Z

There is a saying around here that must be in the Bible, although I haven't put my finger on the reference:

"Blessed are the flexible, for they shall never be bent out of shape."

We've been practicing flexibility here in South Africa as timelines change due to surprises and delays with the many projects that have been taking place on the Africa Mercy during this shipyard phase. There have been and will be many contingency plans in place so that we will be as prepared as possible to sail away to Sierra Leone and begin our 2011 field service when all the work is completed.

One of the highlights of the past month has been the presence of a very flexible Mercy Team. About 15 people from all over the world (including Margie from Hamptonville, NC:) answered a plea for help and came to work alongside the crew of the M/V Africa Mercy as we tackled the huge task of cleaning the vessel. Five months in shipyard can result in a pretty dirty ship! Deck 3, where the hospital is, happens to be a high traffic zone and needed a lot of scrubbing up! The Team came in and blessed us with their great attitudes and willingness to do whatever it took to get the job done. They joined the Appelsbosch cleaning team that began travelling daily to the ship (a total of 4 hours riding per day!) on 4 January. The last trip was this past Friday, 28th January, for a total of 19 work days times 3 or 4 shuttles full of people each day. It was exhausting, but very rewarding to be a part of the clean-up crew. I did some figuring and discovered that from the 4th to the 27th, I travelled a total of 64 hours to help and direct the efforts of the team. Whew!!

Below are photos of the stripping and waxing of the hospital, courtesy of our Swedish OR nurse, Anneli Persson.

We love being a part of this team that proves that "many hands make light work" as every one has pitched in to help one another! And hats off to all those who lived on board and worked tirelessly, hours on end in the hot temperatures to keep us as close to schedule as possible! What a team!!! We were able to be reunited and all returned to live on the ship on Saturday, 29th January. How happy are we? Very! And although there is still some work to be done to get us on the open ocean and headed to Sierra Leone, we're almost there. We hope to be on our way next week.

With flexibility,

Jenny

Fall (um Spring?) Semester at the Academy

2011-01-23T16:56:00.007Z

I need to mention some of the highlights of this past semester in the Academy here. Mercy Ships Academy moved off the ship to Appelsbosch in early September when we moved here. The Academy operated here over the past several months and is now back in session although most of the educational materials have been moved back to the ship already in anticipation of the completion of the generator project and the move back on board. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I worked this past semester at preparing and teaching a 4-week student life class on photography for some of the junior high and high school kids. We made pinhole cameras out of paint cans took pictures with them. We used paper for our negatives and processed them in a darkroom that I put together. We then made positive images by scanning the negatives into the computer and inverting the tones in photoshop. The students got some really amazing photos with the pinhole cameras they had made! We also did classes on some history and basics of photography, depth of field, ISO, white balance, and basic artificial and studio lighting. The P.E. teacher has been working with the Academy kids on doing some gymnastics and they did a nice demonstration for everyone here in early December. The last week of school just before Christmas break, the teachers and kids put together a Christmas play and many of us invited friends from the surrounding communities to come and watch the play with us. It was really fun! Bethany was Mary in the play, David was a wise man, and Joey was one of the angels. They also did signing to a song under black light. They all wore white gloves so their hands showed up really well. It was really cool!All of the Academy kids (and teachers!) did such a nice job with the play!

I think the kids had a really nice semester here at Appelsbosch. They had a lot of neat opportunities too to do stuff they could'nt have done on the ship (like having a couple of non-poisonous pet snakes in the science classroom just as an example - that wouldn't have happened on the ship).

John

Interesting Signs

2011-01-23T16:28:00.004Z

Here are photos of some of the interesting signs that we have seen here in South Africa. I think that "no pass outs" probably means "no hand outs". I don't think that it means "no fainting here", but its interesting that its at the entrance to Lion Park where the lions often stike fear in the hearts of onlookers. The hippo warning sign was up north a fair distance outside Kruger Park, the monkey crossing sign near our church in Umhlanga (Durban), and the beware of crocodiles sign in Tongaat on the way to Durban from Appelsbosch.
John

Some Really Positive Things

2011-01-10T13:28:00.015Z

Aside from improving the functionality of the ship and the opportunity to get administrative things done that would not ordinarily get done on the ship during field service in West Africa, there have been some really great things about being in South Africa as a family. In the last two and a half months we have had the opportunity to see several new movies (in English I might add!) at the Gateway Mall, an enormous shopping and entertainment complex in Durban, reportedly the largest mall in the southern hemisphere, that rivals any I've seen save maybe the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. Among the movies we've seen was the "Voyage of the Dawn Treader", a really great movie in my opinion. We also recently saw the remake of "Karate Kid" and "Megamind", both of which exceeded my expectations. We have had the opportunity to travel up the Sani Pass into the mountain kingdom of Lesotho for a day with a guide named Paul Roth, who in my opinion is probably one of the very best guides in the business. We watched sheep being sheered, ate home made bread in a Basotho (people of Lesotho) home, learned a few words of Sesotho (language of Lesotho), bought a Basotho hat, and had coffee at the highest pub in Africa. We spent an evening at a local farm house that some friends of ours were house sitting. We had a cook out (braai) and the kids played with the animals. In mid November, just before the rats arrived, Jenny flew to Texas, along with several other management folks from here for a management conference at the Mercy Ships International Operations Center (IOC) near Tyler. Lots of good things happened during the conference and it was a great opportunity for staff at the IOC and crew on the ship to meet and foster relationships. She was there for a couple of weeks and had the opportunity to work in a two day layover in North Carolina on the way back. It was really great because she was able to spend most of Thanksgiving day with her family there before crossing the great pond again for Appelsbosch. In the midst of all of this, too, Jenny found out that she will be promoted to Operating Room Manager for our time in Sierra Leone. I'm confident she can do it, but we know it will be hard on her (and our family because most all of her energy will be poured into the O.R.).

Just before Christmas, we took a road trip up north. We crossed the border and spent a night in beehive huts at Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary in Swaziland. We saw animals and had breakfast at the Hippo Haunt restaurant. The breakfast was incredible and the location fantastic. We watched a bright red male weaver bird wooing his mate, saw a two foot long lizard, watched other birds and turtles and catfish all while we had breakfast there. No hippos, but that was okay; it was still a very memorable breakfast! We visited the Ngwenya Glass company and, contemplated how much we had enjoyed our 24 hours in Swaziland and continued on across the border to the north and back into South Africa. We spent three days in Kruger National Park and saw all of the big 5 except lions - elephants, water buffalo, hippos, and even a leopard. The leopard was particularly wonderful because they are more rare to see and I had been praying pretty hard that we would cross paths with one. One appeared in the road and we got to watch probably for a full minute as the leopard made its way up a river bed to the right of our car. We also saw a small creature that had quickly risen to the top of the kids' (and therefore our own) must see list - a dung beetle rolling a ball of dung across the road. We saw spotted hyenas with young which really pleased Bethany - the hyena is her favorite African animal. We stayed in rondavels (round houses with thatched rooves) at Kruger and ate dinner one night at the old rail station at Skukuza rest camp that is now a restaurant. We went on a sunset game drive and almost got charged by an enormous male elephant in musth! The driver knew what to do and after the elephant retreated I looked back at Bethany who had been thoroughly terrified by the event. All of the color had drained from her face. She wasn't the only one, though, that was nervous about the encounter. After that Bethany was adamant about staying a comfortable distance from the elephants. We encountered another huge male in musth walking down the middle of the road stopping all the traffic in both directions. We really wanted to pass, but simply were not interested in challenging the elephant for the right to use the road. No one else on the road was either. The elephant kept pushing us back until we came up with a plan. We backed up a quarter mile or so to the turn off to a watering hole beside the road figuring the elephant might be thirsty and stop off for a drink. We positioned our car for a quick escape in case he didn't turn in and waited. Soon he came lumbering (do-de-do) down the road and turned in to the watering hole. Success! Then we went down the road we wanted to and that was a good thing because it was further down that same road where the leopard had appeared. We had great adventures during our three days at Kruger. I never thought we would ever have the opportunity to go on a real African safari together as as a family. That was a great blessing!

After Kruger we traveled a little ways to the west and stayed at a self-catering cottage near MacMac falls. We loved that because all five of us could stay in one cottage. We went grocery shopping and had a fantastic braai (we grilled out). We had steak with mushrooms and grilled zucchini. It rained and we had trouble getting the fire going, but Joey and I kept blowing the coals (in the rain) and soon we had a wonderful fire! Jenny and I don't remember when we've had a better steak! We lit the oil lamps that evening and listened to Christmas music on Jenny's laptop and watched old Christmas television specials that we had on DVD. It was really nice family time and it felt a lot like Christmas even though we were a long way from home, it was the middle of summer, and the kids had playing in the camp pool on their minds. There were mosquitoes in the air, and giraffes on the curtains. A bit different from the usual for us, but Christmas time nonetheless. We even fixed our own English breakfasts two mornings in a row (eggs, sausage, toast, grilled tomato half, baked beans, and mushrooms - only we forgot the mushrooms)! Even though the cabin was rustic, our time there was a definite highlight. We spent a day traveling up to the Blyde River Canyon area. We visited the Pinnacle (a cool rock formation) where David found a toad in the bushes. We visited God's Window (a lovely view from the escarpment), Wonderview (another nice overlook), Burke's Luck Potholes (interesting rock cavities made by the river and waterfalls), The Three Rondavels (a beautiful view of the Canyon area with three rock formations that look like the typical round houses of the area), and Lisbon Falls. Nearly every spot had its own government toll and its own craft market stalls so everyone was taking the opportunity to make some money from the tourists. It was a long day, but we took in some amazing scenery! We were sad to leave the area less than 48 hours after we arrived, but we had to. We traveled to the Royal Country Inn in Dundee and slept in the nicest bed we had since we left our home in North Carolina. The following day we visited the historic battlefields of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift and learned about those fateful days in January 1879 when the Zulu warriors wiped out a regiment (some 1,300 plus British soldiers) at Isandlwana. The following night, a small contingency of of 100 or so British soldiers held off the Zulu advance (about 4,000 strong) at the small outpost of Rorke's Drift a few kilometers away. Amazing history! The 1964 film "Zulu" with Michael Caine hardly does it justice in my opinion. Joey really enjoyed the battlefields. He's been really into military stuff these days. We had traveled for a week dodging hundreds of potholes over 2200 miles of South African and Swazi roadways and counting our blessings every step of the way. We had a great time getting away and being a family.

We arrived back at Appelsbosch on the evening of the 23rd of December and the next two days were a blur. The 24th was a frantic mix of preparation for Christmas, distributing small gifts to fellow crew members, doing laundry, unpacking, etc. I spent time backing up photos from our time away and Jenny wrapped until late. Christmas day I would have liked to rest, but everyone was going to the ship in Durban for Christmas dinner, so we all boarded the shuttle vans for the ship. The boys and I went later in our rental car so we could take some stuff back to the ship in anticipation of moving back in January. At the ship we had a nice dinner and opened Christmas crackers (cardboard things that pop when you open them that have a prize and a plastic or paper crown inside).

On the 26th we went to Lion Park near Pietermaritzburg. We got really close to a rhino and a couple of small elephants! The car windows got slimed and we got to smell elephant breath! We also got close to some lions in the lion enclosure that you drive into, but thankfully not close enough to lose a car bumper, which had happened to someone when our friends had gone to Lion Park. After visiting the lions we dipped candles at a candle shop in a nice town called Nottingham Road north of Pietermaritzburg. Then we headed out for 6 days in the northern Drakensberg mountains. We stayed at a place called the Tower of Pizza that originally was a tower, I think a silo, converted into a pizzeria and is now a much bigger restaurant and B&B. Our friend Miriam joined us for those six days. It was fun having her along. The three girls stayed in one rondavel and the boys and I stayed in another. We ate pizza almost every day, much to the boys' delight!! Imagine, a little slice of Italy in the South Africa mountains! Joey, Miriam, and I went on some really nice hikes. The best one was the Sentinel Peak hike, a hike up to the top of the escarpment, around Sentinel peak, up some really scary chain ladders, across the plateau and to the edge of the sheer drop at the top of the "Amphitheater" where Thukela Falls (the second or forth highest falls in the world depending on which criteria you use) plunges into the gorge below. Good grief what an incredible view - one of the best I have ever seen!! The three of us really enjoyed that hike despite the fact that we were past the point of exhaustion by the time we got home. It was a long hike and we had driven more than three hours round trip to the trail head. It began to storm violently up there as we were driving home, so we were really thankful that we were down and had had such nice weather for our hike. We felt bad for the guys we had seen preparing to overnight up there earlier in the day. The following day we all went on a short hike (which was all Joey, Miriam, and I could muster) to some San Bushman paintings and to the cascades in the Royal Natal National Park. The paintings were worn but interesting. The cascades were really nice; nice and cold too! We had a blast there swimming and splashing and exploring. The next day we all hiked up the gorge to see Thukela Falls and the Amphitheater from below - not as impressive as from above, but still pretty cool. At the end of the day, despite my fatigue, I took David and Bethany fishing at the pond a few hundred yards above our lodging and we were able to catch a bass and almost caught a second one. The kids loved that and Bethany talked to and petted the fish most of the way down the hill. As the kids were to sad to eat the fish themselves, we gave it to one of the Zulu guys who worked in the kitchen and he was absolutely thrilled. He cooked and ate it almost immediately and thanked us over and over! Fishing was a definite highlight for Bethany and David. None of us wanted to leave when it was time to come back to Appelsbosch on New Years Day! Before the drive home on New Years Day we went to Falcon Ridge so Miriam could see the first class bird of prey show they have there. We really enjoyed seeing it a second time. Then we went to the Didima Rock Art Center and learned more about the Bushman painting in the Drakensberg. David and Bethany were most impressed by the life size statues of Eland antelope that they have there. They loved pretending they were real and clowning around on them. We were really sad when our time away was over, but we had had such a grand opportunity to spend time exploring northeastern South Africa that we couldn't be too sad.

To be honest, I was a little nervous about taking a big road trip in South Africa and through Swaziland with my family. I was also a little anxious about the fact that here in Southern Africa you have to prepay for lodging or at least pay a hefty non-refundable deposit. So I prayed hard that no one would get sick and that we would be able to use the lodging we had payed for on the days we had booked it. You know, God is good all the time and all the time God is good. Even when things don't work out the way you plan, He is still good. But it just so happens that he blessed us with good health and safely brought us through our whole time away with no hiccups. We even had great weather when we wanted it for our hikes. We saw a leopard and they don't have leopards at Lion Park. And I'm thankful too for the dung beetles we saw! It would not have been the end of the world if none of this stuff had worked out, but I would have been sad to have lost the opportunity and the money. The longer I follow Christ the more I am totally convinced that God is interested in the little things that concern us as well as the big stuff. I think He just wants us to look to Him - to look to Him in everything, little stuff included. He is waiting to bless us if we just look to Him and acknowlege that He is the source of all that is good.

We've had some trials and tough times in South Africa in the last 5 months, but we've had some pretty amazing times too. If you level it all out the balance is pretty positive.

John

Water, Laundry, and the Rats of Block D

2011-01-09T13:57:00.006Z

It's been too long since I last posted anything on this blog, so I will be catching up a bit in the next few posts. We've had some interesting challenges here at Appelsbosch. The staff taking care of the grounds here have done an outstanding job, make no mistake, yet we do have challenges. Water is a bit intermittent here. Last month we had a 2-day period without any at all, but usually its a matter of the cold water drying up for a day or so at a time. That's a bit weird to me because back home in the U.S. we normally lose hot water because the water heater is not functioning or both cold and hot simultaneously because the water source is cut for some reason. I have never been in a place where the cold water will quit and the hot water still runs freely from the tap. I don't understand how the water system works in South Africa. I suppose I could ask a few questions and find out, but I kind of enjoy the puzzlement of it all. Somehow I feel like if I understood it, it wouldn't be quite as wonderfully odd anymore. And perhaps the shrieks coming from the showers where my family and friends (self included) are bathing with only scalding hot water would not seem quite as comical.

I think I've talked already a little about the laundry. Well, I'll talk about it a little bit more. When the cold water stops, so does the laundry. There is some weird thing about not running the hot water to the washing machines when the cold water is off, because of back filling the cold water tank with hot water - I don't know!? Anyway, bucket filling the washers with hot water becomes the only solution. Yet there are concerns that if we use too much hot water in the washing machines we may run out of water altogether and not have any water left to bucket flush the toilets with. (The toilets are also connected to the cold water system and quit flushing when the cold water stops running.) Interesting, huh? Incidentally most of the sinks we've seen in South Africa have separate faucets for hot and cold water, like the one in my grandparents old mill house. I'm not sure why the combined hot/cold faucet idea has not caught on here more in recent years. The weather also makes the laundry a challenge as it is typically very damp here. Having a full day of sun is a departure from the norm. I hang all of our laundry on indoor lines and hope it dries in a couple of days. Its very smoky sometimes outside so hanging the clothes outside sometime means having to wash them again to get the smoke smell out.

In mid November with the onset of summer we had a little bit of trouble with rats in our building (Block D). (Jenny and the girls in the hospital office on campus here had had a rat eating their snacks and chewing things like backpacks and phone cords in the night a couple of months earlier. They had resolved the problem with poison as there were seldom any children around the office.) In November I almost stepped on a rat in our building entering a dark shower room on our floor, so I decided to try and eliminate them. To be honest, they are kind of furry and cute, but nobody I know, self included, wants to share their living space or the living space of their children with rats. I acquired a couple of rat traps and baited them with cheese and peanut butter and set them out one evening before community meeting. After the meeting, with Joey's hiking stick in hand, I entered the same room where I had seen the rat earlier and found the rat again roaming around. After closing the door it had escaped though earlier, I put the stick into action. I found no morbid sense of pleasure from the encounter, rather it made me a bit sad. But the problem of rats in the building was one step closer to being resolved. Another rat had entered one of my traps while we were out, so I had our friend Miriam take a photo. I was later named "The Great White Rat Hunter" by a colleague of ours after he had seen the photo. Later the same night, another rat found a trap and took the bait. I had buried three rats by morning. After that, there were one or two rat sightings and one or two other folks setting traps. I haven't heard of any more sightings of rats in the building in a couple of months. Perhaps they decided that the hope of finding food in our building was not worth the risk and have moved on.

We had another rat leave our building in December. This time it was a much loved stuffed toy rat of Bethany's named Theo. Theo was Pom-Pom's friend. I blogged a couple of years ago about Pom-Pom. She is maybe a donkey that we think might have been an air freshener earlier in her life before she arrived in the boutique on the ship where she was claimed by Bethany. Theo, the small stuffed rat with magnetic paws, had left his house in a window sill near Pom-Pom's window sill flat (pictured below) in Bethany's room. There was also at least one small suitcase packed, perhaps shared, between the two stuffed animals and they were off on vacation just before Christmas with the Rolland family to points North of here. Well Theo, unknown to us, apparently fell out of the car at a petrol station in Swaziland. By the time we realized he was missing that night, we were far away and Theo was clearly on his own. There was much sadness at his loss, yet we hope he has fared well in his new country. Since then, a small rhino (pictured below) has taken up residence in Theo's old place. Such is life, I suppose; things change. I can't help wondering if Theo's disappearance had something to do with the way I had treated his rodent kind. Anyway, the rats are gone, three into eternity, some unknown number to greener pastures near Appelsbosch, and one wandering around Swaziland perhaps in the care of another loving child. Farewell beloved Theo.

John

Moving Forward

2010-10-27T09:41:00.011Z

Things are moving forward here. Time is passing and things are getting done. The work on the ship is progressing well though it is an incredibly big job - lots of moving to and fro, tearing out this and that, replacing old stuff with new stuff and putting the pieces back together. The hole in the side of the ship is closed now, the new generators have been moved into position and are now in the process of being installed along with the new air conditioning units. (Below are photos of the hole in the ship and a new generator in the warehouse before installation.)It was amazing to see how they moved the four huge 30-ton generators into place with jacks, blocks, rollers, wenches and lots of manpower - it was kind of like watching well orchestrated performance complete with conductor. It is amazing all of the stuff going on in such a relatively small space. Sparks fly down in the engine room from the acetylene torches and welders weld all over, even under the floor so you have to watch where you step. I got to talk to a fellow who was inspecting welds with dye penetrant and magnetic particle methods of non-destructive inspection (NDI) similar to the work I did on helicopters in the military. That was fun for me since I understood the processes well. Most of the work has been happening while the ship is in dry dock. It is really cool to see the ship from the bottom of the dry dock. There is a huge hull down there about 18 feet high that usually only the divers get to see. Everyone is encouraged that things are moving along pretty much on schedule at the moment.

A few weeks ago we had open house at the Academy. School is going well for the children. This year volunteers are teaching "life skills" classes for the students. I am teaching a photography class for the next few weeks and I have six junior high and high school students in my class. Others are teaching cooking, gardening, and being a good neighbor (community service). Last month the kids were offered their choice of cheer leading, which Bethany very much enjoyed, outdoor survival skills - Joey's pick, auto mechanics, and dress making.

Also this month Jenny, Bethany, David, and I helped to clean up and paint a local parsonage. Bethany had a lot of fun mopping with a local girl her age named Namagugu, Zulu for "precious". Joey helped in the galley that day to prepare for a braai (South African barbecue) that we were doing here in conjunction with a church some crew had been attending in Ballito. To braai is a very popular past time among the white South Africans at least. Hardly a gathering goes by without a Braai, even in rainy weather. Joey and I went to Durban to Northside Church http://www.northside.org.za/ for a men's get together on the 15th. We had a braai and played rugby in the fellowship hall. The pastor spoke briefly on courage. Afterwards we spent the night at the home of one of the families in the church because of our curfew of 6pm at Appelsbosch (it has since been extended til later since we now have a shuttle service - using the land rovers was too expensive and difficult in terms of maintenance so we now have shuttles going to a few locations in Durban). I was able to pick our hosts' brains a bit about living in South Africa. The following morning we had an English breakfast at a burger place called Wimpy - wonderful. It was a great time. Joey really seems to enjoy the fellowship at Northside.

I have been spending a lot of time hanging up laundry here and keeping things running smoothly in the household. I've done a bit of photography and a bunch of other stuff that has come along, like the photography course. I'm learning a bit of Zulu with it's many clicking sounds. That's fun, but not particularly easy considering that my mouth is not used to producing some of the sounds necessary to communicate. Jenny is plenty busy working on writing policies and procedures with no immediate end in sight. We have been living the country so we have had great opportunities to see and play with some cool creatures. David and his buddies find all manner of small critters, from very friendly chameleons to large moths, to snails, very odd caterpillars that carry their homes around with them, and even a small snake. I spend some time documenting the collection in photos. The boys are loving being boys and exploring I just hope they don't find any puff adders or black mambas! The Academy had a big camp out this past weekend in the soccer field here. We had a big fire with songs and s'mores. What a nice opportunity to be outdoors! I finally got a few good photos of the Jacaranda trees that bloom here in the spring. What lovely color!It's nice to be in a place where we can experience Spring again! It's a little weird that its Fall back home, but still very, very nice.

John

Home Away From Home, Away From Home

2010-09-30T13:49:00.008Z

Sawubona! (Zulu for "hello" or "greetings") Since our last blog post much has happened. We have been very busy and blogging over the past few months has not managed to get done. We left Togo in June for a visit home to North Carolina. It was very nice to be home and reconnect with our family and friends there! Many positive things happened that I feel would not have had we not taken the time and spent the money to visit home. I think for us personally, visiting home every year is very important, if not absolutely necessary, even though it is financially very painful. Other long term families on the ship have found the same to be true for them. We stayed with Jenny's parents and got lots done and had lots of fun camping with family, eating our favorite foods, and visiting with lots of friends. Bethany got some face time with her cat Smokey too. Joey got to spend some time with his old Boy Scout troop and he and I went to the National Jamboree in Virginia with the troop. David spent a lot of time driving the golf car around his grandparent's yard. Among other things Jenny spent a week in Atlanta for Mercy Ships attending a hospital standards and policies seminar. I spent time staining the storage building that we have our household goods stored in among other things on my long list of things to do. We home schooled our kids for the month of August as school at Mercy Ships Academy started at the beginning of August. We also had a lot of speaking engagements and fundraising meetings during August. It was such a difficult month that Jenny and I have decided to avoid homeschooling completely in the future if at all possible. We would like to leave that to those who have the talents and passion required to teach children well. We don't seem to possess them. We were very glad, though, at the end of our visit home that we had decided to make the trip, despite the great cost and the time away from our jobs on the ship. We returned to Africa at the end of August and met the ship in Durban, South Africa. The Africa Mercy will be in Durban in shipyard until late January having generators and air conditioning units, among other things, replaced. (The ship at the moment is in dry dock and the work is moving forward full force. There presently is a scurry of activity on the ship. It is quite something to witness. I have some photos of the work being done, but I will have to wait to post them to my blog until I have delivered them to Mercy Ships.) We arrived at the ship on September 2nd, moving day! All of the families and non-technical (non-deck and engineering) long-term crew were moving off the ship to live at Appelsbosch College between Wartburg and Tongaat in KwaZulu Natal province, 90 minutes drive northwest of Durban. So we moved with them immediately upon arrival at the ship. Thankfully we had had a day and a couple of nights to rest in a hotel in Durban before meeting the ship. It was still quite stressful packing our cabin in a couple of hours and preparing for the move as soon as we arrived. We had missed all the pre-move briefings that the other crew had gotten during the sail from Togo. All of our personal things that we would need and all of the departmental equipment and supplies, computers, etc., etc. that we would need to live and do all the administrative tasks slated for this time at Appelsbosch were loaded onto trucks and we piled into ship vehicles and buses and convoyed out to Appelsbosch, through the hills and past round Zulu houses. We arrived on moving day at Appelsbosch in a cold drizzle and unloaded and unloaded! We all slept well that night! We have been living at Appelsbosch (our home away from our ship home, away from our home in North Carolina) now for nearly a month. Our family lives in the 4-story building below.There have been many challenges here as the college has been little used over the past four years and many of the systems here have needed work. The staff helping us here are doing a great job. We have people working security for us and running a small tuck shop for us and working to keep the water running despite the current shortage. We rarely have both hot and cold water and sometimes none at all, but there is hope that that will improve with increased rainfall. It has been unusually dry this month. We had lots of trouble with internet access initially and phones didn't come for about 3 weeks, but things are running pretty well at the moment. We have a gym at Appelsbosch with badminton, a trampoline (albeit a bit hazardous), pool tables, and basketball goals. The kids also have lots of trees to climb in and plenty of space to run and scooter and play. I think it has been a little of a transition for the ship kids who haven't had such space and freedom for so long. We have already had two broken arms; one from a skateboarding accident and the other from falling out of a tree. The latter was a bit scary as there was a significant concussion as well. The kids have found lots of little brown chameleons to play with and cool bugs like praying mantises. Bethany named the mantises inhabiting our dorm "Manny" and "Paul". We are sometimes awakened very early in the morning by the very loud cattle just outside our dorm. I often laugh at how vocal they can be. The walls of our dorm rooms are a bit bland in institutional grey, but we have managed to make things pretty homey. The mattresses are not high quality so Jenny and I each have our own crater to sleep in (you can probably see that in the photo below), but it really isn't too uncomfortable.Bethany had a birthday party about 3 weeks ago and the girls had a big time. They bobbed for apples, drew angels and added the wings blindfolded, played musical chairs and ate cupcakes. Jenny has been busy working on policy and procedure writing for the hospital. I worked in the galley mostly cutting up vegetables and meats (and sometimes my fingers!) for the first few weeks we were here, but I'm pretty heavily engaged with doing photography for the P.R. department now. I've been to the ship several times to take pictures and to Pietermaritzburg to cover one of Mercy Ships' programs there, a mental health training class attended by pastors and church leaders from all over the KwaZulu-Natal province. They were learning about working with children on the day I visited.We also had a wedding here a couple of weeks ago. Two of our fellow Mercy Ships crew members decided to get married here, so everyone pitched in and we had a wedding. He is from northern England and she is a fellow North Carolinian. It was a beautiful day and a lovely wedding. I photographed the event, but had a corrupted flash card and lost all the photos (a photographer's nightmare!). Fortunately, after downloading some recovery software, I was able to recover all the photos! Thank the Lord for that! Our family has also been privileged to see lots of other beautiful things like the Southern Cross in the night sky and the Drakensberg Mountains. We had a long weekend this past weekend so we visited the Champagne Valley in the Central Drakensberg (home of the Drakensberg Boys Choir). It was very nice to get away and just be a family for a few days. We stayed in farm cottage owned by a very nice couple with a son-in-law from Dallas. There were lots of nice birds on the farm, including fluffy chickens and even a weaver bird or two.We saw birds of prey at Falcon Ridge, learned about honey bees and ate honey cheesecake at a place called Scrumpy Jack, went zip lining on a small zip line course (David loved that!) and went on a one hour horse ride. None of the kids had ever ridden horses before. Bethany has since decided that she wants to work at some horse stables and own her own horse (oh boy, here we go!) We also did some riding around to look at the scenery (the adults enjoyed that, but the kids grumbled about being in the car.)We had a lovely family weekend in the "Berg", but traveling around carries a little stress with it in that security is a definite concern here. We don't travel at night if it can be avoided. Against the backdrop of apartheid and with the recent increase in racial tensions, we feel a bit vulnerable here. Whites are in the minority here making up only a little over 10% of the population as I understand it, and the indigenous people (Zulu primarily) here seem much cooler toward us and less willing to enter into conversation than what we generally experienced in West Africa. I'm a bit uneasy about that, but mostly just saddened by it. Considering the racial climate, it is easier to understand how people like Gandhi and Nelson Mandela might have been shaped by their experiences here. It is nice to be able to easily communicate though, but there are so many cultural issues that we don't yet understand. South Africa is a real mind bender of a place! I am finding it continually difficult to wrap my head around the economic disparity that I see here. It is not uncommon to drive into a city and see very nice houses right next door to corrugated tin and mud shacks with no water or electricity. Often its that juxtaposition that is overwhelming to me. Poverty is so prevalent in West Africa and you see economic disparity there, but it just doesn't seem as deep, maybe, or as widespread. I hope to become more educated about all of this as our time here wears on.

John

Ups, Downs, and Unusual Things

2010-04-18T21:35:00.009Z

In the past few months David has been taking Karate lessons, along with several of the other boys, on board the ship here from one of our African crew members, Montez. He has really enjoyed that! The boys did a demonstration at a recent Academy function and that was a lot of fun to watch! David also participated in a short recorder concert! Bethany and her classmates recited some poetry they had written in class. Bethany has enjoyed writing poetry.

David came home a few days ago with a big smile on his face and a paper in his hand with "David" written on it many times. He exclaimed with great enthusiasm that he had been learning how to write in cursive! He clearly felt that this was a rite of passage and that now he too could write his name in cursive! He's coming into his own one stroke at a time! Joey and Bethany went to Kpalime a few hours north of Lome' last weekend on a junior high and high school youth retreat organized by the Academy. They had a good time there hiking, playing in a waterfall and having prayer times with the leaders and teachers. They did complain a bit, though, about the "midgies", small flying insects (not mosquitoes thankfully) that loved to bite them. They also had a rough first night as the chemical that their mosquito nets were covered in burned their faces so that they had a lot of trouble sleeping. Bethany also had some stories to tell about a huge beetle in the shower. I think these were great opportunities for character development so I'm glad for them especially considering that, all things considered, they seemed to have enjoyed their time there.

A few days ago two of the teachers in the Academy here had their heads shaved. A large crowd of crew gathered to watch in the cafe' area of the ship as it happened. The Academy had held an auction of goods and services that the teachers were able to provide at little cost to them in order to raise money for flights to Kenya over Easter break in order to attend a teachers' conference there with other christian teachers in Africa. Having an opportunity to share ideas with other missionary teachers and be encouraged in that way was needful for them. Two of our teachers, Ben and Tommy, had offered themselves in the auction in order to further encourage donations to the cause. Almost $5,000, in gifts from crew members, was raised in the auction a large portion of which was given in hopes of seeing our male teachers lose their hair. So on the 15th of April, after the conference, the ceremonious shaving commenced led by Paul our London-based hairdresser. The guys had also been required, as the auction price rose, to shave their legs and wear pink bows on their cleanly shaved heads, for a time, which they both humbly took in stride with no trouble. They took their humiliation like true men for the sake of our children's education! I only wonder what some of the new crew who were not here for the auction and didn't understand the context may have thought about all of this. I wonder if anyone, watching bewildered, thought, "So is this what missionaries do in Africa!" I guess the answer to that question might be a very meek, "Uhm, yes, but only sometimes." After all, missionaries need to have some fun once in a while too.

The day after Easter, Vincent died here on the ship. He was the man I wrote about in my blog post entitled "Green Thumb" that had surgery on the ship early in the field service in Benin. It turns out that the reason his thumb would not heal was because he had cancer there. It eventually spread and took his life. He was cared for and loved here on the ship throughout the course of his treatment and eventually became, as is rarely the case, a palliative care patient on the ship here in Togo. His life and death affected many crew members in profound ways. We couldn't cure him, but I believe that he received love and care here that he would not have gotten at home. Even what family of his we could locate in Benin did not want anything to do with him, so we became his family. I hope we were able to help him in some way find a bit of peace during his final days. A pastor here in Togo buried his body. I will remember him and his story. Vincent was an outcast, unloved and full of pain. That was clear. Jesus loved him here through us. That is the testimony. Isn't that what this is really about? God's love extends to every one of us! Perhaps part of God's purpose in bringing him to the ship so many times was to remind us of that.

I'm sure most reading this blog will already be aware of the grounding of flights in Europe as a result of the current volcanic eruption in Iceland. We here have been greatly affected by this too. There have been a number of crew members, mostly short-term, who have been stranded on the ship over the past week because they couldn't fly out. Most all flights to Europe and North America from here are not possible at the moment. An orthopedic surgeon is among those stuck here. They have been able to fill his surgical schedule with patients so he can continue working while he waits for a flight out. That's a bonus here, but I'm sure he will have a stressful time once he gets back home trying to catch up on his backlog of patients that missed their surgeries this week there. Other new crew were supposed to come this week and have had to delay or cancel their plans. We just continue here the best we can and hope, like everyone else that normal air travel resumes soon. It isn't usually loads of fun when things don't go the way we had planned, but we are not always given a choice. But we are always given a choice about how we respond to the forces that bend us, about the attitude of our hearts when control is taken from us. A saying I have heard comes to mind, "Blessed are the flexible for they shall never be bent out of shape."

An interesting group photo I have made recently is one of all of the people named Jen, all of the ladies named Jennifer, Jenny, Virginia, Ginnie, Jen, etc. and even a man named Jens.

I also recently made a group photo for the O.R.'s Loud Scrubs Day. Things were quite colorful around here that day. One doctor wore a pirate hat that day because he didn't wear loud scrubs. Jenny called it the "hat of shame". One Dutch nurse even made her own loud scrubs by dying a bed sheet and sewing a scrub top out of it! She gets the award for effort! Fun.

John

Settling in Togo

2010-03-21T12:31:00.005Z

We've been in Togo now for a little more than a month. We still don't really feel that familiar with Lome', the port city we are docked in, but we are slowly getting out and about. When we arrived in February the country was gearing up for elections and we knew that our freedom of movement would be limited. Personal travel away from the ship was suspended for a little over a week during the election and the initial post-election period. We heard lots of reports of large gatherings and some protests, but things seemed to resolve in a mostly peaceful manner. In 2005 there was quite a lot of violence surrounding the Togo elections, so this year many of the Togolese here in Lome' closed their bank accounts and left the country for Ghana or Benin in case violence broke out. We had all been praying that things would go well this year, and apparently they have. The approach to screening patients has been very different this year as well due to the elections. Instead of having a very large screening, effort has been made to avoid large gatherings and have multiple small screenings. I think this system has been working fairly well. Jenny and I were involved in the first screening when there was a lot of uncertainty about how big the turn out would be, but we haven't been involved in the more recent screenings. We, as a family, hope to get out a little more in the coming weeks, but we are often too tired to even want to leave the ship on the weekends. Sooner or later, it seems, cabin fever should force us out more.

In the past month or so I have finally gotten around to doing some reading in the evenings. I finally read "The Shack" by William Paul Young that had been much discussed here. It explores some basic issues underlying our conflicts with God. I have also been reading "Have a Little Faith" by Mitch Albom on a kindle borrowed from a friend. I've found both books very interesting.

A team from Discovery Channel in Canada joined our ship in Tenerife and has recently left the ship after finishing filming an episode of "Mighty Ships" for the cable network. I expect it will air in May or so in Canada. It's possible that it may be seen outside of Canada as well. It will be interesting to see what the film team came away with.

Jenny made heart-shaped waffles and eggs for Valentines Day. And Jenny and Bethany made some pretty pink play dough from scratch using beet juice for the coloring. Bethany made crepes (from white play dough) with scoops of strawberry ice cream (from pink play dough). We all would have liked for it to be real. I spent some time in the crew galley too making real chocolate souffle's. I had forgotten how to make them so the second attempt was much better than the first.

Running club for the kids, which we didn't have in Benin due to the dock conditions, has started up again on Thursday evenings. The kids are having a lot of fun with that, and we love to watch too. I ran with the kids last Thursday. They have a few fun games at the beginning and then fit the kids with pedometers and set them running up and down the dock for 45 minutes or so. They love it and we love that they love it. Bethany saw a rat run under one of the vehicles parked on the dock during running club Thursday. It ran out from under one of the shipping containers that form the wall around our dock space and probably decided that seeing all those kids running was a terrifying sight and immediately headed for cover for fear of being trampled. Good thinking, rat!

A few weeks ago Bethany aquired another temporary pet. She found a very sluggish fly in the dining room and decided to bring it back to the cabin. Jenny and I weren't too excited about the idea, but figured there wasn't any harm in it. Besides, Bethany misses her cat Smokey and has wanted a hamster for years. In light of that it seemed a bit cruel to deny her the pleasure of having a pet fly for a day. Bethany kept the fly in the top of a shoebox without a cover and named it "Mungry the Hungry Fly". She gave it bits of apple and drops of water on a piece of plastic. She even provided some furniture and decor for the fly's new home. And the fly seemed to like being there okay. It stayed on the shoebox cover for six days!! Every day Bethany tended to it and fed it. Finally the evening of the sixth day it left. Where it went we don't know. Perhaps it got strong enough on apple juice and water to fly away.

John

Tenerife, To & Fro and Togo

2010-02-18T11:06:00.011Z

Well, we're not still sailing now! I realized that our last post was titled "Still Sailing" and much has happened since then! We arrived in Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, in the port of Santa Cruz, where we had docked a year earlier, just before Christmas. The last few days of our sail to Tenerife was very rocky. There was a storm centered over the Azores to the north and we had some large swells to pass through. I would say that the mood on the ship during that period was a bit depressed as most were suffering from some degree or other of motion sickness. We had a bit of rather serious damage and some huge messes in a couple of places on the ship as things got loose and went careening about. The floor of the galley was covered with flour and eggs at one point. We went without hot meals a time or two as well because it was too dangerous to use the ovens with all the rocking. We were just happy to have something to eat to keep our tummies settled. The O.R. was hard hit as one of the large eye microscopes (on wheels) got loose and paraded around the room smashing into things. Before it was discovered it had buckled the double doors so badly that they looked like a giant piece of popcorn. So a few additional things not on the list before the sail also needed to be attended to when we arrived in Tenerife.

We were very happy to arrive in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and our family was in the middle of the pre-Christmas (or pre-Three Kings Day - Jan 6 in Spain) buzz trying to prepare for the 25th. We gathered small gifts and candy for others on the ship and did our more-or-less annual clothes, shoe, and toy shopping for the kids. And I bought enough Greek yogurt (one of those lovely European delights that you can't get or is way too expensive in West Africa) to stuff our small fridge. Christmas came and went. I was able to say hello to Nestor (the guide who had taken the boys and me caving the year before) at the shop where he works. We ate at McDonald's which we all enjoyed maybe more because of the familiarity than anything else.

The week after Christmas, we took the ferry to Gran Canaria, one of the neighboring islands for a little family time away from the ship. We had a friend who had offered us a free place to stay there, and we had wanted to visit a different island, so we accepted the offer and had 5 wonderful days there. Since it was Christmas-time there were no rental cars available, so we got around using the public bus system, which happens to be very good in the Canaries. We played on the beach, ate Korean food (a highlight for me), went grocery shopping for many of our meals (that was really pleasant for us because we have done so little of that for so long), and wandered in and out of shops looking (also something we don't really do in Africa). I got some Russian candy from a Russian food store that, if not amazing, was interesting. We visited the Casa de Colon in Las Palmas, the house where Christopher Columbus stayed on his way to the New World and we saw the large Christmas sand sculpture nativity scene they do every year by the beach in Las Palmas. We also visited Aguimes, Puerto de Mogan, and got a camel ride through the sand dunes in Maspalomas. Much fun was had by all.

We arrived back in Tenerife in time for the Three Kings Day parade in Santa Cruz on the evening of January 5th. We went to the parade and watched the three kings arrive in town on camels and assemble to greet the long line of children waiting for them. Somehow Joey, David and I wound up where the soldiers on horseback leading the procession assembled at the end of the parade. One of the horsemen let the boys try out his helmet and play the part. That was a really fun bonus. Some months earlier I had planned to go on a mountaineering trip with some friends on the ship so some of my time after we arrived in Tenerife was taken up trying to gather last minute items for the trip. A good friend of ours who we met at our introduction to Mercy Ships class (IMS) in Texas in January 2008 had done quite a bit of mountaineering in the past and had become interested in arranging a trip to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. I figured that I would not be able to go so I basically dismissed the idea. Well, she went through with the preparations and had gathered a group to go by September or so and the question came up again. I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to climb with a group of friends like this, I desperately needed to get in shape and a trip like this would provide the incentive, and Jenny was very supportive of the idea, so I decided to go with them during January. I must say that the idea of leaving the beautiful island of Tenerife during this respite to travel back to Africa was not overwhelmingly appealing, but I had wanted to see Kilimanjaro for a number of years and was excited about the opportunity. I didn't think Joey was quite ready for the intensity of Kilimanjaro, but he did a number of great hikes with our team as we prepared in Tenerife. They were really strenuous with incredible views and Joey took every one in stride. He's a great hiker! Joey and I even went most of the way up Mt. Teide in Tenerife, and the highest mountain in Spain no less :), in a day. We didn't make it quite to the summit, but we both agreed we had had enough. Since the weather up there wasn't the best and we had to hike back down before sunset we turned around 45 minutes or so from the top.

I left with the others for Tanzania in early January. Climbing Kilimanjaro was very hard, but good. We spent 8 days on the mountain.Summit day was certainly the most difficult part. We left our tents before midnight and hiked in the dark up from about 15,000 ft. to 19,300 ft. (5,895 m.) or so at the summit. It was cold and windy and the trail never seemed to end. The high altitude caused a lot of physical and mental changes including some confusion, disorientation, apathy, headache, muscle cramping, and momentary loss of coordination. I had never experienced anything like that before, and there was just nothing easy about it! We arrived at the summit just after 7 am and spent 15 minutes or so at the top. It was very foggy and frost was forming on everything and everyone. We arrived back down at camp around 10:30 am, collapsed for 1 hour, had lunch, and then hiked 4 more hours down to a lower camp. In addition to summiting, we descended about 9,000 feet in all that day. It was quite a blessing to have done it, but I would be happy not to do it again:) Since we were going to be in Tanzania anyway, we had decided to see some animals too, so we visited the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area and the Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania. God's creation is stunning and northern Tanzania is an incredible part of it.

While I was gone for those 2 1/2 weeks, Jenny's parents came to visit for a week in Tenerife and everyone had a great time. Jenny spent a week after that looking after the kids and working on some continuing education coursework needed for her nursing license renewal. My time in Tanzania was great, but for me, I was more excited about coming back to the ship than I had been about going to Tanzania. My time away helped to remind me what a blessing my family is and how much I enjoy doing stuff with them. It was really wonderful coming "home". A few days after I got back to the ship it was time to sail for Togo. But before we left we were able to squeeze in a visit to Monkey Park on Tenerife. That was a blast! Several of the cages there are walk through so you can feed and touch the monkeys.(The first two lines of that sign are: "Please keep your children under control during your visit." and "Do not leave your children walk alone." So, we made sure to put Bethany in the cage with the monkeys.)One of the monkeys pulled Jenny's scrunchie out of her hair and ran off with it. Thankfully, he soon had enough of it and we got it back. There was a moment of horror during our visit too! We were watching one of the small brown monkeys up close when he suddenly reached up and grabbed a ball of poo from the rear-end of a nearby mongoose lemur just before it fell to the ground! The monkey returned quickly to face us with his newfound payload. Convinced that it was soon to be hurled in our direction, Jenny and I yelled for the kids to run away and I'm sure I muttered some military lingo or other like "incoming!" It was quite a tense moment, but soon the monkey dropped his handful on the ground and, with that, the panic subsided. Whew!!Back at the ship we again stocked the fridge with yogurt, got a few ice cream bars for the freezer (very uncommon treat for us in Africa), made sure we had what we needed for the next 6 months and sailed away. The day we sailed was stormy early in the day and cleared later, so we were able to leave, but Tenerife got hit with some bad flooding and storms the following day and over the following weeks. We were fortunate to have sailed when we did, but we were sad for their losses.

So, then we sailed to Togo in early February experiencing even rougher seas during the first 2 or 3 days than during the previous sail! UGH! I don't think much got damaged this time, though, thankfully.

Someone had given a donation specifically for a new pool, so the ship had gotten a new pool mostly installed during the time in Tenerife. It is still in the process of being finished and due to water concerns in Togo, it may be a while before it is operational.

Arrival in Togo went well and there were brass and drum bands to welcome us into the port. We all dressed up for the occasion and sang African praise songs as we arrived. Very nice! Now its time to get our hands dirty; that's what we're here for.

John

Still Sailing

2009-12-16T13:13:00.004Z

It's hard to believe that we have been sailing for eight days now. We seem to be rolling a bit harder today, enough to make me feel a bit queasy, but it's still smooth and we've had good weather for the most part. A couple of nights ago there was a very nice meteor shower that we were able to watch from deck eight. The above photo was taken up there at night, but of course there are no meteors visible in the photo, just some squiggles where the stars are. Sailing at night with a clear sky has a way of making you feel really small with the huge expanse of the universe above and the expanse of the deep below. One can only dream of what may be out there in any direction, up or down.

On Saturday it rained and the kids decided to start playing in the little wave pool formed by the water that had accumulated on deck faster than it could drain. The water formed little waves as the ship rocked back and forth. The kids got soaked of course, but it was a great opportunity for them to burn off some energy, so we were happy for it. They even made "water angels". Of course you couldn't see anything once they got up except maybe a slightly cleaner place on the deck, but they had fun doing it. Sometimes the kids make "sand angels" too in Africa as there is no snow that I know of within 1000 miles of where we spend our time.

We had the annual Winter Wonderland on board a couple of nights ago where people sell Christmas crafts and snacks and stuff. The kids are working hard on play rehearsals for the Christmas play the Academy is doing this week.We have had our usual drills too. I got a photo of Jenny just before the camera battery ran out.

David and I got a little bored at lunch the other day. We entertained each other, and a few others, with napkins.

We're having a good sail, but we're ready for Tenerife. I just like land.

John

An Education

2009-12-11T18:21:00.004Z

In the early fall of this year (I should probably say September since the idea of fall, or any of the other seasons for that matter, does not translate in Africa at all) I met a fellow on the dock who said that his name was Mark, that he was from Ghana and that he had come to Cotonou in order to work as a day volunteer with Mercy Ships. He arrived much later than February and there were no positions available by the time he arrived. He said that his friend who brought him here had assured him of being able to work with the ship and had stolen his money and headed to Nigeria. He claimed he had no place to live.

A couple of weeks later I bumped into him again as I was walking along the very polluted beach area not far from the dock. He said he had been sleeping in an abandoned building by the beach there and that he had no money, no job, and had been scraping by hoping to get enough money to replace his passport that had been stolen so he could return to his home in Ghana. I told him my name and left because the time had come for me to do laundry on the ship and I didn't want to lose my laundry slots.

Some days later Mark came to the ship and I got a call from the guard at the gangway that he was there looking for me. Well, his purpose was to ask if I would help him to pay the fee to get his passport replaced. He said that someone else from the ship had helped him with getting photos for the passport. It is normally better to say no and, if you really feel you want to help in a financial way, help only people that you have a real relationship with rather than give money to just anyone who asks. There are so very many of those kinds of requests where we live. Nonetheless, contrary to common wisdom, I believed this fellow and agreed to help him. I gave him some money for his passport, and on another occasion gave him some money for his return trip to Ghana and prayed with him. I expected not to see him again because I had helped him to get out of Cotonou and back home.

Well, that was not the case and he came back to the ship a week or so later claiming that he had returned to Ghana, had found out that his grandmother had died while he was in Benin and had left him an inheritance. He claimed that he had a valuable gold necklace and some property deeds that he wanted me to keep for him. He also claimed that his bag had been kept by the bus station until he paid the remainder of what he owed for his return ticket to Cotonou. At this point, I was certainly questioning the man's character and wondered if there was any truth to his story, although I really wanted to believe that he had been telling me the truth up til now. I did not agree to keep anything for him to his great disappointment. It was clear to me that that was not the thing to do, although I did give him the relatively small amount of money he asked for on the off chance that he was telling the truth.

Later that night my friend Olly spoke to me and said that he had seen me on the dock talking to "his friend, Mark". Olly wanted to know the story that Mark had told me. Olly is in charge of transportation and spends a lot of time on the dock dealing with the ship's vehicles. The story that Mark had told Olly about himself and his situation was very different from the story he had told me. It was very clear at that point that Mark, if that was even his name, was a spinner of tales. Olly and I had both compassionately given him money thinking that we were really helping him. Olly also told me other really interesting stories that he had heard in his interaction with shady characters on the dock over the years.

I confronted Mark the next time he came asking for me and told him that I did not believe his story and he did his best to spin his way out of that too including stories accusing others of diamond smuggling. I began to wonder why he would talk about smuggling and at the same time be so eager to get me to take and keep something for him on board the ship if he were not engaged in some kind of smuggling himself.

It became clear to me later that he most likely was trying to see how difficult it would be to get some cooperation from crew members in smuggling drugs or even people on board the ship while lying to get some money in the process. It was so educational for me to go through this that in the end, although it didn't feel at all good be lied to, I felt like it was worth the money I gave him to have the knowledge I gained on how to recognize criminals despite how silky their tongues. No great harm had been done and I feel much wiser for the experience.

John

Green Thumb

2009-12-11T14:28:00.004Z

On April 25 Jenny wrote about how Joey and I had gone into town to work on an orienteering requirement for Boy Scouts. That was the beginning of a story that I didn't write about then, but has now played out much more fully. Our final destination on that walk into town, following a map and using a compass, was a mosque nearby that had a couple of towers that Joey could measure the height of using some techniques from his Boy Scout handbook. Once we finished the scout work we were confronted by a group of people begging in the median in front of the mosque. We spoke with them and tried to help them understand what our purpose in town was. We explained about the ship and that the ship offered surgeries on board. I knew at that time that the schedule had already gotten very full and I wasn't qualified to screen people for surgery. There was one fellow lying there on the ground, however, who said he had "sickness" in his thumb. He unwrapped his thumb and showed it to me and it looked quite bad, tapering up from the joint to a greatly swollen, 1.5 inch diameter tip that was open and infected. He had been packing the wound with herbs in an attempt to stop the infection. I figured that he could easily die from infection with his condition and I thought I should really try to help him. I gave him what clinic information I could and gave him my name. A few days later he came to the gangway of the ship asking for me. I asked Jenny if there was any way to get his thumb looked at. She doubted it knowing how full the schedule was, but knew that there would be an orthopedic surgery team doing some additional screening soon and so she referred me to the orthopedic team leader. I had to go to a bit of effort, but was able to get him a card for the screening. By the time I worked that out he had left so I drove back out to the mosque the next day to deliver the card and, thankfully, Vincent was there lying in his usual spot in the median. After the screening, I was told that Vincent had gotten "the thumbs-up for a thumb off". I was happy that my extra effort had landed him a place in the surgery schedule. Well, Vincent came to the ship, had a portion of his thumb amputated and left. It was not the last we saw of him though. He returned multiple times afterward for more surgery on his thumb because it continued to get infected. I began to wonder why I had found him and worked to get him seen if he may be in no better shape when we leave Benin. I don't know how Vincent is doing now that we are gone. I pray and hope that his thumb is healing. What I do know is that there were a number of day volunteers (local people who work with us during the day as translators or who help in other ways on the ship) who began asking why we were helping him. They had apparently said that he had been cursed and that was why his thumb would not heal. They said that he had been caught stealing and had had his thumb slashed because of it. I don't know if there was any truth to their story, but clearly they thought he was not a good man and we should not be bothering to help him. I doubt all of this would have come about if he had not been returning multiple times to the ship for treatment. It all made me wonder if maybe part of the purpose for him being a patient on the ship and returning again and again was to help our day volunteers understand that, in following the example of Jesus, we do not turn away those who may need help the most. Jesus was a friend to all and spent time among the outcast and those who society considered to be evil and had rejected. If we are to follow Jesus example, we also have to reach out to those same kinds of people. I hope that the fact that we were helping this man, whom some of our day volunteers did not consider worthy of our help, helped them to understand more about the true character of Jesus. I don't know the full purpose of having found Vincent that day, but I'm sure that God knows and I will have to leave that for Him to sort out. I am encouraged, though, that perhaps the purpose for him to come to the ship was much greater and went much deeper than just helping to fix his thumb.

John

Sailing

2009-12-10T13:56:00.003Z

We have now packed up, said our goodbyes, left Benin, and are sailing to the Canary Islands for some down time and preparation for another field service in West Africa to begin in February. The sail so far has been nice and smooth, but there are still some who feel a bit rough. It's a bit hard for me too to look at the computer for very long without needing to go out on deck and get some fresh air. Yesterday was pretty eventful, especially in the evening when we saw a water spout pass by us on our port (left) side at not more than about 200 yards away. I was able to see it change shape and size over time as it stirred up the water beneath it. It was an incredible sight. It lasted for probably ten minutes at various intensities. We are also seeing quite a few flying fish flying away from the ship as it passes through the water. They must think we are an awefully big whale and want to escape as quickly as possible. They sometimes are hard to distinguish from birds flying continuously just above the surface of the water. They often fly 100 yards or more before they disappear back below the surface of the ocean. Yesterday evening there were Christmas plays and stories told all over the ship in 20 minute intervals by different individuals and groups. Since we don't have cold weather to remind us that it's the holiday season like we're used to, its nice to have some Christmas spirit on board.

John

President's Dinner

2009-12-10T13:28:00.004Z

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

Weathering Storms

2009-12-05T09:41:00.005Z

During the initial time after we arrived back on the ship after our trip home in the summer, we experienced a pretty extreme case of homesickness. We really struggled with the blues to such an extent that it was difficult to get back to work and, frankly, I think that is the main reason there have been so few posts on our blog over the past few months. Now that we are less busy at the end of the field service and feeling better about things in general, I'm trying to catch up a little with blogging. I hope you will agree that late news is better than no news.

In the early fall this year, our community here experienced a period of difficulty. Three of our crew came down with malaria and spent quite a bit of time in the hospital on the ship under the care of our medical crew. All three recovered from their illness, but it was a very difficult time for them. Around the same time, Citra, one of our Gurkha security guards was out running in the morning with a good sized group from the ship. They had reached the usual turn-around point where our Gurkha friend was hit by a motorcycle while crossing the street. There was a doctor & a number of nurses in the group who tended to him. The physician in the group also insisted that the Beninese ambulance that arrived take Citra to the ship rather than to a local hospital. It took some convincing, but the ambulance driver ultimately agreed and they brought Citra to the ship. The medical staff suspected a head injury and probable internal bleeding. The cat scan and portable x-ray on board were very useful in determining the extent of Citra's injuries. He spent about a week and a half in the ICU on the ship and continued his recovery in his cabin. Despite his head injury, Citra made a full recovery from a situation that could have easily taken his life. Citra was thrilled to come back to work and has just recently gone home for his yearly scheduled vacation. We were all so happy here on the ship that he is doing well and we credit God and thank Him for taking care of our dear friend!

John

"One day Jesus said to his disciples, 'Let's go over to the other side of the lake.' So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. The disciples went and woke him, saying, 'Master, Master, we're going to drown!' He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 'Where is your faith?' he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, 'Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.'" Luke 8:22-25

Blackout, Ice & All That Jazz

2009-12-03T14:06:00.006Z

What do the words blackout, ice, and jazz have in common? Maybe not too much ordinarily, but they describe our weekend pretty well. Last Saturday was the day at the end of a field service in Africa when all the power and most of the plumbing are shut off on the ship in order to do certain maintenance work that requires these systems to be off. So since niether Jenny or I work in the engineering department and we were aware that it would be happening, we planned to be away all day at the Hotel Du Lac letting the kids swim their hearts out in the pool there. It turned out to be a lovely day for us and we stayed until after dark and had dinner at the hotel eventhough the power and water were reportedly back on by early evening. The kids had pizza and how they love pizza, especially the boys.

Sunday held a couple of nice surprises. We had planned to have a potluck brunch with some of our friends, mostly to honor our good friends that we went to gateway in Texas with, Sam and Amy, who recently got engaged. We met up on deck 7 at 11 or so in the morning and it was almost 100 degrees F in the shade - very odd I know for the end of November back home in North Carolina. It wasn't long before the kids were all playing with water guns and wanting to turn on the hose. Our friend Peter went and filled up a cooler full of ice and dumped it out on the deck for the kids to play in. And, being the fireman that he is, did an outstanding job of manning the hose so that everyone had ample opportunity to get drenched. There were battles too between the kids and some of the adults who think they're kids to see who could get the other wetter.That involved treachery and sneaking around and also the more obvious usage of large tubs from the galley. It was quite a blast for all involved, even those who mostly watched.

On Sunday we broke with tradition and went out to eat again. A couple of our Canadian friends had been wanting to go with us to the Neuer Biergarten on the beach here because they had discovered that they have live jazz on Friday and Sunday evenings. Well, I didn't expect much and I hadn't heard great things about the food there, but Jenny and I decided to leave the kids in the care of our good friend Juan and go anyway. We invited another Canadian couple, and mutual friends, to go as well. It turned out to be one of the loveliest evenings by far that we have had since we arrived in February. The all-Beninese band they had was just fantastic, great musicians and wonderful rich vocals - and of course very laid-back. They sang songs, many of them familiar to us, in French, English, and Spanish. The food was quite nice too, and all in the gentle ocean breeze. It was like being transported somewhere else entirely for a couple of hours. We started wondering why we had not discovered this and some of the other really nice things that we have been recently discovering about Cotonou until right at time to leave!

Overall it was probably one of the nicest weekends for us in many months.

John

Port Police Escort

2009-12-01T18:47:00.006Z

My friend, Craig, and I had been talking about trying to get a ride in one of the multitude of fishing pirogues that move about the waters along the coast of West Africa since we were in Liberia last year. Well, Craig made a connection with a local fisherman during the course of his work here. The man actually offered a trip on board his canoe and so Craig invited me along. We went to the fishing village with our two young sons in the harbor here on Saturday morning to meet the fisherman there. There were a few maintenance problems with the canoe so we got some net mending lessons from an older fellow there to kill time while we waited to see if things were going to work out for the ride. After a while, we realized we would have to come back another day, so it was decided that we would return this past Monday morning and try again. So Monday morning early we headed over there without the boys this time and watched as one of the fisherman's adult sons carried a boat motor across the slick, algae-covered landing to mount it on the boat. The motor slipped and fell into the water, but was quickly recovered and mounted onto the canoe. It wasn't long before we were invited aboard and headed out into the harbor next to one of the half-sunken boats here. There one son cast the anchor and while the other son helped the fisherman work on the motor to get it running. After a little while we were off and headed out past our ship toward the mouth of the harbor. It was really quite odd to see our ship and everything else around from the water level. We waited at the mouth of the harbor while one of the enormous automobile carrier ships passed in front of us to find its berth in the port. I felt a bit like a small fish at that point riding in a canoe next to one of those giant ships. Soon we headed out to sea and began paralleling the coastline headed east. We were gone not more than five minutes when a Beninese port police boat came screaming toward us. The boat carrying three uniformed men pulled alongside us and ordered us to return to the port. The boat followed as we headed back. As we arrived back at the mouth of the harbor, our motor stopped working again. The men on the police boat ordered us to throw a rope so we could be towed back into port. So we again passed by the Africa Mercy, but this time it was clear to all watching that we had been busted! Some of the deck crew were watching and waving to us from the ship to our humiliation. We were more concerned, however, about any consequences that may result for our hosts who had so graciously offered to give us a ride. Soon we arrived alongside one of the small gray naval vessels on the dock opposite our ship's berth and were ushered out of the canoe, across the deck of the vessel and onto the dock to the station there. (The gray vessels can be seen in the photo below taken earlier - we don't have any photos after we were confronted by the police boat as it would have been inappropriate to have our cameras out during that time.)Surrounded by uniformed men we were questioned mostly in French about what we had been doing. Craig, who has a very much better understanding of French than I, explained that we worked with Mercy Ships and had just been out for a spin around in a fishing canoe. Once they knew we worked with Mercy Ships and were apparently not involved in illegal activities (eg. smuggling, illegal immigration, piracy, etc.) the mood became much lighter. I guess we did look a little suspicious because it is very unusual to see a "yovo" (the fon word for white person) riding around in an African fishing canoe - at least in the not at all touristy port area. One of the officers there had trouble with his knee and so Craig, being a physician, examined his knee and gave him some advice concerning it, which the man was grateful for. We were then offered a ride in the police boat, which we graciously declined, and given permission to freely continue our voyage in the fishing canoe. Both Craig and I felt we had done all we needed to so we got back into the canoe with the fisherman and motored the short distance back to the landing. We were assured that there would be no further problems for our hosts, thanked them and returned to our ship home. Craig returned later in the day to follow up and to take photos we had taken of the trip to our fisherman friends. They were delighted and we had a great story to tell about being arrested in the port a stone's throw from the ship!

John

Wrapping Up

2009-11-22T16:32:00.002Z

We are quickly approaching time to leave Benin. We will soon be sailing back to Tenerife and making preparations for Togo next year. There are quite a lot of things to be done before we can leave so we will be quite busy over the next few weeks. That's not anything new, though. The last couple of months have been very busy for us also. Preparing to finish the field service is a very busy time of year. It is also the time of year when we host most of our groups of visitors and donors who come to see the ship in action. During this time most of us on the ship are feeling a bit more stressed than over the summer months. We will be sad to leave Benin as this has been our home for nearly 10 months and we have developed relationships here, but we are really looking forward to finishing our work and heading out too. Jenny has been religiously counting down the days til the end of surgeries over the last few weeks . Officially the last surgery was this past Friday. This year has been very full of challenges for us. We are very happy to have passed through them. There have been many times this year that we have struggled to want to continue, but we are still here. At this point we are feeling much more positive about being here and are looking forward to a much needed break in Tenerife and to seeing what the coming year brings. We have certainly weathered a storm this year, mentally and spiritually, and are very grateful to those who have supported us. I think really for the first time since we left home 15 months ago we are finally beginning to feel a bit settled. I knew from our time adjusting to living in Italy years ago when I was in the military that it would take a while. I'm sure we will have more struggles coming, but its nice to see that "finding a new normal", as Jenny frequently refers to our process of adjusting to life here, is not completely outside the realm of possibility.

John

Over Board!

2009-10-23T18:41:00.004Z

On Thursday night we had a special thanksgiving community meeting and it was all about ,well thanks , and I certantly have something I am thankful for! Just recently the ship has installed a bascetball hoop on deck eight. So just today we perchested a bascetball for five dollars and eighty five cents , and with so many people playing with it and we had not played with it for twenty minutes and it hit the back board of the hoop and BLOOP into the water it went! I had no hope and I thought it was gone forever cause some fisherman would come and find it and keep it for himself. I rushed down to the dock to see if I could save it , I waited until the ball came into veiw , then I was sure there was no hope. Then a man from a nearby boat dove into the icky water and grabbed the ball , he was going to keep it for himself , until mommy yelled -"it's her ball can you give it back?" And sometimes people want money for good deeds - he did. So we went back to our cabin , wrapped a few nougats and a 2000 cefa bill in a plastic bag and gave it to him , and he smiled so I got my ball back! and that is what i'm thankful for! It was a complete mirical until he said he wanted to marry me!

Bethany

Have You Hugged a Plumber Today?

2009-10-08T21:01:00.003Z

For the past week in our cabin, we've been tolerating low water pressure from all the fixtures in our bathroom. The toilet would barely fill, the faucet was just a trickle and the small stream from the shower head allowed the water normally spent on a 2 minute ship-shower to be spread out over not less than 10 minutes!

Well, today I put in a work request and asked the plumber on the ship, Tom KenKnight, to "please help!" He came quickly to rescue us from this problem and had the water flowing to all fixtures by this afternoon. GO TOM!

We were all very excited about the restoration of water flow and there were gleeful giggles heard as all three kids (and Momma) turned on the shower and sink faucet to test and see for themselves the wonderful sight! As much as I love sitting in a bathtub, I thought to myself that our restored shower is almost as good as a bath! WooHoo!

Before

After

Hug a plumber today!

Jenny

Elisee Visits from Cote d'Ivoire

2009-10-01T20:51:00.003Z

On Tuesday of this week I realized that a singer whose music I had become familiar with (when I was looking for music to include in a slide show to show on our visit home this summer) had been visiting the ship here in Cotonou. He goes by the name Elisee and lives in Cote d'Ivoire. All of his music has French lyrics, but he is working on Enlish versions presently. My favorite song of his is a very encouraging song called "Ca Va Aller" roughly translated "It'll be Okay". It was great to have an opportunity to meet him!

John

The Goat Wash & Feeding Monkeys

2009-10-01T20:29:00.004Z

This past weekend was a three day weekend for many on the ship. The kids were out of school on Friday and we had another opportunity to go to Porto Novo, the capital of Benin, about a 45 minute drive away. Our family had been there some weeks back and visited the botanical gardens there, but had not seen the monkeys we had heard usually hung around in the trees. So Bethany and I decided to give it another go. Jenny was not feeling well so we left her to rest and the boys were more interested in being couch potatoes than getting out. When we arrived at the gardens this time, we immediately saw the monkeys coming to see if we had bananas, and we did. So we had a chance to feed them and watch them for 10 minutes or so until they lost interest in us.

During the drive we saw something interesting, which is usually the case for us here as we are still discovering many new things about the culture. This time it must have been time to give the goats a bath. We saw quite a few goats in a fairly localized area getting a good cleaning.

John

To Blog or Not To Blog

2009-09-13T18:14:00.003Z

That is the question. And the answer is always TO blog. I just don't ask the question often enough! My problem is that I feel like I don't have enough interesting things to say, most days. However, I will try to overcome that feeling and write something anyway!

August 27 marked our first year of service with Mercy Ships complete. Can you believe that it's been a whole year already? In some ways, it seems longer. And in other ways, it seems shorter. There have been ups and downs, stormy waves and calm seas. We've seen many people come through the operating rooms, changed on the outside. But our prayer is that their hearts have been touched by the Love that lives in us.

The scripture verse from I John 3:18 has become a life verse for us as we serve the West Africans from this vessel. It says, "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." But we also realize that it applies to us wherever we are. Whether we are in Africa or in our home town, we are to have an attitude of love. We want to show love to those we serve AND those we serve with.

Thank you for loving us. Please continue to lift us up in the many ways that you do. The support of our friends and family means so much to us as we continue on this journey.

Mwah, Mwah! (Those are kisses!)

Jenny

Dirty Jobs

2009-08-28T13:14:00.004Z

Dive, dive, dive!

Dirty job Every week two divers clean garbage and marine growth from the screens that cover the cooling water intakes on the Africa Mercy, so that the cooling water continues to pass, so that the engines and generators don't overheat. The visibility is usually very low, which makes their job extremely hard... Pictured: Olly Peet.

Sharing

2009-08-20T17:00:00.002Z

"Will John or Jenny Rolland please report to their cabin...Will John or Jenny Rolland please report to their cabin?"

Well...it wasn't really a question that we heard over the ship's loud speaker today.

It was around 5:20pm and I was still in the OR, but about ready to meet the family in the dining room for supper. A few minutes before, though, I got a page on the beeper and the number displayed was our cabin number. I suspected that the page was from John and that he wanted to know when I would be ready to meet them. Then...everyone on the ship was silenced by the "BONNNNNG" that means "shhh...there is an announcement coming". And announcements over the ship's paging system are not granted lightly!

My eyes got really wide, I might have said "CRAP", and then I couldn't decide weather to run to the phone or up the 3 flights of stairs to Deck 6 and our cabin. OK, phone. The line went straight to voicemail. OK, stairs. Up, up, up..."someone must be hurt...where's John?...it must be serious for them to have paged..." When I got to the top of the stairs on deck six, I had a clue as to what was the matter. It was on the floor outside of the captain's cabin and I had to step over it very carefully as to not get stomach contents on my OR shoes!

John had already made it to the cabin, our friend, Juan, was dialing the duty housekeeper and another friend, Joan, was in the cabin and had assisted David from the hallway to our bathroom. David was dazed and pale, but felt better after his stomach had been emptied on the deck! John ended up doing the clean-up and had just finished when Bethany asked if he had gotten the spot in the hallway on Deck 5. Nope, it was still there! Mop to Deck 5. Finally, the clean-up was complete and three fifths of the family went to the dining room for supper!

I felt very famous in the dining room as many people gave me a glance and raised their eyebrows as if to ask, "what was that about?" Several did ask and were not surprised to discover that the bug-of-the-month had visited our cabin. That's the thing...we live in such close community that we share EVERYTHING! We love our neighbors, though, and believe that we ought to share each other's burdens. So, David is just doing his part!

But, really, we are very thankful for those around us who share our burdens even on days like this! Thank you to our friends who helped us out and enquired about our well being. It's nice to have such a big family here on the ship that looks after us!

Jenny

R & R

2009-07-15T02:36:00.003Z

I can't believe it's been so long since we posted a note! We've been home in Pfafftown, NC at Mom-Mom and Pop's for a little rest and refreshment since June 23rd. Our bodies have not had much rest, but our brains have had a break and we are loving being at home and visiting friends and family.

These are some of my favorite spots at Mom- Mom & Pop's house...

The left half of the front porch.

The right half of the front porch.

The back deck where you can look out at the garden and Pop's "lean to" that houses the gardening equipment and such.

The chickens on the "farm". Each of the two hens that are left lay one egg per day. Yum!

The playhouse that Pop built.

Jenny

Our Father, who art in Heaven...

2009-05-30T14:59:00.003Z

This week in our Thursday morning devotionals, Nari Palmer encouraged us to reflect on God for a moment and write down the first 7 characteristics of God that came to mind. I thought I would go through the list one by one and share each here as a post. The first one I wrote down was "Father".

I am blessed to have a wonderful earthly Father who has loved me and been an example of how my heavenly Father loves me. But I know that many people go through life never knowing or having been let down by their fathers. Our Father in heaven cares for us so tenderly, providing for our every need, drawing us to himself when the world disappoints us.

This week we found out that one of our little patients who was on the ship with us for many weeks passed away. Odelon was only a few weeks old and severely underfed when we met him. He suffered from a cleft lip and palate and had been all but disowned by his family. He and his mom came to the Africa Mercy and began a feeding program designed to help him gain enough weight and strength to undergo surgery to correct his deformity. The program was successful and his lip and palate were repaired by Dr Tertius Venter a couple months ago.

Odelon stayed with us for awhile after surgery so that his mom could get used to feeding him now that he was "normal". They were doing very well and finally returned to their village. But our joy over Odelon's triumph was turned to sadness when we learned this week that he had not been accepted back into his family and eventually died from lack of nourishment. Please pray for his family and village, that their eyes would be opened to the Truth and that the Truth will set them free from all that keeps them in darkness.

Psalm 68:5 ~ A father to the fatherless, a defender to the widows, is God in his holy dwelling.

Psalm 27:10 ~ Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.

Trip to Ghana

2009-05-17T14:16:00.007Z

A couple of weeks ago now we had an opportunity as a family to go to Ghana. We took a few days off of work and took the kids on a little adventure. Our friend Miriam, our English pharmacist, and Philip, who is from Ghana and works in engineering on the ship, went with us. It was really helpful to have Philip with us because he knew the border procedures well and had made the trip before. We were also very grateful to our other Ghanaian friends here, Richmond and Esther, who helped us arrange transportation and lodging. We had a wonderful time. We stayed most nights at the YWAM base in Tema just east of Accra. Many of the African crew members aboard the ship are from Tema so it was very nice to see the place they call home. Our impression was that Ghana is still very much West Africa, but much more like home than any other West African country we have visited so far. There is quite a bit of development there and even a western style shopping mall in Accra! There were a few moments while driving around in Accra when we could imagine ourselves being in the U.S. somewhere, until we were jolted back to Africa at the red lights where dozens of vendors weave between the cars hoping to sell whatever they are carrying in the large containers on their heads.

On Thursday, April 30th we traveled from Cotonou to Tema. We didn't expect to have any trouble leaving Benin, but that was where we got stuck. The border police wanted us to pay for Benin visas, which, given the work we do, we are not required to have. So rather than paying $100 extra we made a few phone calls and waited an hour and a half til everything got sorted. After that, we crossed into Togo and then later into Ghana without any trouble. Altogether the trip to Tema took about 9 hours. That evening we met our gracious hostess, Betty. We were very grateful for all her hospitality while we were there. Philip went on to his home to visit until our return to Cotonou, but Miriam stayed and traveled with us. Friday we went to Boti Falls to the north of Accra along with Dixon, our driver. We listened to lots of African praise music, South African reggae, and some interesting Nigerian hip-hop during our journey. It turned out to take much longer to get there than we expected, but it was beautiful and the kids had fun splashing around in the water.

On Saturday we got up early and left at 5:00 for Winneba for the annual Aboakyir Festival. We had timed our trip so we could try and catch this event. During the night two companies of men had gone out to try to catch live antelope. So Saturday morning not long after we arrived they paraded in from the hunt with great fanfare carrying their catch. The local chief came out too with his entourage all dressed in their traditional clothing. It was fascinating to see all of this, but the crowds made it a bit difficult to see the animal and quite hazardous to get any photos. We had lunch that day at a little restaurant run by one of Betty's relatives. Below is a photo of the kids and Emmanuel, a wonderful man who does church planting and who was kind enough to drive us to the festival, at the restaurant.On our way back to Tema that evening we tried some tiger nuts we bought from a street vendor.

On Sunday we rested a little and left with Dixon for Elmina. We toured Elmina Castle, an old Portuguese fort used during the slave trade. It was a very interesting tour, but also very sobering. We stayed at a very nice lodge on the beach that night and tried some local food called kenkey, a smoked corn meal cake wrapped in plantain leaves. We also had a nice chicken kabob and spaghetti for the kids.

On Monday we went to Kakum National Park and went on the rope bridge canopy walk up in the rain forest canopy. It was quite high up and quite beautiful. It reminded David, Joey and me of the Ewok village from Return of the Jedi.

We tried fresh cocoa there too. The beans are white on the outside and taste very sweet. You only suck the flavor off the outside without biting the bean. Neither the sweet taste of the outside of the bean nor the interior of the bean if you bite into it taste anything at all like chocolate.

On our way back from Kakum Park we stopped off for lunch at a place called Hans Cottage Botel. The restaurant sits on stilts on a lake that is infested with crocodiles. There are also thousands of yellow and black weaver birds in the trees within arms reach. That was a really neat place to hang out. The caretaker let us watch her feed the crocodiles and let everyone touch the tail and hind legs of one of them. None of us had ever done anything like that before. I'm sure it would have been no big deal for people like Jeff Corwin, Bear Grylls, or Steve Irwin, but it was a big deal for us.

When we got back to Tema Monday evening we got to see Esther, one of the ship's photographers who just returned to live in Tema, her hometown. We visited briefly with her mother as well and Cathy who was also visiting from the ship.

Tuesday we linked back up with Dixon and Philip for the return to Cotonou. We said goodbye to Dixon at the border and crossed into Togo. Unfortunately, our ride was not there. We had a few refreshments at the Shell station and waited for a couple of hours for the van to come. It didn't so we got a couple of taxis in order to make it into Benin before dark. The taxi ride was a little unsettling. The drivers obviously knew the road very well, but even so 100 miles per hour through Togo is frightening! It was the first taxi speedometer that I had seen that actually worked and I'm pretty sure it was not measured in km per hour. Perhaps it would have been better for me if it hadn't worked. Nevertheless, the Lord was merciful and we all arrived back at the ship safely. It was a very nice, refreshing trip.

John

This and That

2009-04-25T10:38:00.009Z

The most important thing I have to report today is that for the last two and a half weeks we have been livin' a dream! That dream is the realization that we now have a TEENAGER IN THE HOUSE!

It's true. Joey turned 13 on April 7, 2009!! Joey celebrated by hosting a "Lord of the Rings" marathon in the Youth Room for a few of the guys on the ship. They started the first one at 1pm and finished up after 11pm! And at Joey's request, I made pizza for dinner and baked a chocolate cake with chocolate chips and chocolate icing. We even bought ice cream (Fan Ice from a local super market) to top it off. It was a "fun, Lord of the Rings-y" day, according to Joey. And a highlight for the guys was when they pulled the head off the breadman from our previous post. Poor breadman!

On Easter Monday, we played in the rain with our friends, the Albrechts, at Au Jardin Helvetia, a rustic hotel about 45 minutes from the ship. We really enjoyed the rest and refreshment that day provided.

Here you can see the snail round-up by the kids.

Joey and John have been working on scouting merit badges in their spare time. Here, John is having fun testing Joey's knowledge of First Aid.

And below is a phot of Joey navigating an orienteering course that John mapped out for him in Cotonou. It may not be the typical Boy Scout orienteering course, but it's the environment we have to work in.

Joey's hope is to advance to the rank of First Class before he joins with his old troop for Boy Scout Camp at Camp Raven Knob in June. Yes, we have plans to go home for a visit in the summer!!
On another note...I had the opportunity to give blood to one of our patients last Friday. There was one fellow who lost a good deal of blood during his surgery. The blood bank is made up of crew members who are willing to donate on a moment's notice when the need arises. So when you get called, you go to the Ward where you hop onto an empty be and the lab technician pulls a nice unit from you which then goes directly to the patient. It's a pretty cool thing to know you are providing warm, life sustaining blood to someone in need! We were critically low of this patient's blood type, but when people heard of the need, more signed up to give.

Below you can see three crew members who were giving at the same time this past week to meet an urgent need while a patient was in surgery.

Jenny

Been Busy!

2009-04-05T08:29:00.009Z

Life's like a river current, isn't it? It just keeps on flowing, and we do best to lay back on the water and flow right with it. If we try to stand up and stay in one place, we hit a good deal of resistance, but the current keeps moving...just swirls around us and flows on. And I've learned that you are supposed to float down the river feet first so that you aren't as likely to get your feet caught on things on the bottom of the river that will pull you under. That position also keeps you face-forward. There's no point in looking back at where you came from. You need to keep your eyes on what's ahead, or you'll bump into a rock or get caught in low-lying branches, and cool things will pass by without you even noticing!

So, we've been caught up in the river of life. We are now about to begin the 7th week of surgeries on board the M/V Africa Mercy. Monday through Friday the current is the swiftest for me. As I've been trying to juggle the things and situations that need my attention, I've also been able to spend a little time playing my favorite roll..."scrub nurse". And I've been witness to what may be the fastest surgical time in the world! The other day, I worked with our neighbor and fellow North Carolinian, Dr Bruce Steffes, on "hernia day" (which is every day in the general surgery room. There are SO many!). He was able to repair bilateral hernias on a 5 year old in 10 minutes, with a total OR time of 22 minutes! Amazing!

Dr Bruce working with Dr Mark Shrime on a goiter a few weeks ago

John's been spending a little spare time fishin'. Last week he had some interaction with a fellow on the dock that gave some good insight about asking and receiving. Below are some photos of the strange looking fish he caught. It wasn't big, but it was interesting. Some of the locals called it a "snake fish".Joey got to spend 3 days in the Galley with Eddie the Baker this past week. The Junior High and High School kids got to have some "Work Experience". Joey got up around 4:30 am and learned about baking. He also was able to help make the pizzas for the crew's dinner on Thursday evening. That was one of the highlights of his time in the galley. He's very passionate about pizza! They had a little extra fun making this "bread man" too.

Bethany and David have been trying to get as much "Deck 8" time as possible. Deck 8 is where the pool and climbing frame are. The pool is a refreshing oasis in the hot climate. And David has been challenging himself to cross the monkey bars without falling. So far, he's crossed more than 13 times! (He's counting!)

And so we float on down this river that's life. The nicest days are the ones where the current is slow and we can pay attention to the beauty on the river banks. Those would be the weekends of life, I guess!

~Jenny~

Fete de la Gani

2009-03-15T17:32:00.005Z

On Friday the 6th of March my friend, Eddie Wong (the ship's baker) and I traveled to the small town of Nikki in the north of Benin to attend the annual Fete de la Gani. The Fete de la Gani is a week-long festival where the kings of neighboring Bariba kingdoms, some from northern Nigeria, come to Nikki where the most powerful and esteemed king in the region resides. My interest in this festival was peaked after reading about it in a travel guide on Benin and I thought it would be a great opportunity to get some unusual photos. Trying to pin down the date of the biggest day of the festival was no small task, though. After asking multiple people who knew folks in northeast Benin, I got different answers, but finally got the confirmation that I needed close to the day we had to leave. It was supposed to all kick off at around 7am on Saturday the 7th and we had made arrangements to take the 7 hour public bus ride to Parakou on Friday, leaving at 6am, and stay the night in Parakou on the SIM mission compound. It was all rather remarkable that we had been able to arrange that much. Our plan was to arrange for a before-sunrise (2-3 hour) Saturday morning taxi ride to Nikki once we arrived in Parakou. Well, we arrived in Parakou at around 2pm on Friday. The ride was very nice, actually. The Chinese-made bus was air-conditioned, at least until the a/c broke 3/4 of the way to Parakou and on the bus each person was allotted one seat. On the bus we watched videos of Muslim music from Niger and watched a very bad television soap opera apparently made in an English-speaking African country and dubbed into French. Our single rest stop on the trip was very interesting indeed! We stopped in the town of Bohicon and were greeted by a mob of people with baskets on their heads or carrying trays of snacks and a hundred other things for sale to help you on your journey. Among the items for sale were barbecued hindquarters of some strange opossum-sized animal with a long tail that, if I could hazard a guess, might have been cane rat that I have heard is commonly on the menu here. The restroom was an interesting experience too. It basically amounted to a couple of large trees right in the center of the bustling dirt thoroughfare. The trees had obviously been used well and nobody seemed to mind at all that there was no modesty really possible about using them. So we just took care of our business there in the middle of town and made our way back to the bus.

Once we arrived in Parakou, we needed to get across town to the SIM base, so we took the only available form of transportation and hopped on the back of a couple of zemidjans and took a hair-raising motorcycle trip through the busy market center of town. Safely at our intended place of lodging, we met the very pleasant Swiss couple there and checked in. Later that afternoon we began asking questions about transport to Nikki very early on Saturday morning. It began to become apparent that arranging for a taxi ride that early on the big day of the festival might not be possible. Very fortunately for us there was a missionary who lives in Nikki that had been away for some months that had just arrived back in Parakou and would be staying there for a few days. She very kindly offered for us to sleep at her place in Nikki, not being sure what the condition of the place would be when we arrived or if there would be anything to sleep on. We very enthusiastically accepted her offer and hurried off to the taxi station on yet another pair of zemis in an attempt to get out of town before dark. The approaching darkness was not comforting, especially for me carrying lots of camera gear. We arrived at the taxi station in the center of Parakou with a local man from the mission and were able to secure a taxi ride after about 30 minutes of loud, passionate arguing and moving us and our bags from one very well worn taxi to another and our money from one taxi driver to another. I didn't understand what was being said, but we just waited and hoped that everything would get sorted out eventually. Eventually it did and the two of us were on our way just before sunset in a compact, 80's model, 5 seat Peugeot, with 8 other people and a trunk bulging with baggage and live chickens! We had paid for 3 seats (CFA 7,500 or $15) as the taxi drivers had said they normally put four adults across the front including the driver, so it was just the driver, Eddie and me in the front. We got gas out of a jar at the local fuel stop and headed out. The road half way to N'Dali was paved, but full of potholes, many of which we hit at a higher rate of speed than I would have liked, sitting on the hump between the driver and passenger seat. We stopped in N'Dali for more snacks pushed out of the darkness in through the car windows by street vendors. There and every other time we stopped, Eddie and I took the opportunity to get out and get the blood flowing in our legs again. From N'Dali the road became a dirt track with quite a few concrete humps here and there that our driver would almost always skid into after having locked up the brakes on the washboard dirt road. He usually found the best spot to go over, but would still frequently drag the bottom of the loaded down vehicle on the concrete. It was a bit disconcerting that he frequently hung his head out the window to look at the front wheel and smack his gums as if to say, "Darn, maybe I hit that one a little too hard." Well after about 2 and a half hours of riding in what felt like a sardine can being drug by a horse, we arrived in Nikki amidst a mob of people. We had no idea where the house that we were headed to was, but we found a couple of zemidjan drivers who thought they knew and so we were off on our first after dark zemi ride down the dirt streets of the remote town of Nikki dodging people, goats, and other zemis on our way. Once there, we were very warmly greeted by the girls' school teachers and students. There was no electricity at the house, but there were mattresses on the floor and filtered water. In our minds, nothing could be finer. We were happy as clams! Eddie said we probably could just turn around and go back home at that point and it would have been a good trip. We didn't sleep much that night because of all the noises we weren't used to: the beeping sound of bats, goats running around outside the house and squealing in the night, chickens in the yard, music from the festivities in town, and early morning Muslim call to prayer. Even so, we had plenty of rest and arrived at the Fete de la Gani plenty early in the morning. We watched the traditional dances that took place in field in front of the royal palace. There were lots of horses later in the day with riding displays in front of the palace, the blowing of the kankangui trumpets, passing out of money and cloth to the trumpet bearers, paying homage to the king of Nikki, the arrival of dignitaries and sacrificed goats brought to them, the parade of the king of Nikki through the streets of the town. That's the king of Nikki in the pink robe and white-rimmed sunglasses in the photo above. Equally impressive were the people who came to witness the festival. Many of the women had painted, if not tattooed, faces and beautiful clothing, jewelry, and other adornments. I regret that I had no way to capture any sound as the sounds of the festival were also very interesting. Eddie and I had gotten very used to sweating, as there was hardly ever a time since leaving the ship when we didn't, so sitting in the heat was not unbearable. It was really hot, though, and we were thankful to have some shade for most of the day. We had a wonderful African meal prepared by one of the teachers at the school that evening and returned to the festival for the early part of the day on Sunday. Sunday included groups of rulers walking toward the royal palace and lying prostrate on the ground, some groups only once, others multiple times as they approached the palace. The imam from the region also came to the door of the palace and said a few words there. Later in the afternoon, we said goodbye to the folks at the girls' school and caught a taxi back to Parakou. This time we only paid for our two seats and, sure enough, we had 4 people in the front, along with 4 adults and 3 children in the back, for a total of 11 this time! The guy next to the driver had one foot in our floor and one in the driver's floor, straddling the gear shift. Eddie said he would not want to be that guy because when it came time for the driver to shift into 4th, that was a little too close for comfort! I agreed. We had a great time, despite our physical discomfort, talking about the taxi ride. It was quite an experience! We secured our bus tickets when we arrived back in Parakou. We spent the night Sunday at SIM in Parakou and had a great spaghetti supper there. Monday morning we returned to Cotonou by bus. The festival had been like stepping back in time and the trip there and back was no less incredible. I am very grateful to God for keeping us safe and to all those who helped us along the way especially the folks at SIM.

John

What's Normal?

2009-03-08T20:18:00.002Z

So, here's a question....How much time must elapse before you can say "That's normal"? I was thinking about that yesterday. I've heard that if you do something for two weeks straight, you've established a habit. But, is that the same as saying that what you are doing is normal?

The past two weeks for me have been "back to business as usual" in that we have begun surgeries and a work day is from 07:30 to 17:00. Our surgery schedule hasn't necessarily filled those hours, but there are other chores that must be done as well to make sure the surgeries can take place. This means that during the week I can only manage to work, eat dinner with the family (lately in the cabin for a little quietude and communication) and then John and I begin to move the kids in the direction of bed. I think our friends feel a little neglected, but I hope they understand that we are trying to sort out "normal".

Saturday I realized that I had not been outside of the ship's walls (or bulkheads?) for 10 days! Not even to go out onto the outer decks! So, the kids and I took ourselves up to deck 8 twice yesterday to play and get fresh air. Mind you, it's very warm air, but there was a great breeze!

I'll let you know when we figure out normal. Who knows? Maybe there's no such thing! It could be just a figment of our imagination.

Jenny

Screening

2009-03-04T19:02:00.009Z

waiting in the lines

Almost two weeks ago now we helped with the big surgical screening that Mercy Ships holds at the beginning of the field service. This screening spanned two long days and saw 2,550 potential surgical patients line up for evaluation. Of those, 443 were scheduled for surgery, many were given referrals to follow-up specialty screenings, but lots were turned away because they were not suitable for surgery for one reason or another. These people were given the opportunity to be ministered to by prayer teams. A couple of screenings were also held in the north part of Benin, but the one we were involved in was the major screening held at the Hall des Arts in Cotonou not too far from the port here. I just recently got my photos cleared so I am now able to write about it. line stretching from stadium - in upper right

The line of patients stretched several blocks down the street from the stadium where stations were set up for medical evaluations, blood draws, scheduling, etc.

young orthopedic patients

I floated around most of the day on Thursday, Feb 19, and a few hours on Friday as well making photos of the lines and whatever I could record of the event. I consumed more than a gallon and a half of fluids on Thursday due to the heat and my constant movement. I'm sure it was not easy for some of the sick who came to wait in the lines in the sun. People from the ship passed out water and, to my knowledge, we didn't have any heat casualties. I also really felt for the guys working security who spent the entire day in the sun with no shade. Jenny worked all day both days in the, also very hot, stadium doing surgical scheduling, scheduling the patients who would receive surgery through much of 2009. Joey also participated, along with the other junior high kids from the Academy, working with the children who came to the screening, some with medical needs and others who had come with their parents or caregivers. The screening was a really incredible event. The orchestration required to do something like this was impressive, but also the kinds of scenes that presented themselves throughout the day were often just amazing. We felt quite blessed to have been able to participate.
"And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love." 2 John :6

John

Venice in Africa?

2009-03-03T19:05:00.006Z

Sunday Joey and I went with a number of other people from the ship on a boat ride into Ganvie. Ganvie is a village of around 22,000 people that is built mostly over the water. Many of the homes are built on stilts. There are a few things that Ganvie has in common with Venice, but not that many. The streets in both are waterways. In Ganvie the market appears to take place actually on the water with the sellers loading their canoes with produce, etc. and selling things out of their canoes. Our trip there was interesting, but the agenda of the tour boat driver for us seemed to be for us to visit three craft shops in the village. I don't think many of us were particularly interested - we just wanted to see the village and visit with some of the people. Also, it was a bit difficult to know how to feel about our presence there, how welcome we were. It was certainly not as relaxed as a trip to Venice would be. It was nice to go and see Ganvie, but I'm not sure I really want to go back in the same way. Although, I probably will so Jenny, Bethany, and David can see it. I think a much better way to go would involve spending a lot more time and trying to develop some relationships there. That may shed some light on the real situation there and some of the true feelings about yovos visiting their village (yovo is a local word for white person - I'm not sure how much I like being referred to as such everywhere we go, but that's the norm.) Knowing the language too would be such a help. That's one thing I know that I and many others here miss about being in Liberia. Hopefully that aspect of our experience here will improve in the months to come.

John

Ouidah

2009-03-02T10:11:00.008Z

This past Saturday I, along with some good friends from gateway in Texas, went to Ouidah to see what we could see in the 4 hours we had use of a vehicle. It took a bit more than an hour to get there, sharing the road with thousands of zemedjans, so we didn't have nearly enough time to really see Ouidah, but we were able to get oriented and get a feel for the place. Ouidah is known in Benin for being the capital of Voodoo and for its history as a major port for the slave trade. There is a Slave Route in Ouidah now marked by monuments at several points that the slaves passed through on their way to the sea to board ships bound for the New World. We passed by the slave market where the route begins and by the other points on the 3km dirt road to the sea and to the final point on the route, the Gate of No Return (pictured above). Below is a photo of another memorial monument on the beach nearby. In between the slave market area and the Gate of No Return are the Tree of Forgetfulness (photo below - with not just some random Englishman, that's Sam!), the actual tree of which is no longer there, or if it is it doesn't amount to much. It is said that this tree had magical powers and as the slaves circled it, they would have forgotten their identity. Later down the road is the place where slaves were placed in a dark room called the "Zomai" for months so that when they emerged they would be broken and not be able to struggle. The people who did not survive the Zomai ended up in the mass grave which is now marked by a memorial. Further down the road there is the Tree of Return which, upon circling, would guarantee that the souls of the slaves would find their way back to their homeland. (Some of the above info came from "Benin - The Bradt Travel Guide" by Stuart Butler.) In our limited time we didn't find the Zomai or the Tree of Return, but the other points were clear. On the road to the beach we also passed by many not so attractive voodoo statues and a beautiful lagoon where there were men fishing. We didn't go to the python temple in Ouidah, but we did glimpse a voodoo ceremony in progress on the way out of town as could be recognized from the brightly colored garb and covered faces of the entranced participants. We didn't linger there.

Voodoo is an animistic religion. There apparently is a belief in a Supreme Being who is helped by lesser gods. People pray to these lesser gods and also engage in sacrifices and rituals to them in hopes that they will pass the messages on to the Supreme Being in their behalf. As this is basically a polytheistic religion, then, in which there is no direct contact with the creator, nothing could be much farther away from Christianity where Jesus is the supreme sacrifice and opened the doors to direct relationship with God. Nevertheless, it is said here that Benin is x% Muslim and x% Christian, but is 100% Voodoo. The spiritual darkness is palpable here, but we know that we walk in the light and need not fear it. It is our prayer that the light of Christ will continue to shine in the darkness here.

John

"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13-14

Our New Temporary Home

2009-02-24T16:02:00.009Z

There are many similarities between our experience in Liberia and that in Benin so far. There are also a lot of differences. Some of these changes are easier to manage than others. Some of my observations concerning the differences that affect us most are listed below:

1) Unlike in Monrovia, our dock in Cotonou is a working dock busy with vehicles and movement of cargo and other hazards. The kids on the ship are much more recreationally limited in the evenings. This is a definite disadvantage for us.

2) Cotonou is more developed than Monrovia in its present state with more modern shops, goods and services available. There is also widespread electrical power here. The standard of living for many may not be appreciably better, however.

3) The beaches nearby are apparently not safe. Hotel pools are available for water recreation, but they are fairly expensive and crowded.

4) There is more to explore closer to the ship here. We are closer to the main part of town.

5) There are no nearby fields to play ball in. There may be one about a 20 minute walk from the ship - much further away than in Monrovia.

6) There is no visible U.N. presence here.

7) Traffic is a bit more intense. There are thousands of motorcycles (called "zemidjans") on the roads here - far more than in Monrovia - making being on the roads feel a bit like robbing a beehive.

8) Most of the main roads are well paved with few potholes to contend with. The sidewalks are still a bit questionable with very large holes here and there so you still have to watch when walking.

9) The weather seems to be a bit hotter here. The sky has been very hazy since we arrived.

10) We have a fishing village at the port here, so we get to watch the fishing canoes go in and out past our ship at various times throughout the day.

11) Last for now, but certainly not least, French is spoken here along with native tongues, making communication for us decidedly more difficult. We are working on our French as much as time will allow.

John

Swimming at Hotel du Port

2009-02-16T17:53:00.004Z

As it turns out, the beaches here in Cotonou are reported to be unsafe. Rip currents and rocks are part of the reason, I think. As a result, and since things are a bit more developed here than in Liberia, swimming in local hotel pools may become our primary recreational activity on the weekends when we feel like getting out. It is very hot here! The weather is a bit hotter than in Monrovia, so having some water to play in is a good thing as long as you don't forget the sunscreen. Most of the local hotels that have pools will allow you to swim for a fee. The one we went to on Saturday was about a 30 minute walk away and was apparently one of the more reasonably priced. The cost to swim was 1500 CFA franc ($3 U.S.) for adults and 1000 CFA franc ($2 U.S.) each for the kids. So, we could swim all day for $12. One rule that we found a bit odd was that the hotel requires male swimmers to wear speedo style swim suits. The manager is an apparently French lady who allowed us to swim in what we had on for the day as long as we came properly dressed the next time. I don't fully understand the rationale behind the rule, but I'm not sure it would make much difference if I did. You apparently can get a little more modest style bathing suit that is acceptable in the local markets. I'm grateful for that because I'm not sure I care to wear what amounts to a bikini bottom! It's a frightening thought for me, although seeing some of the swimwear there on Saturday, I'm not sure that anyone would be offended.

We and alot of others from the ship had a pretty good time there on Saturday. They have about a 12 or 15 foot high dive platform that David was off of before we noticed. He isn't intimidated by much it seems. All the kids thoroughly enjoyed jumping from it and getting some good pool time.

John

Hospital Open House

2009-02-13T23:19:00.005Z

Tonight the ship's hospital had an open house for all the crew. It was a lot of fun! There were opportunities to do surgery on stuffed animals, practice suturing, intubate dummies, go through a "digestive tract" course, see prosthetic eyes, play nurse or patient, and the list goes on. Below are some photos of Joey, Bethany, and David taking part in the festivities.

Above photo by Michel Pelzer

John

At Anchor & Arrival in Benin

2009-02-10T21:04:00.007Z

dropping anchor

fishermen at sea

docking

putting down the gangway

the flag of Benin

Well, the view outside our cabin windows has changed again. This morning we arrived in Benin and are now docked in Cotonou! It was planned that we would arrive yesterday, but engine trouble required that we spend the night at anchor off the coast in order for the problems to be resolved before making our approach into the port. This meant very long hours for some in engineering yesterday and into the night and was very taxing on our captain as well. It's my understanding that very few on board the ship slept well last night anyways because of the rolling of the ship at anchor. We spent a fairly substantial part of the night trying to corral things that had started sliding off tables and counter tops! And every few seconds as the ship rolled we would hear some glasses or other items in the cupboards clank together. Sadly, we arrived today to much less fanfare than that which was planned for us yesterday, but, with much prayer, we made it here safely and we are thankful.

John

Spelunking in Tenerife

2009-02-10T12:57:00.007Z

Above photos by Nestor Rial

In recent weeks aboard the ship, we have had several debates with some of our friends here as to whether "spelunking" is an actual word or not. So, for those English friends of ours who may have no idea what the title of this blog entry means, I've found a very nice web site that gives a good history of how this apparently American word came to be: http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-spe3.htm

Not long after we arrived in Tenerife, our family was out shopping at a very popular shopping spot for "Mercy Shipers" (I really don't care at all for this term for referring to Mercy Ships volunteers, but it fits here and I thought I would share it with you). We stepped into the sporting goods store to look at shoes and fishing gear. I wanted to ask some questions about fishing rods so, as had become my custom, sort of as a disclaimer or warning that the conversation to follow may require more effort than usual, I started out by saying "No hablo Espanol" to the fellow behind the counter. The reply came in very good English: "That's okay, at least you tried." As it turned out, Nestor and I had a lot in common and a lot to talk about. For one, we are both photographers. That was the first of several conversations with Nestor over the following weeks. In one of our conversations at the sporting goods shop, Nestor had said that he works as a guide as well and would be happy to take our family to do something that most tourists don't usually do in Tenerife. Because we were so busy with so many things while in Tenerife, it took me a while to take him up on his very kind offer, but I finally did. And I am very glad that I did! As a result, David, Joey and I went spelunking with some experienced, local cavers, in some caves left by underground lava flows on the north side of the island (Bethany had decided to go with Jenny to an English-speaking church that morning where Jenny was to share during the service about a Liberian patient who had a nose reconstructed on the ship). Cho Luis was the other guide who came along. He took David under his wing and the two of them led the way though the caves by the light of an acetylene (carbide) head lamp. Cho Luis spoke to David only in Spanish and David listened intently. (In fact, English was seldom spoken at all, only when Nestor needed to translate for us - it was great fun!) David was really feeling like a big boy too, and I enjoyed watching him. Nestor and I took lots of photos:

Above photos by Nestor Rial

We later went to the old town of Garachico where we sat in the square and where Nestor's girlfriend Marta introduced me to a very nice, Canarian coffee drink called a "barraquito" (espresso, milk, sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, and lemon zest). Marta had asked the waiter to be sure to make the drink properly, but mine came without the lemon zest. So Marta later asked why the lemon zest was left out. A very boisterous and intense conversation ensued, seasoned with quite a bit of laughter. Apparently, there was a tourist who had ordered a barraquito there and had mistaken the lemon for a caterpillar, causing her to lose her appetite and her stomach contents! So I didn't get lemon zest in my barraquito, but I enjoyed it anyway, and I would have missed out on a lot of fun if there had been nothing for Marta to take the proprietor to task about! What fun! Later that day, Nestor and Marta came back to the ship with us and were able to participate in an organized tour of the ship. I must say that day was one of the very best in Tenerife! Thank you to all our Spanish spelunking companions!!

John

Pet for a Day

2009-02-08T17:52:00.002Z

Yesterday we discovered we had a stowaway in our cabin! I noticed that my new geranium was being eaten by a cute little inchworm (actually a half-inch worm). It was my intention to capture him in a napkin and smoosh him right then. Instead, I showed him to the kids and he became our new pet, Wormy!

Wormy, posing for John

Since there was no way I was going to sacrifice my plant, a juice glass with a geranium leaf became Wormy's new home. We quickly became attached to Wormy and he was taken to the dining room to play cards with us. Every now and then we would check to make sure he hadn't escaped. He seemed very content to hang out on his leaf and nibble it as he wished.

Wormy looking at his former home from the counter

This morning Wormy was still on his leaf in his glass. We were happy, he was happy... Then, this evening, we went to dinner and out on the bow of the ship one last time. When we returned to the cabin, we discovered that a couple of the glasses that had been on the table had slid off with the rolling of the ship. One of the glasses was Wormy's! Oh, no! We rushed to the scene of the accident and soon realized that poor Wormy had been squished dead by the rim of the glass. We were a bit sad, but I was secretly rejoicing that I didn't have to be the one to kill him in the end!

R.I.P. Wormy!

Jenny

Killer Whales and the Fabled Green Flash

2009-02-08T14:13:00.006Z

This 9 day sail from Tenerife to Benin has been very smooth and we have seen a few pretty neat things. We have seen several pods of dolphins and yesterday we saw a group of about 3 or so orcas.

I also was able to get a photo of the "green flash" that the mariners among us talk about. On a clear evening the sun , as it sinks down, appears to be green just as it ducks under the waves. A few days ago the conditions were good. Looking through a telephoto lens, the sun appeared to be green for 4 or 5 seconds before it disappeared. The photo below was made with a 400mm lens and even then was heavily cropped. It looked pretty green to me.

John

Tenerife Rainbows

2009-02-07T20:28:00.004Z

One thing that was just amazing about being in Santa Cruz de Tenerife was the number of rainbows we saw while we were there. The way the rain clouds at times hover over the land but at sea the skies remain clear makes conditions just right for rainbows. We saw many of them, some lasting for more than an hour! I had never before seen a rainbow last for more than just a few minutes. Below are some photos I made in and around Santa Cruz where we were docked. The photo with the statues of Guanche rulers was taken in Candelaria, a town not far from Santa Cruz.

John

Six Weeks in Tenerife

2009-02-03T09:34:00.005Z

The past six weeks seem a bit of a blur. We had a nice time in Tenerife, but it was not particularly restful. In some ways it was. Being in a place where there was lots to do was very nice. We could go to the parks with the kids and not feel like we had to be on guard. There are still a lot of cultural differences between the U.S. and Tenerife, not to mention the fact that Tenerife is part of Spain and English is seldom spoken there, so we had a few hurdles along the way. Despite that, though, it was so nice just to stroll around or watch the kids play and feel safe and carefree. Quite a contrast to the constant tension we have felt in Africa. We haven't felt particularly worried in Africa, but there is an underlying tension there knowing how volitile things can be just walking around town.

Well, mostly our time in Tenerife was very, very busy. Jenny worked just as hard as she had in Liberia. Most of her co-workers went away for vacation, so she spent a lot of time sorting out things for the upcoming field service in Benin - working on supply issues, O.R. equipment maintenance issues, human resources issues, etc. I didn't do very much work for the Communications Department, but instead focused on taking care of the children as they were out of school for 5 out of the 6 weeks we were in Tenerife. One week we were in and out of a local hopital as one of our very good friends on the ship became ill and had to have surgery. We are grateful that all went well with the surgery and she has recovered well. We are very happy, to say the least, that she is still with us on the ship. During our time in Tenerife, I also looked after the household and trying to make sure we took care of the shopping that needed to be done before heading to Benin. We were sure to get all the kids at least 2 pairs of shoes (the ones we got in Africa were not good quality - Bethany's were literally falling off her feet 5 days after we bought them). Shopping in Tenerife was not without it's challenges, though. Questions like: "How do you figure out where to go to get what you need at a reasonable price?" and "How do I ask for that size shoe in Spanish? And what size is a 47 anyway?" and "How much is that 50 Euro blanket really going to cost me in dollars? (only $70 or so - OUCH!)" were abundant. That said, all worked out pretty well. We got what we needed and had a bit of an adventure doing it. Jenny's parents, of course, came to visit. We had a great time with them, but wore them, and ourselves out. We really tried to make the most of our time in Tenerife too by trying to get out and see some of it. In reality, we are pretty much completely exhausted now, so I'm hoping we can get some rest now while we sail. I'm catching up too on things like blogging, along with a myriad of other things, which have been neglected for over a month now. So I guess the fact that I am writing this now means that I am making some progress - yea!

Well with wonderful European dairy products and fruits, and fresh, perfectly cooked meats mostly behind us now, except for what we could fit in our tiny fridge, we are on our way back to Africa. We will miss Tenerife and got a bit teary as we left the port in Santa Cruz. The same fellow who played the trumpet for us when we arrived in Tenerife was there on the dock playing as we left along with a group of folks with a banner that read, among other things, "We love you". What a tremendous blessing!!

John

C'est La Vie

2009-01-08T16:02:00.005Z

Christmas came...Christmas went.

New Years Eve and Day came...and went!

Mom-Mom and Pop came...Mom-Mom and Pop went!!

And we were sad.

Is that a Haiku or something? Or maybe it's the bottom of a Christmas tree. At any rate, "c'est la vie", that's the way life is...

Anyway, we have had a nice time of holiday and a refreshing visit with my parents. We drove them all over the north and west of Tenerife, up and down mountainous roads. We walked on the beach; watched the kids swim in the chilly ocean-water pools; wandered around the lava rocks and formations below the volcano/mountain, Teide; shopped!; explored a beautiful old town, La Orotava; stayed for one night at a gorgeous hotel, Casablanca Hotel Rural, about 1800ft up the mountain; and pretty much wore them (and us) out! But I think we all enjoyed the visit , short though it was.

And now it's February 1st, and we've set sail for Benin, West Africa. We began the 10-day journey yesterday afternoon & there have already been dolphin sightings! Yesterday there were some right under the bow enjoying the waves the bow created & today there was a large pod of dolphins off the port side that gave us a nice show.

It's time now to begin focusing on the mission ahead and preparing to serve the people of Benin. Please pray for us as we put on our "armor" and get ready to minister to a nation that is heavily influenced by voodoo. We want the Light of Christ to shine through us: "For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." - 2 Corinthians 4:6

Jenny

We're Here!

2008-12-21T22:36:00.006Z

We made it. After a week at sea, we have arrived safely to port at Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Sailing was a nice adventure, most days. Bethany had a little trouble with queeziness, but the seasick meds our friendly pharmacist gave us kept the feeling away during the rough part of the journey. Even though the weather was beautiful on the sail, the winds were quite high which caused fairly rough seas.

We did enjoy watching from the outer decks the ship's bow crashing down into the waves and sending up a great splash. I also really loved the colors of the water! It was exciting to watch as the ship would cut through the deep blue water and send it peeling away into frothy white and tourquoise waves. Yum! Even David declared that he felt like jumping off into it!

With the help of a couple of tugs, we docked at the port Friday morning around 7:30 to a warm welcome by a local fellow playing the trumpet. He played several Christmas selections and a very memorable "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus". We heard that he welcomes the ship and it's crew that way every time they come in. What a blessing! By Friday evening, nearly everyone had disembarked and made their way into town to enjoy beautiful Santa Cruz with it's lovely parks and lively, festive streets.

Even though some of us still have work to do, we are looking forward to several weeks of exploring this beautiful island and it's many interesting towns and features. The kids have begun their 5 weeks of winter break, so I'm sure they, with John, will be making good use of the bus pass we just bought. Jenny, on the other hand, will be working in the office making preparations for the outreach to Benin, West Africa, that will begin mid-February. We do have some holiday time and a few days of vacation coming up. Mom-Mom and Pop will be flying in Dec 31st to spend a week with us. We are SO looking forward to their visit!

Jenny

Sunsets at Sea

2008-12-21T21:49:00.003Z

One fun thing I did while we were sailing was to photograph the sunset every day that I could. Here are some sunset photos I made while we were sailing. Each was taken on a different evening.

John

The Past Four Months

2008-12-21T13:19:00.009Z

I just wanted to share some more photos of the time we spent in Liberia. Here they are.

John

Goodbye Liberia

2008-12-13T11:40:00.004Z

Scenes like these have been common this past week. All of the items on the dock had to be loaded onto the ship. Much of our time over the past couple of weeks has been spent preparing for the sail. We had to help secure all of our work spaces and make sure that all the equipment was secured and strapped down. We also had to secure our cabin for the sail and make sure that nothing could slide around too much. We have had lots of drills too. We said our goodbyes to friends and yesterday we pulled away from the dock and left Liberia. Our feelings are mixed of course. The sunset was beautiful over the open ocean and the moon was full last night. Jenny saw a beautiful bird today and we've also seen some dolphins at a distance. I am amazed too that I can post this blog entry from this desert of ocean. The phones are working well too. Jenny got a call not long ago from a friend in New Zealand. We are constantly in motion rolling from side to side, but we are getting our sea legs. Bethany had a little trouble feeling sea sick yesterday, but it didn't last long. We are thankful for a smooth sail so far and are praying for a safe time at sea.

John

Blackout

2008-12-10T21:25:00.005Z

Last Saturday there was a "blackout" on the ship. There was some maintenance work that needed to be done that required shutting down most of the systems on the ship, including the electricity and plumbing. A lot of folks decided to leave for the better part of the day and we were no exception. We decided to spend the day at Cece Beach with some of our friends. We had a pretty good time. The kids enjoyed the day the most. I wondered toward the end of the day if they might begin to grow gills, as much time as they were spending in the water. Below are some photos of them playing on the beach. The boys found some other boys to play with and had a good time tossing a coconut they found in the surf. Bethany hunted for clams and built sand castles with our friends Sabrina and Sarah, among other things.Lunch was one of the highlights of the day. The kids had some chicken with fries and Jenny and I had fish. (The open air kitchen is pictured in the background - behind the bar - of the photo below.) The fish was really wonderfully prepared, quite possibly the best either of us had ever had! It was probably caught that morning by one of the fishermen in the fishing village that neighbors the beach (we saw many canoes bringing in their morning catch not long before noon). We also got to listen to live music, some reggae and some African, most of the day. We heard some interesting versions of some familiar songs. It was a nice way to spend the day. We waited a few hours when we got back to the ship for the showers to start working again, but it was worth it.

John

Poverty and Industry

2008-12-03T21:12:00.004Z

The above photos show some of the gritty scenes that are common in Monrovia. These kinds of photos show a little of the challenge that the people of Liberia face in surviving and giving their children a future. The photo below of the men trying to jump start a taxi with the word "challenge" on the window sort of sums it up to me. The recent civil war here is much to blame for the immense scale of poverty in Liberia. It is not so much just the visible signs of poverty, but the scale of it in this sprawling city that is so striking and difficult to digest. What is clear is that many people here are making an effort to do what they can to improve their situation, but many are barely surviving. I met a Liberian fellow named Franklin on a walk around town this past weekend and he had something interesting to say about the situation: " Those who are not determined to face the challenges of the future say that there is no job or 'this job is not fit for me'. Those who are ready to see a brighter future for themselves and for the next generation to come will seek whatever job comes their way." It is encouraging for me to see, even though it is done more out of necessity due to scarcity, rubber being recycled and used to make replacement parts for cars (as the man is doing in the photo below) and soles for sandles. At least something is being slowly done with this particular mound of "trash". Another place where people are hard at work is Rock Hill in Paynesville. There people dig up large rocks and pound them with hammers to make gravel to be sold. This is a very hard way to do the job and very dangerous since no one has safety goggles. There are many eye injuries, as a result, in this area. Machines are just not available to do the job. Another common sight are the gas stations where gasoline is sold in glass jars. The fuel is stored in a below ground tank and the fuel is pumped with a hand pump into a barrel and the barrel is emptied into glass jars. When someone pulls up for fuel the jars are emptied into the tank with the use of a funnel. In a place where the infrastructure has been so devastated by war, many of the things we use to make our lives easier are not available and so people have to use what they can to make things work however they can. It's quite a hill to climb though. One thing that is so sad about Liberia is that so many of the children here are not in school because their parents can't afford to pay their school fees. Instead, they are out on the streets selling whatever they can find in order to make a little money to live on. Education is certainly a major part of the solution for Liberia, but many times immediate needs win out. May God give Liberians the strength to move forward into a better future.

John

Weekend Outings

2008-11-30T15:15:00.006Z

We were very busy last weekend and have only just caught our breath. On Saturday we had a vehicle signed out and the five of us took a spin about town. We made our way to the intersection of Gurley and Benson streets and found a shop where there were about a dozen tailors producing shirt/trouser sets, dresses, etc. Each tailor has a sample of their work hanging on the walls above their own work station. I found a very dressy outfit that will be nice for Christmas, and we bought a few other articles of clothing, too. My outfit needed some adjustments, so as we waited, we walked around the block to kill time. Of course, John got some pictures as we walked...

After the tailors, we drove further downtown, and shopped at one of the craft shops across from the US Embassy. There were lots of interesting things there, and we just HAD to have a couple flip-flop cars. They were a good example of how you can recycle here!

On Sunday we were blessed to be part of a celebration and dedication of a new church in Bomi county, about an hour up the road. The church is in a village in 'the bush' and was started after a team from Mercy Ships took the Jesus Film to them a couple of months ago. Several of the villagers were deeply touched by the message and wanted to disciple new believers. Part of the celebration was a baptism. Everyone walked about a mile away from the village to a 'good' spot in the river where those being baptized could be immersed.

"Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." Romans 6:3-4

Jenny

Clinic Dedication

2008-11-23T16:27:00.009Z

Friday I had the pleasure of travelling to the site of the Tenegar Clinic that Mercy Ships helped to rebuild at the request of the Liberian president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The Tenegar village is just up the road from where she was born.

The ceremony on Friday was a dedication of the clinic and the guest of honor was the President, herself!

There was a great crowd, both from the community and also from the ship, that came to celebrate the opening of the clinic and to see the President. The event was supposed to start at 2:30pm, but true to the culture, the President and her entourage arrived a couple hours late. Around here, the time serves as a rough estimate to when things may happen. This whole issue of time keeping was emphasized in a humorous way as we waited. To my left, Glenys, my fellow OR nurse from New Zealand, happened to look at her watch and announce the time was 3:30. We agreed that surely the President would be there at any moment. Then, ten minutes later, my Liberian neighbor on my right looked at her watch and exclaimed that it was already 3:15! Their watches were 25 minutes different! And I think Glenys' was closer to correct. But what is time, anyway?

One part of the ceremony was the "gowning" of some of the key facilitators of the revival of the clinic and it's surroundings. Below is the managing director of the Africa Mercy, Ken Berry.

Not only did the team from Mercy Ships help the villagers to rebuild the clinic, they also helped them to plant crops and to dig a well. It was very exciting to see the work that is being done in the communities while surgeries are in progress on the ship. This was my first "field trip" to see what some of the other Mercy Ships team members are doing in Liberia. It was a good day!

Jenny

Palliative Care

2008-11-19T14:05:00.008Z

A couple of weeks ago now I had an opportunity to work with one of our writers on a story about Mercy Ships' palliative care team and the work they do on a daily basis. They give what support they can to patients that Mercy Ships is unable to help through surgery. We visited four cancer patients, two very young boys at St. Joseph's Catholic Hospital, one teenage boy in his home, and an older woman in her home.
The hospital was a very somber place. There were more than one occasion while we were there that we heard loud wailing in the corridors. Also, in the room with the boys we were there to see, there was an infant girl who had recently had malaria which had left her conscious, but basically unresponsive for the week since. While we were there there were two Christian men praying at her bedside. I know that scenes similar to these are not particularly uncommon in Western hospitals (although malaria is rare in the West), but I think perhaps it is the rustic nature of the place and the knowledge of the vast difference in the level of care that is available in Liberia as opposed to Western hospitals that is a bit difficult to swallow.
The homes we visited were very basic shelters with little to keep the elements out, let alone pests like mosquitoes and larger varmints. The people we found inside, however, were always a joy. I felt very privileged to be able to see what palliative care does here and to see more of what things are really like for the sick in Liberia.

John

Shoe Shopping

2008-11-17T10:07:00.010Z

On Saturday afternoon I took Bethany and David to Water Street to find tennis shoes (or "trainers" as they are refered to by our English friends). Above are snapshots of David inside a shop wearing his new shoes and of the shop where Bethany got her shoes (the one with the pink doors). The whole thing took a bit of planning. Things had been building up for several weeks. David had destroyed his shoes on the little buggies they have here on the dock for the kids to ride on and I had been trying to find an appropriate time to go find replacements for about a month. The whole process is so simple, by comparison, back home. You just go. Well, here I had decided to go into town a couple of weeks ago with a Liberian friend of mine to scope out the situation and get his advice on what type of vendor(s) to look for before taking the kids with me. I found out then that the actual shops and not the street vendors were probably the best bet in order to be sure to get new shoes and not to end up paying too much more than the shoes are worth. I also found out that I would not be able to make it on a weekday since the shops all close at 5:00. Water street is too far to walk to with two kids in tow, so it would have to happen on a weekend during the time I have a vehicle for personal use. Each driver on the ship can sign out a vehicle for only 4 hours per weekend for personal use, so arranging that would take a little bit of planning. It would also mean no recreational trips that weekend that require a vehicle since shoe shopping would take the better part of that time slot.

Well, we got it done on Saturday. Jenny had been out for about a 6 mile walk in the early part of the day with several other moms and was not up for shoe shopping, so it was just Bethany, David and me. We got David's shoes at one shop and Bethany's at another. They are not great quality, but the price was right. David's were $10 and Bethany's were $7. They were happy to have new shoes and I was happy to have met the challenge of shoe shopping for children in Monrovia.

John

For an interesting perspective from a Scottish journalist who recently visited us here go to http://www.sundaypost.com/postindex.htm and scroll down to the story entitled "Terrifying car journey down the road to hell". Some that I have talked to here have responded negatively to this article, saying that it is too grim and sensationalistic and too heavily weighted toward promoting negative stereotypes about Africa. I like the bit at the end about Dr. Keith's starfish.

Backyard Zoo

2008-11-16T21:28:00.004Z

This past Tuesday after the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade kids beat their dads at soccer 1 to 0, we had a great opportunity to see an interesting animal - a chameleon! One of the crew members here that spends much of his time working in the bush outside Monrovia aquired a chameleon from a Liberian fellow who had apparently caught it in the wild. He brought it back to the dock for the children to see before releasing it. I'm not sure any of us had ever even seen a chameleon in a zoo before and here was one in our "backyard". What a cool opportunity, especially for the kids. And what an amazing creature!

John

Hey, Mom, Don't Look Now!

2008-11-16T11:36:00.010Z

Last weekend we had quite an adventure! It was one that no one's mother would have approved of, I am sure! We, along with about 25 others from the ship took a trip to the Bong mines where iron ore used to be mined. In our 3 Mercy Ships Land Rovers, we drove a short distance to where we eventually loaded onto a flatbed train car. The vehicles (with passengers inside) were driven onto the train by our brave drivers, one of whom was John! The hand brakes were applied and the tires were secured with large rocks on either side to prevent the cars from rolling. Then, we all climbed on top of the vehicles to enjoy the 1 1/2 hour (plus waiting time for various reasons) trip up-country. We were quite high up and Bethany, especially, was very nervous in the beginning. But we were up and down and inside the vehicles as we travelled and generally had fun.

The vegetation was lush and green after we left the city behind. There were little villages here and there that I imagine must be fine living compared to city life in Monrovia.

We felt a little like we were in a parade as we rumbled past the towns and villages. Children, and sometimes adults, would run down the paths and wave to us as hard as their hands could wave as they yelled out their greetings.

Once we got to the mines, our guide, Odecious, gave us a good history lesson as he pointed out what each structure once was. He had been employed at the mines before the war broke out. He was in charge of the large dump truck that you can see in the photo.

Odecious said that one day they were working and rebel forces came in and held weapons to their necks. They demanded to know which tribe each worker was from. If the answer was an opposing tribe, they shot them right then and there. Six men lost their lives that day. Those who lived left the mines and never returned. Only the framework of the buildings that once were a thriving industry remain.

It seemed very sad and such a shame that it has all gone to waste. I was tempted to feel that Liberia's situation is hopeless. How can you rebuild a place that has seen such devastation? But we know that with God, all things are possible, and we have a reminder from the Psalmist:

"Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." Psalm 42:5

And I would like to pray for the year of the Lord's favor for Liberia, according to the scripture we find in Isaiah 60:2-4:

"...to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion -- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness for mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated for generations."

This lake was at one time a valley where many dead were laid to rest. Now there is beauty for ashes here.

Our adventure to the Bong mines ended as the sun dipped low. It was a good day and we all returned safe and sound...and quite sooty!

Jenny

Rubber Trees and Rainbows

2008-11-03T15:57:00.004Z

This past Saturday we got together with some of our friends and took a trip to the Firestone plantation out near the airport. Rubber trees are grown for their raw, white sap on the one million acres of the plantation. It took about 2 hours to get there, but it was nice to get out of the city a bit and see lots of green grass and trees.

We went to see the rubber trees and to learn about the process preparing the sap for rubber production. Most of the work of harvesting had already been done for the day, so we didn't get to see the process in action. Instead, we visited the clubhouse at the golf course on the grounds and enjoyed a can of coke. We decided to share within our family because the thought of buying 5 canned drinks at between $2 and $3 U.S. each wasn't appealing. The "greens" on the golf course, by the way, are not green, but black. They are made by adding oil to sand, so it will pack better, and smoothing the mixture down. I couldn't help wondering if Tiger Woods has ever tried his hand at playing on a west African course. I imagine that the challenges would be quite different. While sitting on the porch of the club house with our friends a storm blew in and we got to see a really nice rainbow over the golf course.
Despite seeing the rainbow, we wondered, as it was raining, if our trip might be a bit more dull than we had hoped, but the rains didn't last long. Very soon after it began to clear, the most wonderful thing happened! A lady whom we had been talking with who helped to run the club house began yelling at some folks who had begun to drive vehicles up onto the grass. A wedding party had arrived to take advantage of the scenery for photos! We all really enjoyed seeing another rainbow, this time one of colorfully decorated wedding party members meandering their way up onto the grass directly in front of us. I couldn't resist the temptation to go and ask if I could join the other photographers and get a few photos. The organizers were more than happy to let me join in with the agreement that I would mail them a few of the photos that I made.
Being able to see the wedding party in all their elaborate, traditional clothing was the real highlight of the afternoon. God blessed us with the ability to see and touch rubber trees and to see not one, but two rainbows. It turned out to be better than we had hoped it would be. Isn't it true that we often have a certain set of expectations for how we think things will be in life. I think it's true that very seldom, in the end, do things look the same as we had imagined they would. I believe that as we step out in faith, we often find that it is God's desire not to meet our expectations as we have laid them out, but often to show us something more than what we could have possibly imagined about His beauty. Thus, He often exceeds our expectations if we allow ourselves to see it.

John

Hope and Rest

2008-11-01T11:35:00.003Z

Well, here is another weekend. Time is flying by so quickly! I remember when I was much younger, my mother told me the older you get, the faster it flies. I couldn't imagine it passing more quickly than then. Oh...but now I see!

We are nearing the end of our outreach to Liberia now, and the community in and around the ship are feeling the effects of this fact. With only four more weeks of surgery left, we have no more space on the schedule to fit any more people in. This is very sobering and creates quite a dilemma in our hearts when we still meet so many people who are in need of our help.

Our Eye Team that goes out into the community during the week has seen the desperation of the people wanting aid give way to violent pushing, shoving and injury. Last week a man from a local church who was helping to provide security to the team was brought to the ship for urgent help because his finger tip was cut off in the violent crowd. Our crew physician provided care necessary for sewing up the shortened middle finger and then last Saturday we brought the fellow back to the OR for a revision. He was very grateful and wished us the Lord's blessing and long life.

All of this could leave one feeling hopeless, but the truth is that God is still in charge. He said to Joshua in Deuteronomy 31:8, "The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." We can walk in this truth as well, and know that just because we will be heading to give aid to the people in a different country next year, God will not forsake His people and the work He has been doing here. Please pray that people will know this truth and be encouraged.

We on the ship can be encouraged with the promise from Matthew 11:28-30 that says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for you souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Thank you, Lord, for Your rest!

Jenny

Diversity in Liberia

2008-10-31T09:08:00.007Z

There are quite a few things that I have intended to write about over the past few weeks and haven't had the time. One is diversity in Liberia. (Above are photos of a rural mosque and a boy holding a tablet containing verses from the Koran.) It seems to me that most attend one of the many Christian churches on Sunday, but there is a real mix of people here. I have met some who have come here to live from nearby countries like Ghana and Mali and from far away places like the middle east. Many of these people are not Christians. The amount of cooperation between such different groups of people is what interests me. Quite commonly, it appears to me, Christians and Muslims share parts of the same dwellings and work spaces and each makes a meaningful contribution to the well being of the community. Survival seems to be the common goal. I think it is universally true that an attitude of love and humility leads to peace and restoration as, I believe, this is God's way (as demonstrated in Jesus), while arrogance, selfishness, and unforgiveness inevitably lead to destruction. Love and humility are being put into practice here also in the great effort on the part of the Liberian people to reintegrate ex-combatants back into society and to accept them as brothers despite the hurt that many still feel as a result of the war. The attitudes of our hearts in the present do more to shape our future than anything else we may concern ourselves with.

John

Driver's License

2008-10-30T13:11:00.005Z

Last Friday I was at last able to go through driver's training here. Above is a photo of a local driving school in Monrovia. My driving school was quite different from that, though. Since I have a valid U.S. driver's license, I just had to be informed of the ship's rules concerning driving here and the use of Mercy Ships vehicles and take a short drive with the transportation manager "out into Africa". "Out into Africa" is the way I have begun to describe the idea of leaving the outer gate of the port here and entering the "real" Monrovia. On Sunday morning we signed out a vehicle and headed for the beach for a little, much needed, respite.

We went to White Sands Beach to the north. The name is a bit of a stretch as the sands are more of a dark burnt orange color here. Iron is one of Liberia's major natural resources and I'm sure that the soil has plenty of iron in it. I was happy that my first drive other than the driving test was on a Sunday when things are much quieter on the streets, despite my 10 year old daughter, Bethany's very concerned and frequent back-seat driving. We passed through Duala market on the way to the beach, which is usually very slow and arduous, but is much more subdued on Sundays. I must admit that I still felt a bit like I was "running the gauntlet" at times, but far less so than would inevitably be the case any of the other six days of the week. There are normally mobs of people everywhere, plenty of pot holes to dodge, and yellow taxis bumper-to-bumper as far as the eye can see, not to mention hundreds of wheelbarrows and carts carrying anything from flip-flops or sea snails to sugarcane, lumber or plastic buckets, moving along the shoulders of the road. It seems that most of the cars on the road are being used as taxis. These thousands of taxis (yellow or otherwise) and a few heavily overloaded minivans make up the fairly effective public transportation system in Monrovia. The other vehicles on the road, in general, tend to be motorcycles, which you can also easily hire a ride on, trucks, and government,UN, or Mercy Ships suv's (like the one pictured below).

Did I mention that things are a bit different here than back home in the U.S.? My wife has a tendency to understate things sometimes, but I think she summed it up pretty well last night when she said, "This is not a picnic." I'd say that that applies to driving too. We go though tough patches fairly often as I believe most all of the folks living on the ship do, but if you want a little extra excitement, it's not very far away, and even easier now, thanks in part to my new driving privileges. Please pray that I will be able to keep them.

John

Troubleshooting Follow-up

2008-10-30T13:07:00.002Z

Well, after talking to several people, it seems that the trouble with viewing photos on this blog is not a problem unless you are trying to view them from the Africa Mercy in Liberia. So, I won't do anything unless I hear that there are problems viewing them from other locations as well.

John

Troubleshooting

2008-10-24T16:46:00.002Z

It seems that about 2/3 of the photos uploaded to this blog are no longer visible. We will be trying to correct the problem as time allows.

John

Potty Talk and a Tour

2008-10-19T18:54:00.009Z

Is there anything that you do on a routine basis that you just dread doing? For some time,I have been wanting to share with you what it is that now fills me with anxiety each time I must do it. And it is something as every-day as going to the bathroom! In fact, it IS the very necessity of sitting on the commode that I have begun to dread! No longer will I risk "meditating" on the throne while reading the latest "Guidepost" or Oswald Chambers' daily inspiration from My Utmost for His Highest. The reason being...our toilet seems to be alive! It very often, VERY OFTEN, has indigestion! I discovered this fact soon after we moved into our cabin on the Africa Mercy. It didn't take long for me to understand that at any given moment, the toilet could belch and splash up onto my backside! Can you imagine???!!!

One day last week the commode became clogged. The ship uses a vacuum system to draw the waste water out of the toilets. So, that means you can't plunge it like you normally would. We tried to flush several times, but to no avail. Our next plan was to avoid it for awhile. We would go forward on the ship or down a couple of decks to the public restrooms. After we had left the toilet alone for about a day, John and I were in the bed and heard the loudest belch-gurgle-spew and then FLUSSHHH! The potty lived happily ever after....that night!

I have yet to ask the plumber what causes this phenomenon, but we suspect the sewage gases just need to vent!? I HAVE asked our friends if their toilets offend in this way, but no one admits that they do. Maybe they're just protecting their potties' reputations! Or is ours the only one with "potty-mouth"?

And now, on with a tour of our cabin....These images were obtained using John's wide angle lens. As you enter the cabin, the bathroom is on the right and both kid-rooms are to the left. (David has been caught exiting the WC and appears to have just washed his hands. Good boy!)

The kitchen is straight in through the entry-way and the living-room/dining room/parents' room is through the kitchen. The computer sits on a pull out shelf in the kitchen area.

The offending commode looking very subdued...

The kids' rooms have bunk beds mounted on the walls. Bethany has flipped up the upper bunk to allow more head space while on her bed and more light for her stuffed animals & projects.The couch transforms into John and Jenny's bed.

We are beginning to feel like we are home. The people in our small village on board are becoming familiar as we work and play with each other. This past weekend we had a grand cookout and lots of games on the dock as we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the birth of Mercy Ships. We were blessed to hear testimony of the Lord's faithfulness through the years to all who have had a part in the ministry. And tribute was paid to all the beautiful vessels that have carried thousands of crew members to be hope and healing to the poor in Jesus' name.

Jenny

Arthur

2008-10-14T09:51:00.007Z

I recently had the opportunity to follow and photograph a patient through his surgery and into the recovery phase. This is the first time I have been able to follow a patient through like this. I more commonly spend my time doing public relations photography and photos of crew - less of patients due to my schedule with the kids and the unpredictable, sporatic nature of doing before and after photos of patients.

Below is (1) a photo of baby Arthur before surgery on the ship to remove his tumor, (2) a photo of our good friend Fotios, a Greek-German anesthesiologist who has since returned to his family and work in Germany (we enjoyed getting to know him and hope to see him again!!), carrying Arthur into surgery, (3) a photo of the surgeons praying for Arthur before the first incision in the O.R., and (4) a photo of Arthur about a week after his surgery.

Amazing things are happening here!

John

Nick Vujicic's Visit to Liberia

2008-10-10T09:04:00.010Z

A little over a week ago Nick Vujicic of Life Without Limbs (http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/) visited Liberia on a world tour that he is doing and we had the privilege of having him and his team stay on the m/v Africa Mercy. Nick is from Australia and was born without arms or legs. He struggled with the pain of being different from the other kids in school and has had to learn, with great difficulty, to do things that most of us would consider simple, but would probably seem impossible to conceive of doing without limbs. Nick questioned why God made him with no arms or legs, but eventually realized that God had a purpose for his life. Nick is now travelling the world encouraging others and sharing the good news of life in Christ. I was able to go out to the Samuel K. Doe arena (named for one of Liberia's former dictators who rose to power through a bloody coup and who's end was equally as bloody) in Monrovia and photograph Nick's public speaking engagement there with thousands of the Liberian people. There was much singing and dancing prior to Nick's arrival. They also played Michael W. Smith's "Healing Rain" over the loud speakers. For me that was a very poignant moment. It is my prayer that God would continue to bind up Liberia's wounds. How desperately it continues to need healing!

After a couple of hours of singing, Nick spoke on a table on top of a raised platform. He shared Jerimiah 29:11 with the people: " 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' " He told them that if God can use a man with no arms or legs to be His hands and feet, then He will also use war-torn Liberia for His purposes as well. Nick's story was one of redemption, redemption of Nick's seemingly hopeless situation. And he encouraged the people there to believe in God's redemptive purposes for Liberia.

One interesting thing I saw there was a man with a tape recorder with a large amount of orange wire hanging from it. I spoke to him briefly and found out that he was reporting on Nick's visit in the Bassa language so that he could later reach the Bassa-speaking people, who would otherwise be hard to reach, though radio broadcast. He told me that often, in the bush, if a woman gives birth to a child with birth defects that this is considered a curse and the baby is often discarded. He wanted to spread the news of Nick's visit and his testimony to encourage families not to consider birth defects as a curse, but rather as an opportunity.

Above is a photo of a young man in a wheel chair that attended the event. One thing that I heard Nick say while he was here was that if you put "Go" in front of "disabled", you end up with "God is abled". Nick's message is very powerful for anyone and we felt very privileged to have met him. We wish him and his team well on their continued journey around the globe.

John

Field Day and Jamaica Road

2008-09-29T21:35:00.006Z

Friday the kids here at the Mercy Ships Academy had a chance to go accross the city to the American International School of Monrovia for a field day with the children there. The kids had a great time! It was very kind of the folks at AISM to invite us and it was quite a treat for the kids on the ship to play there. Besides having lots of other kids to play with, they had a chance to play on monkey bars and play field games like soccer and ultimate frisbee. I went along with my camera to document the event. It was easy enough for me to do since all of my kids were participating and I didn't have to be back to pick them up from school. Usually I am pretty limited in what work I can do off the ship since I have only about 3 1/2 hours in the morning before I have to pick the kids up from school and take them to lunch and then only a couple of hours in the afternoon before they get home and need help with homework, etc. For that matter, my work is limited on the ship too since my schedule with the children allows me little flexibility. I'm doing my best to work through the frustration that comes with the constraints I have. I want to do more photography and more of a variety, but I have to be satisfied with what fits into my schedule. Working within my limitations is not a new thing at all, it just requires rethinking and adjusting to the shape it takes in this environment. Nonetheless, it is a challenge.

Jenny has been content this weekend to hang around on the ship, but I have been dying to get out. Finally, after failing all weekend to find someone to walk with, I ventured out on Sunday afternoon alone on foot. I decided not to go far away from the ship, so I walked down nearby Jamaica Road. There was Jamaican music playing too at one point as I walked. I stopped to speak with a group of men, probably in their 30's, at one of the cell phone charging shops where you can pay to have your cell phone charged via generator power. The man who ran the shop, a stocky fellow in a Mickey Mouse T-shirt, was also named John so we immediately had something to talk about. The guys there inivited me to have a seat with them so I did. We sat under the overhang of the tin roof of the shop as it was beginning to rain a bit. We talked about the gold mining work that a couple of the men do and about their struggles finding buyers who will pay them a fair price and getting the equipment they need to do the work more efficiently. They showed me a sample of the gold dust they had recently found. They told me about how they need people to invest in Liberia and about the frustrations they have about how difficult it is to have something to show for all their labor. "Work, work, work and nothing - no money", they would say. We talked about sports a little and about American politics a lot. All of the 6 or so guys there knew which U.S. presidential candidate they were pulling for and the conversation was just as heated as any you would expect to find in the U.S.! For a moment I felt like I was back home. We talked about the connection that many of the Liberians feel to the United States. They told me that some of them have dreamed about enlisting in the U.S. Armed Forces. And one said he would like to join the Marines, go to Iraq, and let everyone know that "war is no good". I'm sure he knows all about that first hand. If only it were that simple. I had a great time talking (mostly listening) to those guys and I hope to visit them again soon.

John

Rising From The Ashes

2008-09-27T22:22:00.004Z

(Above: Verses from Proverbs written on a wall and a little girl's shoe in one of Monrovia's many abandoned buildings, a blind panhandler led by a child, and a member of the UN peacekeeping force beneath an anti-war bilboard)

Liberia is slowly recovering from war, but it is clear that it is a long, difficult process. Signs of the war are everywhere and life is still very hard for the people of Liberia. The most disturbing evidence of the war here is its presence in the psyche of the people. They lived it and are trying to pick up what pieces are left. Some bear physical scars from the war. Many lost family members during the conflict. Many were unable to leave there homes for fear of being killed or forced to fight and some died of disease as a result. The war is over, but still there is need here and brokenness to the point of overflowing, and it is impossible to go out and not be confronted with it. But life is going on. People are laughing and living and pushing though the difficulties of living in a city where there is little running water or electricity (except that which is produced by gas-powered generators). Brokenness and suffering are everywhere in Monrovia and I believe that most Liberians would agree, but beauty is just as prevailant in the colors of the fabric, encouraging words written across the bumpers of taxis, and in the faces of its people. God made them and loves them and I'm so glad to have met some of them. May He continue to be merciful to them and lift them up.

John

Reflections on a Flood

2008-09-21T21:39:00.004Z

While John has been very prolific this weekend as far as blogging goes, I've been pondering the life lessons related to "The Flood of Monday 15 SEP 08". I'm sure none of you reading this post heard about the great flood unless we've already mentioned it to you over the phone!

In the decontamination room of our OR here on board, where surgical instruments are rinsed and sent through the washer, a sprinkler was bumped and activated during the cleaning of the ceiling. Unless you've experienced this phenomenon, it is hard to imagine how fast water can accumulate! The sprinkler heads pour out water at a rate of 60 gallons per minute. After the first couple minutes of using water stored in the system, the pump kicks in and draws water from the sea which surrounds the ship. Pretty cool idea, unless your ship is sitting in a harbor filled with sewage!!!!! Well, anyway, I suppose it was 3-5 minutes before the water was finally turned off. Every available person jumped in to bail with anything they could get their hands on. The ship was saved! Well, actually, the only threat was to our particular area.

What I've been pondering is the teamwork that took place to keep the flood at bay! And as I was pondering, I thought of the verses in Romans 12:6-8..."We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully."

Now, this doesn't give us the authority to say, "That's not my job," when the flood comes. What I witnessed this past Monday was everyone pitching in - no matter if he was a surgeon, an anesthesiologist, a nurse or the washer of dirty surgical instruments - to get a job done. It was a wonderful sight! I recalled the verse in Colossians 3:23 that says, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord..."

Jenny

Some Challenges of Living Here

2008-09-21T20:33:00.004Z

I want to share a few of the challenges we are coming to grips with as we have been here long enough now to know what some of them are. What I don't want is for any of this to be misconstrued as complaining. It's just an attempt to let others know what we face on a daily basis and maybe give an idea of how to pray for us.

Probably the biggest challenge is that there is no place here to get away from it all, not even really for more than a minute or two. Anywhere you go on the ship there is bound to be someone there as there are about 400 people who live and work on the ship. Anywhere you go in Monrovia there are people and often lots of them. Even at the beach last weekend it was not possible to sit for long without Liberians coming to sit with you. Don't get me wrong, it's often very nice talking with them, but there is no real possibily of just being alone for very long. I have always found personal interaction to be somewhat stressful in most cases, whereas I think Jenny is more energized by it than I am. In addition, there is no real distinction between work and personal life except the lines you choose to enforce. This makes getting away from work very challenging. There is no driving home in the evening from work. Another challenge is eating in community. We eat in the galley for nearly every meal except breakfast with hundreds of other people. We have found that bringing food back to the cabin is rather work intensive so we don't usually go that route. We are very grateful that our meals are provided and that we don't have to go to all the extra troubles of just living that some land-based missionaries here endure. That enables us to have some energy for work and more of a capacity left for compassion toward those we are here to serve. That said, we do face an extraordinary amount of daily fatigue. I have been trying to understand the reason for this. I think this is very common for those living on the ship for an extended period. I have talked with others who believe that it is almost entirely stress related. Not that any one thing in particular is that stressful, but rather just an accumulation of small stressful things related to living in tight community, living without much in the way of real respite, and living with a few other logistical struggles that come with the territory. Jenny and I find that we are very often at the point of collapse from what would appear to be physical exhaustion. I don't doubt that there is a spiritual element to this as well. Another challenge is that we are used to living in a 1600 square foot house with a yard. Here our cabin is just over 400 square feet including all our storage areas. That is rather generous too as cabins go here, so you won't catch us complaining about it. It is challenging, though, primarily because our bedroom is also the living and dining area that has to be shared with our children. We sleep on a fold-up couch that has to be stowed every day. And none of this is really a problem for us, but not having any real space to ourselves, that we can call our own, that is not shared by the kids requires a bit of extra mental energy. But, so many of the comforts of home are provided for us here through the hard work of others, like clean, running water, electricity, air conditioning, a Starbucks cafe', items for sale in the "ship shop", and the list goes on and on. It really is remarkable! We don't have to go far beyond the gangway to put this all into perspective as the conditions of living for most in Monrovia are far less desirable.

Suffice it to say, energy is what we need most so we are finding that we will just need to allot more hours to sleep than we are used to and continue asking God for quiet time and strength.

John

Oh Baby!

2008-09-20T23:24:00.004Z

In the early morning of the 17th, a baby was born to the mother of one of the patients on board the Africa Mercy! I was given the priviledge of photographing the baby as this was a newsworthy event. The mother has been here with her son as he is being treated and apparently her time to be delivered arrived! It is not common practice for babies to be born on board as this is a surgical hospital ship, but it just so happened that one of the ward nurses also has had training as a midwife, so she was honored with catching the baby right there in the ward. You just never know what may happen here (Sarah F.)! The little baby girl is doing well as I understand and sleeps in a laundry basket converted into a bassinet. The patient son is having to share his hospital bed with mom and baby sister and adjust to the attention of mom being shifted away from him. We hope he will do well with all of this.

John

Our North Korean Neighbors and Imports

2008-09-20T19:09:00.005Z

Last week we had a North Korean ship visit the port here. Above are some photos of it. It was moored at the dock next door to ours for several days and off-loaded a good bit of cargo before sailing away. In the U.S. we don't usually have an opportunity to see much of anything North Korean, so this was pretty interesting to me.

We went into town today and did a little shopping at a supermarket and then went out to eat at one of Monrovia's many Lebanese-run restaurants. It is very interesting to walk down the isles in the supermarket because the packaged goods seem to come from just about everywhere except Liberia. We seem to be living right in the middle of this activity as I guess most of it comes in on the ships that enter the port here. At the supermarket we bought several items, some for us and some for others on the ship. We bought pasta from Tunisia, butter from Denmark, bouillon cubes from Turkey, coconut cookies from Jordan, cake mix and canned peaches from the United States, coconut packaged in the United Kingdom, and some butter cookies from I'm not sure where. For these several items the bill came to $29 U.S. which is quite expensive, but I guess its not unreasonable considering the expense involved in shipping all of this stuff to Liberia. Thankfully most all of our food is provided on the ship so this was our first grocery shopping trip in Monrovia since we arrived. At the restaurant, I had a falafel, the boys had a cheese pizza, and Bethany and Jenny had a Taouk (chicken, french fries, and pickled cucumbers wrapped in Lebanese, pita-type bread with some nice garlic, mayonnaise-based sauce).

Kelly Grizzard, my boss (pictured above in a rather dignified pose at the restaurant), who drove us there had a Philly cheese steak type sandwich on Lebanese bread. So our dinner was more Middle Eastern/European/American than African. Maybe at some point, we can experience some real Liberian food although I hear that if you don't like spicy food, you're in trouble. I think we're willing and ready.

John

Special Report

2008-09-16T19:00:00.004Z

Bethany with Iona(left) and Grace(right)

Although I am a week past due, I must report that Bethany turned 10 last Tuesday! She did have to go to school as usual, but we got to bake a cake for the important event. A special birthday hat found it's way to her, but she insisted she was too embarrassed to wear it. So, instead, we used it as a substitute for real candles and she pretended to blow them out. (Candles aren't generally permitted since they are a fire hazard in the cabins!)

Happy Birthday, Bethany!

Team VVF

2008-09-14T17:14:00.009Z

This past week I was honored to be on "Team VVF". This was the last week of this outreach in Liberia for surgery on the ladies who suffer from vesicovaginal fistulas (VVF). The fistula is a hole that forms between the birth canal and the bladder when women are in prolonged labor during childbirth. In most, if not all cases, the mother also loses her baby as well.

Our surgeons were Dr. Steve Arrowsmith and Dr. Chris Payne, both from the US. Below is a note from Dr. Steve. (But that is Jenny A. who hopped into the photo and gave a plug for Mercy Ships' merchandise!) During the VVF phase of our surgeries here in Liberia, they were able to make 66 ladies dry! Thanks to all who partner with the volunteers and make this possible!

Also, during this past week of being on Team VVF, I witnessed a remarkable thing after each operation: Dr Steve mopping the floor between cases! Talk about TEAMWORK!

Jenny

On the far side of the Atlantic

2008-09-07T16:00:00.001Z

So...the beach! Bethany, David and I set out for White Sands beach with Roseann (our driver who is from New York and makes a great Liberian driver!), Judy, Frankie, Marylou, and Joan. I don't have pictures since my camera was around John's neck on his hike through town, so I'll try to describe what it was like on the far side of the Atlantic Ocean.

The drive to White Sands was just as worrisome as the other drives through town have been. The kids and I were sitting in the back of the vehicle which I think is an old Land Rover or something. We had the advantage of being able to look back behind us as we rode. There are so many people in and around the streets that it amazes me that there aren't casualties around every turn. Although the roads are supposedly two-lane, there are sometimes two cars in each lane, passing at will with plenty of horn taps to alert the driver being passed.

Anyway, we made it safely to the beach where we discovered the sand is not white but a burnt orange and the water is the color of tea. There was a pretty strong under current, so we ventured out only thigh deep into the sea. There were palm trees with some green coconuts visible above umbrellas made of palm branches. This made for great shade over plastic chairs and lounges. The kids and I spent most of our time down at the edge of the water, though, and had a wonderful time!

I want to tell you, also, about the church service we attended this morning. Each Sunday there is a service in the ward for the patients and anyone else who is early enough to get a seat in Ward A. (I hope to add a picture for you to see when we clear it with the right people.) There was a mix of folks that included several patients in their beds, ambulatory patients from other wards, nurses on duty, and all of us!

This morning's service include a Dress Ceremony for four ladies who had had the VVF (vesicovaginal fistula) repair and were ready to go home. Recovery from this procedure is about two weeks and when the surgeon clears them for release, they are celebrated, given new dresses, head wraps, a bar of soap to symbolize that the blood of Jesus cleanses them from their sin, a mirror to remind them that they are fearfully and wonderfully made by God, a Bible and a witness bracelet that makes it easy for them to tell the salvation message to others.

What a blessing to have been a part of this service this morning! We were able to witness the abandon with which the African people worship the Lord. It brought tears to my eyes and blessed me so! I hope to learn some of the songs that we heard this morning, too. And there is a special handshake that I want to perfect. There's time....

There is so much more to tell about this past week, but my time is up for now. Until next post...

Jenny

Saturday's Walk to Market

2008-09-07T14:45:00.000Z

Yesterday Joey and I walked with a group of others across the one bridge to Monrovia proper and into the market area in the center of town. The UN guards also let us go to the top of the Ducor Hotel which used to be a very nice hotel as I understand it, but is now a bombed-out shell that up until recently was occupied by "squatters", homeless folks looking for shelter. The view from the top was spectacular but it was a little dangerous as the handrails are missing in quite a few places. We later walked to the craft market across from the U.S. Embassy. Every vendor there insists that you visit their stand, so you have to be very direct if you don't want to spend the whole day there. We bought a couple of little things for Bethany's birthday on Sept. 9th and some cloth. It was fun learning the process. We were on the move for 6 hours yesterday and were completely exhausted and a little sun-baked when we got back.

The safe drinking water in town comes in sealed bags and the only good way to drink it is to chew the corner of the bag off and suck the water out. There are some huge, deep holes in the sidewalks and the sidewalks are often very narrow and very crowded so you have to really pay attention to everything to make sure you don't get run over by a car or wheel barrow or end up at the bottom of a garbage-filled hole somewhere. Our skin is far too light for us not to draw attention so we often will hear extended kissing noises as people frequently try to get our attention for one reason or another. Most often it's okay to stop and talk for a minute, but you can't cover any ground if you don't ignore some of it. I think I'm starting to feel a little more comfortable with these walks, though. I decided to carry our compact camera around my neck part of the time and attracted a lot of attention from one group of kids who wanted me to take their picture. They were very happy to succeed and ran off as quickly as they had come. The rest of the street photos above were just snapped as we walked without looking through the view finder. They may help give a little of a sense for what town is like. The last photo shows Joey with a couple of our friends. In that photo you can see Mike and Patrick working on getting a drink of water.

Jenny, Bethany and David went to the beach yesterday and had a great time. Jenny will fill everyone in on that soon.

John

Week 2 in Liberia

2008-09-04T19:28:00.000Z

Well, the past week has been packed!! We have been struggling to get used to our new surroundings and make the needed adjustments to life on a ship and to life in west Africa. It has not been an easy week by any stretch of the imagination. It's hard not to just dive into work, but I'm finding that there are so many difficult adjustments to make for our whole family that just doing that takes most of my available mental energy. Jenny is already working regular days for the most part. I am spending most of my time with the kids and that is a lot of work as we have not really been truely together as a family much over the past three months as we were preparing to come here. We are re-learning how to be together and also how to function in this very different and unusual environment. I have been working on learning the ropes with my job as a part-time photographer for the ship and have covered a couple of public relations events so far. I don't expect to really be able to do much more than offer a little relief to the other photographers on the ship as they are constantly in motion. Perhaps as we get more comfortable here I can take on a little more work. I have to remember, though, that there is always far more to do here than can be done, so everyone just has to do the best they can not to push beyond what they can handle. As soon as I get over the shock of all of these changes, I will be on a quest for balance. I guess I feel rather like a juggler on a tight rope right now who is brand new to the whole thing. I know it can be done and it will be pretty cool when I'm practiced enough to shine.

Below are some photos I have made this week of the ship in the evening, the neighboring dock, ladies dancing in celebration in the hallway outside the VVF ward on the ship as a group of VVF patients were preparing to go home after surgery, and a boy on the ward with stickers on his face.

Love to All,

John

Arrival in Liberia

2008-08-31T12:32:00.000Z

Where to begin!? Well we’re here in Liberia and the past few days have been a very surreal experience. There have been so many changes that mentally adjusting has been a full-time job! And I’m sure that that will be an intensive process for some time to come!

We left Winston-Salem on Tuesday in some really bad weather and I was really hoping that traffic would keep moving. About 20 miles from Charlotte and our flight out, we ran into a traffic jam. Well, I was able to call my father in Laurinburg and he was able to go online and find a very specific route for us around the jam. It worked beautifully and we got to the airport in plenty of time! Technology still amazes me.

So we said our goodbyes to Jenny’s parents (who have faithfully supported us in a multitude of ways for which we are very grateful!), got our 10 bags checked in and got on the plane.

Some 24 hours later, after brief layovers in Chicago and Brussels, we arrived in Monrovia. I was delighted to see that they had luggage carts available there! We had an airport employee help us with our checked bags, which all arrived intact!!, and were very grateful for his help! There was hardly room to move in the baggage pick-up area, but we somehow were whisked through and sent on our way. As soon as we left the airport we were completely swarmed with folks wanting to help us with our bags in hopes of being tipped, and my cart was promptly, almost forcefully, taken from my hands. I was practically asleep on my feet at this point and not really able to deal effectively with the situation. As our bags were being literally jammed into several of the mercy ships vehicles simultaneously, and tip amounts were being suggested to me on all sides, I recognized that my desire to maintain some control over our belongings and the situation would need to be completely surrendered. I followed the suggestion of a mercy ships staff member there, politely thanked as many folks as I could and kept the money in my pocket. After being threatened by one self-appointed porter, I closed the door and we were on our way.

On the drive in from the Robinson Airport to the ship a taxi got too close on the right and the tire of our 4wd vehicle apparently rubbed his rear fender. We pulled over and, after a brief shouting match through my window, our African driver, Isaac, got out, with the vehicle still running, and went to get the situation straightened out. This basically consisted of, as I understood it, a simple apology on the part of our driver and we were on our way again. That could have been very unsettling if not for the peace of knowing that God is in control.

Soon afterward it began to rain heavily and we met the Liberian vice president’s motorcade on the road. At dusk we arrived at the dock to be greeted by a band of friends from the gateway program in Texas, some of whom had been soaked by the rain. It was such a wonderful reunion!! We were so delighted to see our friends again, especially in the setting we had all prepared for. They helped us carry our bags up the gangway and onto the ship. We were fed a meal of pasta and collapsed in our cabin, the door of which was beautifully decorated with welcome signs and treats.

Our cabin is very nice and the kids really like their rooms. Below are photos of the views outside our windows.

The walls are a bit thin, but that hasn’t presented any major problems so far. The ship is huge and there are lots of things for the kids to do and explore. They started school on Friday and really enjoyed their day. The school is literally 15 steps from our cabin door! I don’t think it could possibly be any closer! They have already had several phone calls from kids in their class and meeting with them after school involves only a short walk. Being so close to everything on the ship is great, but I’m sure as time moves on there will be some difficulties with living in a big house and work space with hundreds of other people. But, so far, so good. It is taking quite a while for everything to sink in and I know we have a long way to go.

Jenny and I will be starting work on Monday. Jenny will be scrubbing with Dr. Parker in the O.R. and I will be trying to get a handle on my job during a bit of a tight spot as one of the photographers will be gone for the next couple of weeks.

I was able to go, without Jenny and the kids this time, on a walk into town on Saturday with a friend of ours from Texas, Michael Young. He showed me the ropes at the Duala Market in Monrovia, about a 45 minute walk from the ship. Having never been to Africa before and being in the middle of it like that was a very overwhelming experience! A bit scary, really, at first. We stuck out like sore thumbs. I didn’t take my camera today, but I hope I can gather enough courage to take it with me sometime soon.

Love to All,

John

All is well

2008-08-30T23:51:00.000Z

Just a quick post to say that all is well, we're adjusting nicely and John is working up an entry that will bring us up to date. All our flights were on time and we actually received ALL our luggage in Monrovia! Praise the Lord!

This is a shot of the muster called for a fire drill our first afternoon on the ship! It was a nice welcome and made us fell right at home! Really, it was fun!

More to come....
Jenny