A Spot of Tank Cleaning

Often maintenance on the ship has to be carried out which is not always that quiet!  At the moment the technical department are in the process of tank cleaning on deck 1, yes that's right, right in the bottom of the ship.  But with this ship being made of steel, steel carries sound extremely well so those up on the upper decks can even hear the noise.

So what is tank cleaning?
Marine regulations and also responsible ship stewardship require the steel tanks to be kept free of corrosion and foreign deposits.  If they aren't cleaned periodically we risk losing our certification to operate the ship and the life spam of the tanks is shortened.  So we are getting ready for our next inspection in 2014.

The Africa Mercy has a total of 72 tanks & there is a regular and on-going schedule for cleaning all the tanks to meet specific inspection dates.  So lots of work to be done.  Currently it has taken one month to get halfway through the 2 tanks that are in the worst condition.   

Often this can also be done by shipyards but the cost is very expensive especially when it needs to be done in a short period of time, so doing it ourselves saves a lot.

In case you are thinking that it's just a matter of popping in with your sweeping brush and cleaning up a bit, read on.  A ship tank is a confined space, so the most important aspect for the cleaning crew of around 3-5 people is safety.  Following the Mercy Ships Safety Management System, no one is allowed to enter the tank until an empty permit is signed off.  This permit verifies that the air in the tank has been checked and certifies that the air is safe and in sufficient supply.  A spotter is on constant watch outside the tank in case an emergency response is needed.  Fire suits, harnesses and emergency escape breathing devices are kept by the entrance of the tank in case of an emergency evacuation.  The tank is illuminated with floor lights and head lamps.  Special protective clothing is worn, including eye goggles, ear plugs/muffs, steel-toed boots, gloves, breathing masks and coveralls.  Sturdy scaffolding is erected and workers wear safety harnesses for fall protection (yes the tank is that big!).  The cleaning work is done with heavy duty pneumatic needle guns capable of removing scale and leaving a clean steel surface.  The scale is collected, hauled out of the tank and then discarded safely.

Scaffolding in the tank

Tank Cleaner hoists out a bucket of corrosion and foreign deposits from the tank

To keep air free of scale particle matter and to replenish the tank with fresh air, an extractor and an air supply fan run continually.

So after all that heavy work two important measures are followed to protect them.  First, the newly cleaned steel surface is coated with Intertuf 16, a powerful defence against corrosion.  Second, the zinc anodes, also called sacrificial anodes, are replaced.  Rust prefers zinc to steel, so the anodes are attacked by the rust rather than the steel.

So next time you hear the tanks are being cleaned you know there's more to the job than meets the eye.

Thank you to our fabulous Technical team or all your hard work

School Photos

The school decided to have the school photo's taken at the beginning of the year and this year they were done on the bridge - so here is our wonderful son

Nathanael and his 1st grade class - 4 boys and 1 girl who apparently "mothers" the boys

and there always has to be a silly photo

The whole school on board ranging from age 1 to 18:

Screening Patient

2 years ago Emmanuel was diagnosed with "Malaria". He was prescribed antimalarial tablets to help but it didn't seem to work.  So his parents took him to a hospital in Kinshasa where doctors found that in fact it wasn't malaria that he had, there was a tumour in his neck that was slowly suffocating him.  The hospital said they were unable to provide treatment and sent him home.  His breathing began getting worse to the point that he would loose consciousness up to 3 times a day.  His mother started taking him to the hospital every time he passed out but eventually she stopped because they couldn't do anything.

Meanwhile in August his father was working in the port of Pointe Noire when he saw a big white ship, the Africa Mercy, sailing in.  He heard about the hospital and the work we were going to do in the Congo and started to hope that maybe we could help his son.  Although it was still 2 weeks before we had our selection date, the family bought a calendar and started marking off the days to the screening so they could take Emmanuel.

During the screening there was an EMT call ("emergency medical treatment") for this little boy and when the doctor saw him he could hardly breathe.  So he was immediately scheduled for one of the first surgeries on board with the hope that he would have a chance. 

On board he was only awake for small amounts of time, his body struggled to get oxygen, then when he did sleep it would be short because he stopped breathing, time was short.  On the 4th September he was operated on to remove a tumour the size of a fist and it wasn't long before he was released to go home.  

We are thankful to God that we were here just in time for him and now he has a full future ahead of him.

Screening Day

The day started very early for many.  When the day shift security team headed out in the early hours of 5'ish in the morning, already people were gathering in line with a hope of an appointment for surgery.  Within the space of a couple of hours that number of around 600 had risen to 4000-5000 people as many made their way to line up.  One thing we have noticed, the Congolese know how to line up.  I remember on the first morning of our local day crew arriving on board and having to stand in line to get a cup of tea in the dining room, it was funny to see the confused faces of many of our crew members as this was not the norm.  But this must be the norm here as people lined up to wait their turn and it went very calmly.

Here's a time lapse of the crowd over the day:

Throughout the day 311 crew went back and forth to help with the day.  Some handling security and lines, others escorting patients from one station to another, some keeping the kids entertained, others registering the personal details of every potential candidate, water carriers, sandwich sharers, transportation.  Photographers took snaps of each condition, doctors & nurses evaluated patients giving the joyful "YES" or the disheartening "NO".  2 worlds go on side by side, those who carry hope in an appointment card and those who we unfortunately can't help, both take the same path out of the evaluation building.  People gathered at a prayer tent to pray with those who had been declined, others danced with those who we would see again.

Sharon headed out at 11:30-she was part of the patient escort team.  Her job was to escort people to the right surgical evaluations.  The nurses had made it so easy for us by colour coding the paperwork so all we needed to do was follow the right coloured arrow to Plastics, Max Fac's, Orthopedic, VVF, Goiters etc.  The hard part was walking up and down the stairs for each patient, but to be honest, not really hard when your body works fine unlike the many we helped.  It was fun to connect face to face with patients and even practice the poor school French which gave many laughs and broke down barriers and made connections.  Even the mothers who hid their disfigured baby from all, because of their embarrassment, got connected and more relaxed as Sharon asked about their baby. When they would show her, Sharon would tell them they were "trés belle" and some would look at her in disbelief, that somebody would find their child beautiful when the outside world would think they were cursed.  I must admit they were very adorable.  Another one that comes to mind was a young lad who's legs were bent up by his body, his family and friends carried him on a plastic patio chair to wherever he needed to go, even up the two flights of stairs.  I will always the remember the time when he came across our path as we all recited hello in our best french, "Bonjour" or one of the local languages "Mbote" only to be greeted by a boy speaking perfect english.  It surprised us all.  He was fun to be around and he got an appointment so we are all looking out for his visit as I think he's going to have fun on board!

"Sharon helping "Mama" and her little one up the stairs"

 

 "Upstairs for Max Fac & Plastics"

"Downstairs for the rest"

Around 18:30 the sun was going down but there were still many patients, unfortunately the building that we were all working in had no power so landrover lights shone in various places to see our way.  By 19:30 all those that were left were given an appointment card at the ship to continue their screening in the light.

It was a successful day.  The gate was open from 06:25-18:44.  The total number of people (potential patients and their caregivers) that came to the main gate was 7354.

6354 came through the gate and 4236 received an appointment card for surgery

Here is a video with photo's from the day that our communications team has put together:

Thank you for your prayers

Screening Day - Wednesday

On Wednesday we have our screening day where thousands of people will queue up with the hope of receiving an appointment card for surgery.  Please pray that the right people will be selected.

We Have a Shark in the Family

Apparently they call them shark teeth.  

Initially we thought that we were going to end up with numerous trips to the dentist but consulting with other mum/mom's on the ship and google it turns out it's quite normal.

Nathanael's starting teething again!  

This summer Sharon was looking in his mouth for something when she noticed this tooth sticking up behind the rest of his teeth.  On further investigation the ones in front were starting to feel wobbly.  Nathanael had been blissfully going along thinking he had some food there not realising it was a tooth.

Arriving in the Congo

We have arrived in the Republic of Congo.

After a 14 day sail (which felt like a month) we arrived to a great reception at the port of Pointe Noire on the 10th August.

We were greeted by the pilot boat with some of our wonderful advance team waving with excitement after working so hard to prepare for our visit.

 On the dock we saw another crowd gathering to welcome us:

 Gangway preparations start:

 Some of our advance team had even made a head start by putting up some of the dock tents that will receive many patients in the coming months:

 It was also great to see our founders, Don & Deyon Stephens there.  A special time for them seeing the Africa Mercy arrive.

VIP guests arriving for the welcoming ceremony that was organised by the advance team and Congo:

 The ceremony started off with Tim leading the way, along with the pilot, to greet those who have eagerly waited for the ship

 Tim greeting the VIP's

 To honour him, a chair was set aside for him to watch the proceedings:

Now we are in the throws of learning all about the country and getting set up for the screening that will take place next Wednesday.  

We have already learnt some words in the Kituba language which surprises some people when it comes out our mouths!

 "m'bote" - hello 

"wa waso" - how are you

"ka bien" -  I'm good

"née ke m'bote" - are you well

"ee mu ke m'bote na nag aussie wa faso" - yes & you

As we learn more about this wonderful country we will share more with you.

 Please pray that all goes well next week.

Worship on the Bow

It's always special when we're out on the ocean and the crew gather for worship on the bow.  It's pretty spontaneous, people bring guitars, drums, double bass or voices to worship the Almighty!

Our 6 Week Break

Sorry for the gap in posts over the last couple of months, we have been away from the ship for a 6 week break in the UK.  Sorry we weren't able to see everyone but it was felt that we really needed a rest this time and so we were a bit lazy and stayed put in one place (thanks Mum and Dad for putting up with us!) and then we ended with a week family holiday in the New Forest. (Thank you Budd family for letting us use your cabin!)

Nathanael got to experience more new things like sorting the post which "surprisingly" came through the door instead of having to walk out to collect it from somewhere.  A bouncy castle.  A roller coaster inspired by a Scooby Doo movie only to find it's not as fun as it looks!

Learning to ride a bike with Tim, Sharon & Grandad finding out we aren't as young as we used to be.  

That gravy helps keep the meat from drying out, but then again he always likes Granny's cooking and the trouser elastic expanders had to be loosened!  Hanging out at the beach, skimming stones on the water, before he's had to pretend by playing a Wii game

A new tooth starts growing behind his baby tooth!  A Carnival - a first for both Nathanael and Tim.   A big maze.  

Dodgems, especially when they bump into Daddy.  Underground tunnels and museums.  Steam Fair with plenty of engines for little and big boys to look at and even a Gypsy caravan which Nathanael enquired to the owner, where does the TV go.  

Painting stones for doorstops 

and a short holiday in the New Forest with even a visit to Downton Abbey (a nice treat!) 

Then we finished off nicely with an afternoon in London before we flew out the next day where we were able show him some britishness with the likes of the Natural History Museum, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace.  His verdict: "he liked the dinosaurs but London is far too busy for him!"

So that's our last 6 weeks in a nutshell and now were back on board after a 2 day whirl wind shopping spree for our yearly supplies we are now out on the ocean enjoying a calm sail, even my cup is staying in the same place.  We now look to our next field of service in the Congo.  We'll post more on that soon.