A Normal Afternoon of Fire Drill

Do you think we have come, somewhat, over prepared when it comes to our fire drills? Just happened to have a chair, umbrella, sunscreen, book, ice lolly & water bottle at hand! Never underestimate a womans handbag!

(thanks Sandy for the photo!)

Sharon meet Sharon

It was 10 years ago that Sharon first joined Mercy Ships and that first year included a field service in Sierra Leone. The war had just finished and we were met by the sweetest of people who graced our decks as dayworkers. At that time Sharon worked with the deck department as the deck administrator and got to know many of those who worked alongside her. One was Andrew. Andrew worked diligently on our gangway and was very useful in translating the odd krio sentence that we couldn't make out.

The sad part is, Sharon never got to say goodbye just before they sailed off, as his wife had gone into labour with their 2nd child, but the day we sailed Sharon was handed a note, scribbled on a scrap of paper, "a baby girl, named after you, Sharon - Andrew". That was the last she heard of them.

Sharon has always wondered how they are doing. So she enlisted the help of her friend, Alfred, who was also on board in the deck department at that time and continues to serve to this day and he remembered Andrew from when we visited his church. It turned out Alfred was attending the same church again (obviously he has a very good sense of direction as Sharon would never have found it!). Andrew had moved on, but with some enquiries and phonecalls he was able to track him down and we were able to meet again after just over 9 years.

"Little" Sharon is a beautiful girl with a big smile. It had been her fathers dream for her to meet the peson she was named after, but he thought that was never possible until this day. We look forward to seeing more of them during our time here and this time we won't loose contact!

Nathanael Turns 4

At last, after living a party for 6 months, it eventually came. Preparations started way back when we were at the head office in Texas last November when Nathanael had to decide what kind of party he would like so we could buy some things to put on the container to meet us in Sierra Leone a few months later. Since then it has seemed weekly that Nathanael would check with us to see if it was his birthday yet. When May came he could hardly contain himself and preparations were in full swing for his "Cowboy" party. In just under 3 hours we turned 9 little pre-schoolers into real cowboys by playing tin can alley, cow round up, pin the tail and catch the bandits., followed with Cowboy stories and lunch around the campfire, a cowboy outfit and saddle bags to take home. A good time was had by all.

2nd Screening

On the 26th March we held our second screening. This time we wanted to get it right, following the unfortunate incidents of the last one. One of the ways we use to advertise it in town is on the radio. Click below to here the jingle that was broadcast across the airwaves. It's in English, well actually Krio, which is sort of English, so you should understand it. ?!?

By mid afternoon the day before people were standing in line with the hope of being seen first. We had a security team stay over night who were able to sort through the line and pick out those who were not suitable candidates for surgery. It saved people staying in line all through the night to be disappointed the next day when we weren't able to help them.

At the crack of dawn, crew gathered together to pray for the day.

Many queue for the chance to see a doctor, a touch by a nurse that cares or an appointment card for surgery.

This time things went smoothly and we ended with around 500 patients being examined and handed that special bit of paper, an appointment card.

During this time we had Bill and Sherry from Tim's church in Olympia, WA joining the crew for 2 weeks. Bill is a plastic surgeon and worked alongside Dr. Gary doing various surgeries like cleft lips and tumours and Sherry worked with programs and helped out with some physio for the orthopedic surgeries. It was so great to have them here and they were certainly kept busy! We're hoping they come back again!

Below you will see some examples of the conditions people came with.

There is a great need here!

Soap and Hula

These last few weeks we seem to have gone into blog brain freeze and so we are back and trying to catch up with all that has been happening. Quite a random variety of things has happened in the last month and so we will attempt to share what's been going on over the next few posts to bring you up to speed.

This past month has seen 3 actresses come and work with us from the German soap "Aller Freundschaft", it's almost like a cross between ER and the UK show, Casualty and doctors (if you know those programs). They had heard about Mercy Ships and thought to themselves,"we can do that" so they did. Their TV show kindly wrote them out of the series for a few weeks, one has chickenpox, one has gone away and another has something wrong with their hand and can't work in the TV world "hospital". Cheryl Shepard, Hendrikje Fitz, and Alexa Surholt, known to many as Dr. Elena Eichhorn, Pia Heilmann and Sarah Marquardt worked really hard in the dining room, serving meals, washing dishes for 400 people and cleaning up ready for the next meal. Then during their time off they got involved with many of the other things that Mercy Ships does, like watching a surgery, helping out at the dental site and experiencing the extreme poverty of Sierra Leone.

(working in the dining room)

We had the opportunity to spend an evening with them and enter a little into their world back in Germany. 2 of them have been with the soap for about 13 years and the other, 9 years and it is broadcast on the public free channel in Germany. They showed us an episode and they translated it into English for us so we could at least follow the plot. They have been so humble in their work and they have most certainly embraced life here.

We also hosted a vision trip from a church in Honolulu and what a lovely group they were. They have been raising funds for Mercy Ships through concerts and this is the first time that they have had the opportunity to come and visit and see what they have been supporting for all these years. They brought along their pastor, a film guy and even Miss Hawaii 2009.

Pastor Elwin Ahu Pastor Elwin is the Lead Pastor of the Honolulu Campus of New Hope Oahu, a network of churches that averages approximately 12,000 in weekend attendance. In 1995, while sitting as a Judge for the State of Hawaii, he experienced a radical transformation in his heart and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It was a decision that emerged as the defining moment in his life. On January 1, 2000, Pastor Elwin resigned from his promising judicial career to respond to God’s call and stepped into full-time ministry.

We were invited to an african dinner with them all and Miss Hawaii, a christian now working at their church, performed a Hula to a christian song. It was very interesting to see how her hands portrayed the music. Then the fun followed. The Africans had already got them up dancing to their African songs so now the tables were turned. She had them all up and dancing some hula moves, it was so funny to see our African friends wiggling their hands and bodies around. Good on them for being such good sports. Click here to read their church mission blog and read what they experienced during their time here.

Running Club Starts Again

Thursday was the start of another season of running club for the academy. All the kids receive a laminated foot and the idea is that they receive a star punched out for each lap that they achieve. 5 laps = 1km and the aim is to complete a marathon over the following weeks to the end of the school year.

(The school getting instructions from the school Principal, Miss Nikki.)

Nathanael with his class - "ready, steady........

"GO!"

Lap one!

Getting tired

"Mummy will you carry me?"

He managed to complete 6 laps and get dirty knees and Sierra Leone dust on his shoes. This marathon could take a long time.

Mighty Ships-Australia

GREAT NEWS! The episode of Mighty Ships featuring our ship, the Africa Mercy will finally be airing on Australian TV this coming Thursday, 31 March. Tune in for the hour-long program at 7.30pm on 7Mate (digital channel 73).

ENJOY!

Salamatu's Story

We seem to be settling into a life in Sierra Leone. The people are wonderful, but as you walk around town you can still see the many remnants of the years of civil war that ended in 2001. We'd like to share with you this story about Salamatu from when the Anastasis last visited Sierra Leone. It gives you an insight of what people faced as they ran from the rebels during that time. For us, it is hard to imagine being faced with this and the trauma people have gone through. Click on the picture below to read her story. (in this evergrowing technical world, you can also download this story as a PDF if you would rather read it on a kindle, Ipad etc.)

Nathanael's New African Outfit

Each year Nathanael grows out of his African outfit so it was time to get a Sierra Leone outfit. We always try and get something different so this week we found this in the market and thought it was just right, what do you think? His Granny thinks he looks like Joseph and his coat of many colours!

Aloyi Update

Remember this?

.

Togo?........Village of Aloyi?

Click here & here if you missed the 2 posts on our involvement there.

We recently received news that after 2 years of fundraising, they have finished the school building.

The school opens on the 12 March.......what a great achievement!

Screening Day

The day we all wait for, happened on the 7th March, screening day. The day where we screen thousands for the surgeries that we offer. Somehow this day turned out to be very different to what we expected. If you've ever seen the movie "Vantage Point" you will know that there are probably many things that may have contributed to this and so we can't clearly describe what happened but this is the press release that was done by Mercy Ships so you can feel, somewhat ,of the tragedy of the day.

Mercy Ships is deeply saddened by the tragic events that occurred today during medical screening at the Freetown National Stadium when a crowd stormed the gate resulting in several injuries and one life lost.

Mercy Ships personnel working at the site attended the injured and accompanied them to local hospitals. "Our hearts and prayers are with the individuals and families of those affected by today's events. The occurrence of this incident in the course of activities intended to restore lives is tragic. We move forward with tremendous sadness, but great determination, to assist as many people as possible in the next ten months," stated Mercy Ships Founder, Don Stephens.

Mercy Ships exists to serve the forgotten poor and has served Sierra Leone five times over the past two decades, also helping establish two land-based health care facilities. For the next ten months, Mercy Ships will be providing surgeries for qualified patients while working alongside the Sierra Leonean Government to support its five-year healthcare plan and strengthen the functions of the national health system. Please keep the people of Sierra Leone and the Mercy Ships crew in your prayers, not just today but in the months to come

If you would like to post a prayer to the Mercy Ships wall, please click here.

Arrival in Sierra Leone

On 27th February we arrived in the country of Sierra Leone in the city of Freetown.

Celebrations awaited us on the dock and that morning we weren't even too sure whether we would be able to dock there. The previous day we had heard that there was a strike at the port due to another company taking over on the 1st March. Our aim was to get in before that, but hadn't planned on strike action which meant there were no linesmen to take our lines to tie us up. Fortunately our advance team had a "deckie" as part of the team so he quickly gathered volunteers from the Mercy Teams and Gateway that we already had situated in Freetown and gave them a quick lesson on how to tie a ship up.

It worked and we arrived safely with the help of the 2 pilots, below, to guide us in.

It was a joyous occasion, the children had made Sierra Leone flags in School and the police band played and the baton twirler, twirled and even balanced his baton on his head.

Then we had the great moment as our 2 Sierra Leonian crew members walked down the gangway with their country's flag and at the bottom a child waited to receiveit, what was special was that child had received a surgery on board one of our previous ships, the Anastasis, when he was a baby. He was so proud as he carried that flag.

Our managing Director and his wife were received by the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and she gave a speech to welcome us.

We are so looking forward to serving in this country and to see the changes since Sharon's last visit in 2001. Already Sharon walked down town last weekend and enjoyed interacting with those in the market. They seemed very respectable and never pushed to get you to buy things, if you said no, they accepted it. I think we are going to enjoy it here.

You'll Be Missed

Last week in our meeting we were singing the song, Blessed Assurance Jesus is mine. As we sang verse 3, tearfully, my thoughts turned to a dear friend who I knew was living his last days. Perfect submission, all is at rest; I in my Savior am happy and blest, Watching and waiting, looking above, Filled with his goodness, lost in his love.

Cyril lived and breathed Jesus and my heart is divided today as I mourn the loss of my dear friend, the other half of me is joyful because he is now living everything he has lived for all his life. Cyril, along with his wife, Mary, have been a constant source of encouragement, love and support in my life. Without them and their faithful prayers I wouldn’t be the person I am today and I wouldn’t be in the place I am today.

Many Christians have those bands on their wrists with WWJD (What would Jesus do), if I had a choice I would have 2 on my wrist, the other one with WWCS – “What Would Cyril Say”. I always knew that I could go to him and he would give me a straight answer, along with Scripture…..you just can’t argue with that and I know that he has shown me what Jesus would do in just his living for him every day.

He has certainly left his mark on many peoples lives and he will not be forgotten in a hurry. I remember his face grinning as he greeted the kids at the church outreach rainbow club, his joy of gardening, his excitment of us having Hamworthy equipment on our ship, his love of hymns, there are too many memories to list here....but when it came down to it, he recognised his Saviour and desired others to know him too.

A big gap has been left this week and I kind of wonder how God is going to reward him.

God Bless you Cyril

When I stand in Glory, I will see His face

and there I'll serve my King forever

in that Holy place.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------(There is a Redeemer - Keith Green)

Togo Statistics

As we are due to sail into our next Field of Service this weekend I thought I should tell you a little about it, then I realised I hadn't really told you what was finally achieved in Togo last year so I'm going to try and cover it all in this post. For those that like to see the figures, here are the statistics from our last Fields of Service in Togo and also for South Africa where we had some programs going on (click on the pictures to enlarge and view)

Togo Statistics

South Africa Statistics

Now we are about to embark on another journey of hope and healing as Mercy Ships serves the country of Sierra Leone whilst docked in Freetown.

Many of you will know that this country had a civil war for so many years that ended in 2001 that they are still recovering from. It is, however, good to see that they have actually gone up slightly on the Human Development Index. Here are just some statistics about the country:

-

Human Development Index Ranking - 158 (USA ranked 4 / UK ranked 26 / Togo ranked 139 ) Population (by thousands) - 5,835.7 Health: Life expectancy at birth - 48.2 years old Under-five mortality (per 1,000 live births) - 194 Prevalance of Undernourishment in total Population - 46% Maternal mortality ratio (deaths of women per 100,000 life births) – 2100 Education: Adult literacy Rate (those aged 15+ who can read and write a short simple statement of their everyday life) - 41.4% Expenditure on Education - 3.8%

Mean years of schooling (of adults age 25+) - 2.9 years Expected Years of schooling (of children) - 7.2 years Internet users (per 100 people) - 0.3 (could you imagine a life without internet now?) Poverty: Population living below $1.25 per day – 62.79% Refugees by country of origin (thousands) 32.5 (to see full statistics for Sierre Leone click here)

This past week we have been joining together as a crew to prepare for our time here. It has been fun & very thought provoking as our two fellow crew members from Sierra Leone shared about their country. We have even learnt the national anthem and some of the local language, Krio.

Some Krio Phrases

How are you = How d' body

I'm fine thank you = D' body fine tenke

I'm not well = D'body no wello

See you tomorrow = We go see tomalla

National Anthem

(click play so you can sing along to the midi file) -

High we exalt thee, realm of the free

Great is the love we have for thee

Firmly united ever we stand,

Singing thy praise, O native land.

We raise up our hearts and our voices on high,

The hills and the valleys re-echo our cry;

Blessing and peace be ever thine own,

Land that we love, our Sierra Leone.

One with a faith that wisdom inspires,

One with a zeal that never tires;

Ever we seek to honour thy name,

Ours is the labour, thine the fame.

We pray that no harm on thy children may fall,

That blessing and peace may descend on us all;

So may we serve thee ever alone,

Land that we love, our Sierra Leone.

Knowledge and truth our forefathers spread,

Mighty the nations whom they led;

Mighty they made thee, so too may we

Show forth the good that is ever in thee.

We pledge our devotion, our strength and our might,

Thy cause to defend and to stand for thy right;

All that we have be ever thine own,

Land that we love, our Sierra Leone.

Please pray for our arrival and for these coming weeks as we continue to screen patients. Already thousands have been screened in the north of the country by our teams who are already on the ground.

See you soon, Sierra Leone!

School Spirit Day

Each month the school has a 'Spirit Day' where all the kids have to dress up for a theme for the day. Yesterday was African Dress Spirit Day, in preparation for our arrival in Sierra Leone. Nathanael dressed up in his elephant african clothes and joined his class in the academy big room to show it off with his friends.

(Nathanael with his classmates from pre-school and nursery and teachers)

Sharon Turns 40

Yesterday was Sharon's 40th birthday. Originally we were supposed to be in Sierra Leone but due to the shipyard delays she got to enjoy it with a cruise. Last night the mum's put on a surprise party for her, of which she had no idea. Even talking to a mum in the dining room as she's holding coffee pots on her way to the event didn't even set any triggers of suspicion.

(Trying to blow out the battery powered candle - a naked flame is not allowed on board so we result to the battery type)

Thank you Mum's for a wonderful surprise, you're the best!