One life at a time

This week I went to a discussion on AIDS in Africa.
There was a movie filmed by a man from Sierra Leone, followed by a discussion.
Sometimes, when I look at the big picture from my point of view, I think a situation is hopeless.
But I remember that when God sees the big picture, He can also see the individual.

I guess that hope comes in small doses.  Lives are changed one at a time.

Here are some pictures of lives that are changing on board.

Debbie

Worship in Africa: First Impressions

Mercy Ships provides Land Rovers for free to those who wish to attend a local church in Conakry.  There was one church which was about 35 minute away from the ship (depending on the traffic and how many times you get stopped by police)  Before we left the driver made sure we all had plenty of water with us.  Our Mercy Ships water bottles hold a full liter and ours were empty by the time we got back.  We selected the “God Is Love” Church, because the pastor was from Sierra Leone and held the service in English with French translation.  The church also has a school and runs an orphanage.  

 The church was in a larger room at one end of their school.  It had a roof and fairly open cinder block construction to let the light in.  Outside were a lot of goats wandering around, and women washing clothes where there was available water running along the street.  Inside, there were about 40 people in attendance. 

We were informed by our driver, that the church wanted us to spread out and blend in with the rest of the church.  They did not want everyone from Mercy Ships sitting together.  

They really wanted us to be part of the church community.  We entered to the sounds of joyful singing and dancing.  The ushers guided us to the very front row. We sat in plastic stackable chairs.  In America we would call this the Amen section, but in Africa, it would be more of the Halleluiah section.  We were fortunate because we were under two portable fans mounted on the ceiling above us.  This kept us cool until the electric quit.  At some point the electric always goes out.

Last Sunday we entered to about 10 minutes of percussion and dancing.  I'm not sure if there was any singing, but we tried to clap to the right tempo.  

 Preached in English, with French translation, I was able to understand most of it, and could pick up some French words along the way. This is a community of believers who love Jesus.

Last Sunday there were three vehicles full of people from Mercy Ships, so near the end of the service, we became a visiting choir as one of our drivers also brought a guitar and some song sheets for us.  As we sang, most people pulled out cell phones, digital cameras or some other digital device to record our singing and our time with them  The believers in Guinea were so happy to have us there.  They are very welcoming.  Even the pastor took out his camera and took pictures while we sang.

The service lasted 2-2.5 hours, which is fairly short by African standards, so we were back on board well before 2pm. 

We were a bit fatigued, but delighted to worship our Great God, who is so good to us.

Our three Mercy Ship Land Rovers parked on the street
in front of the God is Love Church

Chuck

A Day in the Life On the Africa Mercy

After completing my second full work week on the Africa Mercy, some routines are starting to develop.  Although every day is unique, there are some habits that help life seem normal.
The alarm goes off at 6:00 AM and I announce that it is "Doxy Time."
Before anything else, we start the day with a doxycycline tablet.

There have been a couple cases of malaria on-board and so far it is people who don't bother taking medication.
Debbie did find some malaria present in a blood sample in the lab and came down to find me so I could take a look under the microscope and see how malaria attacks the red blood cells.
Not wanting to have the malaria experience, we start each day with our doxy!

Living on a ship, one always has to conserve water.  Especially the pure treated water that is safe to drink.
We take "ship showers."  That means get wet, turn off the water, soap and scrub, then turn on the water to rinse off.   There's nothing quite like a 30 second cleansing.

We wait an hour between taking the doxycycline and breakfast.  This gives time to read the Bible, pray and reflect, write and check email.  Email is a little slow later in the day, so early morning is when the usage is low and the speed is reasonable.  Since we are 4 hour ahead of the eastern US, we can get our notes off early.

Breakfast is offered between 6:30 and 7:30.  The food is good.  All the breads are homemade and fresh and the quality is good.

Work starts at 8:00 AM, so there's a little more time to email or just read before work.  Since the commute is less than one minute, I never have to worry about rush hour traffic.

Normal work hours are 8:00 AM -5:00 PM with an hour lunch and a couple breaks. Since I'm on my feet all day, the breaks are nice.  The hour lunch also provides time to relax or get some personal things  taken care of.

Every Monday morning there is 7:45 AM crew meeting which starts with a time of worship, and then information sharing from various departments.  It's also a time to welcome people who have come on the ship in the last week, and to say goodbye to those leaving within the week.  There are 10-20 people coming and going each week.  There are always very creative powerpoint presentations.

Wednesday morning our department usually gets together for a devotional time before work.

Thursday evenings is community night.  It's a time of worship listening to a speaker and encouragement.  It's followed by ice cream in the mid ships cafe.

This is what community looks like!

Evenings are generally free.  We often go up on deck 7 or 8 to watch the sunset.  It is a little cooler by then as we watch the sun go down over the islands a few miles away.

Chuck

Working on the Africa Mercy

Well, we've finished our first full week on the job!  We're learning the routine, and the not-so-routine.

Chuck spends a lot of time in the patient wards, checking and stocking supplies.

Here are some great pictures from the wards.

The wards are pretty crowded, as you can see in the picture below.

There are mats under the beds for the families of the patients.

Chuck was in the ward when something got dropped.

He was surprised when a hand returned it from under a bed!

Here are two of the guys that Chuck work with- Ben from the US and Titus from Liberia.

Here is Chuck ready for work.  He gets to wear the hat and little booties when he delivers supplies to the operating room.

Last week, Chuck got to shake hands with the president of Guinea.  This week, I got to shake hands with the president's wife when she toured the lab.

Debbie

A Money Quiz

The currency in Guinea is the Guinea Franc
The paper notes are either 1000, 5000, or 10,000 Francs.

Here's a picture of 50,000 francs that I got from our ship bank.

Care to guess how much is this worth in America dollar?

Here's another picture of about 200,000 Francs

The top photo is equal to about $7

The bottom photo is equal to about $30.

Chuck

Views of the neighborhood

I thought I would share some views from the Africa Mercy. It's a little different from being home in the USA.

Since one of my first posts was a view of Africa from the New Jersey side, it's only fair to show a view of New Jersey from the Guinea side.

New Jersey is just a few thousand miles beyond these islands.

The Africa Mercy is home to a number of families with children.  A playground is part of decks 7 and 8.  This is a happy active place where kids can be kids.

Here are some views of the Conakry port and just beyond.   It's a busy place.

 This is a view from the Starboard side of the ship.  There is some construction going on in a busy port.

 This is a view from Deck 7 overlooking the Mercy Ship entrance.  The area is well guarded and fenced in.  For transportation Mercy Ships has a fleet of Land Rovers holding up to 10 people (if some are willing to squeeze in the back).
In Africa, there's always room for one more.

Sometimes you need to find a place to relax outside and in the shade.  These are popular spots on weekends.  In the evening a lot of people relax and watch the sunset on this deck or the Deck 8.









We do get to look out over the Atlantic ocean every day.
Since we live in port, there's a fair amount of shipping traffic.  There are also smaller vessels that go back and forth throughout the day and night.

After dinner we can go up on the top deck and watch the sunset.

Chuck

Shaking Hands With The President

During my first day on the job, we were introduced to African flexibility.  The president of Guinea came to visit the Africa Mercy.  Everything was ship shape (literally) and a tour was given.  Dress code was Mercy Ship uniforms or our Sunday best.
I was wearing scrubs so that counted as a uniform.  When His Excellency President Alpha Condé  came to the medical supply storage area, I said "bonjour" and shook his hand.
At least I know that much French.

The president was most gracious and impressed by what he saw on the Africa Mercy.  He made a point of shaking hands with as many people as possible on board.  He wants to help Guinea become a peaceful, stable and growing country.  He asked Mercy Ships to reach more in the interior of the country, not just the area around Conakry. So Mercy ships is able to help promote peace in this country that has had its share of conflict.  That is a very good thing for which we can give thanks to God.


Chuck

Welcome Aboard The Africa Mercy

After a long flight from Brussels which included a stop in Banjul (The Gambia), we arrived to the heat and humidity of Conakry.  We got through customs after providing 20 pages of documents explaining we were with Mercy Ships.  Two others, traveling on the same flight got through a different line much quicker.  After retrieving our bags we put them through and x-ray scanner, picked them up and dragged them over a couple ramps where we were met by a Mercy Ships driver.  We loaded everything into the land rover and asked that the air conditioning be cranked up as much as possible.

 Our cabin was our first sign of the extra things done to show hospitality and provide genuine welcome to us.  There are a lot of little things done on the Africa Mercy which express tangible love to patients and their families.  One of the deliveries I made this week was to bring teddy bears to the admission center.  Each patient receives a patient admission kit containing such practical things as soap, a towel and a toothbrush.  For children, a teddy bear, coloring book and balloons are added.  That's typical of the love and care that takes place here every day.

Living area 

It was a wonderful surprise when we saw how large and spacious our cabin was!  It was so much nicer than expected.  The Air conditioning is cranked up and we sleep well under a blanket.  It's cool enough so that we have to wear a fleece pullover or sweater to be comfortable if we're just sitting around.  We have a window which is right under the gangplank, so we figured we were on the starboard side.  It even came equipped with a refrigerator and a hot pot.

Chuck

Our Anniversary on "The Love Boat"

Our cards to each other displayed in our cabin.

Our 31st anniversary was the day we came on board  the Africa Mercy!  We gave each other our cards the evening before while we were still in Bruges, Belgium.  We had picked out the exact same cards to give to each other.  Actually, the card's verse is about sharing dreams.  We have shared the vision of being part of the crew of the Africa Mercy.  What a great way to celebrate!

Debbie

Cruising in Bruges, Belgium

Life may not be a cruise for us, but that doesn't mean we cannot take a 30 minute minute boat tour along the canals of the beautiful city of Bruges,  Belgium.
In Belgium everything is written in multiple languages.  Even Bruges, is written Brugge by the locals who speak Dutch.
While taking a boat tour our guide made sure he knew what language everyone spoke as we boarded.  He then gave the tour in English, French and German.

Our tour guide told us to "mind the gap" as we got on the boat, but said 'Danke" for the tip as we left.











Bruges is famous for its canals, Belgium Waffles, Chocolate, Beer, and Belgium lace.

These waffles were cooked to order and warmed us up as it was just starting to rain.

Belgium Lace

Bruges Buildings along the canal

One of the most enjoyable times was listening to a musical trio performing on the street.  These amazing musicians were playing Bach, Mozart and other intricate classical pieces.  Two accordians and a Bass provided wonderful sound for the pleasure of many.