NEW CHIEF ENGINEER ON THE AFRICA MERCY

Thank you to each and every one of you who prayed for Andy during his exams. Not only did he pass, he achieved Grade 2 passes in both Mechanics and Naval Architecture. The pass grades range from 1 – 6 (1 being the highest, 6 the lowest)

We are incredibly proud of him. He himself will testify to God’s faithfulness and presence with him during his exams and will give God all the glory, but all credit to Andy too for his hard work and diligence which have been rightly rewarded.

At last night’s Africa Mercy Community meeting Andy was honoured by his Engineering Team who turned up in Dress Uniform (Black & Whites) to support him as he was commissioned into his new role as Chief Engineer. Both the Captain (Tim Tretheway) and outgoing short term Chief Engineer (Pete Johnson) made moving speeches in honour of Andy and the special occasion. He was presented with a working uniform shirt & his 4 stripes epaulettes.

Andy today in his working Uniform

Matt left last week after 5 weeks with the family on the ship. It was wonderful to have the whole family serving together for this time.

For more photo's click on the Flickr grid top left corner of the blog

The Cole Men in Action

Here are some great shots of Andy, Matt and Steve in the Engineering Control Room

Such a great opportunity for the boys to work alongside their dad!

I can't persuade any of them to work in HR - desk jobs are definitely NOT their thing!!

Back to School!!

After a long summer Emma, Chris & Josh are finally back at school for the new Academic Year 2008/2009 and can you believe Josh has graduated from Elementary School into Junior High?

Just before school re-opened the Mercy Ships Academy (as it's known on board) had an open house to which we were invited. The purpose to go and have a look around and chat with Teachers. This year is extra special as both Steve & Matt are on board to share the experience.

During the Summer Holidays:

You may ask what Emma, Chris & Josh did during the summer in the midst of rainy season in West Africa....well after having two weeks at the start of the holidays to just relax and play games etc...they joined different departments to help and do something productive with their time. This was a wonderful opportunity and they made lots more friends on board by being more actively involved in ship/community life.

Emma - worked in the Sales Department, which includes the Starbucks Cafe, Ship Shop & Snack Bar. This was a perfect fit for Emma as she is sociable. She loved the interaction this gave her with the crew.
Chris - worked in the Dining Room. He already had some friends who worked here so it was great fun for him. There is a real team spirit in this department, which is staffed by mainly our younger adult crew members. Josh - worked with the Academy Summer Program. He is a little young to work in a department so this was perfect for him. He loves small children and is very good with him. He's often been likened to the Pied Piper - where Josh goes there's usually some younger kids following!

Mini Break in Robertsport

We just got back from a 3 day break in Robertsport - a 3 hour drive West up the coast from Monrovia.

Stretch break en route!

View taken from our tent. It was a beautiful location. We stayed in tents on stilts with decking flooring. The set-up was so nice it could hardly be called camping!

Every convenience, at least while the generators were switched on!

Bearing in mind it is currently rainy season we didn't know what to expect of the weather. It had rained for 4 days solid prior to us going and we disembarked the ship and began our journey in the rain. By the time we arrived it was glorious sunshine. The sun continued to shine till the morning we departed! We had the most lovely time, relaxing in the sun, reading, watching the kids all play together in the lagoon, playing family games, including a darts tournament, Mexican Train dominoes, and card games.

Two of the evenings we had camp fires and roasted marshmallows and told funny stories including stories from childhood days. What a special family time.

Today is Matt's 21st Birthday and we look back in amazement at how our kids have grown and all that our family has done especially over the last 8 years since we joined Mercy Ships. It has truly been an incredible journey. We listen to our kids talk and realize just what a broad world view they have, along with an appreciation for so many different cultures.

We decorated our cabin door with pics of him at different ages, much to his embarassment!

Opening presents! After opening this one Matt can honestly tell his friends he got a helicopter for his 21st!

This remote control version has done many laps of our cabin today and then out into the mid ships area attracting a crowd.