The Lights of Tenerife Can Be Seen On The Horizon

It's hard to get a good shot when the ship is still rocking!

After 11 days at sea and the last two of those days having been a bumpy ride, we are excited to see the lights of Tenerife off in the distance.  We have rocked and rolled around due to large swells caused by a storm out over The Azores.  Although we tied down before the sail, when we get swells of this size the tying down has to go to another level.  This we did with some success, but not complete success!  We had a table topple over not just once but 180 degrees so it ended up with the legs sticking up in the air.  We had a cupboard topple over, the waste bin fall and spew out all of its contents which were then rocked and rolled all around the lounge.  It was not the prettiest site to find in the middle of the night!

Mercy Ships Academy Christmas Play 2009

FROM MERCY SHIP --> EXPRESS TRAIN!!

Josh, as the conductor calls "All Aboard....the Bethlehem Express"!

Despite the rolling waves, The AFM community all gathered last night in the International Lounge for the Academy Christmas Performance.  This years performance was an AFM take on "The Polar Express" called "The Bethlehem Express"  In this story the train takes them to Bethlehem where the passengers get to see the Nativity scene (pictured below)

Josh had the leading role of the conductor and gave a stunning performance, Emma sang a couple of great solos and Chris was on lighting.  At the end of the show all three of them performed in the final dance routine.

EMMA SINGS:  "Joyful, Joyful, we adore Thee...."

 

The standard of the show was amazing. You would never think it possible to pull off something so GREAT, having only started practicing in the last week.

***************************

And now on our final evening at sea, while still rolling, we eagerly anticipate our arrival into our berth in Santa Cruz around 8am tomorrow morning.  We will no doubt be anxious to get off the ship and wander the beautiful town just 15 minutes walk away from the ship.

On Sunday afternoon we leave the ship for a month and fly home to England.  Heather (Bren's sister) & Dave, Victoria, Ellie & Zoe have already landed in England on Thursday, all the way from Australia and we are very excited to be meeting up with them on Monday along with Bren's dad & sister Gill.

We pray God's blessings on all for a Wonderful, Joyful Christmas & a Peaceful New Year 2010.

We Are Sailing!

On Tuesday 8th December at approximately 11am the line handlers lifted the lines and we pulled out of the harbour in the Port of Cotonou, Benin which has been home to the Africa Mercy and it's 400+ crew for the last 10 months.

Mercy Ships, Managing Director of the Africa Mercy , Ken Berry, expressed gratitude at a recent "Thank You" function to the Benin government and local community, whose partnerships have made the 2009 Field Service a success.  "We've had a very good year here in Benin - far more people than we had anticipated and certainly more than we have in the past," said Ken Berry.  "All the various government ministries have been very important in opening the doors and making a way for us to come and operate here as we do. All we were able to accomplish is a direct result of the partnership of everyone working together to reach out and touch the people of Benin. I'd like to thank each and every one."

The Minister of Interior and Public Safety responded, saying, "I would like to say 'thank you' to all the crew of the ship. Because of your stay in the country, thousands of citizens received the joy of life again. Thank you very much for all you have done."

Almost 7,000 surgical procedures were performed on the Africa Mercy during the ten-month field service in Benin.

We leave Benin behind thankful for all that has been accomplished and for the many lives transformed and we pray that God will continue to touch lives as not only physical wounds and disabilities were healed, but also emotional, mental and spiritual healing took place.  The joy this brings is also mixed with sadness as we leave behind the many Beninoise friends we have made during this field service.

So now we are sailing and enjoying the beauty of God's creation in the oceans and in the skys.   Five days in to our sail we have seen flying fish, plenty of dolphins and some orca whales.



Two nights ago we had the spectacular display of a water spout (water tornado) from ocean to sky.

The two pics below show Andy and I enjoying the lovely calm sail, from up on the Bridge.  It was a balmy evening with a lovely warm ocean breezing blowing.  Emma is pictured in the breeze with friend Liz enjoying time on the bow of the ship.

PRESIDENT'S DINNER AT PALACE FIVE MEDALS AWARDED

PRESIDENT'S DINNER AT PALACE FIVE MEDALS AWARDED
Originally uploaded by MercyWatch

The Africa Mercy crew were invited for dinner by President Thomas Yayi Boni at the President's palace.
There were five medals presented (17 November) at the Palace.
Don Stephens - Commandeur de l'Ordre National du Benin, Deyon Stephens - Commandeur de l'Ordre National du Benin, Dr. Glenn Strauss - Commandeur de l'Ordre National du Benin. Also congratulated by the President was Dr. Gary Parker who had already been made a Commandeur de l'Ordre National du Benin in 2001 by President Mathieu Kerekou which was Mercy Ships second visit to this nation. This is Benin's highest medal and it can only be received once in a lifetime. Daslin Small Oueounou was made - Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Benin. Ken Berry was made - Officier de l'Ordre National du Benin.
Both Andy & Emma were selected to go up and congratulate the Mercy Ships recipients of these awards.  It was a wonderful event and  such an honour for us all.
To view a series of wonderful photos taken at this event click on the slide show link below:
Presidential Dinner Slideshow

Appreciation and Thanks for Day Volunteers

During every field service in an African nation, Mercy Ships employs local men and women to work as day-volunteers onboard the Africa Mercy. By doing so, Mercy Ships provides beneficial job opportunities to hundreds, who in turn give their all in serving Mercy Ships and helping to bring hope and healing to the world's forgotten poor.
More than 200 day-volunteers were employed during the 2009 Benin Field Service. Each day-volunteer is assigned to a department where they share their skills and expertise to assist in maintaining the ship or to help Mercy Ships complete its objectives. From Deck and Engineering, to Communications, to Crew Services, to Medical, to Food Services, to Programs - each day-volunteer provides a necessary and valuable service for Mercy Ships.
Many friendships are formed between crew and day-volunteers, and these relationships often remain strong even after Mercy Ships departs a country. Some day-volunteers even decide to extend their service by becoming crew members onboard the Africa Mercy. James Soumanou is one such individual.
James first heard about Mercy Ships back in 1998 when the organization visited his country of Benin. He realized then that Mercy Ships was where his heart wanted to be. With the financial support of two crew members, he completed a DTS (Discipleship Training School) in Ghana. In 2000, James joined the Anastasis as short-term crew, working in the galley.
During this year's field service, several men and women who served with Mercy Ships in previous visits to Benin returned to work onboard the world's largest non-governmental hospital ship. James also returned to Mercy Ships, working as a day-volunteer in Reception . After a successful ten months in this position, he has decided to commit as long-term crew. "I enjoy working in Reception. I have learned a lot doing this job," James explained. "I have met wonderful people while working here. It is why I applied to work in this department as crew."
As the field service comes to its conclusion, a celebration was recently held onboard the Africa Mercy to honor the hard work of the many day-volunteers. Each received a certificate of appreciation and enjoyed a plentiful meal with crew members. The event involved a time of worship and celebration, during which the International Lounge onboard the Mercy Ship came alive with music, singing, and dancing. Speeches of thanks were given by Managing Director Ken Berry and Captain Tim Tretheway, followed by responses from representatives of the day-volunteers.
"Each of you filled a vitally important position to enable Mercy Ships to serve as many people as it did this field service," said Ken Berry. "You are all well-known, well-thought of, and well-thanked today. I bring that to you on behalf of all Mercy Ships."
Written by Richard Brock
Edited by Nancy Predaina
Photographed by PJ Accetturo & Richard Brock

James Soumanou of Benin worked onboard the Africa Mercy as a day-volunteer in Reception during the 2009 Field Service. James has enjoyed the experience so much that he has decided to commit to Mercy Ships as a long-term crew member.

Keith Brinkman of the USA, Programs Administrator, welcomes crew and day-volunteers during the day-volunteer farewell ceremony.




Crew members and day-volunteers danced and sang in joyous celebration in the International Lounge onboard the Africa Mercy.

The event was concluded with a time of fellowship between day-volunteers and crew.  Brenda pictured in green in the centre of the stair case with Andy & another crew member, then began reading out the 200 names in groups of 10 so that we could systematically disembark our day volunteers.

The Galley Onboard the Africa Mercy

The Africa Mercy has almost 400 hundred crew members serving onboard.  The crew is extremely diverse, coming from over 30 countries and ranging in age, profession, and length of service.  But they share a commonality - everyone needs to eat.  In West Africa, access to food supplies is limited, and most crew members don't have personal space for food storage onboard.  Various jobs on the ship have immediate and time-consuming needs, which don't allow time for food preparation.    
Fortunately, the Galley has taken on the challenge of meeting the nutritional needs of the crew. Every day, a staff of 20 prepares 900 hot meals, which are served onboard the Africa Mercy.   They begin preparing food at 8 AM every morning, including weekends,  and continue until 7 PM. 
"We feed all crew members living on the ship, the Beninese day workers, and the patients in the hospital," said Galley manager Jesse Mitchell.  "It's such a big responsibility because food is such an important part of people's lives.  Eating a good meal can really make your day."

Professionally trained as a chef, Mitchell is utilizing his culinary skills as Galley Manager on the Africa Mercy.  Mitchell is responsible for planning the weekly menu, ordering supplies, and managing the galley staff.  As galley manager, he has faced several challenges unique to the Africa Mercy environment.  One example is planning menus to accommodate the international crew and their varied taste preferences.
"It is very hard because there is absolutely no way you can please everyone.  We have over 30 nationalities living onboard, and everyone likes and wants something different.  I try to give people options with salads, fruit, and sandwiches.  There is enough that I think people can find something," said Mitchell.
Also, while the Africa Mercy is docked in West Africa, access to food supplies is limited. Utilizing available supplies and incorporating local resources to generate appetizing, nutritionally balanced meals requires both careful planning and creativity.
"In West Africa, you can't just say, 'I would like to have this spice or food product' and have it.  You can order it, but it may not arrive for three months," said Mitchell.  "I have to carefully plan the menus, keeping in mind the quantities of the items available in our storeroom."
Although it can be challenging and sometimes stressful, Mitchell has really enjoyed serving on the Africa Mercy.
"I never thought I could use my culinary skills for missions.  I always wanted to serve in Africa, but I didn't see myself in a traditional missionary type of role.  When I heard about Mercy Ships, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to go, do my job, and serve God overseas.  I'm making a difference in the world, and working here has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life."
The work of the Galley staff often goes unseen.  However, without their consistent dedication, the Africa Mercy would be unable to bring hope and healing to the lives of thousands.
"When someone has had a long day, a good meal can mean a lot to them.  Sometimes crew come to dinner exhausted and tired from the day.  Several times, the OR staff has expressed how grateful they were for a good meal after a long day of surgery.  It's an amazing privilege to have such influence on people's lives," said Mitchell.  Written by Megan Petock
Edited by Nancy Predaina
Photos by PJ Accetturo




The Galley crew prepare for the lunch-rush an hour before it is served. Pictured, Samuel Slennett in Orange Hat (England, Assistant Cook)

Every day, the Galley staff prepares 900 hot meals for the crew and patients onboard the Africa Mercy.

"We feed all crew members living on the ship, the Beninese day workers, and the patients in the hospital," said Galley manager Jesse Mitchell.  "It's such a big responsibility because food is such an important part of people's lives.  Eating a good meal can really make your day."

Eddie Wong of Canada is pictured with several of the hundreds of loaves of bread baked on the Africa Mercy every week.

Galley Manager Jesse Mitchell prepares food in the Galley onboard the Africa Mercy. Pictured right
"When I heard about Mercy Ships, I knew it as the perfect opportunity to go, do my job, and serve God overseas.  I'm making a difference in the world, and working here has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life," said Mitchell.

Celebrating Our Amazing Engineering Team

Statistics: A team of 30 (though not all the positions are filled all of the time) made up of highly trained and skilled individuals.
Andy, as Chief Engineer leads the team along with his three 2nd Engineers Dave Fryer, Irik Mallie & Ananda Samaraweera.
There are 3rd Engineers & a 4th Engineer, a HVACR Engineer & his Assistant (HVACR = Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration)
There are Welders, Plumbers, Electricians, Electronic Technicians, Mechanics, Fitters, Motormen & Engine Hands. In addition to this there are 20 local Beninoise day volunteers working in Engineering.


Our Engineering Team celebrate an amazing achievement this week. Since the beginning of this field service, Engineering have been operating the 4, thirty year old Frichs Generators instead of the 2 Harbour Generators. Previously, one Harbour Generator was run at any given time, while the other was on standby. However they created so much noise and vibration that we stopped using them at the end of last year because only 4 out of the 6 Operating Theatres could be used. Running the Frichs Generators instead of the Harbour Generator sets has massively impacted the workload of our Engineering Team. To produce the same power output, 3 Frichs Generators have been required, more than tripling the maintenance workload.

Because of running on the Frichs Generators, all 6 Operating Theatres could be fully functional. This has significantly increased the number of surgeries we have been able to undertake, resulting in so many more lives impacted.

Mercy Ships is currently fund raising to replace all these Generators with 4 brand new 1,000 kw MAN B&W L21/31 Generator sets which will run on heavy fuel. These new Generators will significantly cut the noise & vibration, with the added benefit of reducing fuel costs, emissions & maintenance.

This Friday 20th November saw our last surgery on the Africa Mercy for this Benin field service. Post-Op follow up will continue this week and then the Hospital will close down. Patients requiring further follow up will be referred to a new local clinic, run by a former "Mercy Shipper". The pack up process has begun in earnest and we will leave Benin around 8th December for our annual sail to Tenerife for ship maintenance time. Our end of field service report will be available soon, detailing just how many lives have been impacted during this 10 months, at which time I will post it to our blog.

The Mercy Ships Academy

Academy students Emma Cole, of the UK, and Kim Anna Kronester, of Germany, smile with Academy Principal Nikki Aldum, of South Africa.

Every morning, high school senior Emma Cole gets to school by taking a short walk down the hallways of the Africa Mercy. “It takes me two minutes to walk to school. My cabin is literally thirty yards away from the Academy,” she said.

For three years, Emma has attended the Mercy Ships Academy, a distinct educational experience provided for children living on the Africa Mercy. The Mercy Ships Academy was established over 25 years ago in response to the educational needs of children living onboard the Mercy Ships fleet of hospital ships. Educating children from pre-school to grade 12, there are currently 47 students from 18 countries enrolled in Academy classes.

“It’s quite a vast spread of nationalities, which can be challenging, but it’s something I love about the Academy,” said Principal Nikki Aldum. “There are differences amongst the students, but they’re accepted. As a staff, we look for the strengths of each nation and try to celebrate and incorporate them into our curriculum every year.”

On the Africa Mercy, a typical school day begins at 8:00 AM and ends at 3:20 PM. Parents of students in elementary school pick up their children at noon for lunch and return them to their teachers an hour later for afternoon classes. Classes on the Africa Mercy average 4 to 8 students, allowing more time for individualized attention.

“The Academy is very different than traditional school,” said Emma Cole. “One of the biggest differences is being in a class with only two or three students, in comparison to twenty or thirty. I believe having the one-on-one time with teachers really enhances our learning,” she concluded.

The diversity among the student body and the limitations of living on a ship create a unique and exciting set of challenges. Daily, teachers must utilize their creativity in the classroom. Flexibility is necessary for students, parents, and teachers. Ben Calvert, the physical education specialist, has enjoyed the challenge.

“Running a Physical Education Program on the ship is very unique. You have to be creative because there are very small spaces and small classes. But the captain and deck officers have been very helpful with finding spaces and equipment. It’s fun because it’s not ‘run of the mill,’” explained Calvert.

Academy Principal Nikki Aldum, previously a teacher on the Africa Mercy, understands this distinct dynamic. “It’s very different teaching onboard here, versus teaching at home. The smaller classes add a different dynamic, and it’s not necessarily a comparable dynamic. You have to be a little bit on the adventurous side to work here,” she said.

Teacher Christina Orman, of America, teaches science to Josh Cole.

Teacher Christina Orman, who joined the Africa Mercy in August, was drawn to the varied educational environment. “I was looking to teach in a Christian environment that was diverse and different. When I heard about Mercy Ships, I knew I wanted to teach on the Africa Mercy,” said Orman.

Teacher Christina Orman, of America, teaches science to a group of Academy students.

Today, the Academy has a staff of 15 teachers, who come from five countries. With the start of the new school year, the staff is looking toward the future, continuing to find ways to improve the educational experience of the students. Currently, the Academy is being accredited by the Association of Christian Schools International and the Middle State Schools. Aldum hopes the accreditation process will be completed by April 2011.

“Being accredited validates the courses we offer, making it easier for students to transition in and out of the school. Accountability all over the world is increasing in the field of education. Through this process, we are proving that we measure up to international standards,” explained Aldum.

Rachel Cairncross and Joshua Cole, both of the UK, work hard in their classes at the Mercy Ships Academy.

With the start of the new school year, Aldum has challenged the teachers and students with a specific goal for the Academy: “My heart’s desire is that God is glorified in all we do. It’s a part of our vision and mission statement and our goal for the year,” she said.

As Emma Cole begins her last year of high school, she is grateful for the positive impact the Academy has had on her life.

“Attending the Academy changes the lives of the students onboard,” said Cole. “If I had stayed in a mainstream school in England, I would not have the solid foundations of Christianity that I do now. The opportunities I’ve been given here have given me a great groundwork for the future. It’s been an amazing experience.”

Written by Megan Petock

Edited by Nancy Predaina

Photos by PJ Accetturo and Esther Biney