[Coles Chronicles] BENIN - We're Here!

BENIN - We're Here! Brenda Feb 15, 2009 Our scheduled arrival on Monday 9th didn't quite go as planned. We were making our approach to the harbor when it was announced that there was a problem with the engines and that this would affect our ability to use the bow thrusters. The port of Benin is a very tricky port to navigate into, so neither the Chief Engineer (Andy) or Captain were willing to proceed without bow thrusters. What did we do? We went to Anchor while our engineering & electrical teams set to work to find the faults. It proved to be not an easy fix. Eventually at around 10:30pm after times of prayer on board the ship and prayer via satellite phone with our Marine Operations Department in Texas, the problem was solved. By this time it was of course dark, and though Benin is a 24/7 port we decided to wait till light and proceed into port the following morning 10th Feb. It was a shame as there had been a big elaborate arrival ceremony planned for us with local church choirs and dancers etc....Instead we spent the night at Anchor! That turned out to be a very uncomfortable night, with the ship rocking and rolling, not many crew slept. I lay awake hearing all our dishes and plates and cups crashing around in the kitchen cupboards. Our bed faces port to starboard so every roll had your head pressed up against the wall and then as it rolled back your feet pushing hard against the foot board. Emma's bed faces the same way as ours, but Chris & Josh's beds face bow to stern, so they were rolling from one side to the other, good job they have a side panel on their beds to stop them rolling out!! Around 8 am the following morning we pulled up the Anchor and began our approach once again. There is a Mercy Ships short term mission trip team just arrived in Benin to spend two weeks helping us prepare for this field service, so they and our wonderful Advance Team who we sent ahead of the ship in November to prepare for our arrival were all there waiting for us on the dock. It was a small group of maybe 25 people instead of the planned large group of participants of the Arrival Ceremony. Nevertheless we were very happy to finally pull alongside. The dock is a finger pier similar to Liberia, but there the similarity ends. It is a working pier, a cement dock, not very pretty and we certainly don't have the luxury of exclusive use like we did in Liberia. What we have discovered though is that everything is within easy walking distance to the dock, the local market and shops, as well as numerous hotels with pools whose facilities we can enjoy at the weekends. Our Advance Team procured us huge discounts so that we can go and swim at very low cost. This will be wonderful, especially for the families with children after Liberia, that had very little. One of the first things you notice about Benin is the heat. It is a lot hotter than Liberia with temps around 39 - 40 degrees F and 90 - 95 % humidity. Sunhats, Suncream,Water bottles and Flannels for mopping your brow are the essential items you take whenever you go out! Yesterday, Saturday 14th was our first trip into town. Benin is much more developed than Liberia with shops and good roads with pavements. It's much cleaner and more organized, but the biggest difference is that it is a French speaking nation. Emma and I have really enjoyed the opportunities we've had to use our French and are fairly confident with basic conversations, the down side is that the guys in the family tend to leave it to us girls. Emma and I are determined to be fully conversational in French by the time we leave here. I attended French classes on board for a couple of months organized by our Staff Development Department and taught by some of our French speaking crew. It is surprising how much I learnt and how much came back from when I studied French in School and then took my French GCSE in 1992 at night school. Apologies for the incorrect date on the photo. With yesterday being Josh's birthday we walked to one of the local hotels to check out the pool facilities. Today we will go with a group of 16 young people for a pool party in honor of Josh becoming a teenager! We bought Josh a new bike while we were in Tenerife, so he enjoyed riding on the dock and also when we went into town. He kept to the pavements because the traffic is chaotic, apparently there are rules of the road but no-one seems to know what they are, it's every man for himself and you take your life in your hands when crossing the roads. There are of course cars, and I must say they are in considerably better condition than the cars of Liberia, however the main mode of transport here is the Zemidjan (pronounced zimmyjon - a motor bike), again you would take your life in your hands to ride on one - not to be recommended!! We are very happy to be here in this beautiful nation with very lovely, friendly people. Though more advanced than Liberia and even it would seem Ghana, there is still incredible need here. There is a reasonably good healthcare infrastructure, but it is not free which therefore means the poorest of Benin are not able to access even the most basic health care. Our big medical screenings happen this week 19th & 20th at the "Hall des Arts" we anticipate thousands of people coming. Please join us in praying that God will leads us on both of those days to those He has purposes for, and that we would see many lives transformed both physically and spiritually as we extend the two hands of the Gospel, following the example of Jesus during our next 10 months here in Benin.