Mercy Ships Academy Newsletter - March 2010

First Weeks In Togo

Sailing to a new place always brings about change. 
During the sail to Togo our family experienced a significant change in that we moved cabins from our 6 berth cabin 6318 on Deck 6 to a smaller 4 berth cabin 5227 a deck below on Deck 5.  Here's a few pics:  First two pics show the lounge from different angles and then Kitchen area, Master bedroom and Chris & Josh's room.  Pics of Emma's cabin to follow

 

  

 

Emma reaches her 18 birthday this month and a very nice 4 berth cabin became available so we seized the opportunity to make the move.  Emma in her final year of school graduates this coming June from the U.S. school system on board the ship.  She has moved to a large dormitory style cabin on Deck 4.  She has a small cubicle within that dorm sharing bunk space with another girl from the UK.  It’s a big step for Emma and for us as we see her take an early step towards later independence.    It’s quite big change for us all.  Emma has her new living quarters well organised and looking like home.  She frequently pops along to our cabin so we still see plenty of her.

Over 200 Local Day Volunteers Serving With Us

In every field service location we enlist the help of the local people in order to achieve the maximum  people served during our time in their nation.  They typically work in the Galley & Dining Room, Engineering, Deck but the majority work within the various Hospital Departments as Translators.   Over the last few years the number has increased and this year is no exception.  This is a huge undertaking for our HR Team led by Brenda, processing in the first two weeks of our arrival the many applications and inviting all those short listed to the ship for interviews.  We invited about 250 potential day volunteers to the ship so that the various department heads could meet with them and make their final selections. The next two pics show day volunteer processing, members of my HR Team checking names off the list as potential day volunteers arrive to the ship for interviews and Andy with the
Engineering candidates ready for interviews.

Our day volunteers have now been actively working alongside us since 22^nd February, in time for our screenings out in town for patients and the start of our surgical schedule.  Already well over 6,000 patients have been screened.  Here's a few pics taken at screening:

 

  

  

 

Many New Crew

Our crew numbers are back up again to 400+ now that we are in full field service mode.  The ship is a hive of activity with everyone playing their part in serving the poor and needy of this small nation of Togo.  It is a wonderful picture of the body of Christ all working together.  Each member fulfilling their role and function, each one so vital in making this work. We all need each other.  Not everyone can be a Doctor or Surgeon, or Nurse….it takes an army of people behind the scenes all pulling together, supporting those ones who are directly caring for our patients. 

….The Surgeon cannot say to the Engineer, I have no need of you

….The Deck Officer cannot say to the Galley Staff, I have no need of you

….The Nurse cannot say to the HR staff I have no need of you

….The Dental Team working out in the Community cannot say to the Vehicle Mechanics, I have no need of you

We all work together, serving God, serving one another and serving the people of Togo.  God takes our offering of service and brings about transformation and it’s wonderful to be a part of that, to be a part of seeing God’s purposes fulfilled here in this place, at this time.

First Surgery in Togo

25^th Feb saw our first surgery here in Togo and since then the Wards are acquiring more patients daily.  We have the Maxillo Facial, Orthopedic & Eye surgery schedules well under way.

Our Dental Team is fully operational at our Dental Clinic situated not too far from the ship and our Hospitality Centre is also up and running and receiving patients.  You may remember from a report written during our Benin field service that  the Hospitality Centre is a non-medical, temporary housing unit for national residents who will have a stay prior to hospitalization for an in and outpatient surgical procedure(s). Each bed has a full mosquito net that goes floor to ceiling and the beds are designed so that the patient sleeps on the bed and the caregiver (usually a family member) sleeps on a mattress on the floor under the bed.
This unit is also used by national residents who have had surgery on the Ship and for logistical reasons may need non-medical housing in between outpatient visits to the ship, therefore freeing up ship hospital beds.

Fire & Safety Drills are a regular part of life living and working on board a Hospital Ship.  Just prior to the opening of the Hospital for our first surgery we had one such drill in which we evacuated the Hospital.  To do this the Captain enlisted the help of all the Junior High & High School Students.  The rest of the crew evacuated the ship and went to their emergency muster stations on the Dock as we usually do and we watched as the Medical staff escorted or carried off our acting “patients”.

Emma was carried off on a stretcher (pictured above), Chris was a cataract patient who was led off in a long line with other eye patients all holding onto the person in front of them.  Josh, who loves to perform was given the role of an ‘old, blind, unco-operative patient’.  He played the part so well.  It took a looooong time to get him off the ship, he wouldn’t be rushed!!

Presidential Elections in Togo

The 4^th March was a significant day for Togo as the Nation voted for it’s next President.  Historically, there has been violence at these times and Mercy Ships has put much time and contingency planning in place should any civil unrest take place.  We are thankful that so far this Election process has played out without any significant incidences.  Here is a little info taken from an internet report:

VOTERS in the small West African country of Togo went to the polls yesterday to pick a new president in a poll seen as a test of democratic progress in a nation notorious for electoral violence.
More than three million voters are expected to choose a new leader among seven candidates including incumbent Faure Gnassingbe, son of the late veteran dictator Gnassingbe Eyadema.
Polling opened peacefully at most polling stations in the seaside capital, Lome.
Please pray that this will continue over the coming days as the Election results are announced.

We've arrived in Togo!

After our 11 day sail from Tenerife, through high seas and then calmer waters we finally pulled into the dock in the port of Lome in Togo just after 10 am this morning.  The temperatures soared to around 101 F but this didn't stop people coming to welcome us in.  It was wonderful to see first glimpses of our Advance Team who have worked so very hard and diligently to ensure all that was needed in preparation for our arrival and to ensure our success whilst here, was done.

There were a good representation of Togolese friends from local churches and government waiting for us on the dock.  There was music and singing and dancing.  It was a great time of celebration - celebration of our safe arrival mixed with excitement for all that the Lord has in store during this time ahead while we serve Him and the people of Togo.

 
Our prayer is that God will use us, that we will be a reflection of Him and that many lives will be transformed forever.

Benin Field Service Report

Finally, here are the statistics of all that was achieved during our 10 month field service in Benin Feb - Dec 2009.
A staggering 70, 848 direct beneficiaries of Hope & Healing through Mercy Ships in Benin. 

Here's how those beneficiaries were helped:
33,851 eye evaluations and other treatments;
13.174 oral health education;

10,175 dental patients seen;






7,083 pairs of sunglasses distributed;
3,521 cataracts removed;













1,161 general surgeries;
996 reconstructive and plastic surgeries;

794 dental hygiene patients;
570 other eye surgeries (pterygia and strabismus);
231 orthopedic surgeries;
154 obstetric fistulas repaired;

119 church and community leaders trained in mental health;
50 prison officers and workers trained in mental health;







28 patients received palliative home care;

25 oral health teachers trained;
23 local agricultural trainees;
19 mental health workers trained;
19 families trained in wound care;
18 community eye field workers trained;
10 agricultural staff trained;
6 Burkitt's Lymphoma patients received palliative support;



2 local surgeons trained;
4 local surgeons trained in fistula repair;
2 dental assistants trained;
1 hostel constructed for agricultural college;

2 church leaders conferences attended by 602 participants;
9 Mercy Ministry sites received weekly visits by crew;
......and 12,000 people watched the Jesus Film.
All the glory goes to God for what was an amazing field service.

Things That Go Bump in the Night!

Apart from the maiden voyage of the Africa Mercy to Liberia when the ship passed through the Bay of Biscay, this has to be our roughest sail yet, reaching 25 degree rolls.  Despite our best efforts to tie down and secure our cabin, books flew off shelves that we thought were firmly wedged in and other stuff put down on the floor for safety, shifted around the cabin.  Every cupboard was stuffed with towels to stop the contents rattling and still we hardly slept. The ship rocked and rolled and pitched all night long. 
Other parts of the ship didn't fair so well.  The Galley, once again saw milk, flour and eggs spilled - some say enough to make a giant pancake!!  Offices spaces saw chairs toppled and paperwork strewn, but all in all our crew did a great job of battening down the hatches and ensuring minimum damage in what was a night of significantly large swells.
The pic below shows one office space after our rough night at sea (pic taken by fellow crew member Marcel Glaser)

We are now day 4 into our sail and things have started to settle down as of late afternoon today, enough for the Captain to give the go ahead for the bow to be accessible for crew to go up and enjoy the early evening sun.  We watched dolphins play and chatted with our fellow crew, exchanging stories of our previous nights antics: drawers jumping off their runners, tales of sea sickness and tiredness that kept many crew in their beds throughout the day today.  As the evening sun set below the skyline and the vastness of the waters lay stretched out before me I reflected on the majesty of our God of all creation.  The God who is intimately involved and interested in the very smallest details of our lives and the God who can command with a word the mighty waters of the oceans to calm and be still.  What a mighty God we serve.

 

Dolphins play near the ship. Pic taken by fellow crew member Marty Schwebel.

We are excited as we look ahead; in just a week from now, to arrive into the port of Lome in Togo.  Our Advance Team are working tirelessly day after day, preparing every detail required for our arrival and all the many details to enable us to dock for the next 6 months and successfully execute our next field service.  Our prayer as we enter Togo is that God will lead us to every single person that He has purposes for, for both their physical and spiritual healing.

UK Visit

We are now back in Tenerife after our wonderful visit home to the UK.  We are not yet however back on the ship - that will happen on Tuesday 19th January.  We are currently enjoying a weeks break down in the south of the Island and particularly enjoying the sun after what was a snowy, cold time in the UK.  It was all we could have hoped for and more.  Our kids especially dreamed of a white Christmas after 3 + years of constant sun in Africa and we got it and more besides.  Amidst treacherous driving conditions and many cancelled flights while we were home due to the snow, everytime we needed to travel it seemed a window of  opportunity opened up and we escaped the worst of the conditions without any hold ups or problems!We arrived in the UK very late on 20th Dec and spent a good night  near Gatwick and started on our journey up the country the next morning to start our family visits.  With a brief stop off in Sutton Coldfield at Andy's parents for lunch we moved on to Liverpool where we spent 9 days over Christmas.  Brenda's sister Heath, with husband Dave and 3 girls Victoria, Ellie & Zoe also arrived in Liverpool on 21st Dec after not being home to the UK for over 7 years.  We stayed in the home of Dick & Hilary who were away visiting their daughter in Cyprus.  What a gift that was to us - thank you Dick & Hilary.  We had a wonderful Christmas and Brenda particularly enjoyed cooking the Christmas dinner for 14.  Our 7 (Matt & Steve travelled to be with us), Heather & Dave and their 3 girls and also my sister Gill and Dad.

It was very special to be all together again as a family.
We made the most of every moment spent with my Dad (our first Christmas without Mum), with Gill and the rest of the family.
Our 5 kids enjoying Christmas dinner together.

Brenda pictured with her Dad.

 Brenda pictured with her sister Heather

Brenda's brother in law Dave, Dad and sister Gill.

 Andy's sister Jackie, brother in law Andrew and niece Catherine.

After Liverpool we started our journey North and spent New Years Eve with Arthur & Barbara our friends and long term crew from the Africa Mercy who left the ship last summer after 5 years of service.  Then it was on to Newcastle to enjoy time with our boys Matt & Steve.  We were so grateful to Phil & Lois our friends  and also former crew of the Africa Mercy who also loaned us their home while they were away visiting family.
From Newcastle we began our journey back down South and spent two lovely days in Sutton Coledfield with Andy's parents.  This included a lovely evening with friends and family in which we had opportunity to share a little more of our work with Mercy Ships.
Our final stop was 3 days in fleet at Andy's sister Laura's new home.  We enjoyed our time with Laura and Owen, James & Naomi and especially enjoyed an afternoon of sledging in the snow!

 

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.