Painting the Parsonage...

This past Saturday (9th October) a group of us Mercy Shippers went across the road to the Appelsbosch Lutheran Church to help paint one of the parsonages. This house will be used by the second pastor of the church. It was lovely to get involved in a project with the local community and make a positive impact there. It reminded me of when I used to be involved with Habitat for Humanity blitz builds back in Cape Town. I like this sort of work. Hard work, and definitely meaningful! Photos thanks to Rachael Spencer and Debra Bell.

One way of reaching the top of the wall!

Clearing the dirt off the roof in preparation for the paint.

Working together to get the job done.

Leah paints round the windows.

The house looking much smarter with the walls painted and half the roof done.

Another view of the house - you can see the church at right.

New generators in!

I went to the ship again today on purser business and stuck my head in the engine-room to see the progress there. The new generators are now in the ship (Don't ask me how they got them in!) - although not installed just yet - and the shipyard are in the process of welding up the hole in the side of the ship. The ship may be floating by the new week. Here are some more photos!

Shipyard workers prepare to weld the hole shut.

Looking out at the hole from the inside.

This is going to be a ballast tank once it is completed.

This is one of our new MAN generators.

Watch Your Step!

It's spring here in South Africa and with the onset of warmer weather and longer days, many little animals begin to lead a more active lifestyle - including those of the slithering kind. Snakes are a hazard here in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands and several have been seen in and around Appelsbosch, including the dangerous Puff Adder. I photographed this large Puff Adder in the Cape Point Nature Reserve a month or so ago. I plan to watch my step carefully from here on in!

Old generators gone!

Since I'll be going to the Africa Mercy for purser duties at least once a week over the next few months, I thought it would be good to keep all of you updated on a more-or-less weekly basis, with pictures when possible, of how the generator project is progressing. And today was one of those days.

Once I had finished my Assistant Purser responsibilities on the ship, I was given a tour of the engine-room as well as the underbelly of the ship. As you can see from these pictures, they are making good, steady progress in dry dock!

This is the space where the old generators were! They're gone and the shipyard are already putting in the platform for the new generators!

Shipyard workers and engineering crew members work side-by-side to get the space ready for the new generators.

Another view of the cut made in the side of the ship.

Looking at the bow of the ship, from about the water-line level.

Another view of the welded bow rudder.

Standing by the large bow thrusters - just aft of the bow rudder.

Looking towards the hole cut for the generators.

Standing between our twin propellers and twin rudders.

Just hanging out in front of the bow :-)

It's just different, that's all...

As promised in the previous post here are some photos of Appelsbosch College of Education. This is where all the non-technical crew and their families are located during our stay in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We are roughly halfway between Durban and Pietermaritzburg in a rather rustic setting, surrounded by sugar cane farms and traditional Zulu villages. When we venture out we share the roads with not only other vehicles, but also pedestrians, cows, goats, and perhaps the odd chicken or two. Thus the drive to Durban is always an interesting challenge!

Despite my personal feelings about Appelsbosch, which are no doubt as a result of missing my floating home, I hope that given time I will settle here. It's just different, that's all. And I can definitely recognise that God has blessed us with these facilities. Especially in the Academy where they have their own large classrooms and the children can run around without fear of being reprimanded for running on a ship. They can be free to be normal children, which I think is a blessing to everyone. (Picture here of the pretty Lutheran church just across the road.)

Anyway, enough thoughts, more photos...

Rolling hills of sugar cane make up the surrounding countryside...

... Along with Zulu villages.

This is the turning to Appelsbosch. We are located close to the hospital.

I've tried to make my door feel as ship-like as possible with photos of my ship family.

This is my room. I had to bring my own curtains, bedding, and little bedside carpet to give it a more homely feel...

And of course I have my photos above my bed.

This is the view from just outside the men's dorm.

Looking towards the women's dorm (left) and the Dining Room (right).

This is the gym, where many a game of indoor cricket has already been played!

Looking towards the tuck shop (snack bar) and the gym.

Composite shot of the braai (barbecue) area in front of the work offices.

AFM dry docked in Durban!

Well, it goes without saying that I am now back with Mercy Ships after a lovely three-and-a-half week break home in Cape Town, South Africa. It was great to see family and friends as well as visit my home church and do a presentation there. It was also wonderful to meet our new family dog, Flicka, (pictured just below) and reconnect with my nephews who have grown so much! (Pictured at left.)


Here with Mercy Ships I am based at the off-ship location of Appelsbosch, in the heart of the KwaZulu-Natal midlands. This is where those crew who are non-technical are situated. I don't have many photos of Appelsbosch to put up right now (they will come soon enough), but I do have photos of the Africa Mercy in dry dock in Durban. I went out to the ship on purser business and snapped these pictures earlier today.

AFM in the Durban graving dock.

The whole weight of the ship is supported by hundreds of these little wooden blocks! Also visible in this shot is our bow rudder, which is no longer used.

The starboard bow thrusters.

It's a very deep dry dock!

The bow of the ship.

One of the holes the shipyard has cut in the side of the ship for the generators.

Another view of the hole in the ship... Would be a bad idea to fill the dry dock now!

All the way aft and you have the propellers and rudders.

Instead of going into Deck 5, the Gangway is forced to use Deck 7.

Looking forward from the Gangway.

One of our gurkhas, Chitra, at the main entrance.

There is a lot of work happening here on the Bridge!

And this is the main engine room, where you can see the hole they have cut for the generators.

Even the Midships Lounge has been transformed... into a Nursery for the plants!

A view of the AFM from the road.