God's Children's Home...

This past Saturday (13th September) was a very busy, but fulfilling day. I woke up feeling a bit under the weather, but I had committed to drive a group out to the new site of God's Children's Home in Dixville in the morning.

So after taking a right turn just before the bustling Duala Market and then onto some rough terrain for several kms, we pulled up outside God's Children's Home. We caught Ilna, an ex-Mercy Shipper who helps run the orphanage, by surprise as she thought we weren't coming out due to a lack of numbers. But we improvised well and there was a good lesson taught on being athletes for God. We then had several mini-Olympic events including hula-hooping, kicking a soccer ball blindfolded, and a running race. It was great fun. It is also great to see how eager these little boys and girls are to learn God's Word.

The little children really love their new location. The orphanage used to be in Jamaica Road, a short 15 minute walk from the ship, but is now much further out. They have their own garden to grow vegetables and lots of space to play. And whilst they help farm and play together, the construction of the site continues.

The photos here are courtesy of Maria and were taken a few weeks back when we went and helped with the building process – before the children were moved from the old site. The building process is now nearly complete.

Tim's Farewell Dinner...

On Friday night (5th September), after an intense game of Ultimate Frisbee, a small group of good friends (Tim, Maria, Josh, Becky, Katy, Grace and yours truly) headed out to the Great Wall, a Chinese restaurant in the Sinkor area of Monrovia.

We each ordered a different dish and then placed the plates of food on a revolving glass in the centre of the table. We then had a lovely shared supper, taking off each other's plates and eating with chopsticks. It was a great time together.

Although the circumstances that brought it about could have been better. Two of my good friends here, Tim and Josh, left this past weekend. So it was a farewell for them.

I've realised how important it is to have close friends here. And it is sad when they leave, but I've got the coping mechanisms in place now. Here are some photos from this fun evening.

Highly Trained and Professional...

Last Sunday evening (31st August) I was down in the Ward with a patient whose story I'm writing. Now for those of you who are curious, the Ward is located down on Deck 3. There is only one accommodation deck below, which only has about ten or so cabins. It is then primarily engine spaces and cold storage and the like. So you're pretty low down. Certainly quite a way from Deck 7.

So I was sitting with the patient and his mother when suddenly the Crew Alert Alarm went off, and all the fire doors around began to close. I dashed through a closing fire door and sprinted the four decks to my muster station, Fire Control, on the Bridge. I man the Fire Panel in the event of an emergency. I don't even remember how I got there. I don't remember my route. It was all adrenalin. I just found myself up on Deck 7 in no time at all. Whilst standing-by, the PA system came on and it was the Duty Officer:

“There was a fire on-board, but it is out. All Emergency Teams stand-down. Again, there was a fire on-board, but it is out. All Emergency Teams stand-down.”

The fire was in the Snack Bar where some boxes of potato chips were too close to the lights. The heat had ignited the box. A quick-thinking person had hit a manual-call point (which sets off the Crew Alert Alarm) while another equally quick-thinking person had doused the flames with water.

It was just great to see how well trained our Emergency Teams are. The way we responded by getting to our muster stations quickly was just so professional. One of my good friends here had already got to his muster station and was already kitted out in full fire-fighting gear by the time the call came to stand-down.

Another thing this situation showed me is just how unfit I am. I may have got to the Bridge in quick time, but I really felt the effects of my mad dash. As soon as the call to stand-down came, I realised how much I was puffing and panting. It is definitely time for a more stringent exercise routine!

The photos here are from January when I was helping my friend Marius check the safety equipment in the Fire Stations.

Victory at SKD...

Last Saturday (30th August) Mercy Ships were again invited to play soccer at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex (SKD).

Back in July we played the same team, the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and lost 3-0.

But this time, thanks to some enterprising play and resolute defence, we came out victorious 2-1! Our two-goal hero, Enoch Yeboah, was named Man Of The Match.

After a goalless first-half some may have had doubts about whether Mercy Ships were going to be able to be effective in the second-half. It was 0-0 at half-time the last time the teams met as well. And we all know what happened then. But the second-half saw Team Mercy Ships come alive... It was definitely a match to remember!

Team Mercy Ships may be in action at SKD at least once more before we sail away from Liberia. This will be the decider. I'll be there to let you know how it goes!

Breaking Barriers...

As I have mentioned before, myself and a few other Mercy Shippers are involved in running a Bible Study out at an orphanage in New Matadi, a district of Monrovia.

This past Wednesday we went out to New Matadi, as we do every Wednesday. And it was one of the first times where I really felt a tangible connection with the guys. It was great. A large part of the reason was that beforehand I had heard their names and been introduced, but with me a name often goes in one ear and out the other. And I've really struggled with their names.

But this week we had all (as leaders) made a conscious decision to learn their names again. It was great! And by doing this God really opened things up on such a deeper level.

We are now having a competition where they have to learn a memory verse each week and if they know it they get points. By the time we leave the person with the most points will get a prize. So we went round the circle seeing if they knew the verse and then allocating points. It was a lot of fun.

I also took my camera and so we had a group photo taken and I also took some shots of the church in which we meet. The photos here are all from New Matadi.

We've also all been invited to the graduation of Daniel, one of our guys in the Bible Study. That's happening next Saturday and should be a wonderful experience. I'm sure not many people from South Africa have been to be a graduation ceremony in Liberia!

It's just amazing how God works when you're just willing to focus on the simple things. Such as learning a name. It is then that barriers come crashing down.

A Wonderful Wulki Weekend...

This past weekend was a ship's long weekend. The whole crew, with the exception of shift workers (such as some nurses, receptionists, on-call deck hands, Duty Officer, etc.), are given the Friday and the Monday as holidays. Missionaries do need time off from time to time. And I had such a wonderful, much-needed break.

I went to White Sands beach on Friday with good friends Phil, Ali and Rodrigo. It was awesome to swim in the calm waters, play frisbee on the beach, and relax in each other's company.

And then the very next day, Saturday, was undoubtedly the highlight of my weekend. I went to Wulki Farm with eight other Mercy Shippers, including close friends Phil from Canada, Ali of New Jersey, Emily of Georgia, Carmen of Texas, Australian Tim, and my biggest rugby rival on the ship, Maria from New Zealand. Having such lovely, multicultural friends on the Mercy Ship is such a beautiful thing. And being able to spend the day with these people was such a blessing.

We drove out an hour or so from the ship and then entered the gates of Wulki Farm. Within the farm the road snakes up and down a couple of hills before reaching the large swimming pool at the top. At the farm we saw a multitude of animals, including ostriches, crocodiles, guinea fowl, turkeys, pigs, and even a couple of playful monkeys. Whilst for others the highlight of the trip may have been the monkeys and being able to hold them, for me it was the pool. This was added by the fact that the monkeys did not take kindly to the male members of our group. They absolutely loved the girls... But ran circles around us boys. The one even put his arm up my pants. I was close to panicking, but remained calm. He retracted his arm slowly. And much to my relief!

But anyway, enough monkey-business. Let's turn to the pool. The pool is actually two pools which are joined together by a short tunnel. It is easily four metres in depth at the deepest part. So it was the perfect place for Maria and Tim to teach me how to dive. I've never really learnt before, and so it was quite exciting for me. Although I did suffer a couple of belly-flops in the process! But I did get a warm applause after I finally managed to dive successfully.

The rest of the time was spent lazing in the pool, joking around, and having a really fun time together. And then at around 16h30 we slowly made our way back home to the Mercy Ship. It was the perfect day which made for an even better weekend. That's all for now... Until the next time, God bless!

Be Still And Know...

The past few days have been relatively uneventful here on the Mercy Ship. But what I have been thinking about is my future. 2009 is looming large on the horizon. It struck me how close it really is this past week when I confirmed my flight home. I fly out of Monrovia on Monday, 8th December, arriving in beautiful Cape Town the next day. Thinking about it now I am extremely sad. I don't want to leave this ship. She has come to be my home. Cape Town is my home town, yes, but this ship is also my home. I would love to come back at some point, and have plans in mind. But whether these plans are God's plans for my life is another question. So we'll see. At the moment I'm just hoping and trusting in God. Hence the title of this entry.

I've also realised that I have four months left here. And I have wasted some of my time here. So now is the time to make up for that by getting involved and showing God's light shining through.

This past Saturday I went to the construction site of the new God's Children's Home. It was pouring with rain, and we had to traverse some pretty sticky off-road sections (first time I've been driving a Land Rover through such terrain!), but it was such an awesome experience. I've always loved Habitat For Humanity builds and this brought back many memories. We painted doors and wooden beams. It is just so great to be involved with this sort of project. It is wonderful to see the progression from nothing but foundations to a solid building which will serve to house little children. I have a feeling I will be spending a lot of my Saturdays from now until the end of my time here out at the new site for God's Children's Home.

I have also (on work assignments) recently been able to visit several hospitals and clinics with which Mercy Ships are involved. It is great to see what our dental and eye teams do off-ship. I also visited Royesville, where Mercy Ships' Community Development Services (CDS) are involved with teaching correct agricultural practices. This is an aspect of the Mercy Ships ministry that is often overlooked. We do so much more than just healthcare. It is wonderful to see exactly what is happening out in the field, so to speak.

Unfortunately because of the pouring rain I did not get a chance to take any photos at the God's Children's Home site. In fact I left my camera on the ship. So some of the photos I put here are of last week when I had the opportunity of going in one of our MOB (Man Over-Board) boats and went for a tour around the harbour. I went to get some photos of the M/V Torm Alexandra, a semi-container ship that capsized in the Freeport in July 2001. I am writing a story on the history of this vessel. It has been a constant presence throughout the past four Field Services that Mercy Ships has had in Liberia. The other photo is of me doing another act of service: that of donating blood. This was ten or so days ago. I am also writing a story on the ship's Blood Donor Programme.

And with that being said I bid you a very fond farewell, until the next time. God bless!