"We Shall Worship With Thanksgiving...."

What a wonderful day today. We went to church at a church about an hour from the ship. The first picture is of us in our Sunday go-to-meetings heading out. It was quite a journey and we will show the picture of the trip on a later blog. The church we attended was an Assemblies of God (our Pentecostal friends are now saying hallelujah...but I'm still a Bapticostal).

A little history about the church. The gentleman who is one of our agricultural instructors, a member of the crew and is from the Congo, helped plant this church in 2005. And it has been growing since, albeit not a huge church it is progressing. The picture of the block building is the church. It is a work in progress. But it is still used all the time. They have built the church on the go. Each Sunday when they take an offering for the building, they take the proceeds and buy what they can afford that week. When they were laying the floor, they could maybe buy a bag of cement a week. They would get it, mix it, and lay part of the floor, the same the next week. They did the same with the block and mortar. They are now working on the windows. All the while it is their worship center. Deb and I have decided that we will take a little of what we have and help them with one of the windows.

As you can see, the inside is very basic, again a work in progress. The congregation is all decked out. The one thing that I enjoy is the colors that people here love to wear. Their clothes are very vivid and multi-colored. That alone brings a vibrancy to the worship service. Today was a celebration of the men in the church.

We enjoyed celebrating the worship service through an interpreter. She is from Benin and the YWAM representative in the church. A wonderful lady.

The next picture is one of the men's choir. As you can tell they really get into the music. Just a side note. At the end of the service, the Elder who was the President of the Men's Group, got up and chastised the men for not being part of the men's group. The pastor then lamented that it was a shame that people were allowing the business of life to interfere with their service to the church. Deja vu. I guess it is the same around the world.

Another thing that has impressed us, this is the second church we have attended and it is the same, during the offering, everyone in the congregation, brings their offering up to the front while dancing in celebration. It redefines the term "cheerful giver".

The little girl in the next picture was just one we wanted to include. Cute. The one thing that impressed me was the number of children there were in the church. One of the men who went with us got a picture of all of us and the kids, I'll post it on another blog. The congregation sits divided, the men on one side and the women on the other, the kids are also divided in the same manner, and they also sit apart from the adults. A older teenager, I think, keeps them in line, again kids are kids, their interest in the sermon about the same as ours. All the women wear hats.

The next picture is of a lady saying good bye. Alisia wanted her picture because she liked the dress. But it shows the joy they had in having us as guests. After the service, they took all of us from the ship (about 10 of us) into the back room and served us sodas, juice and cookies. You could tell they really enjoyed having us visit. We are definitely going back next Sunday. Oh - the service lasted 2 1/2 hours. Joshua let me know he will never complain about the length of one of my sermons again. By the way - the sermon was about Jonah and our need to be obedient to God's will.

It is wonderful witnessing the movement of the Spirit in the World. We as Christians have a tendency to live in our own little church. The "Church" is so much bigger that any person or any church no matter what size. We tend to forget that we are here to serve God, not the other way around. To Him be the glory.

"Lessons from Africa..."

1) Dirty job Every week two divers clean garbage and marine growth from the screens that cover the cooling water intakes on the Africa Mercy, so that the cooling water continues to pass, so that the engines and generators don't overheat. The visibility is usually very low, which makes their job extremely hard... Pictured: Olly Peet. Not every job aboard the Africa Mercy is glamorous. Toilets still get plugged, kids still throw up, laundry still needs to be done, and marine life still needs to be scrapped off the bottom of the ship. But this is all being done to the glory of God and in His service. Lesson #1-(for me) even in the mundane things and "gross" things of life, God can still be praised.
2)Yesterday (Thursday) I went down to the ward again, once in the morning and then later that night) to follow up with the two patients that I spoke with the night before. One of them was just starting her surgery. I listened to her, later that night, as Sally the crew member I was with, talked with her. She was in obvious pain, but her face had a calm assurance and peace. She was thankful for the surgery and to God for letting her have it done. Lesson #2 (for me) Even in our sickness and pain, God can still be praised.
3) The other person, told me that his surgery was being postponed till next week because his blood pressure was still high. I (in my western mind set) had expected him to be discouraged and be depressed...kind of like we (I), in the west, get when our plans don't come together as WE/I THINK they should. Instead he had a quiet, content smile. He said: "Praise God, He is still in control." Lesson #3 (for me) even in the disappointments and delays in life, God can still be praised.
4)As I write this update, it comes at the heels of me being in bed all day feeling sick to my stomach. (When you live in the world largest peitree dish...everyone shares their sicknesses.) I think about one of the gals from our Gateway group who, upon arriving here, was bit by some bug. (African bugs are really different than our western bugs...) Over the last week her arm has become terribly infected and they are working very hard to get the infection undercontol. She has been frustrated because she cannot work. But she has turned her time into trying to hear what God has for her to learn in this "season" of her ministry. Lesson #4 (for me) even in the derailment of our plans God has a plan and God can still be praised.
5)We also played some cards with another one of the patients on the Ward last night. Even though we could not speak each others language. We laughed and laughed and laughed. Lesson #5 (for me) even in the little things, God can still be praised

To sum it all up, the overwhelming thing that God has been showing me this week...in the good, the bad, the disgusting, the mundane, the fun and in the tedious, in all things...God can still be praised.

"I heard an Old, Old Story...How Jesus Came..."

I (Deb) just came back from visiting some patients in the hospital ward. Two of them are from Nigeria, so they speak English very well. Others only speak only their local dialect...so many different languages I have never heard of. The first patient, from Nigeria, tomorrow will be having a bone graft. Several months ago she had a large tumor and part of her jaw removed and had a titanium plate put in her jaw. She said when she went home she danced and praised God and was so thankful for the removal of the tumor. The other patient from Nigeria, had heard about Mercy Ships about 5 years ago and did not believe we were true...he was skeptical about our offering free surgeries. Finally someone encouraged him to come and see us for his tumor that he has had for 28 years. He praised God tonight for Mercy Ships and the people that give of their time to help. He cannot understand why more churches do not get involved with helping the way Mercy Ships does. He described it this way: "I have been to churches in Nigeria that are 500,000 people and I have been to large churches in America. All the people do in these churches in Nigeria and America are go to church and then go home. They are not involved in reaching out and helping the way you (Mercy Ships) is. Someone had the vision to do this and did it. Many churches don't have a vision." I will go back to the ward tomorrow and visit with these two people to follow up on their surgeries.

Update...

This is one of those hard times in ministry...little Hubert did not make it. To add to the tough day for the medical staff, someone brought their infant child to the ship for help and it had already passed away. Please keep the medical staff in prayer...days like these are sometimes hard to understand what God's plan is and how He is working. But we DO know He is working and He DOES have a plan. Also keep Hubert's family in prayer. Thanks.

Please Pray...

His name is Hubert.Medical staff have been watching him slowly put on ounces and grams, loving him with everything in them and encouraging mom to take ownership of his little life. Over the last fewdays little Hubert has been sick and is continuing to decline. His heart is racing, his breathing is fast and laboured, his temperature no longer responds to our medicines, and the doctors here have gone through every option they can think of. You see here, it could be so many different things. The malaria we treated last week may be resistant to the medication we have, or this could be a bad viral infection, or, well, the list goes on.So we have a little boy who needs you to pray for him. Pray for this infection to cease, pray for healing over his undeveloped body.Hubert’s dad told the nurses that the reason they haven’t marked his face with the usual tribal markings is because they haven’t decided if they will take ownership of him yet. In his parents eyes he is absolutly disposable. They openly admit to practicing voodoo, our battle is not against flesh and blood. Please pray for that too. Please, share this with everyone you know, this same request is on several Mercy Shippers blogs. Let us storm heaven with prayers from all over for little Hubert and his family...today (8/24) they will look at taking him off of the ventilator. Please pray...(copied from another blog)

HOME SWEET HOME PART II

Last night was an exciting night for the Jacobsens and the most of the class who went through Gateway training in Texas with us. The last big contingent arrived on board. Now we only have one coming in September, one in October and then two coming when we reach Togo next February. So, we did what all friends do, we held a reunion this evening. Even though it has been a short time, it was still great to get together again. Its good to be among friends. We also got to watch a video they made of our class going through training. I guess it will be used as publicity showing the quality of the safety training for shipboad life we went through.

As I promised last blog, we would look more at what life is like on board ship. Tonight I though it would be fun to look at the school.

Probably the question we were asked most when people found out we were going to live aboard ship was "What about school for Alisia and Joshua?" or "Are you going to home school?" Well tonight the answer. They have a full fledged school that is in the process of receiving it accreditation. I believe they have 12 teachers and even a principal. (That made me feel good, that way the kids can get sent to the "office" when they need it.) The classes range from pre-school all the way to grade 12. All the required classes are taught along with a good selection of electives. I was duly impressed when I found out what the school was and what it offered.

There is a large portion of deck six that has been designated as the Academy. The picture to starboard (right)is a picture of one of Alisia's class rooms. It is being suitably modeled by who else but Alisia. Below is Joshua sitting dutifully at his desk. I hope he does the same during the school day. The four desks you see are for ALL of Joshua's 5 grade classmates. There is another portion of the room that is for the Fourth grade. They do run 2 grades to one teacher. But that is the same as with a lot of rural schools in the United States.

The next two pictures of of typical classrooms. The first one is the big class room. It is a combination of a computer lab (the students start at a very young age learning computer, I was in high school before they even let me touch a typewriter, that is a computer without power.) science lab, auditorium, and everything else room. The next picture is of the second grade classroom. It looks like any other second grade classroom only smaller.

I think it is wonderful the uniqueness of going to school on board ship. One of the outside play areas, deck 7, has a net going from the deck up to the next deck so balls, etc won't go over the side. Deck 7 also has swings. On deck 8, the top deck, they have an above deck swimming pool, a jungle gym set up, pedal cars and no dirt (a mixed blessing). Of course, living 30 seconds from school makes it nice, don't have to drive or walk the kids to school, and they can come home and shower after PE, yes they have a PE instructor also, a good one, the kids get a real workout. One thing we don't have is sports teams, cheerleaders, etc. Again a mixed blessing.

Today we had one of our required fire drills. How many fire drills do your kids have at school where they have to go to the pier, meet their folks, go to the muster station with 400 other adults and kids and wait for the Captain to pass the word to secure the fire drill before you go back on board.

Although there are a lot of differences between a land based and shipboard schools, there are also similarities After all, students are students and teachers are teachers. We are completely satisfied with the quality of education our kids are receiving. And they have the added benefit in learning in a culture of different cultures. The students are from all over the world. (one teacher asked in what continent each one was born.) The outside community is different than anything they are used to. They can not help but learn the importance of accepting another culture and a different way of doing things. I guess you can say we are a community of wonderfully different people and our children are and will continue to be blessed because of it.

Again the blog became longer than anticipated. So, may the Lord bless you all.

Home Sweet Home

Most of our blogs have centered around what is going on ashore. I thought it would be fun to show you a little of what ship board life is like. I can promise you it is not a cruise ship. It is a functioning hospital ship with 6 operating rooms. The medical staff does a lot of hard work on board, but then so does all the rest of us. It takes all of us to bring hope and healing wherever we go. But, life is not all work and no play. We have been blessed with comfortable living spaces on board. This 499 foot hospital ship takes a crew of 450 to run it. There are many families and individuals who live, work, eat, worship, relax and go to school. Yes, we have a fully staffed and functional school on board for the upwards of 70 kids we can have living on board. The teachers are really good. We had the pleasure of going through training with four of them, we were impressed with their dedication and desire to teach.


But now, lets take a look at some of what we have on board. First of all is the Jacobsen home. The top picture is the room that the kids share. They have bunk beds, a little storage and as you can see, like all kids, a messy room. The next picture is Deb's and my bedroom, it is small but very comfortable. The bed is a cross between a queen and a full sized. Once we got over the jet lag, we have been sleeping very well. The next picture is our living room/mini-kitchen (we don't have a stove). The sofa is facing our picture windows so we can sit and watch ships, fishermen (see earlier blog) and the water. Not big, but still very comfortable with more than adequate storage. We also have a refrigerator and a sink in this room. There is a kitchen table so we can bring food from the dining room up here and have a family dinner if we wish. The next picture is the best. Where else, as we say on board, can sit and take care of business, wash your feet, and brush your teeth all at the same time. The bathrooms are really small. If you aren't careful and you don't pull the shower curtain closed, you might get the toilet paper wet. But they are actually not bad. What took getting used to was having only one bathroom for the four of us. It is the first time we have had to do this. We are definitely learning to be quicker in the morning than we were.

On the left is Mike's office. Again, very comfortable and more than adequate to do what he has to do. With today's technology, it is amazing how quick and easy it is to communicate with almost anyone anywhere in the world. It is reassuring that I can call Mercy Ships in Lindale, Texas if I have a question (taking in account the 6 hour time difference).

Below are three picture of some of the common areas. To the left is what we call the Town Square. It is two decks that contain our Starbucks (the picture on right), a snack bar that sells candy, sodas and on Mondays we can buy crepes and Wednesdays waffles, a Ship Shop (the closest thing to a department store on board), an internet cafe and a comfortable lounge area. Right around the corner is our crew bank. The bank is where the crew keeps their money, we can make deposits, withdrawals, and even transfer money almost anywhere in the World if we need to (that is part of Mike's job). The one thing our bank can not do is make loans.

The picture on the bottom is our dining facility. We eat all of our meals cafeteria style. The food is really good. We were told that everyone who lives on board for any length of time gains weight. Not good news for those of us who want to loose a little. As I said above, it is nice that one member of the family can come down, get enough food for the family and eat it in our cabins. It helps keep our family identity.

There are always things going on on board, like tonight, we went to what we call the International Lounge and watched a movie, but, this blog is long enough so I'll save activities and more picture until a future blog.

We thank you for joining us in our journey, we pray for all who read this blog, we consider you all family and friends no matter where in the World you are. God Bless you all.

"O Canada..."

For the first time, Alisia and Joshua celebrated their dual status...as Canadians. These are two pictures of all the Canadian's serving aboard the Africa Mercy.

"Celebration of Sight...pt 3"

A few days ago I told you about the eye clinic and the "celebration of sight"...well finally...here are some pictures of the celebration.

It reminds me of the hymn, "Amazing Grace""...I once was blind but now I see...".

"Life in Cotonou..."

There are so many different experiences I would like to talk about...so I thought I would post pictures and talk about the pictures...

This is a view from our cabin window. Imagine people pay millions for an ocean view... These fishermen are all over the port first thing in the morning. They are so hard working it amazes me. They will pull on their nets for about 3/4 of an hour to bring the net in. My first thought was: "Boy do they catch a lot of fish with how far they have there nets out." Then to my surprise, I watched them bring in the net and there was only a handful of fish.

We went to Church on Sunday, and this little guy kept walking in circles around us. So one of the people we were with gave him a balloon and he walked in circles around us trying to blow up the balloon. At first he was very shy and timid. Then he became very courageous and sat with some of us. When I took his picture, I showed him the back of the camera to show him the picture, suddenly there were several kids who wanted their pictures taken and to see their picture.

This is the Pastor speaking at the church. It was interesting, the preachers spoke in French, the man standing next to him translated into "Fon" (the local dialect) and we had someone translating into English for us. The service was about 3 hours...apparently short for African time...and they only took one offering...usually they take 2 or more. During the offering, everyone goes to the front and gives their offering. If you are left sitting it is unusual!

This is a picture of a craft market. All the vendors of the little shops (I mean little...you put 4 people in the shop and you cannot move) call you to come into their shop and stand at the door till you look at everything. Then when you don't buy from them they look rejected. They all say to you: "Mercy Ships...I give you a good deal...extra low price" Translation..."Mercy Ships...you are a foreigner and rich...I give you an extra high price." They expect you to negotiate with them and usually you get 1/3-1/2 less on the price. Some you have to walk away from and pretend to no longer be interested before they will lower their price. Interesting...

This man was weaving table runners and table linens. I asked to take his picture and he agreed. Then after he wanted me to pay him for taking his picture. I told him I would look in his shop.

This is a "lawn mower". The donkey just walks around eating the little bit of grass there is planted...grass is a rare sight.

This is not a Costco can of olives. It is on the regular shelf at the grocery store. This was a more "western" store. It is the newest one here...things are very expensive. Joshua looked at a box of Lego...it would have cost $10 in the US at this store it was $36 US.

First day of school. Odd going to school aboard a ship. The kids only walk to the end of our deck (deck 6)...mom or dad do not need to drive! They see their teachers at meals, devotions, and at church.

Local traffic in Cotonou...crazy...The taxis here are motorcycles...and they think they own the road...you just stay out of their way.

Well, that is the end of my tour. It is a different life here. But we really like it and feel blessed to have the opportunity to experience the things that we do experience.

"He who supplies seed to the sower..." 2Cor9:10

Friday was an exciting day. I(Mike) went out in the bush to an agricultural site. the first two pictures are of a "gas station" and a "Mini-mart" Benin style. These are a little ways out of town. The city of Contonou is pretty cosmopolitan, with regular gas stations (not mini marts). The yellow bottle in the middle is the bulk gas, the quart bottles in the lower right corner are to fill the gazillion motor-bikes that are the primary mode of transportation.

The next picture is of a "mini-mart" along the side of the road. I was surprised that it had everything, eggs, canned goods, etc. It was really amazing how much stuff they squeezed in a small area.
The other pictures were of the rest of the trip out. As you can see it was really out in the boon-docks. But it was beautiful. The building picture is the agricultural training center we are building in conjunction with Bethesda, a local NGO (non-government organization), to provide training how to improve their crop production. The next pictures are the short trip to the "experimental farm". I looked at the local corn crops driving along and they were dry, brown and not in good shape at all. But at the training farm, the corn was 8-10 feet tall, green and looking good (the corn in the picture is 4 weeks old.. they mixed rows of beans in the corn to provide the nitrogen to the corn, keep mulch on the ground to hold water (coconut husks act a sponges to hold the water.) The whole farm is organic. Their insecticide is other plants. A bug that is harmful to beans, does not like tomatoes, so they dry tomato leaves, shred them and scatter the leaves among the beans. Bugs (as they told us) run away. Sticks of a certain type of tree repel flying insects, so they stick small branches around the field to keep flying insects out. It is that type of education that will allow the local farmers to become self sustaining, producing everything they need in the area. The soil we saw was rich, good soil. It would be fun to come back in 5 years to see the progress that is being made. When people support Mercy Ships, it is not only the blessing of healing we bring to the World's poor, we bring education to help the communities we serve overcome the root causes of the health problems they face, poor nutrition and sanitation for example.

The other two picture are of the area, one of scenery and the other of a little ville we drove through. all in all it was a fun trip that made me feel even better that we came.

Celebration of Eye Sight...pt 2"

Here are two pictures from the eye team. The first one is of ophthalmologist Dr. Elmer looking after one of the cataract patients. The second one is of a baby named Ricardo, who is a cataract patient, with his mother. "The blind shall see" Mtt. 11:5 But on another note, let me tell you another story. On the street corners in town there are blind people, who stand there with small boys who lead them up to cars to beg for money when the cars are stopped. I was told that one of the blind people was offered a chance to come to one of the Mercy Ships clinic to see if his cataracts could be removed and he could be helped. He refused the help. Why? We all asked. The person told us, if he had the surgery he would have to find a new job. This response saddened and frustrated me. I pondered my feelings for a few days and thought how many times I had been unwilling to change something because I would have to then find something new or do something new...go out of my "comfort zone." I really admire the patients that do choose to come to the ship. They are choosing, for many of them, a new life...a new start... What a lesson to learn-to step out of the ordinary and experience the "extra"-ordinary. To not be hold back by chains of unchange.

"A Celebration of Sight"

Here is a wonderful story of a celebration of eye sight being restored by our Eye Care Team...I am trying to find a way to get some pictures posted...they are to come...

One month after having cataracts removed, eye patients return to the Hospitality Centre Eye Clinic for a procedure known as a YAG laser treatment. The laser, which is shone into the eye, creates a hole in the artificial lens that was implanted during the surgery. This procedure prevents a film-like layer from developing over the lens and impeding vision.

Once the YAG treatment is complete, patients join together for a time of singing, dancing, thanksgiving and testifying. It is a Celebration of Sight! Many of the patients were blinded for years by cataracts – and now they can see!

As the drums begin to beat, the excitement intensifies. Some spontaneously rise to their feet and move about rhythmically. Others simply remain seated, singing with their hands raised in the air in praise.

Eventually the music ends, and patients enter into a time of prayer. Some people stand up and testify of the problems they experienced when their vision was impaired.

“Before, when I went to the market to buy, people would take advantage of me and steal my money,” said one woman who had cataracts removed from both eyes. “Now that I can see again, I can take care of myself. I give thanks to God for Mercy Ships.”

Another man shakily got up from his seat. “I can read again!” he said excitedly. “Before, I was not even able to read my Bible. Praise God!”

Depending on the number of patients present, the celebrations sometimes last for more than an hour – as people express their joy in the miracle of restored sight, restored hope, and restored lives. Many of the ophthalmologists, their assistants, and other Mercy Ships crew members join in the festivities, singing and dancing with the patients.

“It’s rewarding to see the improvement in their vision,” said Woody Hopper, an optometrist who performs the YAG treatments, “but it’s more rewarding to see the improvement in their lives and that they’re giving glory to our God.” (written by someone in communications)

"She makes linen garments and sells them... Prov. 31:24"

This morning a group of us went to "Floride Fait Main au Benin" (Handmade by Floride of Benin). For me this was my first in town adventure off ship. Mike and I walked the pier the other night, but today was the first time in town since our adventure at the airport. Our group went to a local lady who hand makes dresses, shirts, scarves, bags, tableclothes, and much more. She is amazing...her work is amazing! To me, in someways, she is a Proverbs 31 woman. She dyes her own cloth, makes the prints, draws the batik on the table linens, and does all her own designing. During the rainy season, I was told, her shop was flooded and had water and mud all throughout the shop.

This is the entrance to "Floride Fait Main Au Benin" Looking from the entry way into the back of her shop.
In this area, she does all they dying and decorating of her fabrics.

This is an Indigo dyed skirt.A stamped carrying bag (ie: for groceries).

I am truly amazed at the simplicity and the "rusticness"of her surroundings and the incredible work that she does. I was told that she takes many of her clothes to Paris to sell. She also showed us a picture of herself modeling one of her styles in a magazine. It makes me think twice about complaining about not having a "new" sewing machine (I have my mom's old 1960 Singer). And it also makes me realize how truly blessed I am...I have no cause to complain...it just makes me think...