"Getting Ready..."

Over the last few weeks, we have seen the crew of the Africa Mercy(AFM) almost double from Christmas time.  People are returning from vacation and new crew are arriving.  A week or so ago, lifeboats were being tested.  Also, the other morning (4:30 am) I was awaken to the sound of a ship's mooring lines being connect to the AFM...refueling time.  It all only means one thing...we are getting ready to leave for Togo...Yeah!

Our cabin is on deck 6 just underneath the 150 person life boat on deck 7.  They periodically have to test the life boat to ensure they are functional.

The ship that refueled us early in the morning into the afternoon...it is not a fast process.

Here is some information about the country of Togo:

Their Flag:

Their Location:

Official Name: République Togolaise

short form: Togo

formerly: French Togoland

Capital City: Lomé

Other Cities:   Atakpamé, Kpalimé, Sokodé, Kara.

Government: 

Type: Republic under transition to multiparty democratic rule.

Geography:

Location: Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana.

Area: 56 785 sq km (21,925 sq miles).

Terrain: Gently rolling savanna in north; central hills; southern plateau; low coastal plain with extensive lagoons and marshes.

Climate: Tropical; hot throughout the year, humid in south; semiarid in north. Togo has two rainly season:  April-July and September-December.  Average temoerature in the shade is 32C (90F) and minimum is 23C(75F)

People:

Population: 6 000 000 (in 2008 est.)

Ethnic Groups: native African (37 tribes; largest and most important are Ewe, Mina, and Kabre) 99%, European and Syrian-Lebanese less than 1%.

Religions: traditional African religions 51%, Christian 30%, Muslim 15%.

Languages: French (official and the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabye (sometimes spelled Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the north).

Literacy: male: 75.4%, female: 46.9%

Infant mortality rate: total: 66.61 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 74.24 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 58.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 57.01 years

male: 55.02 years

female: 59.06 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.61 children born/woman (2005 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 4.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 110,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 10,000 (2003 est.)

Diseases:

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria and yellow fever are high risks in some locations

water contact disease: schistosomiasis

respiratory disease: meningococcal meningitis (2004)

Resources:Natural resources: Phosphates (main source of foreign exchange), limestone, marble, arable land.

Agriculture products: Coffee, cocoa, cotton, yams, cassava (tapioca), corn, beans, rice, millet, sorghum; livestock; fish.

Industries: Phosphate mining, agricultural processing, cement; handicrafts, textiles, beverages.

Exports partners: Burkina Faso16.6%, Ghana 15.4%, Netherlands 13%, Benin 9.6%, Mali 7.7% (2003)

Imports partners: France 21.1%, Netherlands 12.1%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.9%, Germany 4.6%, Italy 4.4%, South Africa 4.3%, China 4.1% (2003)

Currency: CFA Franc (same as Benin)

"Favorite Things..."

Last night at dinner, a friend of mine asked:  "Name five things that you like about Tenerife."  That got me thinking about a blog I wanted to share.  There have been some wonderful things we have seen and discovered while in Tenerife, many of which I have shared already.  But these last few are some of our favorites...not in any particular order.

I will never get tired of looking out at the ocean and the different cloud formations.  I just love the way the sun is beaming through the dark clouds.  It reminds me, even in the darkest of times, God's love will shine through.

One of the kid's favorite things to do is when we are walking back to the ship is stop for Italian Ice Cream-Gelato.  I think we have been ruined for life.  The flavors are "to die for".  They range from fruit flavors to chocolate flavors to coffee and nut flavors.  Every one of them is incredible!

Another favorite of ours is to go out for dinner with friends.  In the above picture we went to the "Meter Bar".  You can get a pizza, sausage, and other foods a meter long.  The pizzas in Tenerife are scrumptious!  Of course almost every meal here is served with fries, even breakfast!

One thing Mike has really enjoyed is all the different ships that we have seen pull into port from many different countries.  The above ship is an auxiliary ship from Germany.

Finally, this is the best of them all...the pastry shop.  Once a week (many twice a week) we have come to this little shop and pick up pastries.  They are the best pastries we have ever had.  Many are done with different types of cream fillings.  I am glad in some ways we are leaving for Togo soon, so I will not be tempted anymore! =)  All in fun...we have enjoyed our time here, however, we are very anxious to get back to Africa.

"Fun Sculptures..."

While on many of our various walks, I have noticed a lot of very unique sculptures, statues, and some very "interesting" pieces of art.  Enjoy the tour...

The Amazing...

This is by the fountain just out side of the port-I could be wrong-but I think this is for a memorial.

This fountain is at the large park-the kids love to rollerblade in this park.

The Detailed Aspects of Life...

Most of these statues are made out of bronze and have incredible details to them. They depict different aspects of life on the island.

The Living...

Street performers will pose as statues also.  This lady was amazing!

                                             

The "Unique..."

Some of these are very unique...we have become fond of the express..."It's not right or wrong-it's just different." I think that fits some of these sculptues.

The Fun...

I had to throw these last three in just for fun...

Alisia, Joshua, and Maggie sitting on a bronze tiger at Loro Parque (something like Sea World but smaller).

And below the kids are just "monkeying" around. =)

Yes, there is even a McDonalds with a drive thru here...much to Joshua's delight. Although we have not been crazy enough to go through the drive thru...it would be an experience to see what we ended up with since we don't speak Spanish and English is rather limited here.

"Flowers..."

Since I have done a blog on some of the plants that you can find on the Island of Tenerife, I thought I would do one on some of the flowers you find here.  It absolutely amazes me the diversity of tress, plants, and flowers.  It just shows me over and over again how creative our God is.

At Christmas time, a lot of the gardens were planted with Pointsettias.  They looked absolutely beautiful.  One thing I did not know, as the next picture show you, Pointsettias can grow as a bush.

Even though the flowers are slowly wilting and falling off, it was still a gorgeous bush.

One of my favorite plants is the Hibiscus.  The blossoms are incredible and very delicate.  I fell in love with these plants many years ago in Hawaii.

For the life of me, I cannot remember the name of this plant.  But the colors are astounding.  Across the harbor from where the Africa Mercy is dock, there is a mountain where these grow wild along the side of the mountain.

This delicate flower grows on a very large tree, it rather reminds me of a Magnolia.  The fragrance was a very sweet perfume.

To me this was a rather odd flower.  The plant it grows off of was very short, and it just hangs down. 

Even the cactus plants here get into the blossoming mood.  They are the most unique flowers, not delicate in the least, rather hardly looking like the cactus plants they grow from.

This bush blossomed in two colors pink and yellow... maybe it was just two plant so intertwinned they have become one.   It was very beautiful.

Someone very creatively planted this clock garden.  Yes, the clock actually works.

Last but not least, my absolute favorite plant of all...the Bird of Paradise. I fell in love with this plant when we live in Los Angeles.  I don't know why it is my favorite.  I guess to me it shows God sense of humor...it just makes me laugh.

"Focus on the Family..."

Focus on the family has named Mercy Ships one of four charities that can be trusted to make a difference in Haiti...click here for the link.  Keep all the workers and people in Haiti in your prayers.

"Plants..."

As we walk around the Island of Tenerife, we have noticed several different types of plants.  Some that you would find in the USA as small indoor plants, we see them here as very large outdoor plants.

This is an Aloe Vera plant.  We actually snapped off a tip of the plant to make sure it was...we had trouble believing it was as big as it is!

Alisia is standing by a giant cactus.  There are a lot of cactus gardens here...they are look really beautiful!

Not sure of the name of this plant-but it is all over the island.

Now, I am 5'8" tall, I think this is some kind of palm plant-but I am not a botanist.

This plant just grows and then bends over...

A giant tree, that puts out trailers that will become roots of the tree. (I can't imagine how old this tree is!)

Finally, this is a Crown of Thorns bush.  Jesus had a Crown of Thorns places on His brow.  I have to tell you, those thorns are very sharp!

We have has a lot of fun walking and looking at the plants on the streets and in the parks.  We probably walk 4-5 miles a day just looking around.