"The Results..."

As I have posted in the past, evey Friday night is Ultimate Frisbee night.  A group of crew members go to a local field and play Ultimate Frisbee. 

Now that we are back in Togo, Ultimate Frisbee night now becomes, "let's have muddy leg night"...

No, the kids are not wearing tights, nylons, or leggings....it's just the dirt from the field they play on!

"Too Cute!..."

A few days after his successful surgery to correct his clubfeet, little Sierra Leonean patient Abdul Vandi returned to the HOPE Recovery Center in straight, short leg casts which made walking easier. He joyfully hobbled around on crutches with the other boys who were receiving similar treatment. We are very grateful for every life changing opportunity we are presented to bring hope and healing.

"T I 's' A..."

 Some things in Africa do change.  While we have been driving around Lome Togo we have noticed a lot of new construction in buildings that have been added in the last 18 months since we were here.  We have seen roads that were once narrow made wide.  We see people working late at night to sweep up the garbage off of the streets.  There is evidence of progress everywhere. 

However, there are some things that just don't change.  As we were driving back to the ship on Sunday after church, we had to stop for a random herd of cattle to cross the road...

This Is 'STILL' Africa!

"Student Life..."

Each Friday afternoon, the Junior and Senior High School students have the Student Life Program.  The Student Life program gives the students opportunities to experience different activities that many of the crew help to lead.  Every six weeks the students choose a different topic to experience.  Topics in the past have been:  cooking, sewing, painting, Jr. Security Officers, babysitting, photography, and singing. 

In the current session, Alisia is taking part in the babysitting program, helping to care for some of the nursery school children on the ship.  Joshua (see picture below) is taking part in the fictional writing course, which is being taught by one of the crew who published his first book last year.

The school may not have all the fancy sports and music programs a "regular" school may have, but it has amazing people who invest in lives of our children and build them up on a whole different level.  Thank you to everyone who invests their time and energy on Friday afternoons!

"Snail Mail..."

When mail get sent to the ship from the USA, it often will take 2-3 weeks even up to a month depending upon when the IOC (International Operations Center) receives mail in Texas and then sends it onto the ship. 

It was really exciting the other day when we received a bunch of our Christmas cards...in the middle of January!

It is always nice to be able to catch up with people via Facebook, email, or sometimes on the phone...but there is nothing as wonderful as receiving a note, cards, letters, or even pictures in the mail. 

Thank you everyone for the Christmas and New Year greetings!

"Getting Ready..."

Daily we are beginning to see changes on the dock.  Each day that is completed brings us nearer and nearer to the arrival of the first patients.  Slowly new and returning crew and beginning to come to the ship.  The hospital is being set up in anticipation of the starting of surgery.  The whole focus of the crew right now is preparation. Preparation for the patients who are in desperate need of the gift of hope and healing we have to offer.

Painting the gangway with slip protection.  The land rover repair area in the background.

Admissions tent being set up as well as two other tents that will provide services to the patients.

"They're Back..."

On Christmas day the crew was so excited to have yellow bananas.  Even one of the young kids on the ship asked if it was okay to eat the yellow banana.  I am sure many people thought that was a rather strange comment when they read it on the blog.

The other day when we went into the dining room for dinner, I noticed "they were back".  They meaning the green bananas.  Yes...they are black and green.  Yes...they are okay to eat. 

The first time I saw these green bananas, I took some to my cabin let them sit on the counter for a few days (thinking they were not ripe yet) and they only went black and mushy.  Just another strange cultural difference.

"Starfish..."

On Sunday night, Dr Keith Thomson an anesthesiologist who has been volunteering with Mercy Ships for the last 20 years, told a wonderful story.  The story he told was about a young West African girl who was walking along the beach an saw thousands of starfish on the beach.  She began to pick up the starfish one by one and throw them back into the ocean.  A man came up to the young girl and told her the task was impossible, she would never make a difference with all the starfish on the shore.  The little girl continue to pick up the starfish one by one, throwing them back into the ocean saying:  "I make a difference to this one, and this one, and this one, and this one..."

So goes the ministry with Mercy Ships.  Sometimes the task laid before us seems impossible.  We will never make a difference in every single life in West Africa.  For every one person who receives surgery there are many others who will never receive surgery.   But one by one, over the years, Mercy Ships has touched millions of lives.

 In our short time with Mercy Ships, we can think of a handful of churches, pastors, schools...people whose lives have been touched.  We have reached out to the people who the Lord has put into our path.  One by one we can make a difference.

"Our Neighbourhood..."

This port is very different form the one in Sierra Leone.  In Sierra Leone, we were able to walk right out of the port and walk into the "neighbourhood".  Togo, being more developed than Sierra Leone, the port is much busier.  We just cannot walk into the neighbourhood.  We need to take a taxi or a land rover.  So our new residence for the next six months looks like this...

Looking toward the bow of the Africa Mercy.

Starboard view (right side) from Deck 8.

Looking from the stern where the port is being expanded.

Port side (left side view) of the Togolese Navy.

More development on the port side.

Looking from the bow toward the stern of the ship. 

Our compound area this time is much larger than the area we had in Sierra Leone and also larger than the previous time we were here in 2010.  In a few weeks this area will be transformed into tents and waiting areas for the patients.  Containers will be unloaded which hold the Hope Center supplies as well and the Dental Clinic.  It will be an interesting month transforming this empty dock into a functioning appendage of the hospital...providing hope and healing to the people of Togo.

"Togo..."

Yesterday, in the early hours of the morning, we departed the port in Tema, Ghana.  Last night, in the early evening, we arrived in Lome, Togo.  We will spend the next 5 months in Lome reaching out to the poorest of the port offering hope and healing.

First glimpse of land...Togo

The pilot boarding the Africa Mercy to help us maneuver into port.

Proudly waving the Togolese flag.

Mike on the bridge.

Preparing our container wall.

Mike and Deb

Clementine walking down the gangway with the Togolese flag.

Alisia and Deb

"Masquerade ..."

On New year Eve, the ship had a masquerade dance.  The kid's posed for this picture.

Back row:  Joshua and Ethan

Front row:  Alisia, Hannah, Lara, and Grace

"Country Next...Togo..."

We are beginning our new year with a one day sail to Togo.  After spending three weeks in Ghana for our Christmas break, we will head to Togo for our next field service.

We were previously in Togo from February to August 2010 before we sailed to South Africa to have the generators replaced.  Even though it will be a shortened field service, we are excited to return to Togo and renew our friendships. We will be in Togo from January to June.

As I have done in the past, I have shared the ranking of the country on the Human Development Index.  This ranking is made up of information relating to heath, education, and living standards.

Togo is currently rated 162 on the Human Development Index out of 187 (Sierra Leone was 180)   
The average life expectancy is:  57.1
The mean number of years of schooling is: 5.3
The expected number of years of schooling is: 9.6
Gross National Income is: 798
Under-five mortality rate (per 1 000 live births): 98
Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 women aged 15-19): 65
Maternal mortality ratio (deaths of women per 100,000 live births): 350

In contrast the USA is currently rated 4 on the HDI
The average life expectancy is: 78.5
The mean number of years of schooling is: 12.4
The expected number of years of schooling is: 16
Gross National Income is: 43,017
Under-five mortality rate (per 1000 live births): 8
Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 women aged 15-19): 41
Maternal mortality ratio (deaths of women per 100,000 live births): 24 
Information taken from http://hdr.undp.org 2011 report 

I always find it very sobering to look at the comparison between the USA and the countries we are called to serve.  It reinforces to me how blessed my family is to have been born in North America instead of Sub-Sahara Africa.  I am reminded of how blessed my children are, who if born in West Africa, would not have survived. (Alisia was born at 30 weeks gestation and I went into preterm labour with Joshua at 32 weeks.) 

Yes, I used the term "blessed"...it is because we are.  No, my kids may not have the latest electronic gadget, the newest fad in running shoes or clothing, or even their own cell phone.  But they do know where their next meal is coming from, they go to a great school (with the prospect of further education), they have clothing (without holes) and shoes that fit their feet, and a warm safe place to sleep at night. Yes, we are truly blessed.

In this New Year, may you find a deep joy, peace, and love knowing you are loved eternally by God.  And even though you may not "have" the latest...you are truly blessed.