Jay Swanson, one of the crew members of the ship, got this awesome picture yesterday of the dolphins playing at the bow of the ship.  God has blessed us with some amazing sights-flying fish, whales, and dolphins....it just makes me appreciate the vastness of His creation!!

"Sailing..."

Even though we live on a ship that stays in port for a majority of it's time, we still have a few days/weeks of the year that we sail from one port to another.  What this means, is every time we sail, we have a time of "preparing to sail." 

 Preparing to sail entails tying and storing everything.  Yes...everything.  Piano's are tied to the mid-ships stairs, the whole hospital is broken down and placed in a container or bundles together and tied with straps to the floor, all the OR equipment is secured...even the galley has to secure every pot and pan.

For our cabin, the TV is tied down, the table to turned over, everything inside the cupboard gets put into a box so it does not slide...even the microwave is moved to the floor...

The Christmas tree is tied to the walls with a magnet...the TV is secured to the wall...

Pantry food is placed in a box to prevent it from sliding and banging...

The table is flipped with plants placed in a box....

Even the garbage cans are secured...

The ship shop shelves are emptied into baskets....

 It is a very busy time for the crew as we prepare to leave...but an exciting time because we know the sail will happen soon...

"Youth Leaders..."

Another one of the great things about living on a ship in community, is there are people of all different ages who choose to invest their lives in the lives of our children.

This last week the Jr./Sr. High school kids have been writing finals.  Since they did not have youth group on Tuesday night due to the finals, the youth leaders spoiled the students with a study break...ice cream delivered to the door.

Now, for many people ice cream is not necessarily a treat.  However, on the ship it is.  Ice cream is sent to us from Holland whenever we receive a frozen container.  Usually we get ice cream once a week after our Thursday community service, as long as we do not run out.

So, for the kids to have this treat of ice cream on a Tuesday- delivered to the door, was an extra blessing!

Thank you youth leaders for caring so much for our children....we GREATLY appreciate all your work and dedication!!!!

"Ordination..."

Since we have been involved in a local church here in Sierra Leone, we have been able to experience many different aspects of "church life".  Last Sunday, Mike had the privilege of being involved in the ordination of Pastor Daniel.  The church was so crowded that they had to put benches outside to accommodate all the people who wanted to witness the service.  It was a real privilege to watch the excitement and the celebration that surrounded the ordination ceremony.  There was clapping, shouts of hallelujah, and a sincere look of joy on all who attended.  It was a real honor for me (Mike) to be asked to by "one of the officiants".

Laying on of hands and praying for Pastor Daniel

Fellow Pastors giving congratulations to the new Rev. Daniel Karmara

The Reverend Daniel Karmara giving the benediction and the end of his ordination service...

"Cookie Bake..."

On Saturday morning, a group of us got together to bake Christmas sugar cookies.  (Most things aboard the ship become a community gathering.)  The galley provided 2 kgs of dough for us to use make from a recipe for 300 cookies which became a recipe for 900...nothing on a small scale on the ship.  And we rolled, cut, and baked Christmas cookies.  Alisia and I had a great mother and daughter time.

Gathering to bake cookies....

Alisia cutting out the cookies....

Ready to bake...

Finished product... YUM!!

Mother and Daughter time...precious and priceless!!

"What I See..."

This is the Africa Mercy in port in Freetown, Sierra Leone.  The ship has been docked here for almost 10 months.  Initially when you look at this photo, a person might think-WOW what a wonderful area to be docked...the ocean, the trees, the mountains...it almost looks like a resort instead of a third world country.

What I see when I look at this photo brings a lot of mixed feelings.  I see friends we have made-in our day workers, churches, businesses we visited-people we met on the streets.  I see patients-some who were with us only a day and others for months.  I see lives changed through surgeries-people with a renewed sense of hope and a future.  I see lives touched with kindness and love-even though some news was not always the best.

I also see a nation in desperate need to healing.  A nation that has been devastated by war.  A nation where there is only a medical system for those who can afford it-4 hospital beds for every 10 000 people- 2 physicians for every 100 000 people. A nation where going to a dentist is a luxury.  A nation where 75% of the population live on less the $2.00 per day.

I also see people from over 40 different nations.  People who give up their time, finances, vacations, being with family to be part of an amazing journey.  Some stay for only a few weeks, while others have stayed for 25 years.  I see dedication.  Dedication to make an impact, to make a difference in the lives of another.  To love the "unlovable".

I see the working of Jesus....His hands, His feet, His body...

"It's Time..."

Once again, it is that time of year...Christmas.  Last year we spent Christmas at Appelsbosch in South Africa.  This year, we will be in our Africa Mercy home...our cabin. 

Alisia and I spent Sunday afternoon decorating the cabin.  It is not that we have a whole lot of space to decorate or a whole lot to decorate with, it is more figuring our what to do with the little space we have...and then of course the clean up.

It does not take much to mess up our sitting room area...

Alisia did manage to get our tree up...even a magnet to the wall in preparation for the sail...

Our socking are hung on the wall with care....since we have no chimney....

Then that night, Joshua and his class played the hand bells to open the beginning of the Advent service....