"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.

"Retrospect..."

As I have been thinking back through this last year, I thought I would try to capture a glimpse of the year in pictures.  At first I thought: "What a great idea!"  Now as I am on my second day of sorting through the files of pictures on my computer, I am thinking:  "Whatever possessed me to do this idea?" 

So much has happened in the year, it is hard to capture.  The pictures certainly do not capture the highs and lows of the year, the good-byes of dearly loved crew members, the missing of family and friends at home, the thousands of people Mercy Ships has touch in Sierra Leone, or the vast number of friendships that were formed. 

What the pictures do capture is God's continual faithfulness, grace, and miracles He has blessed us with.  Many are not obvious miracles, but certainly the movement of God's mighty hand in our lives as a family and as a ship community....

January found us still in the port of Durban South Africa.  Finishing up the ship yard period and preparing to go to Sierra Leone.

After a brief 24 hour stop in Capetown South Africa, before we head to Sierra Leone.

February-Freetown Sierra Leone.

March-the beginning of a ten month field service meeting the needs of many people in Freetown and surrounding areas-the Dental screenings...

The Eye Screenings...

First patients to enter the ship...

March also brought us to our new church home in Lumpa Waterloo

One of the many MaxFax patients...

whose life is transformed...

April brought us Easter...a celebration of Jesus death and resurrection.

May-wheelchair races in the wards...

Getting to know Freetown markets...

June-the first fundraising event in West Africa aboard the ship.

July-summer program for the Academy kids

Graduation of the Agriculture program Students...

August...still in rainy season...

September-Deb continues to work in the wards loving the orthopaedic patients...

October-a visit from the Princess Royal to the ship.

Eating lunch and dinner daily, watching the fishing and transport boats out the window...

November brought us into a time of having to say good-bye-to local friends we made (our tailor friends-Foday, Omar, and Osman)

Our day worker friends who help us in the hospital...

Also, a time of preparing the ship to sail to Ghana...

December-time to sail to Ghana...

Our arrival in Ghana for Christmas break...

Celebrating Christmas as a family...

A year in pictures...captures so much but yet so little.  It is our prayer next year will be a year of God's blessing, protection, and revelation.  As we grow closer to Him and closer to each other....