"Endings pt 2..."

With the every changing life on the m/v Africa Mercy, the one constant is the good-byes.  The last few weeks has proven to uphold that fact.  We have seen an almost mass exodus of over 200 crew members in the last three weeks.  All the scenes are pretty much the same.

 Crew gather on the dock to say farwell to their beloved friends.

 Joshua and his best ship bud Ethan.

 Our friends Barry and Cheryl, whom we first met at Gateway in 2009.  We have travelled a long road together!

 Sharon and Tim we have shared many adventures in the towns, on the beaches, and at the local pools.  We have walked many miles together!

 Our ship-daughter Becca and ship-son Greg.  God has blessed us with the privilage of seeing the matuaration of a beautiful couple.  (Becca was with us at Gateway in 2009 also.)

 And of course, precious friends....

Good-byes are never easy...so we try to say "see you again".

1 Thessalonians 1:3 "We [will always] remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ."

"Endings..."

Towards the end of our time in a country, certain events begin to happen which add to the reality of the ship leaving-dock pack up and on ship drills.

 We have a Mercy Team* here helping us pack up the four tents we were using on the dock and doing other jobs that need extra hands as we prepare the ship to sail. (*A Mercy Team is a group of individuals who come for a period of time when the ship needs extra manpower to get things done.  They can either be a team assembled from different places or a team from a church-they are GREATLY appreciated! )

 Then there are the "at sea muster drills".  Where we practise putting on our life jackets and going to our life boat stations. 

 Joshua and me (Alisia gets to stay on the air conditioned ship in reception!)

For the first time in three years, Mike actually has to practise putting on his life jacket! 

"Day Workers..."

This year we have had about 200 Togolese Day Workers work with us on the ship.  Many of them are students, Pastors, medical persons, seamstresses, cooks, shop keeps and some are unemployed.  Many of them have worked with us in Benin, Sierra Leone, and now twice in Togo.  What we do as Mercy Ships is impossible without their partnership.  They help us translate into many of the local languages in the hospital areas (some of them speaking 5 or 6 languages), clean the ship, do laundry, cook in the galley, work on the decks of the ship painting and chipping paint.  They  explain the culture and customs of West Africa.  They extend copious amounts of grace when we blunder through some of the customs, culture, and language.  We laugh with them, cry with them, we are brothers and sisters with them.  I am so blessed to call many of the Day Workers friends.  Thank you for all your hard work, patience, and grace.

"Good-Bye..."

This is always the difficult time in the field service...the good-byes.  Not only are we saying good-bye to crew members who have become like family, we also say good-bye to the day workers who we have worked next to for the last 6 months, but we also have to say good-bye to the churches where we have worshipped. 

We thank the Lord for bringing us back to Togo to see friends and churches we came to know and grow to love in 2010.  So the farewell was even more difficult.

Two weeks ago we said good-bye to what we have call the "small church".

 We sat in our normal spot near the kids at the back and listened to the Sunday school class.

 We presented 10 girls with English bibles.  One of the things we enjoyed doing was sharing translations.  They would look at their French Bible and we would share with them the English Bible.

 Mike gave his farewell sermon, encouraging the church to remain faithful.

 And a special good-bye to our church daughter Mawu.  She has become precious to us.

 This last Sunday we said good-bye to the "big church".

Pastor Emmanuel had all the church gather around us and pray for us...what a special send off this was.

 Then Pastor Emmanuel invited us to his office, and presented Mike with a chief's outfit...what an honour.

Mike and Pastor Emmanuel.

"Work...Work...Work..."

Now that school is out, Joshua and Alisia are working full time on the ship.  I think it is great that when the kids are out of school they can contribute to the work on the ship.

Joshua is working in the galley.  I am going to enlist his help when we get home to do all the cooking and cleaning!

Alisia is back in reception.  She will be great at answering the phone and directing/telling people what to do when we get home. 

"Darius..."

Onboard the Africa Mercy, a nine-year-old boy named Darius sat curled up on his mother’s lap. With his head bent over, he hid his face from view. The dark sunglasses and the large bandages over his eyes hid a boy who was trying to cope with the circumstances life gave him.

Just five months ago, Darius’ had been a normal boy who could run around playing with his friends. Then one day, he came home from school feeling sick. And, before anyone understood what was happening, he was fighting for his life.
Darius had chickenpox, and his aunt decided to buy him some antibiotic to help him get better. Unfortunately, he had an adverse reaction to the antibiotic. This reaction is known as Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) – a life-threatening skin condition in which cell death causes the epidermis to detach from the dermis. It also affects the mucous membranes of the body.


Darius’s reaction was severe, and it did not take long before he became extremely weak. His mother, Josephine, took him to many doctors, but none of them understood what was happening to the boy because SJS is a rare syndrome.
As Darius’s condition worsened, layers of skin died and fell off from his lips, inner eyelids, and other parts of his body.

 When he started to vomit blood and mucous, Josephine decided she needed to go to a large hospital – anything to help her son get better. They traveled all the way to a hospital in the capital of Benin, where they waited in the ER for someone to help them.
“I looked down at my son. Flies were living in his wounds. He was covered with blood and dead tissue. Even the flies saw him as good as dead. I wondered how anyone so small could survive so much,” Josephine says as she fights back tears. Darius was brought to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Slowly, he started to regain strength but remained in the ICU for a while.

Darius’s eyes were swollen shut, so he could not see. One day, as he lay in bed in the ICU, he heard a fuse spark. Even though he could not see, Darius could smell the smoke as the fire started to build around his bed. He began yelling for help, but the nurses had been called somewhere else and did not hear him. Finally, Josephine heard his cries and ran in to see the place engulfed with flames. She picked Darius up and ran to safety. Luckily, the boy received no injuries from the fire, and he was moved to the pediatric ward of the hospital, where Josephine could stay with him at all times. He spent a month in the pediatric ward before being released from the hospital.

The inner lining of his eyelids had fallen away, and as the raw edges of the eyelids started to heal, the upper and lower eyelids fused together. No longer able to open his eyes, Darius was blind to the world around him.

When Josephine heard about Mercy Ships, she brought Darius to one of the eye screenings. The Mercy Ships Eye Team quickly sent him to the ship to be screened for surgery. The young boy needed many surgeries to restore his vision. But, slowly, he started to show signs of progress – not only in his vision but also in his spirit. Josephine explains, “His problem is being fixed, he is receiving all this surgery and care, we are receiving food, and all of our needs are being taken care of. The nurses are so kind to us, and it is such a blessing after all of our struggles.”

During the first couple of weeks in the hospital, Darius kept to himself, keeping his head down. The traumas of the past several months weighed heavily on him. Slowly, the crew onboard the Africa Mercy started to coax him out of hiding. His spirit started to lift as he saw how people cared for him and protected him from harm.

 The transformation was remarkable. Darius could be found playing the piano – with the largest grin on his face. He loved doing exercises and stretches.

A grateful Josephine has a special message for the donors who have helped pay for Darius’s care: “You are taking from your own salaries for us! May the Lord bless your hands and your salary, and may you have good health and a long life. You have truly blessed us!”

Darius’ transformation is complete as he sits in the ward and lifts his head high, singing a song he adapted to honor Mercy Ships:
“They will go to the ends of the earth,
Mercy Ships, Mercy Ships.
They will never perish,
Mercy Ships Mercy Ships.” 

Darius leaves the ship. Even though the sun is bright for his eyes, he finds freedom in being able to walk out of the hospital.

Story by Nicole Pribbernow
Edited by Nancy Predaina
Photos by JJ Tiziou and Debra Bell

"Rural School..."

Last Saturday, the five of us went to the rural school by Fred's farm for a "cultural exchange".  The thought of the day was to have the school share West African culture and for Joshua to share Western culture with a question and answer time to follow.  It was an incredible day...

 Anna, Fred, Deb, Mike, and Joshua

 The students moved all their desks outside the classrooms into a circle where we could share.

 The Principal welcomed us to the mornings events.

 A group of young girls shared with us several traditional dances.

 Then three young boys shared with us some "modern" dances.

 With the aid of pictures, Joshua shared about life in a western culture.

 Above and below, the students shared a skit titled "Skipping School".  Where a boy skipped school and then failed his exams...

 It struck me how students are the same everywhere...doodling on the desks...

 Fred then talked about the importance of malaria prevention.  Malaria is one of the top causes of death in West Africa.

 A time for questions.  Some of the kids had incredible and thought provoking questions-"Why do people in the west live longer than Africans? or Why do all the good ideas come from the west?"

 Later we handed out bags of chips and candy to the students.

 A picture with all the dedicated teachers.

The kids waving good-bye.