What was?
It has been an eventful few weeks and we have a lot to
share! We have said goodbye to Congo.
Our time in Congo was a bit different as I (Tracey) missed so much of
our time there while I was back in the States, but it was still really amazing
to reflect on all the Lord did through the ship’s service in the country. At the end of each field service (time in a
certain country) a synopsis is put together with the statistics from our time
in that country. Statistics can be exciting, but they can also be
impersonal. As I looked though these
numbers I tried to remember that each number listed represented a life that was
changed. Every person listed here walked down the gangway of the Africa Mercy
with a hope that was previously non-existent.
These numbers are people who not only had life-changing surgeries but
people who had an encounter with the God of this universe and our prayer is
that they will not only have physical healing but spiritual healing as
well. Here are some of the numbers (if
you want the entire report you can go here):
967 people can SEE better after Cataract surgeries
78 children had orthopedic procedures allowing them to REGAIN function in their limbs
434 people had tumors REMOVED from their face/head or neck
170 people had cleft lips REPAIRED
207 people had plastic surgery to RESTORE function from burn
contractures or other deformities
477 people had general surgery to CORRECT defects such as
hernias
60 women had VVF surgeries and REGAINED their dignity
2,527 people had surgeries that CHANGED THEIR LIVES!
Please join us in THANKING GOD for an amazing 10 months in
Congo! And please continue to pray for these beautiful people.
What’s going on now?
The ship set sail on June 1st for the Canary
Islands. The sail will be approximately
14 days. John and the girls are enjoying the sail.
 |
| The ship crossed over the point where the equator meets the prime meridian! Pretty exciting for ship people! |
Jack
and I were able to make a short trip back to Colorado during the sail to surprise my state-side family for
a family reunion in celebration of my Grandfather’s 90th birthday!
The ship community has been amazing as they
have helped John care for the girls in our absence. It has been a good time for all of us but we
are really excited to be reunited when the ship arrives in the Canary Islands
on June 14th.
What’s next?
We will spend 2 months in the Canary Islands while the ship is
hoisted out of the water for repairs.
For the first 5 weeks we will have to move off the ship and into a hotel
as the children are not allowed in the shipyard. John will travel to the ship from the hotel
to work every day. We are excited about
this time with other families at the hotel but it may also be a tiring time of
living away from our home. We will move back onto the ship (and into a bigger
cabin!) at the end of July. In August we will set sail for Cotonou, Benin.
As you may remember, our original plan was to
go back to Guinea, but due to the continued Ebola outbreak we were unable to
return at this time. Please pray with us for the country of Guinea as they
experience this devastating outbreak.
We will keep you updated on our adventures in the Canary Islands
as best we can with our potentially limited internet access this summer. Thank you, again, for your continued prayers
and support!
