Enjoying Cape Town

 We arrived in Cape Town, South Africa on September 29th and we will be here until October 18th. We stopped here on our way to Madagascar for a few reasons:

1. We needed fuel.

2. We needed to allow our advance team to have a few more weeks without us there to prepare for our field service since our plans changed so last minute.  In order for us to be able to run the hospital well, we need to have things in place ahead of time. Our amazing advance team is in Madagascar making this happen right now! Please keep them in your prayers as they work hard to get things set for the ship. Some of them have been sick and they haven't had much of a rest in several months.

3. We are able to use this time for PR in South Africa. We have been giving tours of the ship and advertising around town. These things will, Lord willing, bring in finances and possible volunteers to join us.  It has been really exciting to see these tours in action. They have set up the hospital with a  kind of virtual tour so people can really see what we do. There are videos playing for them throughout the wards and OR.  It made John and I tear up to go through the tour, so I can only imagine the impact it has on someone who isn't familiar with what God does through this amazing ship. Please pray for these tours, that Jesus would be seen in what Mercy Ships does and that hearts would be touched.

We are excited to get to Madagascar and get the hospital running again, but we are making the most of our continued time of waiting. . .and Cape Town is not a bad place to do it! The ship is docked right on the waterfront, which is the most visited place in all of Africa! We can walk from our ship to the heart of the town with shopping, parks, good food, and lots of touristy things.  It's pretty amazing. Here are some pictures of the fun we are having! (and yes, John still does have to work during the week :) )

Jack and I out on a walk while the girls were in school and John worked

In the background is Table Mountain. This is a famous landmark in Cape Town

 

From our ship looking towards the touristy section. The girls can't wait to ride the Farris wheel.

 

 

 

Friday was a ship holiday, so we took the kids to the aquarium.  It was about a 10 minute walk from the ship!! It was a really great aquarium and the girls had a ton of fun.

 

You could get underneath and stick your head in the middle of the tank full of "Nemos". It was a highlight!

 

Another highlight. . .touching the starfish!

Penguins!! 

Jack liked watching them too.

 

 

 

John and my anniversary was on one of the last, very rocky, days of the sail. We didn't really do much to celebrate on the day so our friend Heather watched our kids for an afternoon yesterday and we were able to go hiking and have dinner.  It was a really great day!

View of Table Mountain from the trail head. We hiked a mountain called Lion's head

A bit steep in parts. Note the chains.

Stunning views!!!

 

 

 

 

After we hiked a mountain, the girls wanted to  hike one too, so today we took them up the cable car to the top of Table Mountain. It was hot and VERY crowded, but we really had a good time.

 

 

Playing in an old cable car from the 1940s while daddy waits in the LONG line to buy tickets.

. . .more waiting. Washing the deck with wet wipes :).

Yay!! It's our turn, finally.

Riding the cable car

Breathtaking!! That little pointy peak is Lion's Head (the one John and I hiked)

They climbed up these rocks and were so excited that they "climbed a mountain!"

Riding the cable car back down.

Taking the bus home!

 

 

Country Next and Next and Next and Next......

There was a small part of me that wondered if this day would ever come. The day that we could finally let you all know where the ship is headed next. We have had so many ups and downs. Originally we were supposed to be in Guinea, but then Ebola appeared there and began it's destructive journey. Plan B: go to Benin, but then Ebola appeared in Lagos, just 2 hours from Contonou, Benin. For days we were not sure if we were going to be able to go to Benin or not. We have been sitting waiting and wondering what God is doing and where we are going. Our Advance team has spent endless hours in Benin preparing for us to come. Surely that means we would go there, right?

A few weeks ago we were supposed to be arriving in Benin. On the day we "should" have arrived we found out that it was determined to be unsafe to go to Benin. The Ebola situation in West Africa is too unstable for us to risk the well-being of our crew. We are not set up to provide medical care to patients with Ebola and we could very possibly make the situation worse by drawing patients away from isolation centers to seek treatment on our ship.

So. . .plan C: Return to Congo?  This seemed like the most feasible decision since we were just there and so we wouldn't have to be starting from scratch. But then Ebola showed up in the neighboring country of The Democratic Republic of Congo.  This is a separate outbreak and much less worrisome for our own safety but the government of the Republic of Congo was concerned that our presence might draw people from the DRC to Congo in search of treatment so they asked us to postpone our return.

This is where we sat for most of the last few weeks. We knew we'd end up somewhere but we were unsure where that might be. As I  thought and rethought through all my emotions around this whole issue over the last few weeks, I had my ups and downs about it all. I didn't understand. I felt frustrated. I even had moments of wanting to just get on a plane and head West and forget the ship. And yet, the thing that kept tugging at my heart. The message I am constantly feeling I need to remember is that THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME. This is NOT about US. God is not allowing this all to happen so that we ("the Africa Mercy") can  learn something and get redirected to where he really wanted us to be all along. This isn't his master plan to undo the "wrong" course we were on before.  God is sovereign and good and he is working good out of terrible evil. This Ebola outbreak is devastating to millions and we need to continue to fall on our knees in prayer for God's mercy.  The fact that this tiny little virus has completely rerouted this large ship several times is but a small testament to it's destructive power.  If we are so affected, just imagine those living in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.  We are not equipped to help with the problem and so if we want to continue to help African's in need of life-changing surgeries we knew we had to get a good distance away from West Africa to protect ourselves and our patients.  This is a decision that comes with a deep sense of loss and hurt as we leave a part of Africa that this ship knows so intimately and while they are in a deep time of need.  I know many of us were torn as we so desperately want to open the doors to our hospital again, but we also are broken hearted to see West Africa suffer.

 

 

So many, many hours of meetings took place and God has led us somewhere new. We will not forget about those in West Africa who are suffering so much. We will continue to pray and help as we can. We will support our 19 crew members from those nations. But in the midst of the tragedy, we will continue on.  In the midst of the devastation, the Lord has led us to a new area and we are excited!

Enter plan D: Madagascar! We all really want to stay in Africa. We feel that the Lord has led the ship to this continent for this time.  Most of Western Africa is not safe for our ship right now. We reached out to the government there and they accepted us quickly.  This is a country that has been sensationalized by among other things the Madagascar movies and yet they have an extremely weak medical system and a lot of need.  So it has been decided that we will go to Madagascar.  The ship is now on the water (we left Saturday). How amazing that God would open up something so unexpected!

Do you remember your geography?

Yep, that's it!

It will take us 18 days (or so) to sail to South Africa. We will stop there to refuel and allow our advance team to sort as much out as they can in the country before we get there.  It will then be about a week longer to sail from South Africa to Madagascar.  What an adventure.  I have been so amazed that at this time of complete unknowns and transition that our crew has stayed mostly positive. People are excited about what this next field service will bring. We are eager to see what God will do in this new region. We are excited to be able to serve a people and a region not yet served by the Africa Mercy. (A previous ship, the Anastasis, did serve in Madagascar in 1996).  Please pray for us as we arrange for this next season. Pray for the advance team that will have a HUGE amount of work to do to prepare the way for the ship. Pray for traveling mercies and successful completion of the work being done on the ship.

We are currently here (see how far that is!):

 

 

We are excited about what is next but we are so sad for West Africa and feel grieved that we cannot stay to help. As the Ebola news becomes "old news", please don't stop praying for the millions who are affected by this terrible outbreak. Though "only" 4000+ are sick; MANY, MANY more are affected as economies and governments suffer. Please pray with us for God's mercy and for international collaboration to stop this outbreak.

We will keep you updated as we sail and specific dates fall into place. Please pray for our advance team that has  a HUGE job to do to prepare the way (last minute) for us to arrive. Thank you for your many prayers!

 

 

While we wait

I have this whole blog just waiting to be posted about what is next for us, for Mercy Ships.  However, some details about our plans are still being worked out so we've been asked to wait to post any information about it just yet.  I thought that while we wait I'd share some pictures with you!  We have been "waiting" for quite a while. Waiting to get back onto the ship, waiting for plans about what country will be next, waiting for propeller issues to be resolved, waiting on news about Ebola in West Africa, waiting again to see what country we might be going to, waiting to sail, waiting for direction, waiting on God.  For John and I, all this waiting has, at times, been difficult but the time has also been full of really great things. After all, the Canary Islands are not a bad place to be "stuck".

When we did move back onto the ship after our long stint in the hotel several weeks ago, we got to move into a bigger cabin. We feel so blessed to have so much more space than we did before! Here are some pictures of our new place:

Cabin #5233

 

View from doorway. Jack's room on left, bathroom, girls' room and our room on right.

Bathroom

Jack's room. Murphy bunks on right and his crib on the left.

View from the bunks

 

 

Girls' room

They can actually play in their room now! (and, yes, it always looks this nice :) )

 

Our room

Our new room is about 3x the size of our room in our old cabin

 

"Kitchen"

View from kitchen into living space

The girls' favorite place, the art nook

 

View from the windows back towards the front door

One of the things I love most about what we are doing is that even though our plans and locations change, our home stays the same.  We are so thankful to call this cabin home!! 

Since our home is constant, the kids really haven't had any issue with all of the waiting.   To be honest, I'm not sure they really even understand.  They will ask periodically "when are we going back to Africa?", but really (as you can see), they are enjoying their time of waiting.  I have tried to learn from them. . .to live in the moment and make the best of it.

 Playing at one of the great parks in town!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner on the boardwalk! (including gluten-free pizza) :)

 

 

Jack liked the pizza too!

 

 

 

. . .and amazing ice cream!

 

 

 

Enjoying playing on the play deck ("deck 7")

 

 

Hopefully we will be able to share some exciting news about our future destination with you next week!

Fear of . . .

First off I just want you all to know that we are back on the ship after spending 5 1/2 weeks in a hotel while repairs were done on the ship.  It was a good time away but we are SO thankful to be back home.  We are in a larger cabin and Jack is SO happy to have his own room (and so are Mommy and Daddy).  The girls started school this week and from the inside all looks "normal" again.  It is a sweet place to be.

However, in the midst of all that normal stuff we are being confronted daily with the terrible Ebola outbreak.  Physically we are safe, as we are a good distance from all that is going on.  But the devastation of the illness and the effects it is having  people of the countries in which we have served is so hard to watch. We hurt for our fellow crew members with family there (and there are many). There is so much to say about all of this and this is my second attempt at a blog about the Ebola issue.  The first attempt included the facts and figures about Ebola and the grim picture that is West Africa right now.  After rereading through the blog, I realized that the focus was all wrong. By now, you probably know about Ebola and (at least) vaguely what is going on.  If not you can read this.

What is going on with Ebola is real and it is devastating. . .but it is NOT the entire picture.  As I have been praying through all of this I was looking up verses on fear in the Bible. As I was doing this I realized that the word fear is used far more to speak of fearing God than of fearing other things.   It got me thinking that our focus needs to not be on the fear and devastation of this horrific illness but rather on the Great Physician, the Father of these people, the God of the Universe. What I DON'T know is the answers to WHY this is happening. But what we DO know is that God loves these people and is grieving all that is going on. I think he wants our hearts to break over it as well but I do not think he wants us to feel hopeless or overwhelmed by it all.  He wants us to be falling on our knees before him in response instead of dwelling on the horrors. These are words I desperately need to hear and remember as we deal with the ramifications of this outbreak on the work we are doing.

Many of you have expressed concern about our safety. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that we have also felt fear and concern over our safety. We already changed course once. We were supposed to be sailing to Guinea in two days but we decided to go to Benin instead due to Ebola in Guinea back in April.  Now we are two days away from our initial sail date to Benin and we are having to reassess again. While Benin does not currently have any documented cases of Ebola, Contonou, Benin is very close to Lagos, Nigeria where there are, indeed, cases. Because of this, the organization has made the decision to stay in the Canary Islands (where we are right now) for an additional 2 weeks.  Our sail date is now August 29th.  However, we are not yet sure where we will sail.  Maybe Benin will be considered "safe enough". But maybe not.  If not Benin, then where? The leadership of this organization has some HUGE decisions to make. This is unchartered territory. No one knows what the right decision is. How far away from Ebola is "far enough"?

This is the point where I start to feel overwhelmed and worried.  And, thankfully, this is also the point where God has been reassuring me.  He is not limited to loving people of only a certain nation or continent. He is not limited in how he can use the amazing people on this vessel or the resources we have. He is not limited in working only in ways that we have worked in the past.  He is not limited by this outbreak.  He still loves EVERY PERSON on this planet and I know that He is not going to let a ship full of willing people do NOTHING while there is MUCH to be done.

So, the plan is this:  To wait in the Canary Islands for 2 more weeks while many prayers are prayed and strategic planning is done.  Then to sail to wherever GOD decides he wants us to be for whatever amount of time he chooses. Is this comforting?  Well, I happen to be someone that is super fond of plans and control and so I am still daily having to give this up but the more I pray and read, the more peace I have that God is going to surprise us all with all he has in store for us this year.  I am confident that it won't look at all like what any of us thought and I’m beginning to realize that maybe that's exactly how we want it to be. Maybe not having a perfect plan, a perfect schedule, not having things look just like they have in the past or just like we want and hope them to look is exactly what we all need. We need to be in a place where we can trust more fully and let God be the center of what we are doing. When I look at it like that I feel excitement and anticipation about what this year will hold. So I can't give you details of the where but we can say that the WHAT is going to be a picture of our Great God doing Great things in a Great Nation. 

Thank you for continuing to pray for us, but please also be on your knees for the people of West Africa who have been ravaged by this disease.  And please pray, also, for the leadership of this organization as they have some VERY difficult decisions to make. We appreciate you and are thankful that you have chosen to walk this journey with us.

We feel confident in how Mercy Ships continues to deal with these unexpected situations in a prayerful and professional manner so we also wanted to include these statements from Mercy Ships:

 

"As its hospital ship, the Africa Mercy, prepares to leave for its ten-month mission to perform life-changing surgeries and train local healthcare professionals in Benin, West Africa, Mercy Ships continues to be acutely aware of the Ebola situation in the region. The organization is taking appropriate steps to protect its volunteers and staff. In April, Mercy Ships redirected its upcoming mission from Guinea to Benin out of caution for the safety of its crew. Benin has no reported cases of Ebola. 

The Africa Mercy is the world's largest civilian hospital ship, designed to operate as a surgical specialty hospital. It is not configured to provide the type of treatment required by Ebola patients.  In addition to having changed its itinerary, Mercy Ships has also implemented strict travel restrictions to the affected areas and will continue to monitor the situation closely, making programmatic adjustments as needed.
Founder Don Stephens commented, “The well-being of our patients and dedicated crew is our greatest priority. It is fundamental to our continued service to the forgotten poor in Africa. Our prayers go out for the countries impacted by Ebola. These are places and people we know well because we have served them in multiple visits over more than two decades.”

 

"Due to recent reports from the region of West Africa on the threat of Ebola, Mercy Ships has decided to delay the departure of the Africa Mercy hospital ship from the shipyard  in the Canary Islands to Cotonou, Benin until 29th August 2014.  This will allow Mercy Ships to monitor the situation in the region and assess the feasibility of a safe field service in Benin.  Don Stephens, Mercy Ships President and Founder, has reiterated that “the safety of our crew is the most important element in this decision.  Mercy Ships remains committed to our continued service to the forgotten poor in Africa."

Peter Schulze
Managing Director
Mercy Ships

Not a Vacation but Refreshing

At the end of every field service, the ship needs a little (or sometimes big) tune up. Ships are not designed to sit in a port for 10 months and not move. It's kind of like taking your car and just driving it in bumper to bumper traffic all the time. Each year we have been with Mercy Ships, the Africa Mercy has come to the Canary Islands for its maintenance period. The Canary Islands are beautiful and do provide a chance to recharge after a long field service.  

For many, this is chance to go home for a bit or take a holiday somewhere. There is no hospital running and flights from Europe are much cheaper than flights from Africa. The work that goes on while we are in country is hard and stressful and feels non-stop and people take the rest that is needed before gearing up for the next field service. Our family did that last year, returning to the States for a month before I headed back to the ship to start the Congo field service. This year, since we only returned in March after Jack was born, we have stuck around for the maintenance period.

Last year, I was the only one of my staff to actually leave for an extended period so our finance functions went on without me. This year, most of my staff have either left the ship or are taking a much deserved break. So it was needed that I stay. This rest period has been anything but for me as I was doing many of the finance tasks that my staff usually does so well. As the director, I know how things work and the outcomes but until now was not as well versed in the details of the different roles. This has been quite the crash course. At one point, I was monitoring five different emails and officially had four positions on the ship. After this time, I am even more thankful for the wonderful staff I get to work with every day.

In addition, being here has allowed me to witness all the other incredible work that has been going on during our time here. The ship is a construction zone with all the different projects going on. The local shipyard personnel have repaired our rudders and propellers, cleaned and painted the hull, cleaned fresh water tanks, replaced our hospital flooring and other large projects. In addition we have many people come here just for this phase as projects assistants and provide the much needed TLC our ship needs. These projects people have done everything from replace pipes, lay new floor, replace ovens, rewire electrical, update equipment, welding and building furniture.  They do all this in quite uncomfortable conditions. The ship is out of the water and the services are diminished. Running water on the ship comes and goes. There is no ventilation and so it is very hot inside. Imagine doing construction work inside a tin can that sits in the bright sunshine for about 15 hours a day and doing that at times with no running water. All of our project people come from all over to work in a difficult environment so we can have an efficient, effective and comfortable environment to do the work we do the other 10 months of the year. There are people here in their 70s all the way down to twenty-somethings doing all of these things along side each other.

They have accomplished a ton. When we go into this phase we have three levels to accomplish. Level 1 has to get done. Level 2 is important but we can go on if it does not get done and Level 3 are things we don’t think we will get to but would be nice. We have had more staff this year than in a long time for this phase and they work hard. We are just about done with the Level 3 stuff and there is still over a week left.

Here comes the refreshing part. These projects personnel do this out of the limelight as well. This is not Africa, there is no hospital or patients and a much reduced crew. But there is joy in the work going on and I can tell they are proud to be a part of it. I like the fact that I do a job that is out of the spot light knowing my job is important so that the work of the hospital can be done. But I at least get to go down to the hospital, be with patients, hear them singing and meet the people and share stories that I am personally a part of. Our project assistants do not get any of that and that is okay with them. They gave up their time and money and come to do the necessary things without any of the stories.

Sometimes it's okay if there isn't a story. I need to remember that. I want God to do great things using me that creates great stories and He does, but it isn't about me. Sometimes God needs us to be the pages and the ink and the binder and such things. These things need to be there when the Author comes to write the stories.

Here is a couple of pictures to give you an idea of the transformation that happens to the ship during this time. This is just one example of all the work that is accomplished here.

   

Upon Arrival

Now

What's up?

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 1^st 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 90^th 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!