And the Adventure Continues!

Well a lot has happened since we last posted. We sailed into Cape Town on September 29th.  We were able to enjoy our time there.  The ship was docked on the V & A waterfront which is very touristy.  There was a huge mall and many restaurants within a 5 minute walk.  We were also walking distance to the city bus tours bus stop and Two Oceans Aquarium.  The elementary students of the Academy took a field trip to the aquarium, there were so many things to see.  We were also able to visit Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. The tour guide was a former political prisoner held there.  It was an interesting tour.  We also saw penquins, ibis, and an African oystercatcher.  I am still quite amazed that we are seeing all of these things.  

These are the African Penguins.

This was Nelson Mandela's cell for much of the time he was confined.

We worked a lot while we were there too.  There were many tours of the ship.  About 5000 people visited.  Matt was very busy with all of that and I helped out on the weekend.  We spent about 17 days in Cape Town.

We visited the lovely Cape Town Botanical Gardens.

When the ship moved berths in Cape Town as the start of the sail to Madagascar there was a problem with the exhaust system in one of the engines.  So once again the ship was put in a waiting position this time, thankfully, it was only one day.  Some of us began talking and realized that for the past 6 months the ship has made plans only to have them change in some manner, whether it has been the location we are heading to, or the time frame, along with the many smaller changes that have taken place.  This has been a strain on many crew but we see the end in sight as we sail into Tomasina. 

Matt needed to go ahead of the ship to sort out some security questions.  He arrived in the capital on Friday the 17^th then Saturday took the 8 hour bus ride to the port.  Things have gone well. Me, I sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Agulhas (the southernmost place in Africa) and up into the Indian Ocean.  We were forewarned that it would be a rocky sail due to some storm systems.  The Captain and crew did the best they could and navigated us through the calmest seas possible. However, it was quite bumpy and rocky.  10 degree lists were quite normal.  Tuesday evening into Wednesday was about the worst.  Some 20 + degrees.  In the middle of the night many things came unsecure. I heard it hit 30 degrees.  I am thankful this happened at night and no one was injured. 

Another new experience -I’ve experienced Snow Days and all kids love them but I never expected to have school called off when we came on a ship to Africa.  Wednesday came to be known as a ‘Swell Day,’ many meanings to that, no school the seas were too rough.

Any way by the time this gets posted we will be in the country of Madagascar.  The excitement is building.  There are patients to screen, appointments to be made, the operating rooms and wards to set up.  So many people, specifically the medical staff have been reassigned the last few months while we’ve waited to get to our country.  They are ready.  Those of us who have had our regular jobs to do are feeling the energy of the others.  We all know God is good and has His plan and His time frame.  We just need to remember to listen and to trust Him.

The ship arrived in Tomasina, Madagascar or Tamatave as the locals call it.  Matt was on the dock  waiting along with the Advance Team.  Then many were very busy getting ready for the President and Prime Minister to arrive for a welcome ceremony and tour of the ship.  The ceremony was filled with music and dancers. This took place on the dock. There is great excitement in the country.

That’s the southern most part of Africa in the background.

Table Mountain in Cape Town.

. . . on the LONG sail

So here we are on day 16 of our sail . . . the first 13 were quite gentle, nice little rock, virtually no interruption to daily routine .. . then along came day 14 (Friday)!!

The waves and swells both increased significantly, which is entirely normal for this area.  We went from rocking 3-4 degrees on a bad patch to having one wave sequence that took us over 21 degrees port and starboard!  All around the ship you could here the crash and bang of things that had broken loose of their moorings or had been thought to be safe from moving.  Many of us spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning up things and re-securing areas that were supposed to have been fully secured before we sailed.

Since Friday we have had pretty constant 6-10 degree rolls.  If feels just like I've been on the kiddy roller coaster . . . for a constant 48 hours!  Neither Denise or I have felt particularly seasick, I am just ready to be done riding the roller coaster!  I have a much better understanding of why sailors have to adjust their balance between sea and land.

We arrive in Cape Town tomorrow where we will stay for about 2 1/2 weeks doing promotional/recruitment work in conjunction with the South African office.  Then it is off the Madagascar!

Here are a couple pictures we took this week, separated by just a few days:

In the last entry I forgot to mention the excitement in the harbor of Gran Canaria!  A ship docked about 1,000 meters away from us started on fire.  Thankfully there were no injuries; however, the fire got bad enough they towed the hulk out to sea and sunk it . . . here are a couple pictures . . .

Time Change:  For those of you in the Central Time Zone, we are now 7 hours ahead of you .. . . when we get to Madagascar near the end of October we will be 8 hours ahead, then after you change your clocks, we will be 9 hours different.  

And We're Off!!

As many of you know, Mercy Ships has FINALLY announced country next (version 3) . . . we are on the Atlantic Ocean on our way to Madagascar via South Africa.  We left the Canary Islands a week ago and have been chugging along ever since.  We will be stopping in Capetown South Africa for about 3 weeks to support our South Africa office and to allow a few more weeks for our advance team in Madagascar.  The advance team is working feverishly to complete pre-arrival work for the ship.  This team normally has at least 4 months to do this work, in Madagascar, they will have six weeks!  As a perspective of the length of this voyage (the longest ever for the Africa Mercy), we are travelling just over 4,400 nautical miles to Capetown . . . at 12-13 miles per hour!  When we arrive in Madagascar, we will be in the port of Toamasina on the east coast and will be serving a population that is mostly new to us.

Here is an Ebola update . . . as of August 26, there were 3,069 cases including 1,552 deaths . . . as of September 14 there were 5,335 cases including 2,622 deaths.  This impact of this disease is growing at a huge rate.  On top of that, people are getting desperate in the affected countries.  Just this week, there were 8 people including pastors and government officials killed by a mob in southeast Guinea.  These people were there simply to educate others as to how to avoid Ebola and died for their efforts.  We specifically ask for prayer for the family of Rev Moise Mamy.  Rev Mamy helped to run a hospital that had close affiliation with Mercy Ships during our time in Guinea.  There are many people hurting over this loss tonight.

Last update for this entry, Denise and I have made the decision to end our time with Mercy Ships just a little early.  We will be flying back to the US somewhere between Dec 20 and Christmas.  Last year we stayed in Africa for Christmas due to only having limited time off of work and high costs of travel.  This decision, while logical, wasn't right for our family.  We vowed that we would spend Christmas with our kids this year.  Accordingly we planned on them joining us in West Africa for a couple weeks during the holiday season.  However, with the change to Madagascar, travel has greatly increased in both time and cost and significantly decreased in reliability.  So, we have decided to end this period of service in December.  On a really good note, because we discussed our challenges with Mercy Ships senior staff, replacements have already been found for our positions.  They will both be filled without an interruption in service.  We are very thankful for that!!

Here are a couple pictures from our sail today. . . it has been mostly overcast this week but after we crossed the equator in the middle of the night, the skies have cleared . . . but the ocean swells have increased!

Ebola

Well, we are still in the Canary Islands . . . why you ask?  There are two reasons, one of which is in our control and the other . . . not so much!

We are finishing working on some technical issues with the propulsion system of the ship, and let me tell you, I'm quite happy to have these wonderful talented people fixing the propulsion systems of  a ship on which we will sail through the oceans!  Those should be complete this week.

The second is Ebola.  As most of you know, the target service area of the Africa Mercy is what we refer to as the "15x15 grid" that is 15 degrees north and south of the equator and 15 degrees east and west of the prime meridian.  This covers 17 countries in West and Central Africa, but it also the area that has Ebola.

Here is the latest update from the World Health Organization on statistics of those infected with Ebola:

Disease update

As of 26 August 2014, the cumulative number of cases attributed to EVD in the four countries stands at 3069, including 1552 deaths. The distribution and classification of the cases are as follows: Guinea, 647 cases (482 confirmed, 141 probable, and 25 suspected), including 430 deaths; Liberia, 1378 cases (322 confirmed, 674 probable, and 382 suspected), including 694 deaths; Nigeria, 17 cases (13 confirmed, 1 probable, and 3 suspected), including 6 deaths; and Sierra Leone, 1026 cases (935 confirmed, 37 probable, and 54 suspected), including 422 deaths.

Confirmed, probable, and suspect cases and deaths from Ebola virus disease in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone

	Confirmed	Probable	Suspect	Totals
Guinea
Cases	482	141	25	648
Deaths	287	141	2	430
Liberia
Cases	322	674	382	1 378
Deaths	225	301	168	694
Nigeria
Cases	13	1	3	17
Deaths	5	1	0	6
Sierra Leone
Cases	935	37	54	1 026
Deaths	380	34	8	422
Totals
Cases	1 752	853	464	3 069
Deaths	897	477	178	1 552

However, this is a disease that reared it's ugly head in December 2013.  You might say 3,000 cases in 9 months, that's not too bad . . . then we start taking a closer look at what isn't revealed in the simple numbers: 40% of these cases have occurred in the last 21 days . . . these numbers are far greater than all previously reported Ebola cases, COMBINED! . . . many sources are reporting that the "official" numbers are significantly under reported, maybe by as much as 50%.  Wait, you say, I don't see the Democratic Republic of Congo on here . . . you are right, they aren't shown in this update, but there is now Ebola there as well. Final tests of the strain of Ebola aren't in, but again many sources are reporting this likely is a separate outbreak and numbers are very unclear.  Oh, did I mention that late this week Senegal reported it's first case.

We show Ebola stats based on country but the disease doesn't know country borders . . . Africa is much more based on tribal groups rather than country borders, many of which are very porous.

What this all means to us is that, for now, we won't be going to any of the countries in our traditional service area.  Our original plan of returning to Guinea was changed in April to Benin.  This week, we were notified of the final decision to postpone our field service in Benin.  The risk is just too high and the senior management of Mercy Ships has emphasized time and again that the safety of our crew is paramount!  

Some will ask "You're a hospital ship poised to serve this area, why don't you go help with Ebola?"  It is true we are a hospital ship; however, we are a specialized surgical ship that is not equipped to deal with a disease that requires quarantine and isolation methods.  We have wards, we don't have single rooms.  Our traditional methods for screening patients brings huge crowds together.  When we conduct a screening, we widely publicize the conditions we are able to treat.  We give picture examples of the tumors, the clefts, the orthopedic deformities . . . and yet people come because they had a heart attack or their child suffers from cerebral palsy or some other medical condition that we don't treat.  Who can blame that parent of a sick child, certainly not me!  Large gatherings of sick people are exactly what this area does not need right now.

Where are we going?  This is a good question, one that is being explored by our senior management.  We should have an answer very soon.

What can you do?  Continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.  We hope this big white hospital ship will be on the move soon (hopefully within days rather than weeks) and will update you.  Above all, inform yourselves about the Ebola outbreak.  This was going on for months before two Americans contracted the disease.  Our western media wasn't paying much attention until then . . . yet people in Africa were dying. Pray for these people, look into the two organizations that are doing much of the work on the ground.  They are Doctors Without Borders and Samaritan's Purse.   These two groups have been doing great work, if it fits your giving plans, look into them!

Finally, we ask that you pray for all the West Africans affected by this horrible disease.  We have several serving as crew members here on the Africa Mercy.  They are having a tough time balancing being here on this mission with the problems faced by their friends and relatives at home.

Blessings to all, we will update as soon as country next (round 3) is finalized!

Back on the Africa Mercy

Time to begin blogging again!  First we want to thank everyone for their kindness.  We had an extremely enjoyable time in the States.  It was great to connect with family and friends face to face.  Thank you ALL for your hospitality.  There are no words to describe how grateful we are for each one of you.  We are incredibly blessed by our friends and families. Unfortunately, we did not get to see everyone we had hoped to. The good news is we will be home in about 7 months and will have more time. 

I’d have to say the best part of the summer was spending time with the boys.  It was great to see them and know they are doing well.  Thanks to everyone helping them out. 

Things are very busy here.  There are so many things to get done at the beginning of the school year.  School begins August 12^th.   Also, many people are arriving and getting ready for what’s next.

Speaking of what’s next, many of you know that Ebola has been discovered in four Western African countries.  This has caused questions regarding the mission of the ship.  The Africa Mercy is a specialized surgical hospital so Ebola is outside our scope.  Mercy Ships has emphasized that the safety of our crew is the first priority.  Because of the emphasis on crew safety the Africa Mercy, which was originally due to sail this Friday, will be delayed 2 weeks as issues, response, and contingencies are examined.

We’ve had a good time in the Canary Islands as we prepare for our next field service.  On Saturday we went up Mt. Teide, the (dormant) volcano here on the island of Tenerife.  It is over 10,000 feet high on an island that is only about 75 kilometers wide, so some of the climbs were pretty significant for our rental car. The only down side of Tenerife is that our already rotten internet is even worse, so we can’t post pictures this time.

We have updated the prayer requests on this blog, please look at them.  Please feel free to share the requests as you feel led.

Again, we can’t tell you how much we appreciate the support of all our loved ones back in the States.  We couldn’t possibly be here without you! 

Home for a while . . .

It has been a while since we wrote.  I am doing "dog duty" while Denise is at a family reunion in Iowa.  I've really enjoyed seeing my fur friends again!!!

We left Congo on May 28, travelled for 32 hours and got back to Minnesota on Thursday May 29.  Our first few days were kinda blurry while we adjusted to a new/old time zone, but after about 3 days we were normal (as normal as we can be).

Our oldest son, Josh, picked us up at the airport and spent a couple days with us at Denise's parents' home.  It was great to catch up with him and Jim and Geri.

On Sunday we were off to Colorado to catch up to youngest son Jake.  He and a friend are on an extended bike trip during which they are increasing knowledge about (and raising funds for) Mercy Ships.  We found them in Central Colorado and took them to the top of the mountains in Rocky Mountain National Park . . . shockingly, they wanted to bike down!  We then spent a couple days with Denise's sister and moved on to Grand Junction where we say the Folkers family.  It was great to see our friends, having missed them since January! 

Since we returned to Minnesota, we've been on the move, seeing friends, giving talks, and yes Playing Golf!!!!! 

We expected some challenges in "readjusting" to home.  Surprisingly, it has gone very well, we've had few incidents of true challenges.  I think it may have to do with the "Western" culture on the ship so we aren't totally removed from our "normal".

We will be in Minnesota until July 31, with trips for me and Josh to the boundary waters canoe area and a 4-day weekend at a resort with my extended family.  We still have a few openings in the calendar so if you would like to get together, let us know!

I've attached a couple photos to give you an idea of some of the places we've been since coming home.

 

How else could you bike at 12,000 feet except wearing your best flannel??

 

Yes, the Twins won!!!

 

 

We will be here for another month, enjoying family, friends, and Minnesota activities.  Then it is back to the Africa Mercy until March 2015 when that season of our life will be complete.

Saying Goodbye to our Congolese Partners

This post will be just a little different . . . it is devoted to honoring those who live here in the Republic of Congo who serve along side us.

Each year Mercy Ships employs over 200 local people.  They aren't paid much and perform a great variety of tasks from standing watch in the engine room to working with the deck crew to translating.  The three areas I was most familiar with were our dental crew, our eye team crew, and our security partner.  Allow me to tell you a little about these wonderful people:

Eye Team - These men and women moved around the city with us helping out at each screening activity. They translated from French and Lingala so that both provider and patient were comfortable.  They learned specific diagnostic tests from visual acuity exams to running the refractometer.  For me specifically, they came along side as I worked to control the lines at screening.  They would provide me cultural cues to assess the tension in the line, they taught me local phrases to gain acceptance among the people . . . Mbote, Wafaso? (that means good day, how are you?)

Dental Team - These people worked in several area of the dental clinic.  They helped control patient flow, they staffed the sterilization area, they became dental assistants, and as with everywhere else, they were our voice to the people.  Again, for me, these people were great help in my screening lines!

Security - We started with two men working security; however, neither worked out.  Soon, a man who was working in our reception department showed that he had what it took to work with us so he was transferred to our department.  I have great respect for him, he took in stride when I would yell at the contract guard service, when I would ask him to find the port security officer to sign a visitor request because the visit had abruptly changed time . . . and visitors . . . , when I would drag him with me to interpret at jails, police stations, and offices of police and military leaders.  He taught me a great deal about Congo and for that I am thankful!

So, yesterday, we had a celebration with our partners to commemorate many of their last day with us.  It is bittersweet . . . for us, we are moving on to the next country, Benin, where we will have the honor of meeting a whole new set of day crew, to develop relationships and to learn from . . . but we leave a piece of our hearts here in Congo with the people who have so honored us by being our partners, mentors and friends.

I pray God's blessing on my friends, Bona, Samy, Saul, Max, Jean-Paul, Guy Christian, Judicail . . . I could add 100 other names here!

Here are a couple of pictures from our celebration yesterday . . . we were honored that our day crew arrived in their finest dress . . . let me tell you, no one knows how to celebrate like a bunch of joyous Congolese men and women!!!!

This is Bona, our security partner

This is my friend, Samy, one of the eye team crew

This is the Congolese team of day crew who led our celebration.

See many of you in a few weeks!  Please pray for our safe travel and that it doesn't take too long to get past jet lag!