Akwaaba to Ghana!



Our welcome party on the dock



How to describe Ghana...  Wonderful, amazing, beautiful, fun, westernized.  The first thing we notice is the cleanliness of the port.  It's a huge, modernized port, no trash in the water, the docks are in good repair & there are street lights.  As we move out into the community beyond the security gates of the port, we see traffic circles, stop lights, toll roads & malls!  We almost have to remind ourselves that we are still in West Africa.  Then our taxis breaks down in the middle of traffic, & we feel right at home :)

Our time here in Ghana is a time to relax, enjoy the holiday & prepare for our next field service, which will be in Togo.  We got to take the week off between Christmas & New Years to "see the sights".  Our port in Tema is about an hour's drive from the capital of Accra.  We can take a taxis there to see the cultural museum, the craft market & to a real-live mall- complete with food court & movie theater!



Ginger by a Coke-Cola coffin



I find a fish coffin



Ghana is known for, of all things, their coffins.  As we drive down the road between Tema & Accra, we often see them displayed in shops.  At first we didn't know they were coffins, they can make a coffin to look like anything.  We saw giant coke bottles, cameras, cars, cell phones, an eagle, just to name a few.  We stopped at one of the work shops to see some up close (a little morbid, I know) & were amazed at the size & creativity of the coffins.



Canopy walk



The Davies Family on the bridges



One day we got very adventurous & headed out in a tro-tro (a van taxis) to Cape Coast, a 3 1/2 hour ride to Kakum National Forest.  This is a wonderful park that is home to a large herd of wild elephants & monkeys & other creatures of the rainforest.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any of these, but we did get to take the opportunity to do the canopy walk.  For about 15 Ghana cedis ($9), we walked at eye level with the forest's canopy.  Seven bridges, spanning from tree to tree 40m in the air was quite exciting. 



Its an interesting feeling being eye level with a tree



Trying to smile 40m up





The main gate



The female dungeon- held 150



After our "death-defying" walk through the trees, we headed closer to the coast to Elmina, the home of one of the castles used during the slave trade.  A very powerful & sombering feel to the castle, which was built in the late 1400's for trade of gold & ivory, before switching to human trade by the Portuguese, before it was taken over by the Dutch & then the English.  Even though, the castle hasn't been used for slavery since 1814, the feeling (& smell) still remains.  We took a tour of the castle, including the female & male slave dungeons & the Gate of No Return- a very narrow opening that the captives, chained together, left the castle to board the waiting ships, never to return.  A plaque is in place on the walls of this historical castle, remembering all those that lost their lives & their freedom within those walls.



Give you an idea how small the gate is



The Gate of No Return

My aunt & uncle have been missionaries here in Ghana over the years & had friends here.  Through their connections, I meet Donne & his wife, Gloria, who run a Bible college in the northern part of Ghana.  They graciously took me & my friend, Penny, out to see the sights of Accra & treated us to lunch at a very nice restaurant.  It was a nice day out & about.



Donne, Jen, Penny & Gloria



Blessings

Akwaaba = Welcome  (pronounced- ack-wha-ba)

A Very Merry African Christmas

As I sit here writing my Christmas blog to everyone, I am listening to Christmas carols being played in the café area.  The ship has been attacked by Christmas elves, who have out done themselves in making sure we know it’s the Christmas season- even when it 90 degrees outside with HIGH humidity. 

Our Advent wreath

The Christmas season starts at Advent, which we harold in with the lighting of our Advent wreath (with real fire- the ship is very cautious when it comes to open flames on board) The Town Square- which is the centrally located social area of the ship, was decorated very nicely & soon other areas of the ship started to look a little more festive. 

Santa Lucia- a Scandinavian tradition

The gangway gets a festive makeover

Bekah helps decorate

Christmas is a very unique time onboard a ship that has over 30-some different cultures.  Even with the number of crew onboard at a bare minimum (most people went home at the end of the outreach in Sierra Leone, or went on Christmas holiday), the holiday spirit is quite high.  So far we’ve had Christmas stories & plays, Christmas crafts & cookie baking, a Christmas fair & lots of caroling.  We’ve learned about the Star of Bethlehem (a great documentary- I highly recommend it) & the Magi.  But most of all, it’s a time for us to relax & remember the good gift God gave us.

Merry Christmas from the OR

One of the favorite activities was the door decorating contest, where you could decorate either your personal cabin door or your department door.  The OR got together & made a very creative nativity scene out of medical supplies, the angels were made out of gauze & foley straps, the sheep out of cotton balls, the star- made out of an OR record sheet- lit up with a headlight & the manger was an eye shield.  It was titled: “Gl-OR-y to God in the highest”.  It received the award for “best use of departmental supplies”. 

The hallway is lined with shoes

I spent Christmas Eve day roaming a craft market here in Ghana with friends.  We had lunch at a real KFC (at this point, it’s the little things that make us happy).  We got back to the ship in time to get cleaned up for a very nice Christmas Eve dinner of ham, turkey, potatoes & so many good things for dessert.  After dinner, we had a Christmas Eve service & then it was time to put our shoes outside our door for the little elves to fill (it’s a Mercy Ships tradition).  Between midnight & 2 am, the halls were full of these little elves, as they left goodies outside people’s cabins. 

My Christmas shoe outside my cabin

Gingerbread Ship

Christmas morning brunch

In the morning, the Christmas festivities continued, with a large brunch.  All you could eat buffet.  Some of us didn’t even get out of our pajamas the entire day.  It was a good day to be lazy, with more movies & activities throughout the day. 

It was harder than I thought it would be, being away from family on the holidays.  And even though I got to spend it with good friends, it was my first Christmas away from family.  I miss you all very much & hope you all have a wonderful, merry Christmas.  May God bless you all this coming year!

Blessings

You Can’t Discover New Oceans Until You Are Willing to Lose Sight of the Shore

The last Land Rover goes up

After weeks of planning, preparing, packing & praying, the time came for us to pull up anchor (so to speak- it was more like untie the mooring lines) & leave Sierra Leone.  Saturday morning was met with anticipation, as we watched the last of the Land Rovers get loaded onboard & we spent the morning enjoying the solid ground under our feet.  We left shortly after noon with a small group of our friends, who were staying behind, there on the dock to see us off.  As we pulled away from the dock, where the ship has been since February, the captain blew the ship’s horn in farewell.  The ships up & down the port answered in a fitting farewell.  Soon, we gathered speed & we lost sight of Sierra Leone.

Saying goodbye

A little history of our ship, the Africa Mercy.  Before Mercy Ships bought her, she was a train ferry in Denmark, the Dronning Ingrid.  She isn’t the most graceful ship, she looks like a floating box, & sails like one too.  Because of her flat bottom hull, she tends to roll quite a bit & snap back up to a vertical position quickly, making for a very unsettling ride at times.  One of the most entertaining things to do during the sail is to watch people walk down the hall, weaving back & forth, bumping into walls.  Its like climbing a mountain & running downhill at the same time.  Quite hilarious!  Sitting in rolling chairs, trying to do computer work, is another challenge.  I have two filing cabinets on either side of me which I have pulled out the bottom drawers of each in the hopes of corralling my wayward chair.  For the most part it works, but every once in awhile, a big swell will come & across the room we go!

A sunset at sea

Flying fish

To be fair, the sail has been pretty smooth.  My last sail, the swells would break over the bow & soak the bridge windows, 3 decks up, so we can’t complain too much.  Speaking of the bow, it’s the social hangout during the day.  When we are in port, the bow is closed due to all the lines & other hazards, but when we are sailing, all those things are gone & it’s a nice big open space for the kids to run & play & for us older kids to eat & relax.  Its also a great place to see flying fish, sunsets, dolphins & whales. 



If you look closely- that's a whale's fin



Our second full day at sea, while we were enjoying our after dinner bow time, we spotted spouts of water in the distance.  As we watched these spouts become more frequent & coming closer, we realized that the spouts were whales!  Even though we didn’t get to see much more than the occasional water spout & a fin, we were pretty psyched about it. 




One of our entertainers



The next afternoon, an announcement came on overhead stating that a large pod of dolphins were spotted off the port side.  Of course, we all dropped what we were doing & ran up to deck 7 to see.  A pod of over 100 dolphins were racing towards us, jumping & playing in the waves.  It was amazing to see!  They would come up to our ship, check it out & scoot away, all in a blink of an eye.  Soon they dropped back & the show was over.

That was until supper time.  The pod was back, & this time playing in our bow wave.  Groups of about 20 at a time would come up & swim just under our bow.  Than, with a burst of speed, leap out of the water in front of the ship, some would show off & throw a flip in.  Even though the sunset & the bow closed for the night, we were told those dolphins followed us until sunrise the next morning.



The entire pod comes to check us out



Bunkering in process



Yesterday was a first for our ship, the Africa Mercy.  We received fuel at sea (the maritime term is called “bunkering”).  It’s a common place procedure in the Navy & fleets all over the world, but we have never done something like this before.  So at dinner last night, we watched through our windows, as another ship, a large tanker ship, came along side of us, tied up to us & gave us fuel.  It was scary for a bit, watching this large ship so close to ours rise & fall with the swells, but like I said, this is something that they (the other ship) does all the time & they made it look easy.  It took all night to fuel, but by 11 this morning, they untied & went off to meet with the next ship they need to refuel.  A special thanks to everyone who prayed for a safe refueling, we were very nervous about this new to us procedure.  But all went well.

The plan is to arrive in Tema, Ghana tomorrow.  What time that will happen or if we’ll have to wait until Friday is unknown.  I’m looking forward to being on land again, but I will miss all the sea life that came to say hello to us on our sail. 

Thanks again for all the prayers & well wishes.

Blessings

Thank Yous & Goodbyes

The serving crew

When you come to the end of something, often times you have to thank the people who have helped you along the way.  Its no different for us at the end of an outreach.  So many people, within the Sierra Leone community, helped us- from the day workers who acted liked translators & worked in different departments, to the Minister of Health.  We took several times during the past week to thank them for what they have done. 

Last Wednesday, we had a reception for the members of the community that helped and supported us, including the Minister of Health.  The ship needed volunteers to help serve at this function, so I got roped into helping to serve drinks.  We had to wear an official uniform, white blouse, black skirt & black dress shoes.  Needless to say, I didn't own any of that, but luckily, the ship had some that I could borrow & I asked around for a pair of black shoes.  I even got a pair of shoulder loops to make it look official! 

Spent 2 hours walking around asking people if they wanted tea or coffee, as they dined on hors d'oeuvres, served by our very own Gateway buddy- Ken.  We had steak kabobs, chicken w/ peanut sauce, chicken salad sandwiches, artichoke dip w/ homemade tortilla chips, & of course, freshly baked cookies.  Luckily, there was enough left over for us to eat after the reception- oh so yummy!

Saying goodbye to the OR day workers

Friday was a different kind of thank you.  It was the last day for our day workers & we had a big celebration for them.  Each department usually has a handful of local people working in it to help with translating & other tasks.  In the OR, we had 5- which without their help, we wouldn't have been able to talk to our patients.  So to honor them, we had a big African lunch prepared, followed by a thank you reception & ended with an ice cream social.  Even though I didn't get to work with our translators for long, its still a sad day to see them all leave.

Its also been a week of a mass exodus, as people leave to go home.  Our numbers have gone from somewhere in the 400s to somewhere in the 250s.  Its a sad time on board & constantly saying goodbye to friends is very exhausting.

Stripping to OR office's floor

As our time here in Sierra Leone winds down, we have a lot to do to get ready for the next outreach.  With the ORs completely packed, we turned our attention to our floors, they are in need for some serious TLC.  We spent the week stripping & waxing the floors in the entire hospital.  A new experience for me, never done it before, but realized it wasn't that hard, a little stinky & very dirty, but its a sense of accomplishment to see the finish product, all shiny & new looking. 

Of course, not everything revolves around packing, cleaning & saying goodbye.  We've had our times of fun & adventure too.  Last weekend, a group of us went to Banana Island, a small island just south of the ship.  To get there, we had to take a 30 minute canoe ride, an experience in itself.  There were 12 of us in the boat, plus 2 local guys.  It was a little bit of a tight fight, but very enjoyable, even if we had to bail water the entire time!

The boat ride

Bill bails the boat out

The group relaxing on the beach

The island was at one point, home to many British families back in the 1700s.  The only reminders on the island of that time is the old street lamps lining the path from the boat launch to the village, & canons lining the beach.  The beach was part of guest house owned by a very nice Greek man.  We spent the day just relaxing on the beach & enjoying the sun. 

We are expected to sail sometime this next week.  Please pray for clear weather, a safe journey & a safe, timely arrival in Tema, Ghana.

Blessings