Our ship sails under the flag of Malta. 
Sunset over Freetown and the Atlantic.
On every dry evening you will find a few dozen people taking photos of the sunset on Deck 8.
Our ship sails under the flag of Malta. Sunset over Freetown and the Atlantic.
On every dry evening you will find a few dozen people taking photos of the sunset on Deck 8.
On Tuesday afternoon I spent several hours at Cheshire House, a home for children and adults who all have Polio or some other Polio-like physical deformity. It was SO much fun! The kids just throw themselves at you, wanting love and affection, and I am more than happy to give it. In Benin, most of the little kids run away screaming when they see a Yovo, but these kids are used to it and were running to greet us. We did a short story with them and then a craft, talking about the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-14) and then just played. The kids who could jump rope loved it. The new profile photo on the right is me with one of the little girls. Here are a few other photos...
Mercy Love!!! K
Two-year-old Josephine inhaled something that affected her breathing. Her parents, David and Judith, could hear the rattle with every struggling breath. They took her to a local clinic which sent them to an emergency hospital . . . which sent them to a government hospital . . . which sent them to a satellite clinic . . . which sent them back to the government hospital. After five days in the government hospital, specialist Dr. Karim Kabineh told them that Josephine was so tiny that she would die if he performed the necessary operation. He needed a pediatric anesthetist, anesthesia equipment, and a critical care unit with 24-hour nursing care – all unavailable at that hospital.
After eight days of hopeless searching for help, the desperate parents took Josephine to the office of the Minister of Health, where David hoped to plead his case and find someone who could help. At that moment – in the miracle of God’s timing – Ann Gloag, a member of the Mercy Ships International Board who is well-known for her charity work in Africa, was meeting with the Minister.
As this compassionate woman walked by the family sitting in the reception area, she heard the labored breathing of little Josephine. She put in a call to Dr. Gary Parker, Chief Medical Officer onboard the Africa Mercy, the hospital ship docked a short distance away in Freetown Harbor. After explaining to him what appeared to be the problem, arrangements were made to use an ambulance to transport Josephine, her parents and Dr. Kabineh to the ship.
Dr. Gary examined Josephine, took x-rays and discovered a small stone lodged in the little girl’s bronchus. A virtual think tank was begun to find a way to remove the stone from her tiny body. Dr.Gary approached engineering to see if a medical device could be fashioned that would be the right shape to fit into the bronchoscope and retrieve the stone. Every plausible idea was examined and eventually rejected.
Dr. Gary and Dr. Kabineh worked for five hours trying to remove the stone without success. Dr. Gary called Ann back to explain that what Josephine needed was a cardiac thoracic surgeon, and there wasn’t one on the ship. David was devastated. Mercy Ships was his last hope. But crew member Clementine Tengue encouraged him, saying, “God will find a way.”
Josephine was admitted to the intensive care unit with 24-hour care. About 3:00 am, ICU Nurse Melissa Warner was working the night shift when Josephine lost her breathing tube. Her vital signs were crashing. Dr. Michelle White, the pediatric *anesthetist/ anesthesiologist, was paged, but it would take her several minutes to respond. “In my mind, I said ‘I need help!’”Melissa said. “And when I looked up, there was Corina Buth standing in the doorway in her pajamas!” Corina, a pediatric ICU nurse from the Netherlands, had been restless and couldn’t sleep. Corina did CPR, and Josephine’s vital signs returned to normal. Then Dr. Michelle arrived and replaced the breathing tube.
Josephine’s condition was rapidly deteriorating. Analysis was made of the hospitals nearby. Ghana had the required surgeon, but he was absent at that time, and the travel expense to South Africa was prohibitive.
Meanwhile, Ann had phoned a professor friend of hers in Nairobi and explained that she needed a pediatric cardiac thoracic surgeon who could fly to Sierra Leone right away. The professor knew just the right man – Dr. James Munene, head of cardiac surgery at Nairobi’s Kenyatta National Hospital. Although it was quite late, he phoned Dr. James, explained the problem and asked him to go to Sierra Leone to operate on Josephine.
“Wait!” Dr. James said, rather forcefully. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“Just talk to this lady,” the professor responded.
Ann called a few minutes later and told the doctor he needed to fly immediately to Freetown where his skills were urgently needed.
“I was a bit reluctant,” said Dr. Munene. “I had never heard of Mercy Ships. I had no information on this case, and it was the middle of the night!”
Ann called back with information on his flight. “Be at the airport at 6:00 a.m.,” she said.
“It was a little difficult to say no to the lady. I told my wife, ‘I guess I’m going to Sierra Leone in the morning,’” Dr. Munene said.
Then Dr. Gary called to say he was emailing information and x-rays of Josephine.
“I was thinking, ‘It’s not happening! It didn’t sound real!’ But by 1:00 a.m., I had the ticket and all the necessary papers ... and there I was at the airport at 6:00 a.m..,” explained Dr. James.
This confident specialist with the gentle demeanor landed at Lungi Airport, not yet totally comprehending the situation. And he still had to endure the bumpy boat ride across the bay to Freetown. “It was surreal!” he admitted.
Dr. James was overwhelmed by the Africa Mercy, the more than 400 crew members volunteering from 35 different countries, and the concept of bringing hope and healing to the forgotten poor. He couldn’t believe such a mission could have been in operation for so many years, and he didn’t know anything about it.
Teaming with Dr. Gary, Dr. James operated on Josephine, fishing the stone out of her bronchus with ease. Because Josephine was so tiny, it was a vital requirement to have a pediatric anesthetist as part of the team. Dr. Michelle White was serving in this capacity at the time and was a vital part of the team. “Working with such a tiny body, I wouldn’t have proceeded without her,” said Dr. James.
Josephine awoke shortly after the surgery and sat up on the gurney all the way to the Intensive Care Unit, looking around and asking for a glass of water. To everyone’s surprise, she was anxious to eat right away. After a few days of recuperating in the ICU – and enjoying the attention of the nurses and other crew members – the little girl and her grateful parents left the ship.
In reviewing this story, it is amazing to see the many things that had to happen for this tiny girl to survive. Her parents had to keep her alive for eight days after she inhaled the stone. Ann Gloag had to be visiting the office of the Minister of Health at the same time that David, Judith, and Josephine were there. Dr. James Munene had to agree to perform a surgery for an organization of which he had never heard; and Nurse Corina had to be drawn to the ICU because she couldn’t sleep. This incredible timing and all of these wonderful people were part of the miracle that allowed Josephine to grin happily as she left the Africa Mercy as a healthy little girl.
Dr. James was captivated by the mission and hopes to return to volunteer his services. “Really, it’s a privilege to come and see what people are doing while others are sleeping and doing nothing,” he said.
And God never sleeps – miracles still happen every day. Sometimes we are blessed to be a part of them.
Story by Elaine B. Winn
Edited by Nancy Predaina
Photos by Gerrit Meijerink and Debra Bell
After eight days of hopeless searching for help, the desperate parents took Josephine to the office of the Minister of Health, where David hoped to plead his case and find someone who could help. At that moment – in the miracle of God’s timing – Ann Gloag, a member of the Mercy Ships International Board who is well-known for her charity work in Africa, was meeting with the Minister.
As this compassionate woman walked by the family sitting in the reception area, she heard the labored breathing of little Josephine. She put in a call to Dr. Gary Parker, Chief Medical Officer onboard the Africa Mercy, the hospital ship docked a short distance away in Freetown Harbor. After explaining to him what appeared to be the problem, arrangements were made to use an ambulance to transport Josephine, her parents and Dr. Kabineh to the ship.
Dr. Gary examined Josephine, took x-rays and discovered a small stone lodged in the little girl’s bronchus. A virtual think tank was begun to find a way to remove the stone from her tiny body. Dr.Gary approached engineering to see if a medical device could be fashioned that would be the right shape to fit into the bronchoscope and retrieve the stone. Every plausible idea was examined and eventually rejected.
Dr. Gary and Dr. Kabineh worked for five hours trying to remove the stone without success. Dr. Gary called Ann back to explain that what Josephine needed was a cardiac thoracic surgeon, and there wasn’t one on the ship. David was devastated. Mercy Ships was his last hope. But crew member Clementine Tengue encouraged him, saying, “God will find a way.”
Josephine was admitted to the intensive care unit with 24-hour care. About 3:00 am, ICU Nurse Melissa Warner was working the night shift when Josephine lost her breathing tube. Her vital signs were crashing. Dr. Michelle White, the pediatric *anesthetist/ anesthesiologist, was paged, but it would take her several minutes to respond. “In my mind, I said ‘I need help!’”Melissa said. “And when I looked up, there was Corina Buth standing in the doorway in her pajamas!” Corina, a pediatric ICU nurse from the Netherlands, had been restless and couldn’t sleep. Corina did CPR, and Josephine’s vital signs returned to normal. Then Dr. Michelle arrived and replaced the breathing tube.
Josephine’s condition was rapidly deteriorating. Analysis was made of the hospitals nearby. Ghana had the required surgeon, but he was absent at that time, and the travel expense to South Africa was prohibitive.
Meanwhile, Ann had phoned a professor friend of hers in Nairobi and explained that she needed a pediatric cardiac thoracic surgeon who could fly to Sierra Leone right away. The professor knew just the right man – Dr. James Munene, head of cardiac surgery at Nairobi’s Kenyatta National Hospital. Although it was quite late, he phoned Dr. James, explained the problem and asked him to go to Sierra Leone to operate on Josephine.
“Wait!” Dr. James said, rather forcefully. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“Just talk to this lady,” the professor responded.
Ann called a few minutes later and told the doctor he needed to fly immediately to Freetown where his skills were urgently needed.
“I was a bit reluctant,” said Dr. Munene. “I had never heard of Mercy Ships. I had no information on this case, and it was the middle of the night!”
Ann called back with information on his flight. “Be at the airport at 6:00 a.m.,” she said.
“It was a little difficult to say no to the lady. I told my wife, ‘I guess I’m going to Sierra Leone in the morning,’” Dr. Munene said.
Then Dr. Gary called to say he was emailing information and x-rays of Josephine.
“I was thinking, ‘It’s not happening! It didn’t sound real!’ But by 1:00 a.m., I had the ticket and all the necessary papers ... and there I was at the airport at 6:00 a.m..,” explained Dr. James.
This confident specialist with the gentle demeanor landed at Lungi Airport, not yet totally comprehending the situation. And he still had to endure the bumpy boat ride across the bay to Freetown. “It was surreal!” he admitted.
Dr. James was overwhelmed by the Africa Mercy, the more than 400 crew members volunteering from 35 different countries, and the concept of bringing hope and healing to the forgotten poor. He couldn’t believe such a mission could have been in operation for so many years, and he didn’t know anything about it.
Teaming with Dr. Gary, Dr. James operated on Josephine, fishing the stone out of her bronchus with ease. Because Josephine was so tiny, it was a vital requirement to have a pediatric anesthetist as part of the team. Dr. Michelle White was serving in this capacity at the time and was a vital part of the team. “Working with such a tiny body, I wouldn’t have proceeded without her,” said Dr. James.
Josephine awoke shortly after the surgery and sat up on the gurney all the way to the Intensive Care Unit, looking around and asking for a glass of water. To everyone’s surprise, she was anxious to eat right away. After a few days of recuperating in the ICU – and enjoying the attention of the nurses and other crew members – the little girl and her grateful parents left the ship.
In reviewing this story, it is amazing to see the many things that had to happen for this tiny girl to survive. Her parents had to keep her alive for eight days after she inhaled the stone. Ann Gloag had to be visiting the office of the Minister of Health at the same time that David, Judith, and Josephine were there. Dr. James Munene had to agree to perform a surgery for an organization of which he had never heard; and Nurse Corina had to be drawn to the ICU because she couldn’t sleep. This incredible timing and all of these wonderful people were part of the miracle that allowed Josephine to grin happily as she left the Africa Mercy as a healthy little girl.
Dr. James was captivated by the mission and hopes to return to volunteer his services. “Really, it’s a privilege to come and see what people are doing while others are sleeping and doing nothing,” he said.
And God never sleeps – miracles still happen every day. Sometimes we are blessed to be a part of them.
Story by Elaine B. Winn
Edited by Nancy Predaina
Photos by Gerrit Meijerink and Debra Bell
Josephine reacts playfully to the ward nurses.
David, Judith, and Josephine say goodbye to the Africa Mercy.
All smiles and stone-free!
On my flight from Lome to Accra last week the plane was a little prop job with two seats on either side of the aisle. I was in the aisle seat and next to me, at the window, was an African woman in a beautifully printed dress, obviously from West Africa.
As we were preparing to take off I was enjoying a Kit Kat bar I had bought in the Lome airport. I broke off a piece and offered it to her with no words. Now, this is standard and expected behavior in West Africa - anytime you eat something you always offer it to your neighbors, the people walking by, the taxi driver, etc. And they (nearly) always say no, thank you. If this person next to me had NOT been an obviously West African Woman I wouldn't have offered, but it felt completely natural.
When I offered it to her, she said No, Thank You. And then she said, "You're a Peace Corps volunteer?" Now, I was NOT wearing Peace Corps gear, nor did I have PC tags on my luggage or backpack or anything. So I said yes, how did you know? She said, "You are one of us."
We continued talking about how she travels often from Accra to other parts of Africa (she was the director of a NGO in Accra) and she can always tell who the Peace Corps Volunteers are. Little things like offering food, no tourist would ever do something like that, and even people who live in the cities but don't know the people well probably wouldn't do that. But Peace Corps volunteers, we become one of them... and they see that. And I agree. I am, and will always be, one of them.
K
As we were preparing to take off I was enjoying a Kit Kat bar I had bought in the Lome airport. I broke off a piece and offered it to her with no words. Now, this is standard and expected behavior in West Africa - anytime you eat something you always offer it to your neighbors, the people walking by, the taxi driver, etc. And they (nearly) always say no, thank you. If this person next to me had NOT been an obviously West African Woman I wouldn't have offered, but it felt completely natural.
When I offered it to her, she said No, Thank You. And then she said, "You're a Peace Corps volunteer?" Now, I was NOT wearing Peace Corps gear, nor did I have PC tags on my luggage or backpack or anything. So I said yes, how did you know? She said, "You are one of us."
We continued talking about how she travels often from Accra to other parts of Africa (she was the director of a NGO in Accra) and she can always tell who the Peace Corps Volunteers are. Little things like offering food, no tourist would ever do something like that, and even people who live in the cities but don't know the people well probably wouldn't do that. But Peace Corps volunteers, we become one of them... and they see that. And I agree. I am, and will always be, one of them.
K
This morning for breakfast we served eggs, bacon, and chocolate chip pancakes. It was heavenly.
Then I went to the Hope center -the first time I went off the ship! I have been thankful for this last week on board and wasn't super anxious to leave and face "Africa" again - and it worked out well as I worked for five days this week, but next week I only work two - and I am SO excited to get out and about again and experience new things!! The Hope center is the transition housing not far from the ship where patients stay who need long term care, bandage care, physical therapy, etc. There are also patients who came in for a surgery but once they got here they had malaria or were too undernourished to have their surgery, so they keep them at the Hope center until they are able to be on board. I held a lovely little baby girl who is here for a cleft palate repair and when she got here she was much too malnourished - so they are keeping her on a high-calorie, healthy feeding plan until she can withstand the surgery. This is common among patients, as many families who have children with birth defects or tumors consider them evil and hide them in their homes, or worse, fail to care for them adequately and let them die.
Anyway, I played games with the kids and then when the nurses found out that I spoke French they asked me to come back and translate for a lady who had come all the way from the Congo with her grandson. Very sad story, unfortunately his tumor is cancerous and he is not able to have surgery to remove it, but they were thankful to have had the opportunity to come here and she was thrilled to talk with me in French for nearly an hour, and to be able to say thank you to the hope center director and some of the nurses as she leaves this afternoon to return to Congo. It was just an awesome blessing for me to be able to be there and help her!!
This week a whole bunch of patients came in from Guinea for surgeries so I plan on spending some time in the hospital interacting with them! There are just not very many people here who speak any French at all, especially African French! I'm just so so so excited to be able to help out in this way, such a blessing for me and for them!!
Well, I need to make my way back to the kitchen to serve dinner shortly. I have the next two days off and plan on taking more pictures! Love to all, Krissy
Then I went to the Hope center -the first time I went off the ship! I have been thankful for this last week on board and wasn't super anxious to leave and face "Africa" again - and it worked out well as I worked for five days this week, but next week I only work two - and I am SO excited to get out and about again and experience new things!! The Hope center is the transition housing not far from the ship where patients stay who need long term care, bandage care, physical therapy, etc. There are also patients who came in for a surgery but once they got here they had malaria or were too undernourished to have their surgery, so they keep them at the Hope center until they are able to be on board. I held a lovely little baby girl who is here for a cleft palate repair and when she got here she was much too malnourished - so they are keeping her on a high-calorie, healthy feeding plan until she can withstand the surgery. This is common among patients, as many families who have children with birth defects or tumors consider them evil and hide them in their homes, or worse, fail to care for them adequately and let them die.
Anyway, I played games with the kids and then when the nurses found out that I spoke French they asked me to come back and translate for a lady who had come all the way from the Congo with her grandson. Very sad story, unfortunately his tumor is cancerous and he is not able to have surgery to remove it, but they were thankful to have had the opportunity to come here and she was thrilled to talk with me in French for nearly an hour, and to be able to say thank you to the hope center director and some of the nurses as she leaves this afternoon to return to Congo. It was just an awesome blessing for me to be able to be there and help her!!
This week a whole bunch of patients came in from Guinea for surgeries so I plan on spending some time in the hospital interacting with them! There are just not very many people here who speak any French at all, especially African French! I'm just so so so excited to be able to help out in this way, such a blessing for me and for them!!
Well, I need to make my way back to the kitchen to serve dinner shortly. I have the next two days off and plan on taking more pictures! Love to all, Krissy
Before the ship was the Africa Mercy it was a ferry in Denmark, the Dronning Ingrid.
Childrens play area on Deck 8
Freetown
View from Deck 8
We have a piece of the dock blocked off with containers for safety and security. It's like living in a lego structure. In the far right corner the white building is the eye clinic (I think... Shelly, I know you read my blog. If that is wrong, please tell me :))Life is so very good. Love to all, K
26 months in the Beninese bush has taught me a whole lot of gratitude. The fish we had for dinner last night? Incredible. The rice mish-mash of the last few dinners' leftovers? Awesome. Hot showers? (even though they are limited to two minutes) - fantastic. Coffee? Air conditioning? Ice cream? All incredible. Doesn't matter a lick that there isn't any cream for the coffee or chocolate sauce for the ice cream or that the air conditioning can have spastic moments.
My roommates and other friends on the ship have just laugh at how excited I get about absolutely everything. You would have thought that my doing laundry was a trip to disneyland. (but it was in MACHINES! WOWOWOW!!! :))
I'm really trying hard to remember to BITE MY TONGUE when people complain here. Of course I work in the dining room and have already heard my share of complaining. I've been able to be very gracious so far and find even just a smile goes a long way. I continually pray that I would hold on to this heart filled with gratitude, that it would even be contagious. That my words would be gentle but encourage others to see the all the incredible gifts and common grace that abounds around us and embrace JOY and gratitude and contentment in every breath - which is a gift to be thankful for in itself. Thank you, God, for another day and another opportunity to serve.
krissy
My roommates and other friends on the ship have just laugh at how excited I get about absolutely everything. You would have thought that my doing laundry was a trip to disneyland. (but it was in MACHINES! WOWOWOW!!! :))
I'm really trying hard to remember to BITE MY TONGUE when people complain here. Of course I work in the dining room and have already heard my share of complaining. I've been able to be very gracious so far and find even just a smile goes a long way. I continually pray that I would hold on to this heart filled with gratitude, that it would even be contagious. That my words would be gentle but encourage others to see the all the incredible gifts and common grace that abounds around us and embrace JOY and gratitude and contentment in every breath - which is a gift to be thankful for in itself. Thank you, God, for another day and another opportunity to serve.
krissy
Greetings, family and friends and faithful blog followers!!
Welcome to my new blog! I packed up my life once again into two bags, said all the necessary goodbyes, and at 11:30am on Sunday officially closed the chapter in my life called “Benin”. It was hard to say goodbye to my village the week before that, but after arriving in Cotonou and spending a week jumping through administrative hoops, I was more than ready to close that chapter and move on. I love Benin, it will always hold a very special place in my heart, I am a much stronger person now than I ever was and will be forever grateful for the opportunities I received through my Peace Corps service and the people I met and worked with.
BUT, as someone said all good things come to an end (which incidentally I don’t believe is true but that is another post for another day) and this exciting new chapter has opened, entitled “The Africa Mercy – Sierra Leone!”
Getting here was a bit of an adventure. I was a bit concerned about customs and the airport in Cotonou, technically airline employees aren’t supposed to allow you to board without a visa for the country you are going to, but Africa Mercy volunteers get visa exemptions. I had all the necessary paperwork, but was flying Asky airlines which is a regional west African airline. I can imagine that Air France, and Brussels Air, the airlines most used by Mercy crew, are used to the visa exemptions, but I can’t imagine that many crew come in on Asky airlines! But, I need not have worried. They didn’t even ask for the paperwork or barely glance at my passport. I was over my baggage allowance by 10kg, which wasn’t surprising either, and it only cost me 20.000cfa (about $40) which I still happened to have in cash. I knew I had a stop in Togo to change planes, but didn’t realize that flight would then stop in Accra, Ghana, and Monrovia, Liberia before arriving in Freetown, Sierra Leone! Five countries in about as many hours. The flight from Cotonou to Lome was only twenty minutes, and to Accra was about the same. From Accra to Monrovia was about two hours and we got served a lovely chicken meal. I thought for sure with all those stops I would get in to Freetown late, but it couldn’t have gone more smoothly! And the planes were relatively new and comfortable, I have only good things to say about Asky airlines if you ever find yourself needing to travel within West Africa!
Anyway, when I finally arrived there was someone from Mercy waiting to greet me and push me through customs, I’ve never had such an easy process. Then I got to wait about an hour at the airport for two more people coming in in a British Airlines flight from London. Once we collected the three of us we were driven to the Ferry dock where we waited for over an hour. The airport is not actually in Freetown but in a town across a huge inlet of ocean water that took about an hour to ferry across. I dozed on the ferry, by that time it was nearing midnight Benin time (Sierra Leone is one hour closer to the States, UTC or GMT+0 if you were wondering!) Once the ferry arrived on the other side, Charles and Shelly were there to greet me! They are the family I visited here on the Mercy in May of 2010 and it was so wonderful to see their familiar faces again!
Once we got to the ship we had a very short safety briefing, and a hot dinner was served to us. Heavenly. I had gotten a second wind of energy, I was so excited to have finally arrived! It’s been in the plans for a long time!! I forgot how ginormous the ship is, too – it is HUGE! I do suppose the longer I am here the smaller it may feel. We’ll see.
Anyway, finally Shelly brought me to my room. I’m on deck 4, no windows, in a room the size of your average American living room with 8 beds (4 bunk beds), two small bathrooms with showers, a kitchen-type sink, small refrigerator and microwave– its tight! I’m glad I got rid of just about everything and only brought one bag of stuff!! But the mattress was super comfortable and the room (and the ship) is well air-conditioned so I am thankful.
Monday I spent the morning finding my way around the ship, getting my crew bank account set up and crew fees paid. I drank a ton of amazingly delicious coffee and saw many people I had met on my visit last year. Monday afternoon I had my official work orientation (I work in the dining room and galley (kitchen)). Then I had my official ship tour, dinner, and safety and security orientation. I was exhausted and went to bed early but was really glad I had the day to orient myself to this new life!
Yesterday was my first day in the Dining room. Work starts at 5:45am, we get a two hour break mid-morning and a two hour break mid-afternoon, and end about 8pm. Basically I set up the dining room and then clean it up after the meals, which are served buffet style to around 500-600 people a day. There will be days I will end up working in the galley, helping prepare meals, but for now it’s just dining room. It’s really great – I’ve worked in many camp kitchens so industrial prep is not new to me. I was explaining to some of my teammates that it was really nice to just be told what to do for awhile, too. After being so independent and self-reliant for work for so long, it was really great to just wash dishes for a few hours and see the results of my labor immediately. I’ll probably dive deeper into this in another post. But for now, suffice it to say I was thrilled to find out I was in the dining room and think it’ll be a great place to serve during this season.
I’m consistently amazed at all the awesome people I have met and get to work with. My immediate supervisor is from Ghana and has been with Mercy for 8 years. I work closely with people from America, Canada, the UK, Holland, Korea, and Australia. I’ve met people from Germany, Cameroon, Benin, Switzerland, Togo, South Africa, and have heard at least a dozen different languages spoken. One of my teammates in the dining room is from Togo so we were speaking French most of yesterday.
Today I am not working so I did some laundry, in laundry machines, not by hand. It was beautiful and my clothes came out CLEAN and DRY! Amazing. I’ve put up some pictures around my bed and finished up my needed paperwork. It’s a good day!
I promise to take some pictures in the next couple of days and get them posted. Anyway, this post is getting really long so I’ll cut it off here for now. Please send me an email and tell me how you are doing! Love to all. K
Welcome to my new blog! I packed up my life once again into two bags, said all the necessary goodbyes, and at 11:30am on Sunday officially closed the chapter in my life called “Benin”. It was hard to say goodbye to my village the week before that, but after arriving in Cotonou and spending a week jumping through administrative hoops, I was more than ready to close that chapter and move on. I love Benin, it will always hold a very special place in my heart, I am a much stronger person now than I ever was and will be forever grateful for the opportunities I received through my Peace Corps service and the people I met and worked with.
BUT, as someone said all good things come to an end (which incidentally I don’t believe is true but that is another post for another day) and this exciting new chapter has opened, entitled “The Africa Mercy – Sierra Leone!”
Getting here was a bit of an adventure. I was a bit concerned about customs and the airport in Cotonou, technically airline employees aren’t supposed to allow you to board without a visa for the country you are going to, but Africa Mercy volunteers get visa exemptions. I had all the necessary paperwork, but was flying Asky airlines which is a regional west African airline. I can imagine that Air France, and Brussels Air, the airlines most used by Mercy crew, are used to the visa exemptions, but I can’t imagine that many crew come in on Asky airlines! But, I need not have worried. They didn’t even ask for the paperwork or barely glance at my passport. I was over my baggage allowance by 10kg, which wasn’t surprising either, and it only cost me 20.000cfa (about $40) which I still happened to have in cash. I knew I had a stop in Togo to change planes, but didn’t realize that flight would then stop in Accra, Ghana, and Monrovia, Liberia before arriving in Freetown, Sierra Leone! Five countries in about as many hours. The flight from Cotonou to Lome was only twenty minutes, and to Accra was about the same. From Accra to Monrovia was about two hours and we got served a lovely chicken meal. I thought for sure with all those stops I would get in to Freetown late, but it couldn’t have gone more smoothly! And the planes were relatively new and comfortable, I have only good things to say about Asky airlines if you ever find yourself needing to travel within West Africa!
Anyway, when I finally arrived there was someone from Mercy waiting to greet me and push me through customs, I’ve never had such an easy process. Then I got to wait about an hour at the airport for two more people coming in in a British Airlines flight from London. Once we collected the three of us we were driven to the Ferry dock where we waited for over an hour. The airport is not actually in Freetown but in a town across a huge inlet of ocean water that took about an hour to ferry across. I dozed on the ferry, by that time it was nearing midnight Benin time (Sierra Leone is one hour closer to the States, UTC or GMT+0 if you were wondering!) Once the ferry arrived on the other side, Charles and Shelly were there to greet me! They are the family I visited here on the Mercy in May of 2010 and it was so wonderful to see their familiar faces again!
Once we got to the ship we had a very short safety briefing, and a hot dinner was served to us. Heavenly. I had gotten a second wind of energy, I was so excited to have finally arrived! It’s been in the plans for a long time!! I forgot how ginormous the ship is, too – it is HUGE! I do suppose the longer I am here the smaller it may feel. We’ll see.
Anyway, finally Shelly brought me to my room. I’m on deck 4, no windows, in a room the size of your average American living room with 8 beds (4 bunk beds), two small bathrooms with showers, a kitchen-type sink, small refrigerator and microwave– its tight! I’m glad I got rid of just about everything and only brought one bag of stuff!! But the mattress was super comfortable and the room (and the ship) is well air-conditioned so I am thankful.
Monday I spent the morning finding my way around the ship, getting my crew bank account set up and crew fees paid. I drank a ton of amazingly delicious coffee and saw many people I had met on my visit last year. Monday afternoon I had my official work orientation (I work in the dining room and galley (kitchen)). Then I had my official ship tour, dinner, and safety and security orientation. I was exhausted and went to bed early but was really glad I had the day to orient myself to this new life!
Yesterday was my first day in the Dining room. Work starts at 5:45am, we get a two hour break mid-morning and a two hour break mid-afternoon, and end about 8pm. Basically I set up the dining room and then clean it up after the meals, which are served buffet style to around 500-600 people a day. There will be days I will end up working in the galley, helping prepare meals, but for now it’s just dining room. It’s really great – I’ve worked in many camp kitchens so industrial prep is not new to me. I was explaining to some of my teammates that it was really nice to just be told what to do for awhile, too. After being so independent and self-reliant for work for so long, it was really great to just wash dishes for a few hours and see the results of my labor immediately. I’ll probably dive deeper into this in another post. But for now, suffice it to say I was thrilled to find out I was in the dining room and think it’ll be a great place to serve during this season.
I’m consistently amazed at all the awesome people I have met and get to work with. My immediate supervisor is from Ghana and has been with Mercy for 8 years. I work closely with people from America, Canada, the UK, Holland, Korea, and Australia. I’ve met people from Germany, Cameroon, Benin, Switzerland, Togo, South Africa, and have heard at least a dozen different languages spoken. One of my teammates in the dining room is from Togo so we were speaking French most of yesterday.
Today I am not working so I did some laundry, in laundry machines, not by hand. It was beautiful and my clothes came out CLEAN and DRY! Amazing. I’ve put up some pictures around my bed and finished up my needed paperwork. It’s a good day!
I promise to take some pictures in the next couple of days and get them posted. Anyway, this post is getting really long so I’ll cut it off here for now. Please send me an email and tell me how you are doing! Love to all. K
