Row Row Row Your Boat...

Woohoo... today saw the installation of our 50-man lifeboats (50-persons to be 'politically' correct). Step by step we're moving closer...little by little we're taking ground!!! Exciting times here onboard the Africa Mercy. Earlier you saw the pic of the testing of the davits. And since they passed the testing phase, we were able to load both 50-person lifeboats onboard the AFM today. Another big milestone checked off the list! Below is my friend, Rodrigo, from Brasilia, Brasil... the lifeboats are one of his areas of responsibility as our 3rd officer. Rodrigo - can I have a ride???

Who's Left Holding the Bag?

Well, we were able to 'tick' another big milestone off of our list in completing the ship... the testing of the 50 man lifeboat davits. If you look to the far, far right, you'll see another big orange bag filled with water - it takes two when testing the davits...and everything went great! We are getting more and more excited the closer we get to completing the ship and sailing to Africa. I hope to have more info for you shortly, but until then...hope you are having better weather than us (rainy, windy and very cold!! - my least favorite weather of all time). Cheers!

Ghanaian Signs!!

Firsts and Lasts

Those of you who are on my email distribution (hopefully) read this excerpt, but I'd like to post it here for others to read, so please indulge me...

(This is an excerpt from my last e-newsletter)...

When I first arrived and I entered the Ghanaian airport - I was greeted by a beautiful painting on the outside of the airport entrance with the word Adkaawba (Welcome) to Ghana... I immediately breathed a prayer that I would capture every opportunity, savour every experience, and glean as much as possible from my time there; after all, for all I knew, it could be my last time in Ghana and my last time onboard the Anastasis (as she will be retired once the Africa Mercy gets to Africa).

Within my first few days there, I was laying in bed reading before heading to sleep (which is something I do almost every night!!) and I was in the middle of a fictional novel. In this novel was a grandma talking to her husband - the grandpa. They were having a family get-together (similar to one of my family gatherings at home) when the grandma made a very poignant observation (and something that has affected me ever since).

She told the grandpa (as she gazed around and watched her children, and their children - her grandchildren)... and said... 'I find it interesting that mothers often 'take note' of firsts for their children - first word, first steps, first tooth, first day at school, etc... Now that I see my children grown-up, I wish I had 'taken note' of lasts... the last time 'Joey' brought me wild flowers from outside; last time 'Susie' ran up and jumped into my arms with a spontaneous I Love You... but the thing is ... you never know they are 'lasts' until you find yourself asking the question ... 'when was the last time that Joey or Susie did...' and by then, you've realized that the years have passed by and that moment is gone forever!'

Wow...how many 'lasts' did I miss because I didn't realize it was the last time I would... you would... (fill in the blank!)

With that thought in the back of my mind, I spent the majority of my time in Africa as if it were my last. It's amazing the emotions, feelings, insights one can have when living with that mindset. I sat in the ward during a Sunday morning church service next to a beautiful young girl named Beatrice who had just had a cleft lip surgery. She must have been around 16. WHAT a beautiful smile...and listening to her sing and dance (as that is quite traditional in African churches :-) ... I thought... here is a young woman who has lived her life disfigured. Now she has been transfigured, and this will be the LAST time she will have to bow her head in shame. WOW! What an amazing last!!! What an amazing first!!

I spent a day at an orphanage watching them cook all day in preparation for their one meal of the day, and paused to thank God that at the age of nine, He saw fit to move me into a wonderful, Christian family who loved God and loved me; I didn't have to worry about being orphaned. The age old question popped into my head ... why me, God? I am humbled to be chosen... There are a lot of questions we have in life that for which we will never have answers, but for me, I do know this... in Jeremiah 29:11, God says... For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm. Plans to give you a future and a hope". The people we serve in West Africa...yes, many of them are wanting 'help' but like you and I, they ALL want HOPE. THAT is one thing where I can help them. I will help point them to the ONE who gives me HOPE daily."

So many of our firsts are often our lasts and we don't realize it! Here's my challenge to you as you head into 2007... savour the moment! Be conscientious of firsts and lasts. Don't be afraid to REALLY CHOOSE LIFE. God calls us to life, and life more abundantly...live each day as if it were your first AND last. Sound 'cliche-ish'? It may be but it could change the way you decide to live today

Is the world always Black and White?

Interesting picture, don't you think? I love this picture. I went to a Bead Factory in Accra, Ghana a few weekends ago, They gave this amazing demonstration about how they make all their beads from hand. We got to this station in the demonstration, and as I took this picture, it was such a perfect picture of my world. The beads are made from all colours of glass - green, yellow, white, blue, red - crushed together to make a powder, then the 'designer' intricately decides which colour will go into a handmade mold, turning out a beautifully crafted bead.

As consumers, we rarely think about those who 'produce' the goods we buy. This part of West Africa is reknowned for its bead making. The workmanship is amazing; the craftmanship is handed down generation after generation.

My world over the last seven years has been focused on doing my part to help the poor and needy of this world. I've stopped seeing the world as 'black' and 'white'. Instead, it's all blurred together. I now see people who need God, people who are hurting, people who want acceptance in spite of their colour or want others to see beyond their deformity. The part we play may often
seem insignificant. I've done this long enough where I recognize that it's HUGE! No matter how small a part - if it touches someone else life, what more can we offer! To give of yourself, that's all God asks us to do. Whether it's giving blood (I even made it through the fact that the person drawing my blood - well, it was her FIRST time). It hurt some - but the rewards were GREAT. The blood was for Mohammed - a little six year old boy who was having a facial tumour removed. Mohammed has since left the ship holding his head up high, not afraid of the stares that once were a constant part of his life. What an amazing journey I have had! And you all get to be a part of it just by reading this. I hope it encourages you to see how you can impact someone (maybe not in Africa, but perhaps in England, California, Texas, Colorado, Oregon, Florida, New York, Massachusetts, South Africa, Singapore, Thailand, Hawaii (just a few places where I know some of you are located!). I appreciate all of you.

Miracles Do Happen !!!

The Anastasis maintains a 'walking blood bank' on board. All crew are invited to donate blood if they so desire. All they have to do is sign up at the Lab, and a list is posted as to who has which blood type. Late one night (last week), we had an emergency when one of the patients (pictured on the far right) who'd had a grapefruit-sized goiter removed began bleeding out. Goiters grow in the neck, very close to the arteries, and her Thyroid Artery had burst, and was spraying arterial blood. They rushed her to the OR to save her life. Soon we began to hear various pages being called over our emergency system...it didn't take too long before we all knew we had an emergency onboard. Soon we began to hear pages for those whose blood type matched hers. When it was obvious they weren't getting enough blood fast enough, they simply paged, '"all those who have blood type A+, please come to the lab immediately". The lab was an interesting picture of donors lying down as soon as the bed was free. They were so short of room, they ran out of bed space, and our cook, who lives down the hall from the lab, was woken up so they could use his bed to draw blood. The patient, Eunice, was saved, despite losing an incredible amount of blood! Eight liters is the amount of blood the human body has and eleven pints were used on her, so suffice it to say, Eunice lost all of her blood, and is now walking around with the blood a dozen Mercy Shippers. Eunice is alive and well, thanking God for her good fortune. It was another one of those times when we could sense God's presence as we experienced another miracle, and a reminder of 'who's' in charge!

My head is spinning. I've been in Ghana, West Africa (the city of Tema) and in some ways, it feels like forever. The sights, the smells...all of it is coming back to me as I walk into the market place. The stalls, the raw meat, the creative carvings and outfits, the dirt, the signs - it's the culture of a 'typical' African country. And yet, Ghana is considerably more developed than other areas I have been.

I've been here a week. I've returned to an 'old home' - the m/v Anastasis. The ship looks the best I've ever seen it. I can tell many people have put in many hours to make her look so well cared for. As I walk the decks, everything is clean, painted, and shiny - a place that is obviously much loved. I feel privileged to be here before she is retired.

Today I spent the morning in an Orphanage. From the time I stepped foot out of the Landrover, I gave a bit of my heart away. The children were so excited to see everyone. Hugs came frequently, and the more comfortable the children became with me, the more I received smiles, hugs, climbing onto my lap. I didn't care how dirty their hands were (although the children were well kept, they are still children!) .

Doreen, the 'mother' of these 35 children is an amazing woman! I spent some time in the 'kitchen' which is outside, with one area covered by a few pieces of wood where they have kettles on an open fire cooking their soup made of palm nuts (from Palm trees). I wish I could accurately describe the process to give you a good picture. My words are probably inadequate, but they start with the plain dirty nuts, then they boil them for about 10 minutes. They are then pounded down in a 'concrete' kind of small bowl with a long pole until it looks like soft straw. The 'straw' is then taken by hand and dipped in water until all of the juices, color, nuts, etc, are extracted from the 'straw', and then put in to a strainer - the end result is a big bowl of pumpkin coloured soup. They then add things like tomatoes, meat, etc to it. They use it throughout the week to feed the children.

They were also taking mini snails (long and narrow), chopping off the ends of them, then they boil them and suck the meat out (I didn't try it, though!!).

Wow... an all day process for their one meal of the day. Like I said, this woman, Doreen is amazing. The orphanage was clean, but sparse. The classroom desks were old and shabby, but I could tell they were being put to good use. I lost a bit of my heart today as I watched those children - so happy to see us - so happy to receive a bit of our attention and love. I am truly blessed and humbled.

Full Cirlce

My life in Mercy Ships feels like it is coming Full Circle. This picture is our current Africa Mercy Human Resources team (L to R: Tatyana from Brazil, me, Denise from US, Pat from US, and Cindy from Canada). As many of you know, I started out in Human Resources in Mercy Ships back in 2000 onboard the Anastasis. Because many of our crew are currently in Africa, I was somewhat filling in for Brenda Cole, our Africa Mercy HR manager, who is in Africa as well. Since coming to the Africa Mercy, I have moved to the public relations side of things. But in just over a week, I am heading to Ghana, West Africa to once again, work in HR onboard the Anastasis doing exactly what I was doing 6 years ago arriving the exact day 6 years later!! I have come full circle ... what does that even mean?

Living onboard a ship lends itself to a lot of analogies. We use a lot of rope onboard our ships. And I'm not talking about the skinny rope used for jump ropes. I'm talking about rope so thick, it's hard to put your arms around it let alone lift it!! (but we are fortunate to have some strong deckies working for us!). This is the rope (known as mooring lines) to anchor the ship to the berth in which we are docked. It's just like coming full circle. My life is tied into the people you see in the picture. My life is tied into people who are NOT in the picture. It is just like those mooring lines. My life is strengthened because of the people I have met; the people who are influencing my life, my thoughts, my viewpoints. My life is interwined with theirs - we share a common vision of why we are here, what we are about, and in whom we believe. They 'anchor' me and help me stay 'tied to the dock' rather than 'float off' into the unknow - in other words, they help keep me grounded. The bible has a verse that says ... when a brother or sister is down, the other picks him up...(paraphrased). The 'sisters' you see in the picture (and those you don't) are the ones who encourage me when I'm down, rejoice with me when I'm up. My life has been strengthened because of them. Full circle is a good thing!

Step By Step We're Moving Forward

Here we are ... the Africa Mercy Crew at our first onboard Community Meeting. We needed test out our sound system, lighting, monitors, etc... and we had a great time doing it. I'm privileged to serve with such a great bunch of people. Can't wait for the day we get to merge our two crews!! 

A Cabin Waiting To Happen

Here I am sitting on my bed (in my 'future' cabin)... can't wait for the day when I get to actually move everything in ... soon (I KNOW... I keep saying that!!)... thank you to those of you who've sent things to help decorate my cabin. I look forward to the day I can send you a picture of what it looks like actually decorated!! Pictured above me is Lorah (you met her in an earlier posting). She said she'd pose as my 'first guest' in the cabin. She's peeking into the wardrobe that will hold my clothes and to the left of it is my kitchen unit.

Deck 8

This deck looks COMPLETELY different from several weeks ago!! Our deckhands have worked so hard over the last three months needle-gunning this entire deck, then repainting it green. When we are sailing, this is the deck that will store our vehicles, and when we dock, the vehicles will get offloaded by cranes (that you can't see from this angle). The big ball that you see is our satellite system that will give us internet and phone access. It'll be a stateside number (Florida) so for all of you who have national calling - you can call me free of charge!! This is also the deck that will have a canopy covering (while we are in port) where the crew can relax and not get too sunburned. There will also be an area for the children to play as well.

Gourmet Chefs - waiting to be discovered

This here is our Crew Galley (there are six ovens available, along with cooking islands) where crew can go, and cook whatever they want...cookies (or biscuits as they are called here in England), perhaps a birthday cake, whatever their heart desires. This was one of the rooms that we didn't think we were going to have time to finish, but with the delays, it's actually worked to our advantage, as we were not only able to finish the crew galley, but also various accommodation areas. 

Wishy Washy

Not one of the most glamourous rooms onboard the ship, but definitely one of the most used and coveted ... these washer and dryers will help 'service' the 474 crew onboard as we book in our laundry slots once a week. The flooring is done (covered by cardboard to protect it). Next, the folding table is being installed ... another room, soon to be finished!! Woohoo!! 

Pirates and Fairies

Just so you don't think it's all work here, and no games... think again! In order to strive for a balanced life in this 'foreign' country... we have had all kinds of 'theme' parties. This one was by far the best. Everyone went all out to dress up as a pirate and fairy (we even had someone dress up as a 'hairy fairy' which was 'VERY SCARY'!! (he knows who he is!!). Here I am pictured with two of my very dear friends, Pat (left) and Carrie (right). I'm the middle in case you haven't figured that out!! You are probably wondering why a 'fairy' would wear all black... well, I decided I'd wear black (cuz no one can be good ALL the time), but I also threw in hints of pink to show off my good side as well!)... (I know... those of you who know me well are asking 'what good side???')

Pat has become one of my closest friends here. She's funny, witty, sensitive, and is my mentor and friend. I have learned so much from her. We've started to walk a few days a week in the early morning (5:30 am is EARLY for me!!), but I so look forward to our time together to exercise, share what's happening in our lives, and pray for one another. She is soon leaving Mercy Ships, and returning to Texas, which makes me very sad, but I know that I have made a friend for life (friends really, as her husband, Terry, is a great guy). I just try to think of it as 'one more friend' I have to visit somewhere in the world.

My South African friend, Carrie, is such a blessing in my life. We have a lot of laughs together. She has unselfishly included me in her family, and I absolutely adore her two daughters (Katie, 2 and Rachel, 4). It makes up (a little bit) for not being able to see my nieces and nephews. Carrie and I enjoy scrapbooking together, shopping, planning parties, cooking ... you name it, and we'll find a way to have a great time doing it.

I thank God for good friends. It makes up (a bit) for missing my friends and family back home.

Take a Tour of the Africa Mercy

I just learned how to use Flickr.com - a great way for me to able to post a series of photos, so you can get a better grasp of what the ship really looks like from the inside out. Click here to take a Tour of the Africa Mercy. Keep in mind that when it opens, to get back to my blog, you'll have to re-enter my blogspot address: www.albertasantecdotes.blogspot.com. You can also use the photo on the right.

Ship Shop? or Ship Shape?

This will be another place onboard that I'm SURE the crew will frequent!! It's called the 'Cafe' (coffee is donated by Starbucks!). It's located in the area of the ship that we call the Town Square. The Town Square contains not only the Cafe, but also a seating area for the crew to relax and lounge, go shopping in the Ship Shop (where you buy personal toiletries, etc), view the Partner Wall (which lists our major donors) or just simply hang out and have fun!

Too Many Cooks...

Actually, in our case, you can never have too many cooks onboard a ship. This is only one PART of our galley. There's a lot of existing items from when the ship was a former rail ferry, but we've also added quite a few new items as well (See the big mixers in the back? Those are new). The Galley is just about finished; still needs a good cleaning. Now all we need are a few good cooks - anyone interested??? ;-) I always find it fun and challenging to cook for 25-30 people; 450 people is an entire different matter. When I was onboard the Anastasis, I helped out in the galley a few times cooking for Easter and Christmas, as well as helping to whip up a 'few' cakes (try 20-30 rectangle cake pans!!). It's one of the few times in life where I could have my cake and eat it too! 

You've Got Mail

Onboard the Africa Mercy, our crew will have access to an email cafe that will accommodate 18 flat screen computers (through a generous donation in honor of one of our IT staff from the UK office who passed away this year). This is one area that will always be busy, and will keep our crew happy! When you are thousands of miles away from home, nothing puts a 'cap' on your day like sitting down at the computer, opening up your email (and possibly hearing that sound: You've Got Mail). Hearing from friends and family is what often keeps me going when I'm tired, missing all of you, and wanting to be somewhere else. Then I read a 'funny quip' from my niece, Erica, and I feel like a part of me got to share in what everyone else shared in even though I wasn't there in person!! (see Erica - I DO ready your emails!! Fortunately, I'll have a computer in my office so I won't have to queue up for one of these commodities, but nonetheless, I still love hearing from all of you! 

Meet Lorah

This is a picture of Lorah Styer and myself. Lorah is a godsend!!! She has recently transferred from our Texas office and joined me here at the Africa Mercy as our Special Events Assistant. All of my other staff are currently on the Anastasis in Ghana, so I am grateful for Lorah. Since I spend most of my time moving furniture, installing furniture, giving tours, talking to outside folks who are interested in Mercy Ships, managing the communications aspect of what we are doing, etc...Lorah has jumped right in and is currently handling all of our Hospitality needs... which entails getting rooms ready for new crew and guests, as well as cleaning up after someone leaves. She's also blessed us with incredible cooking talents (that she didn't even knew she had!) as well as utilizing her skills as a hairdresser by providing hair salon services for our crew once a week. I couldn't do all that I do without her... She's a true blessing, and worthy of you meeting (through my blog!).

Brief Reprieve

I am getting too brief of a reprieve here in the US for the event of my niece, Erica's, wedding. As you can see, she is absolutely beautiful! We had so much fun running non-stop for a week getting ready for the big day. She had a dessert buffet, so I think we are all needing to go off sugar after the reception (not that I had any time to try out all of the goodies with all of the running around we did. Anyway, I hear that there are quite a few new things done onboard while I've been gone, such as the cookers being placed in the crew galley, the floors completed in the crew lounge, crew galley, and laundry room. I will put up some pics when I get back to the UK in a few days. Can't wait to see all the changes! For those of you praying for my mom, her surgery went well. Thanks for your emails and prayers. It was important and special that I was able to be with her during that time. Keep checking back here. I hope that as our time gets closer to the ship being deployed, I have more pics to put up on my blog! Feel free to email me if you have any questions (not that I have any answers!