New Managing Director

The Africa Mercy has a new Managing Director. Yesterday, Donovan Palmer took over: he was CEO of the Africa Mercy whilst it was in dockyard in the UK for a few years up to 2003...and it's great to have him back. He has come straight from YWAM in the UK with his wife and three children, and we are all looking forward to hearing more from him, and getting to know the whole family. Olly

The dock

Here are some photos of the dock - my primary workplace for the next 6 months. Firstly, notice that there's no aft gangway - this dock is higher than any the Africa Mercy's has visited before, so at low tide the gangway would be scraped off. We will probably have to send all the patients up the main gangway. Below is my workshop and tent. The dock has railway lines that collect stinking and stagnant water, so I've had to fill the lines under out tent with cement so we can move around on the trolley-bed without getting covered in stinking water.





Below, a floor of pallets and hardboard is being constructed to keep the stagnant water out of the dockside tents...

...and below, the dockside tents are almost complete. They will be used as the Outpatient Clinic, the Eye Clinic and a covered waiting area for the patients - sun proof and rain proof.

To celebrate a hard week's work, Jesse threw a BBQ on the dock on Friday evening.

Although not perfect (and a far cry to the fantastic dock we had in Liberia), we are pleased to have this dock (with the stinking railway tracks, huge rats and cockroaches), and aim to take every advantage of it. Amen. Olly

A Tiny Miracle

Our good friend Keith wrote this, from his Dental Clinic in Liberia:

A TINY MIRACLE: It's unusual and maybe wrong to refer to any miracle as tiny, but I'm referring more to the person than the miracle itself. Augustine is five years old, but from his size you would think he's only three. This is most likely due to malnutrition, confirmed by his condition—Noma, or Cankrum Oris, a flesh eating disease in which the normal bacteria in one's mouth takes advantage of a weakened body and begins to quickly devour the skin and even kill bone. Underneath the gauze bandage that he wore into our clinic, Augustine was missing nearly all of his right cheek, part of his right upper lip, and much of his upper jaw bone had died. The miracle? Augustine is from Zwedru, over a day's travel by public transportation from our clinic. His condition had started two weeks before we first saw him. Mortality rates for his condition before the days of antibiotics were estimated from 70 to as high as 90%. When I asked if he had IV antibiotics at the local hospital before coming to Monrovia, the answer was no. I thought he must at least have had tablets on his way down, so I asked his father. No. No medicine at all. I asked the father if he had prayed for him, he said yes. "That must be it then," I told him. "He's a walking miracle." And not only was he in reasonably good physical condition, but the disease did not seem to be in the active state. In a condition caused by a weak immune system, how can a body further weakened by the Noma heal itself? Almost impossible. What's more, Augustine sadly tested positive for HIV, which would further explain the reason for this condition, but make it even less likely that he would be in such good health considering the disease from which he suffered. We did a simple debridement of the area, kept him on antibiotics, and he continued to look better and better. Frieda, who asked the father more questions, said the father was told by many what even the nurses at the hospital have told our doctors about some conditions: "Medicine will not cure it. It's African Sign." This usually refers to the effect of a curse. Most everyone believes in this, Christian or not, educated or not. This father was different. He told us boldly that he did not believe this. We don't want to formulate anything, but there has to be something said of not allowing God to be smaller than evil, or even the possibility of evil. And there is something to be said, a child that is still alive against all odds. He has begun antiretroviral medication and will have a long road of facial reconstructive surgery ahead of him, should the chance even arise. But with the love and faith of his father, he will make it through it all just fine.

He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. 1 Samuel 2:8

www.trinitydental.org

More pancakes

Yesterday, Shove Tuesday, a whole load of British mums cooked hundreds of crepe-style pancakes, and a gathering of hungry Brits scoffed the lot within seconds (except me: I had too many when I was 8, and still feel sick whenever I see one)...whilst thinking of home.

Photo of Sally and Sharon multi-tasking. Olly

Diving in Togo

Today I dived for the first time in Togo. The difference between the ports in Togo and Benin is like chalk and cheese: Togo's port is relatively clean and garbage free - no plastic bags, no poo poo, no fishing boats dumping garbage, and no small ships dumping garbage (but less fish. Huh.) The water is so clear that I could see light from the other side of the ship, and that never happened in Benin (we needed flash lights and a compass to find light there!). But this berth is quite shallow; whilst cleaning one grate I was able to stand in the silt on the bottom. Good dive though. Olly.

Brits:

Don't forget the pancakes on Jif Lemon Day! Olly

Feeling Hot Hot Hot

I've just had my third shower of the day. Yesterday, the old air conditioning system on the ship broke down, leaving half the ship uncomfortably hot. Our cabin right now is 33 degrees C (91 F)...but I've heard of temperatures of 40 degrees C (104 F) in some of the offices on Deck 5. Fortunately our family is well prepared for such an eventuality and have a fan blowing on each of us as we sleep, but others are less fortunate and spent the whole of last night sweating in bed without any sleep. Please spare a prayer for our refrigeration engineers who are working flat out to rectify the problem. Olly, for ONN

Fascinating facts about shipping containers

Did you know that shipping containers existed as far back as the 1830s, but each country had their own sizes and specification and none were compatible internationally. ISO numbers R668 and R790 (both 1968) and R1161 and R1897 (both 1970) suggested a series of compromises among international shipping companies, railroad companies and trucking companies...and thus the 20 foot and 40 foot shipping container was born. I can't imagine life without them. Can you? Olly

Hurricane

(It's a lazy Sunday morning with plenty of time for blogging, hence this endless dribble whilst Sally makes Valentine cards with the kids before we go to church). Last night we had a magnificent African rainstorm (almost a hurricane, in fact, I reckon). Thunder, lightning and near horizontal winds drove torrential rain hour after hour. It was a very wet night for those living ashore. It rained nearly all night, and this morning it is still overcast and cool and the dock stinks of rotting and fermenting grain (again). There are massive rats and cockroaches here, who live on the stuff! Anyway...Olly

Naval exercises

Yesterday, the sailors of the Togolese Navy had swimming practice alongside our ship. A couple had to keep hold of life-rings because they couldn't swim. Huh. Olly

Purest green

Yesterday was our first day ashore exploring Lomé. We visited the Team House and the Hospitality Centre, the Seaman's Mission and the beach, and ended up at a small hotel pool swarming with ship kids. The pool water looked OK, although there was a tell-tale line of green at the water's edge...and sure enough, as the day progressed, our things started to go green too, including my swim shorts and Noah and Anna's HAIR!

A liberal dose of vinegar made the hair blond again, PTL! What an exciting way to start our time in Togo. Olly (and the Vinegar Kids).

More photos of Togo

More photos of Togo: A film crew from Discovery Channel filming our arrival from the Bridge; dolphins swimming close to the ship; Libby and her class awaiting the arrival; nurses cleaning every square inch of the hospital in preparation for the first surgeries and patients; the Togolese Navy, berthed just across from our ship; and a sea-turtle, happily swimming in the port's garbage free waters (a big change from Benin!). Olly

Land Rovers left behind

Today Moses and I, and a handful of volunteers, went to pick up the Land Rovers that were driven to Togo from Benin two months ago, and left behind at the Assemblies of God compound whilst the ship and the newer vehicles sailed to Tenerife. They were in a sorry state, as you can see - covered in a thick layer of dust, and with 3 flat tyres amongst the eight vehicles, although thankfully, not one flat battery (because Moses had the foresight to disconnect the batteries before they were left in Togo). Anyway, they're all safely back at the ship now, awaiting a wash. Olly

Timezones

Togo (in pink on th map) is the most eastern coastal countriey on the GMT timezone, whilst neighbouring Benin (highlighted in red) is the most western coastal country in the next timezone.

Consequently, even though Cotonou and Lome are only 70 miles apart, sunrise is at 6am in Lome whilst it is at 7am in Cotonou. It's quite unsettling to be woken at 6am by bright sunlight. And it gets dark early too - by 6.30pm it's almost totally dark. Huh. Olly

Togo first impressions

Only a few hours after we were cleared by Togolese Immigration officials to go ashore, I went for a ride with our shore-based programs team to check out their house and the Hospitality Centre. It is good to be back in West Africa again. It feels like ages since we left two months ago, but it also feels like yesterday too. Things are familiar but different - the roads are dustier, sandier and with more potholes than Benin. Traffic is heavy. The port is filthy, huge and chaotic. And as for the rest of the city, I have no clue so far. I will explore over the coming days...Olly

Togo!

Wednesday 10th February, 11am: We have just arrived safely in Togo. As I write this, the long and hot arrival ceremony is still underway. Here are some photos of our arrival: Below, Libby and her friend Esther in their best African outfits, with the Togolese flag they made in school this morning:


Below: ships in the port discharging oil and cement. The port is well equiped, with even a conveyor-belt to take cement clinker straight to the cement works.

Below: The fishing port and small ships. On the right is the covered conveyor-belt and cement factory.

Below: a car carrier and the container dock complete with shore cranes. I reckon you can always tell the wealth of a country via the number of shore cranes in it's port. Liberia has none; Benin has 2 and Togo has at least 3, even though the port in Togo is less busy than in Benin. Sure enough, Togo is higher on the UN's human development index than Benin, thus supporting my shore crane/country wealth theory!

Below: our welcoming party, including the Assemblies of God marching brass band, some local staff, and some crew who have been living ashore and preparing for the ship's arrival in Togo.

Below: the dock - our home (and my workplace) for the next 6 months. It will take a lot of work to clean it up and make it sanitary.

Below: the view from our cabin window. Very nice. Must be our nicest view yet.

That's all for now, Olly

Fire

In Liberia in April of 2007, Land Rover #326 was completely destroyed within seconds by a fire originating in the a/c fan in the driver's foot well. Today, #102 (#326's identical twin) caught fire in the same place; fortunately Moses saw the smoke and put the fire out before it could spread. We are still sailing, and #102 is parked very close to a couple of other Land Rovers: a full scale fire would have destroyed both of those too and created a major incident at sea. Well done Moses, for catching it so early. Photo below of Moses just after he put the fire out...

...and photo below of the unfortunate #326.

Olly

Sailing...continued

We're officially back in West Africa, although still four days away from our destination of Togo. The weather is hot, sticky and humid once again - great for the skin! I asked one of my colleagues, who is from this corner of West Africa, if there are any pirates in the area, and he said "no - we shot them all". Hmmm...reassuring! Olly

Science Museum de Santa Cruz

On Saturday, our last day ashore, Noah took us to the Science Museum in Santa Cruz, where we enjoyed guessing the exhibits labelled in Spanish...the kids favourite was without doubt the mirror maze. Olly

Storm photos - and sailing update

Thought you might appreciate these photos of the damage caused by the 20 plus degree rolls we suffered until the small hours today...

...and GOOD NEWS...we seem to be leaving the storm. We are rolling much less, although that's partly because we keep changing course (like a sail-ship tacking) to find the calmest way of crossing the troughs...and partly because we're sufficiently far from the storm now. This evening the bow was opened (a good sign!) and we are enjoying an increase in the temperature, blue skies and blue seas once again. I hear it's been raining in Tenerife. Olly

New ID cards

Say goodbye to the old Mercy Ships ID cards showing the Anastasis ploughing through a storm, in use since 2004...and hello to the new cards showing the Africa Mercy arriving in Liberia in 2007 (with a PhotoShopped funnel featuring the new logo). The front has been changed too, but I won't blog about that in case it constitutes some kind of breach of security. If you email me (and I trust you) I'll tell you all about it. Olly

A rough night at sea

The low pressure system to the west of us continues to send big rolling waves in our direction, and our motion changed last night from corkscrewing to heavy rolling, which causes less seasickness but more damage. We were awake way past 3am, listening to things crashing around us...our TV and computer ended on the floor, all our drawers flew out of the kitchen cabinets, and furniture was thrown everywhere. The ship changed course slightly in the night so we don't meet the rolling waves broadside, and this morning nearly the entire crew is fixing their cabins and common areas, and mopping up spilt milk. K&C: please tell your guest that he's way better off at your place! Olly

Day 1 at sea

We've been sailing for a little under 24 hours; the past 16 have been rough, with the ship cork-screwing through the swells. Many crew are in bed seasick, including Sally and Anna. Noah is a bit hit-and-miss and is living off anti-seasickness medicine, whilst Libby is oblivious to the corkscrewing and even goes "weee" when we hit big waves that cover the windows with spray. By the grace of God, I am feeling fine too. We should be out of this rough patch in the next 3 or 4 days. Olly

Farewell Tenerife

Sunday 31st January: Just before 2pm today we sailed out of calm waters of the port of Santa Cruz, into wind and rain. We are currently still on the leeward side of Tenerife and enjoying relative calm waters, but that will change within the next 3 or 4 hours and we have been warned of heavy seas and lots of uncomfy rolling, for the next three or four days, much like we experienced on our sail north to Tenerife 6 weeks ago. But what a time we've had - time with family; time without; time off-ship; time with the church here, and time with our missions pastor from our home church in the UK. We are sad to be leaving Tenerife - we are unlikely to be returning here in the next few years; next year we are likely to be going to South Africa for an extended dry dock. And so to Togo: a new location for the Peet family. I am looking forward to the challenge of a new city, and making friends old and new. Olly

Memories

Thanks, Vangie, for this great photo of the last Anastasis long-term crew, taken during a murder-mystery party in early 2006, before we all went our separate ways.


I think that's my hand at the back of everyone else. Aah. Memories. Olly

Who are all these new people?

In the last couple of weeks we have had at least 40 new crew arrive. So wherever we look, there are new faces that we've never seen before. It's certainly a challenge to remember all these new names. Olly

Coveralls

"Branded" coveralls have arrived on the ship for Engineering and Deck hands. They feature the Mercy Ships logo...as modelled by Becca and Abraham in this photo below. Some of the coveralls are obviously quite big. Olly

Our time in Tenerife

Our time in Tenerife is rapidly coming to a close. Today we loaded the Land Rovers; tomorrow we load the Nissans, and we are due to sail on Sunday or Monday. Hope you enjoy these cool photos, of the Africa Mercy moored; Anna's class playing on the dock; Land Rovers lined up; and sunset over the mountains. It's sad to be leaving Santa Cruz in the knowledge that we will probably not be back here for a long time; this time next year we will probably be in dockyard in South Africa. Olly

A fascinating shipping container

Is there such a thing? I saw this one yesterday with regular doors at one end and also doors in the side (below). I've never seen one like this before. Fascinating. Maybe there's a container fan out there who can tell me what it's used for. Olly

Small things technical

In the last 2 weeks, nearly every small technical thing we have has broken and then miraculously started working again. Our camera wouldn't turn on; our stereo wouldn't turn on; our computer stopped getting t'internet and our DVD player stopped working...but one by one they all seem to have been healed with no repairs by us. Weird. Olly

Not so sick Olly (part 2)

Feeling much better. Thanks again for your prayers. My ears are clearing and I feel less conjested, although still can't dive. Olly

Noah and his teeth

In early January, Noah had an accident and broke a large piece off one of his front teeth. Today, Dag, the ship's dentist, rebuilt the broken tooth. Can you see the difference? We can't, even close up.
Below: before.
Below: after.

Loro Parque

The ship recently organised for crew to go to Loro Parque at a greatly discounted price, over two Saturdays. On both occasions, ship kids were chosen to ride in the boat at the dolphin show. Pictured are Andre Samaraweera and Daniel Yangas, both wearing the lifejacket. Olly

Not-so-sick Olly

Thank you for your prayers. Although I don't feel much better, the Crew Doctor thinks the infection has left me, and I am only now experiencing the effects of congestion. My raised temperature has gone and I have more energy, but I still cough a lot and can't hear anything because my ears are blocked (so there are some bonuses to having an ear infection). Yep, it's all about me! Olly

Britain's Got the Pop Factor

To all Brits: We've just watched "Britain's Got The Pop Factor" - Peter Kay's comic answer to Pop Idol, the X-Factor, Strictly Come Dancing, and Something On Ice combined. And we've never laughed so much. The number of real guests is amazing - Cat Dealy, Pete Waterman, Niel Fox (and the other judge); Paul & Stella McCartney, Lulu, Take That, Lionel Blair, Steve Wright, Chris Moyles, Rick Astley, Rusty Lee, Andi Peters...and even Prince Charles and Camilla. I guess it was a massive hit when it was broadcast across the UK last year. Thanks Aunty D for sending it to us. Olly

Sick Olly

I've had a cold since the New Year. Now I've got a raised temperature, both ears are infected, and so is my chest. I've been on antibiotics for three days to no avail so far. Would you mind praying for me? Thanks. Olly

Older and wiser

Thanks to my Dad for forwarding on this joke from a friend of his: A wealthy old Gentleman decides to go on a hunting safari in Africa, taking his faithful, elderly Jack Russell along for the company. One day the old Jack Russell starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he's lost. Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having him for lunch. The old Jack Russell thinks "Oh oh!", and noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on them with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap, the old Jack Russell exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are any more around here." Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. "Phew! says the leopard, "That was close!  That old Jack Russell nearly had me!" Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So off he goes, but the old Jack Russell sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up. The monkey catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard. The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!" Now, the old Jack Russell sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?" But instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old Jack Russell says..."Where's that monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!" Moral of this story....Don't mess with the old dogs...age and skill will always overcome youth and treachery! This moral is becoming increasingly important to me...Olly

Digging up Broad Street

My friend Harry emailed me this photo of a Chinese construction company digging up Broad Street in Monrovia. The difference in the long-run will be most welcome, but in the meantime I guess the heavy traffic is crippling the city. Do YOU have any recent photos of Monrovia you can email me, especially of the re-built old bridge? Olly

Turtles and whales

This lunchtime Noah, Anna & I swam with a sea turtle (who was eating a fish-head and took no notice of us) as we snorkeled at Playa Las Teresitas...and this afternoon we saw a whale from our cabin window, surfacing and blowing spray in the sea between Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Aahh...the wonders of God's creation! Olly

Deck 8 work continues...

Remember the old Mercy Ships logo on the funnel?

It has been cut off, and the funnel is now being painted blue in preparation for the arrival of the new logo:

Meanwhile, installation of the pool continues: as you can see below it now has a platform all around it, handrails and stairs. In the next day or two the welding contractors will finish, and hand over to our own steelworkers, plumbers and electricians, who will install the pump and filtration system, lighting, fresh water supply etc etc.

The children's paddling pool (front left: you can see the scorch-marks from the cutting torch) is being removed (sorry Lee); the site will be cleaned and the climbing frame will be re-erected in it's place.

All before we sail on 31st January? I do hope so! Olly

My biggest fan

In early 2004 I pulled this fan out of a rubbish skip in Stevenage, UK:

Surprisingly it worked. Since then it has given 12 hours of soothing background noise and cooling breezes each and every night that we have been out of the UK - that's approx 1825 nights, at 12 hours per night - a total of approx 22,000 hours. Well done free Velos Perforex fan! Olly