Hachiko -v- Greyfriars Bobby

We're watching the movie "Hachiko: A Dog's Tale" (1923 to 1934) . Ever heard of Grayfriars Bobby (1858 to 1872)? Huh. Olly

Memories

Today Libby said she remembered (and hated) Booboo The Chimp, who she shared an orphanage with when she was 10 months old. I seriously doubt it, but it's a good opportunity to post the photo of Libby, me and Booboo, taken Christmas Day 2005, just a few weeks after Libby joined the Peet family.

Ironically, Booboo lived better than the kids and even wore disposable nappies whilst the kids rotted in towels wrapped in plastic bags. Olly

Murray's blog

Murray has just updated his blog with some great photos of Togo, including the new dock lay-out including the Hospital's new dockside tents, the new Transport tent, the new fork-lift, the extension to the port, and Togo's new coast road, now fully working. Click here to see the photos. Olly

African resourcefulness

I love photo. Thanks Rob Baker in Bamako. Olly

African plane?

I love this photo, posted on Facebook by a Liberian friend. Look closely. It's made up of old minibuses (like we travelled around Freetown in) complete with dented panels, smashed out windows, home-made roof racks, and the driver leaning out of the window. Photo-Shop at it's best. Olly

Liberia in the news

After weeks of there being no mention of Liberia in the world news, today there are no less than THREE articles about Liberia on the BBC's NewsAfrica website. Must be a quiet day in world news I guess.

Click here to read "Liberia ex-Warlord to be deported from US".

Click here to read "Barbecuing to boost Liberia's Economy".

Click here to read "Rubber Powered Nation".

Olly

Visitors from the ship

Have I told you who we've had to visit yet? Well, first we had Keith Chapman (Dental), then Alison Firth (Housekeeping), then Jesse Mitchell (Food Services), then Claire Edmonstone (from Appelsbosch), then Andy & Jodie & Jessica Rothwell (Engineering & Hospital), then Natalie Barnes (Hospital). And shortly Richard and Jo Postles & kids (ex-Chief Engineer & Nurse), then Alex & Sharon Williams (Hospital). Come one, come all. Olly

The Queen in Sherborne

Rumour has it that the Queen is coming to our new hometown of Sherborne on 1st May. Cool. Olly

Boy oh boy, it's cold!

We woke up to an outside temperature of -10 C (14 F) and thick frost. Over the next couple of days the cold dry air from Siberia will meet the damp air from the Atlantic somewhere over the UK...and maybe then we'll see some snow. We are all very excited at the prospect: Libby has never seen snow before, and Noah and Anna can't remember it. Me, I love snow but hate the cold, and am still missing the warmth of Africa terribly. In fact right now I'm sitting in bed writing this just to keep warm... Olly.

Screening in Togo

Wednesday 1st February saw the Africa Mercy's BIG screening in Togo, at the start of their 2012 Field Service. By all accounts, the day went well and crew saw around 4000 potential patients, and hundreds were selected for surgery for between now and July. The day passed peacefully, praise God. Well done, you good and faithful servants. We were praying for you. Olly

Above, thousands queue patiently in the sun under the watchful eye of Togolese riot police.

Congrats again, Ma Ellen

Today is inauguration day for Her Excellency President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia into her second term, after a violently (and ill-founded) contended election. And can I find mention of it anywhere in the world's press? No. Not even on the BBC. Huh. Olly

Photo below of our Anna presenting Her Excellency with flowers during her visit to the Africa Mercy in 2008.

Monrovia's new old bridge across

It's a cold and frosty morning here in England. I have nowhere to go and nothing to do so my thoughts have turned to a warmer place and busier times, that left a great impression on our hearts: Liberia. When we left at the end of 2008 the old bridge from Monrovia's Waterside to Vai Town looked like this:

BUT it's just been rebuilt by the Chinese (God bless 'em!) and here it is today:

Stunning eh? I really hope it helps to ease the congestion on the Gabriel Tucker bridge. Olly

Catching up

So, we had a lovely Christmas with my brother, his wife Claire, Thomas & Sophie and my parents. Spent Boxing Day and New Year with Sally's parents. Then Jerry, Karen, Jermaine & Shakira from SBC came to stay for one night, and then Claire from Appelsbosch came to stay for 3 nights, and right now the Rothwells from the ship are staying for two nights en route from Australia to Togo. Things not looking good on the job front for me: I thought I had a great job lined up working for a missions agency that sends short-term teams overseas, but they wanted me to be away too much (up to 6 weeks at a time) which Sally and I weren't prepared to endure. So back to the drawing board. I have no jobs up my sleeve, and don't even have any gardening or self employed stuff lined up. Have applied for 4 mundane and unsatisfying jobs in local offices, such is our need to earn money. Come on God. Needing some direction here. Olly

A job for Sally

Today Sally had a job interview at Noah's school - for the position of Teaching Assistant in the English Department. And she got the job! Starts Monday! Yeah! Now I can retire. Olly

And here she at the Lyme Regis Cobb earlier this year.

Here's a cool photo...

...of Liberians hauling a fibre-optic cable ashore in Liberia, which will effectively bring broadband to the country for the first time EVER!

Yeah! Olly

Sherborne

We love Sherborne. A small city with a population of only 10,000, it still feels like a small town from days gone by. It has an abbey over 900 years old, and the one shopping street is made up almost solely of ancient stone buildings. At this time of year, the whole town smells of fallen leaves and woodsmoke from hundreds of wood-burners and open fires. Lovely!

Photo of the abbey, taken by Dr Keith Chapman.

You wanna come stay? We're having our garage converted JUST FOR YOU! Olly

Please pray...

...for Liberia. Elections have been and gone, but the opposition boycotted them and thus won't recognise the fair election results and encouraged demonstrations leading to riots and a couple of deaths. Please pray that peace is restored soon, and that the current president can start her second term well and get on with re-building her country again.

...for the Africa Mercy. Thursday was the last day for surgeries in Sierra Leone; now the pace changes as the hospital is packed away, the Hope Centre is closed down, and the ship is loaded and prepared to sail.

...for Sierra Leone, as the population is left to manage their own health care without help from one of the most effective aid organisations on the planet.

Olly

S'up?

Oh dear, such a lot has happened since I last blogged. We moved into our own house on 10th October - here it is:

We have been very blessed by an awesome God: 5 bedrooms, three bathrooms and a MASSIVE kitchen/dining room, for way less than our three-bedroom ex-council house in Harpenden.

The kids are doing really well in school - in fact they are thriving - and Sally is getting to know the mums at drop-off and pick-up time.

My work at the stone-splitting factory ceased about 6 weeks ago, so I took up gardening and DIY until the weather got wetter and cooler. Last week I got a temp job in the warm and dry office of a local cheese company. It'd be great if the job became permanent and I could stay on after Christmas.

I'm still listening to KLOVE - my daily dose and inspiration!

Now that we are settled and praying about being here, God is leading me to volunteer with Yeovil Street Pastors one or two nights a month - see www.streetpastors.org.uk - they patrol the city centre streets every Friday and Saturday nights, bringing Christ's love to the revellers...

What else? Oh yeah, we've had a steady procession of ship-mates visiting us: Keith, Alison, Jesse, Barry & Cheryl. It has been simply great to catch up with ship news.

Bye for now, gotta go iron some shirts. Olly

Catching up

It's been a while. So I'm catching up. TWO WEEKS AGO the kids started at British schools - and here they are in their new uniforms. It was great to know that people all over the world were praying for them (and we certainly surrounded their first day in prayer): all three had a great time and continue to do so, praise God.

I am still adjusting to life in the UK and am amazed at how long it's taking me to get over being home-sick for the ship and West Africa (anyone else still suffering right now?). My therapy is listening to KLOVE from the States in the evenings (isn't Amanda brilliant?). We are attending a good church in Yeovil that has a few West Africans in it, who all adore Libby, and one of whom has already cooked us rice and chicken and beans (and another has promised Jollof rice!). I am still building stone-splitters, and still asking myself what my new life's all about. Sally is trying to renew her registration as a British speech therapist. Hopefully this week we'll finalise selling our house in Hertfordshire and buying one in the South West, although we won't be able to move in until early October (by which time we will have been living with my parents for 3 whole months, God bless 'em).

Ooh - did I already say that it's the coldest British summer in 20 years? How I long to be hot and sweaty again!

Bye for now, write soon. Olly

Monday 22nd August

Here's a cool photo of Libby (on the right) holding a little patient with Noma, taken in the Mercy Ships' Hope Centre in Freetown, earlier this year (thanks Jodie!). I forget that Libby isn't the smallest kid around any more...

In other news, Sally bought winter dressing gowns for our kids today, and they wore them all afternoon - Libby even wore hers in the shopping centre - despite it being the hottest day since we came home. Periodically they would have to remove them to cool down their dripping bodies. Huh. Olly