A Pirate's Life for Me!!

"Help me mini pirates, help me !’ cries Tinkerbell from the clutches of the evil pirate Hook. The task here for all of you to fight off the evil pirate hook in a legendary sword fight. If you win, Tinkerbell will be freed and be able to give you the next clue...

Last Friday the Anastasis was transformed into a world of sea-worn pirates, mystery and buried treasure.

We decided to take advantage of the fun it is to live on a ship and had a little fun for the young and the young at heart. Two fella's on board have a particular love for the topic of piracy and prepared a lecture- with some some history, current day events and fun questions to ponder such as: "Did pirates really walk the plank?"

At the same time, we were having a lot of fun in the Med Lounge as we were helping to create many small pirates and maidens for the night :)

Creativity abounded as we came up with things to make eye patches, swords, and parrots for all the kids. Here was my favorite. It's a mango with a beak added to make it a parrot. It's being held on Andrew's arm with a surgical mask!

After learning some pirate terminology and tips for their journey, Ben gave the kids a captivating and magical account of his grandfather's dealings with pirates... (some exaggeration perhaps ;) )

And with that, our crew of pirateers were ready for their treasure hunt.

I had the older batch of pirates, and we were ready for our hunt... Years of experience had prepared us for "such a time as this"...

Our first clue:

• Blimey pirate heroes, It’s a dark and scary adventure – a secret hiding place where the pirate leaders have secret conferences. The room is red and lined with mirrors

We knew we were heading to the Lido conference room where we had a task to complete:

• Sharp eyesight and pirate courage will be needed to find and rescue one armed crazy pirate Pete from the dungeon of never never land. Tread carefully and slowly and bring Crazy Pete into the light where your bounty - the next clue will be waiting.
  

(We had so much fun preparing the Lido conference room. EXTREME MAZE BUILDING was what it was. Using resources we have on board: blankets, different colored flashlights, chairs, tables, black construction paper and lots of string for webbing... we made a dark maze lined with red light that led to the dungeon of Crazy Pete. )

Once we made our way to Crazy Pete and rescued him, we were given our next clue:

• Okay buccaneers time for your next clue - Where is the busiest time of the ship at 6:30 am, 1 pm and 5 pm...

We were heading to the Pacific Dining Room...

• Pirates be brave, sometimes new and interesting things are discovered in bowls of goo and mush mash. Use your hands to find the hidden clue in one of the bowls…… and beware of the baby crocodiles...
  

A coin was to be found. Once we had our piece of gold, we were off to our next destination.

• There is a wise pirate who sits by a place where he cannot Pee Pee and must shower first. Go and prepare for you will use your brain, you must outwit this wise pirate before he goes insane.

(For those of you at home, one of the funny parts of the Anastasis ship is the sign that resides over the pool. It reads: Pee Pee and Shower First... Just something you need to know in order to understand this clue.)

Ahh!! We had to remember our pirate trivia and terminology to pass this next test!! Could we do it??

• Arrrrrrrr me maties, quiz time it is…
  If you can answer wise pirate Crooks tricky questions correctly then you can fish the next clue from the water.
  

We finished with no time! (I had some smart pirates on my side!)

• When the fire drill sounds, it is one place to go……. Located between hatch 2 and hatch 4. Tinkerbell is waiting to be freed but beware…. There is an evil pirate lurking ready to pounce.

Tinker! We had to go save Tinker Bell!! This was by far the best station. As I was going around with my team, I was hearing the screams and squeals from some of the younger kids.


Bowie and Andrew made these young pirates fight hard, but they proved to underestimate the will power of these little pirateers. In the end, Tinker was safe and sound... Peace was restored to Never Never land.

Our prize? Our beloved TREASURE MAP.

After some time of deciphering of the landmarks and clues... we were off... our destination?? The B deck laundry room! Someone must have buried our treasure while they were doing some laundry. Alas, the tasks we had to complete were difficult, the journey long, but in the end... worth it... (then again chocolate and candy always is!)

After a lot of hard work, we were done! The night was a hit and we all relaxed out on Aft deck to finish out the evening watching Hook. A great night for all of the families on the ship :)

Unpacking

Over the last couple weeks, there has been a lot of activity around the ship as we have been setting up for patients. The dental and eye teams were especially hard at work as they were the first to start accepting patients. Redemption Hospital and New Kru Town are two of the areas these teams are based.

Here Esther Biney- one of our ship's photographers- is giving a hand with bringing in supplies.

Dr. Keith Chapman- the gentleman in burgundy scrubs - is one of our long term dentists on board. A native of Texas, he and his wife have two beautiful girls and a son adopted from Liberia.

Here you can see the amount of space that our dental team was given. Although spacious, it will be tight with patients coming and going. The Jesus film will be on while patients are waiting, and hygiene teaching sessions will also be taught to patients and their families.

Many many people come with different types of needs. With the addition of the Africa Mercy, we will double the capacity of patients we will be able to treat. Until then, many will have to wait until we have our large screening in May. We pray with each one we have to turn away for now.


Another part of setting up is making sure we know what blood donors we have on board. Here, some of our nurses are pictured helping with the screening and documenting. The final cleaning on the ward took place, beds set up and pillows fluffed.

After a night of praying and dedicating the ward and the patients we were to serve, our team was ready.

Exploring Monrovia

The first two weekends here, I was eager to explore this new city that is to be my home for the next 3 months. To be honest, I had a lot of mixed emotions about going downtown that first week. From all of our security briefings, I knew that we were not to enjoy the same freedoms we had in Ghana. The best thing to counteract those feelings was to jump into this amazing culture and to explore the surroundings. I'm so glad I did... I fell in love with Liberia.

This is the view as you walk off the gangway onto our new dock. The distance from the ship to the main road is .5 km- so it's a nice walk. Out the first gate to the left is the UN base camp. We quickly became friends with our Bangladesh and Nepalese neighbors. Soccer and Volleyball are regular occurrences over there- and quite the competition goes on!! We have been named, THE NO MERCY TEAM.



From the main road, you need to catch a taxi. GOOD LUCK. Taxi's here are a little more tricky than in Ghana. They will pile as many people as possible into these makeshift- ductaped vehicles! 8-9 in a small car is a common occurrence. Before you decide to hail down one of these though, make sure you know the direction to your destination... for you have to point in the direction of where you want to go. It will take a bit of time before I become good at this skill.


From there, you pass the one red light in Monrovia and begin to make your way into the city. No traffic rules here either, so expect anything. Downtown is a busy place, with many buildings that have been run down or destroyed from the war. Surrounding them are small houses along the river- where many families live and work.

Monrovia is but a shadow of the beautiful, thriving city it was in the 50s and 60s.

There is one bridge that enters into the city. The other is collapsed and lays in disrepair. Large buildings that used to be prominent figures of architecture now stand with gaping holes in the side and windows blown out. Destroyed street lights are a reminder of the gunfire that waged on either side.

Once you continue up Broad street, you approach the hill where Ducor Hill Hotel stands. Above is the Masonic Temple that is to the left as you journey up the hill. This building has housed thousands of internally displaced families. It is also a solemn reminder of the spiritual darkness that surrounded the rebel soldiers. Many of them were involved with satanic rituals associated with the Masonic Temple.

Shortly thereafter, you reach the top of the hill and see the lighthouse, statue dedicated to the founding of Liberia and... the Ducor Hill Hotel.

From here I want to refer you to Scott Harrison's pictures on the Ducor Hill Hotel. He was a photo journalist with Mercy Ships and has done an excellent job capturing in picture what my words never could.
http://www.zoozoom.com/magazine.aspx#id=66&type=story

I had heard many stories about this place- the fact that it was a 5 star hotel where Europeans would visit and vacation. It was a place of elegance and grandeur- of this world's riches. During the civil war, it was looted and stripped bare. Those who could never previously afford a single night's stay now call it home as it has served to house hundreds of internally displaced families. I could see from the circular driveway that this had indeed been a place of great beauty at one time. Upon entering, we met Moses - a teacher with the Mercy School- the school we had established during the last outreach. He greeted us warmly and agreed to show us around.

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I was taken back by the emptiness of this place. Tall vaulted ceilings, a grand spiral staircase, ornate tiles, vast empty space... all dark and desolate from years of neglect and abuse. What had at one time been a breathtaking sight, now was a grim reminder of the years of pain and civil unrest. In the entryway there was a family selling plantain and beans. Another family cooking a meal. Many children were scattered around- some with families, some alone. In the back was a young girl scrubbing mattresses- another clothes. Along the walls hung chalkboards displaying this week's school lesson- benches scattered along the ground- both previous projects on the last outreach.

As we began to walk up the many flights of stairs to the roof, our way became dark. The few operating ceiling lights (by generator power) ended by the third story. We stopped for our eyes to adjust to the darkness and began the rest of our climb. Rats and garbage lined the ground. As I stopped to look down the long corridor of rooms, the dark silhouette of a child emerged from a room. Light shown from behind him. The outer side of the building was gone.

Then in a moment, emotion took hold of me as images began to flood my mind- images of the many times I had climbed a staircase such as this... but in my home church. Providence- which also used to be a large hotel, but now used as an amazing place of ministry to share about the amazing love of Jesus Christ. The contrast could not leave my mind.

We reached the rooftop and looked out for miles. I could see the ship in far distance. "Lord, what do I do with images such as this? What is your plan for those here in Monrovia?" It was heavy on my heart.

We began our desent down and headed back downtown. On our way back to the ship we discovered a favorite little dessert place called Montana- a cute little ice cream shop where you can buy tasty but over-priced Jellato :) But it's definitely worth the sacrifice, especially in the African heat!

Another fun find was the Lebanese grocery store. Red grapes and hummus- two tasty reminders of home that I was very excited to find. Again, prices here are very overpriced due to the presence of the UN. Hungry for a box of Cheerios? Make sure you have at least $8. Flavored creamer? About the same.

A great day of exploring and reflecting. Tired and excited to get back for dinner :)

~John 10:7-11~

Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

The Game Plan

With such a great need here, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the weightiness of the task. We serve a loving God of second chances, who wants to see this country rebuilt more than we do... but it will need to be the Liberian people who will need to restore the broken walls of her country. It is our job to come along side her...

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With that comes the question of how we will play a part in that during Mercy Ship's time here. Below is our game plan during this outreach. As you will see, there is alot of teaching in each project. This is vitally important as these projects need to be completely self supporting when Mercy Ships leaves. These goals extend until the end of the outreach in November.

THE GAME PLAN

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I. Health Care:

A. Eye surgeries- (60 million blind worldwide... 80% could be prevented or treated)

• 2,690 patients... train 2 surgeons and 20 eye health volunteers

B. "Outlook of Hope" - Max-facs- (great need secondary to lack of health facilities; cleft lip and palate- most common birth defect)

• 700 patients

C. "Orthapedic Project"- Orthopedics- (need due to neglected trauma and congential conditions)

• 150 patients

D. "Hope Reborn"- VVF- (in Africa, 1 million suffer with 80,000 new cases each year)

• 200 patients...train 3 surgeons and 3 nurses

E. "Liberia Smiles"

• 4,000 patients...10,000 procedures...400+ talks on dental hygiene...train 20 dental teachers...aid 1,000 children

F. Palliative Care- (Support the family; mobilize church and community)

• 18-24 patients and families

II. Strategic Health Initiative - (coming along side churches and communities to train 30 community health volunteers and create accountability for projects)

A. "Reason to Hope" AIDS Program

• 10 church volunteer programs
• 2 Mercy coalitions (3-5 churches each)

B. "Hope to Survivors"- (increased need for metal health aid secondary to trauma from the civil war)

• 20-30 health care workers
• 60 church leaders oriented
• 100 church leaders sensitized to need in upper Liberia

III. Community Development Services

A. "Income Generation for Women"

• 80 women to start income generating buisnesses
• train 8 women to be trainers
• beekeeping, snails, rabbits and mushrooms

B. "Food for Life"

• Train 120 farmers
• Start 60 gardens
• Mentor 12 teachers

C. "Cheesemanburg"- (cluster of 9-10 villages)

• 5 new wells
• 4 rehabilitated wells
• 2 techs trained
• 16 household demonstration latrines

D. "Congo Town School"- (coming alongside a school that a community already has underway. Currently there are 800 students meeting in a small home that the community church is running and paying rent for)

• finish 8 classrooms
• 1 toilet block

E. "Gaye Town Clinic"- (coming alongside a local church clinic already underway)

• Clinic, labs, pharmacy, offices

IV. New Beginnings

A. "Old Group 77" - coming alongside the government officials to provide a way out for disabled peoples (outcasts; those handicapped physically and socially). Significant amount of people in Monrovia.

• Support system
• Skill training for jobs
• Project life span: 3 years
• Train clinicians
• Resettle 20 disabled families

V. Church Empowerment

A. Church Leaders Conferences

• Two conferenes planned
• 400 participants/ conference
• Topic: "In Unity, reaching our communities"

B. Counselors

• Ward disciplers: comfort, support, mentor and cousel our patients on board

C. Mercy Ministries

• Orphanages
• Pediatric Hospital
• Prison Ministries

Become the face of love in action, bringing hope and healing to the poor.

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"For I was hungry and you gave Me food. I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me. I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me"...And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to Me".

~Matthew 25:35-36, 40

A Look Back, A Look Foward

Six thousand miles away from the United States lies a country whose flag bears a striking resemblance to the American one…alternating red and white stars, and in the upper left hand a blue box. Against this background is one lone white star…the star of liberty. Settled in the early 1800s by freeborn Blacks and former slaves of America, Liberia considers herself the 51st state, displaying the close ties she holds with the US. She is the known for her diamonds, iron ore, timber, gold and rubber (6th largest in the world, and largest in Africa). Her people are known for their hospitality.

The Americo-Liberians settled and founded Christopolis as the capital, meaning “city of Christ”. (This was later changed to Monrovia, after President James Monroe pardoned a large debt.) Liberia’s Declaration of Independence was signed on July 26, 1847, in a small church named Providence Baptist. Liberia’s national motto since then has been, “The love of liberty brought us here-“.

President Joseph Roberts, a wealthy merchant trader from Virginia, was the first president of Liberia and served as such from 1848 to 1856. Although this was to be the land of liberty, over time there proved to be tension between these elite Americo-Liberians and the indigenous Liberians. Overtime… tension began to swell.

Liberia, as the only free republic in Africa, was a model for African colonies struggling to achieve independence. The election of President William Tubman in 1944 brought much conflict and tension within Liberia’s borders. Although he helped to modernize Liberia, the gap between the ruling elite and the indigenous populations increased. By the time of his death in 1971, frustrations in Liberia were running high. His successor, William Tolbert attempted to improve the economic and political climate but his efforts backfired and sparked violent demonstrations.

Although some soldiers sympathized with the demonstrators, others strongly held to the power of the military. In 1980, a group of enlisted men led by Samuel Doe, a 28 year old indigenous master sergeant fought their way to the presidential mansion and executed Tolbert. Thirteen other members of the Cabinet were also publicly executed. Many fled, others imprisoned. Doe was inexperienced and not prepared to rule. He began to favor people of his own ethnic background, and support began to dwindle. In 1985, Doe declared himself the winner of a presidential election he had actually lost. His corrupt government became more repressive of the people and violence began to spring up between indigenous populations who had coexisted peacefully before.

The brutal treatment many had received by the hand of the government forced the indigenous northerners across the border to the Ivory Coast. There, a man named Charles Taylor organized and trained many of them. When Taylor and his 100 rebels reentered Liberia in 1989 on Christmas Eve, thousands of Gio and Mano joined them. A brutal civil war arose. In September 1990, Doe was captured and tortured to death by another rebel group originally associated with Taylor and civil war resulted, full force. Entire villages were emptied as people fled. Soldiers, many of them children, committed unspeakable war crimes, raping and murdering people of all ages, in what became one of the world’s worst episodes of ethnic cleansing.

Five years later, Charles Taylor agreed to a cease-fire and a timetable to demobilize and disarm his troops. He then won the 1997 presidential election because Liberians hoped that he would end the bloodshed. Although it did slow, it did not end. Taylor was accused of backing guerrillas in neighboring countries and putting money from diamonds into firearms used for the rebel armies that he supported.

A new civil war began in 1999 with new rebel groups gaining control. By 2003, Taylor’s government only controlled a third of the country. Conflict continued. After action was taken by the UN and US, President Taylor resigned in August 2003 as part of a peace agreement and was flown into exile in Nigeria. Elections in 2005 marked the end of the political transition that occurred after the civil war. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, former World Bank employee and finance minister, Harvard grad, won the presidential election and became the first female president in all of Africa.

Today, the war fatigue in Liberia is beginning to lift. People are beginning to rebuild their lives, but the road is long. For the fourteen years of civil war, education stopped in Liberia. A generation of children have lost siblings and family members. They know how to hold a machine gun, but do not know how to spell their name. Below are some of the stats today. I believe that these are pretty generous. The UN is not able to rate the degree of poverty in Liberia compared to other countries because of how destroyed it is from the war. It does not even make the list.

*80% unemployment
* 75% live below the poverty line of less than $1 per day
*1 out of 6 people dependent on international food aid
*Major hydroplant destroyed. No electricity or running water.
*10% have access to healthcare
*25% have access to safe drinking water
*50% of children get Malaria during the wet season
*1 million internally displaced people (IDPs) ~ countless becoming orphans b/c parents murdered or placed in orphanges until parents can be found
*Years of corrupt government leaves the UN to find trustworthy civilians to rebuild a competent Liberian police force before pulling out.

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And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor, his righteousness endures forver... 2 Corinthians 9:8-9

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In a place where there is so much pain and destruction.... there is one place we need to start before we are able to share the love of God with them... and that is with their felt need.

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For hope to credible in the future, it must be tangible in the present.

~Ambassador Robert Seiple

We're Here!

6:30 am. I roll out of bed and take some breakfast and my Bible up to Promenade deck. It was still dark out but as I looked out, I could see small lights, almost like candles scattered throughout the water. I later learned that they were small fishing boats. We were at Monrovia.

We drifted out at sea until about 12:30 and then headed into port. It was an amazing experience to begin a new outreach. I half expected to see the familiar Tema port, but as I saw land approaching, I could tell I was definately in a different land.

We were first greeted with cheers from the tugboat that brought us in. "Mercyship! Welcome!!" The kids on the Anastasis had made Liberian flags and were waving them.

The pilot from the tugboat jumped onboard to help us navigate into the port.

Here on the dock, we were greeted by many friends and our Advance team. When we were close to the dock, we had a team playing drums and guitars as we all sang the Liberian National Anthem. Cheers went up from those on the dock.

The four ladies in red dresses are part of our amazing Advance team that left in early January to make preparations for our arrival to Liberia.

For some reason, the gangway is like our mascot. When they lowered it down, we knew we had arrived.

The following pics show some of the singing and dancing we got to enjoy before the Vice President's arrival.

Once the Vice President arrived, we met him at the dock, and the ceremony officially started.

God truly is good for His protection and favor. Praise Him that He has given us such direct access to the government officials to share with them all that the Lord has done. This is Mercy Ship's third visit to Liberia. In a land that is just starting to come out from under 14 years of civil war, the ship is a ray of hope.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 4:4-7