Final Thoughts

Right now it is early morning here in Africa. I woke up early this morning with so much already going on in my mind... today at 2:20 I will say goodbye to dear dear friends here at Mercy Ships and board a plane to head home to the states. What an experience these last six and a half months have been. In every way, God exceeded all expectations and deepened a love within me for the poor and needy in West Africa.



These are the precious faces that I will miss seeing. Yesterday was my last day at Fatima Orphanage, and I tried to soak up every moment, every hug, every sound, as I knew I would not see most of these little ones again. What an amazing God we serve. Yesterday I was thinking of what great love God has for each of us and these little ones here, to send His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our stead, for our sins to provide abundant and eternal life with Him. It is that love that spurred me to come here to West Africa to give of time and resources to serve with Mercy Ships. It is that love that gives me LIFE. It is that love that I share with you.


So with my final thoughts, I want to share with you all a passage of Scripture in John. One that has been on my mind these last few weeks. It is a prayer Jesus prayed before He was betrayed and crucified...

" ...I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent Me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am to see my glory that you have given me before the foundation of the world. Oh righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."
~ John 17:20-26


It is my deepest desire that you know that love of the Father. I hope that you have seen a glimpse of it in the stories I have shared these past few months.... it is yours for the taking. Thank you so very much for walking this journey with me in Ghana and Liberia. I will see you soon.

Farewell dear Africa, I will greatly miss you...

~Kristen Nicole Shaffer

A Week of Lasts...

I can hardly believe that in just two short days I will be saying farewell to so many that I have come to love here in Africa. I will board a plane in a little Liberian airport to begin the long road home... to finally see so many people I love and have missed in the States. As I started my week on Monday... a strange sense came over me as I knew I had started my "week of lasts"...





*Monday- Last movie night with Bluckster and Vern. Today I began the process of officially disembarking from the ship.





*Tuesday- Last Tues morning crew meeting. As they read off the list of people that were leaving, it was now my time to stand. Last day on my beloved G5 team (well I won't miss carrying boxes so much ;) )...





*Wednesday- Last time hanging out with the missionary kids on the Ana.... last time to study 2 Kings in Ben's fabulous Bible study...





*Thursday- Last Community mtg and sharing in praise and worship with the entire crew... last crew ice cream party...





*Friday- Tonight is my farewell party- Last time to spend dinner and an evening at Monalisa with everyone here...





*Saturday- Last time at Fatima Orphanage with Bowie, Lucy-lu and Vern... Last evening on the ship... last full day in Africa....





What a privilege to have so many things that I am going to miss. Isn't God so good, that He could call a daughter of His to go to Africa for 6 short months, and above & beyond great ministry opportunities, has provided a home that I have come to love and will greatly miss...

Passing the Torch

One of my favorite days during this outreach was the Passing the Torch ceremony. A very symbolic and momentous day, we were to officially retire the beloved Anastasis from her service and commission the Africa Mercy for many more years of service inWest Africa.


Everyone was lined up from the gangway of the Anastasis to the doorway of the Africa Mercy. Dr. Gary Parker and his family, who have served on the Ana for over 20 years, were on the Ana. Don Stephens and his wife, founders of Mercy Ships, were in the doorway of the AFM.


Probably the most beloved piece of the Ana is the cross that was on the bow- symbolic of the God we serve and the fact that His cross will always go before us. It was that cross that was removed and would make its way to its new home on the AFM bow. As it was passed from crew member to crew member, we all said something of praise to our God for His faithfulness in times past and His faithfulness to come.



Next was the torch- made from pieces of the three previous ships in the Mercy Ship fleet- the Anastasis, the Caribbean Mercy and the Island Mercy. Although decommissioned, their spirit and memories live on. "For His fame and for His glory" was was Dr. Gary shouted over the crowd as he held up the torch with his family and began to pass it on.

"Choose this day whom you will serve...but as for me and my house we shall serve the Lord." Joshua 24: 15

"For the Lord is good, his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations."

Psalm 100:5

"And Jesus spoke to them saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life'." John 8:12

"I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." Isaiah 49:6b

President Ellen Johnson

I remember sitting in Pennsylvania one morning and hearing the NBC report on the first female president in Africa that had just been elected. What an amazing woman of courage and faith-- a woman who stepped in during an extremely unstable time of her country to pick up the pieces and begin the long road of restoration. From that day on, I always remembered the story of that incredible lady. Little did I know that long before I would ever walk down the roads of war torn Liberia, the Lord had already stirred in my heart a love for this land and for her President. What a joy then, to welcome President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for her second visit to Mercy Ships- this time to welcome the new ship and it's crew.

(Above is Mr. and Mrs. Don Stephens, founders of Mercy Ships. To the left is Solfrid Quist, our executive director on the Africa Mercy)

(President Ellen Johnson touring the new hospital ward.)

Just before President Ellen Johnson gave her address, Esther Biney did and amazing song performance. We are all sitting in our new International Lounge.

SHE'S HERE!!!

"Be on the dock by 7 if you don't want to miss her!!" Solfrid, our Executive Director on the Anastais gave us solemn warning to be up, ready and presentable that Wednesday morning. The day we had had been fasting, praying and working for, dreaming of, wishing to become a reality, was about to. After 8 years of hard labor, earnest prayer, persistant faith and diligence from thousands of individuals, the Africa Mercy was about to find her new home along the shoreline of West Africa.

Over the last few months, a couple Mercy Shippers have become friends with the guys that run the tugboat for the port. One has been to our Bible study a couple times- so they were really excited when a couple of us wanted to ride the tug to bring in the AFM-- and so we did!!

The Ana was decorated in all her splendor and the decks and dock was packed with people and flags rejoicing for her arrival.

It was so wonderful to be one of the first ones to welcome her and her crew. Many of our Ana crew had flown to Newcastle to help with finalizing details and the sail, so there were many familiar faces excited to see us.

Song and dance greeted the AFM crew along with our flags, symbolizing the many nations that are represented throughout the crew members. It was a beautiful day- a gift from our Heavenly Father, all praise goes to Him.

*Check out http://www.mercyships.org/ to see video of the ship's arrival & passing the torch ceremony*

Super Saturday

Well... on May 12th, my buddy Ben Cubbage and I had the privilege of planning and hosting the games of the M/V Anastasis' Super Saturday. It was definitely an Olympic worthy event. With both of us having been involved with Young Life previously.... the day was sure to be packed with crazy, weird, disgusting games in order to bond our already close crew even closer! What a blast we had!

Sign up sheets went up where people could sign up their team. Next they had to come up with a costume and theme song for their team. I was giving out their points.. and boy did I expect hard time and creativity to be put into them!! We had major events such as.... the three legged race... bean spitting... human sculptures (team style)... face painting... just to get them started.

The real fun started though when I pulled out the game that requires both speed, skill and courage. As you can see above, teams elected two members. One was to make a PB&J sandwich with their feet and then feed it (with their feet) to their team mate that was lying on the ground. (As seen above). The first one to finish eating the WHOLE thing won. I was amazed at what great sports everyone was. For it is one thing to make kids you don't know do this... it's another when they are all the family you live and work with. ;) No one has held a grudge as of yet.



The fun continued with eating mystery meals, putting shaving cream on your head and seeing how many fruit loops your team mates could throw and stick to it, etc... The day was packed full of fun.


We wanted to do a Land Rover pull but ran out of time because of this next game... Splish and Splash. At first different teams competed, trying to knock their opponent into the water with a pillow. But then, as the fun went on, we had everyone joining in including the captain against his son, husband against wife, roommate against roommate (all done in love I'm sure ;)).

What a great day to cherish our last few moments as just the Ana crew, for soon we were to meet a couple hundred new friends on the AFM. And just so you all know, we rewarded everyone for their hard work and sportsmanship. ;)

Closing the Ward

(Escorting our last patients home)

Soon after screening, our last patients were discharged or transferred and the ward on the Anastasis closed for forever. It was a great day as we were able to rejoice over all that the Lord has done these many years... but also sad as it was the last time a patient would grace these halls.

During the last couple weeks of the ward, two of our patients had some post op complications and were transferred to nearby hospitals. Yet, praise our Heavenly Father that they had stabilized and just needed a couple more days of hospital supervision.

Little Victoria had a large tumor that was removed and she has since gone home and is doing very well. Solomon required further surgery during our time here and was a patient we were very concerned for during his time here. Our Lord decided to take little Solomon to be with Him, as Solomon died about a week after leaving Mercy Ships. A hard time for our medical staff... Many of us were able to go to little Solomon's funeral in his home village. Please keep his family in your prayers during this dark time...

(Here is our crazy and amazing medical team. To God be the glory for all the great things He has done...)

Screening Day

*Thank you all who have been so patient with waiting for new updates. But I hope you enjoy these reflections on events during the month of May...*

SCREENING DAY

Late at night on May 4th, a group of Mercy Shippers trekked out to Harriet- Tubman Stadium in Monrovia, Liberia. Already, hundreds had gathered waiting in line to see our physicians the next morning. This late night team had the unlikeable task of beginning to turn away those we could not help. The rains came that night, but no one went for shelter. All stayed and waited for the morning light....

Potential patients were escorted into the stadium and waited for registration. But boy did they enjoy the wait!! Drums, guitars and African music were heard throughout the stadium all day. One of our guys made animal shaped balloons for the young and the young at heart. Stickers, face painting, silly songs... all apart of the waiting process. From registration, they came to my history team where we documented their chief complaint and reviewed their health history. Next was assessment by our physicians... lab... pharmacy.... prayer station. By lunch, the YWAM team had come and helped us distribute small lunches and drinks to everyone.

It had rained in the morning, and so we were lucky regarding the heat- honestly, it was only hot around lunch time- then cooled back down. God cares about the little things. After I was done with reviewing health histories I worked at the prayer station. This offered prayer and counseling for those who were denied and for those who wanted someone to talk to. I really appreciated the relaxed atmosphere and getting to hear the hearts of those who had come. It was a long day and we were all very tired by the end :) But not too tired to miss out on going downtown for ice cream. ;)

So thank you to all of you at home that held us in prayer. God is to be praised.