So, it’s been some time since we
have blogged, long months have passed by, suddenly it has been well over a year
since Covid demanded our retreat from Senegal and we made a dash from Dakar in
Senegal to Granadilla in Tenerife. 18 months on we find ourselves on the
Africa Mercy (AFM) in dry dock in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria coming to terms with
the facts that we will remain in the Canaries for the remainder of this year
and not be returning to field service in Africa until early 2022. How did
this happen?!
Before leaving Africa, the hospital ceased operations and all our patients were either discharged or placed in local care to fully recover. Lynne’s work as hospital Administrator came to an end and she is now the HR Director on board after spending a short time in Hospitality sorting and cleaning cabins that were abandoned in the exodus from Senegal. Times are not normal.
Matthew completed his two-year term
last summer when we all travelled back to the UK and Lynne and I took taking
the opportunity to settle Matthew into his University in Lincoln. He is
studying History with Archaeology, something very different after working with
the deck department onboard. We are so proud of Matthew of the way he
conducted himself on board and that he has identified history as a subject that
energize him.
Lynne and I returned to the AFM
in November to make ready to sail to Africa in January but soon learned that
this would be delayed until May '21, this was disappointing but
understandable. Ship staff continued to carry out maintenance and
sort the belongings of crew who had left the ship from Senegal at a rush
expecting an early return. Thinking we would arrive in Africa in
May, Lynne and I came back to the UK to see our family and get ourselves
vaccinated, but soon after returning on board we found out that our return to
Africa would not happen before 2022. After so many months closed up
on board on a remote and windy half constructed port with only short spells of a
few hours shore leave granted, this was yet another blow. Many crew started to re-assess lives and
decided that it was time to leave the AFM, either for good or until the
pandemic has passed and the mission of the AFM can restart.
Delaying the return by so many
months gave opportunity to carry out some serious ship maintenance so we sailed
to Las Palmas on Gran Canaria, the island a few hours to the east of Tenerife
where we were lifted out of the water and placed in dry dock for thirteen weeks
which is where we are now. All the paint has been grit blasted off
the ship, about 80 holes have been cut into the hull either to gain entry into
tanks for cleaning and painting, or to cut sections of rotting steel out to be
replaced with new. Work continues on board
24/7 on fire main, sprinkler systems which have been drained and parts replaced
and the tank work. My project was to
replace 130 windows onboard with a team from Poland. All this
work is intrusive to life on board a vessel with limited ventilation and most
spaces at an average of 30oC.
We are also very short staffed and have needed to employ contractors for
many key positions and non-technical crew are staying off ship overnight for
comfort and safety reasons.
We are grateful to so many short-term
volunteers who arrive from so many nations and of many and varied faiths, with
a crew of around 100 there are about 40 nations represented. As a religious order, (it is - Mercy Ships
has a legal status as such) with so many non-Christians on board, a split crew
living on and off the ship, we are
making extra efforts to maintain times of prayer and worship and retain a focus
on the mission of Mercy Ships and our four core values: Love God; Love and
serve others; To be people of integrity; and Strive for excellence in all we
say and do.
So here we are: serving, working hard and long hours,
struggling with constant change, the heat, and an uncertain future. This is the joy of the Lord!
