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For years Mercy Ships crew has utilized the Jesus film to support local pastors to plant new churches. It is not different here in Togo. Twice a week the Jesus film team goes to different villages to bring the message of Christ in the local language. Friday evening I went with the team to a village where Campus Crusade is planting a new church. Before we left we where advised by the Ships’ Captain that there were a huge traffic jam outside the port if in one hour we could not go through we were to return to the ship. So we prayed for God to clear the way for us. Indeed the road was totally blocked. We could not go forward or return. But someone signed for us to detour through the other lane as no car were coming and we crossed to the road we need to take. It took us only fifteen minutes to get on our way. When, one and a half hours lather, we arrived at our destination there was a crowd of about 200 people waiting for us. By the time the film was concluded 300 people had gathered to wa

When I’m onboard the Africa Mercy, I’m so focused with the training of our crew that I don’t realize that lives are being transformed few decks bellow in the ships’ hospital. I had a glimpse of this when I went to the dock to take a picture and a group of patients walked the gangway to board the ship. One of the nurses told me that 20 patients received eye surgery that day.

The glamour of comfortable flights is far gone. Seated like sardine in a tin can, I managed to get some sleep, but I arrived onboard the Africa Mercy totally tired. The six hours difference between Texas and Togo was not enough to keep me awake. I lay down around 11PM and slept straight until 7AM. It was raining when I woke up; it is the beginning of the raining season in Togo. It rained for almost four hours. At breakfast familiar faces welcomed me; most of them received training at the International Operation Center (IOC) in Texas. It was hard to link names to faces in the morning. Ananda Samarawera, the Second Engineer, greeted me and said: Happy Birthday. Yes, it is my birthday and I’m commemorating it in Africa. Then he invited to a Sri Lanka meal in the evening in his cabin. He prepared five different dishes, all very hot, I mean spice hot. Hot enough to give you hiccups and make tears to roll down your face, but it was good. Ananda invited eight people to celebrate my birthday.