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Gone were the days when the Canary Islands were the main stop over for the Spanish galleons on their way to America. The Castilians began conquer the Canary Islands as early as 1402. During the conquering of America Tenerife became a stopping point for the Spanish conquerors, traders, and missionaries on their way to the new world; which brought great wealthy to the archipelago alongside the sugarcane plantations. Five hundred years later tourism represents 35 percent of the economy of the islands, but it still offers refuge for ships to and from South America, Africa and Asia. I first came to Tenerife as Cadet of the merchant ship M/V Serra Verde on her way back from Europe to Brazil. The first Mercy Ships, the Anastasis stopped in Tenerife, for water and fuel, on her way to the first field service in West Africa in 1990.   In light of its rich history, an argument can be made that in his infinite wisdom, God gifted the Canaries Islands with the gift of hospitality.  For over

Newton’s third law of motion says that: “To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction.” The same law of physics applies to life. Jesus said to his disciples “in this world you will have trouble.” Trouble here is the same as problem, opposition, or adversity. Whether you want or not there will be always adversities in life. Both in the physical and in the spiritual world we find the action reaction tension. Faithful Biney, a friend from Ghana, once said that “if in the way of doing God’s will you don’t encounter the enemy is because you and him are going the same direction”. One should not be surprised with opposition. In facing adversities James counsels us to: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-3. Tension is the very thing that moves life f

We expect things always work the way we like. On occasions circumstances and other challenges can make life difficult and we say “life is not fair”. The fairness of life is not the issue here; the real issue is how we face those challenges. Organizing the Proficiency in Survival Craft (lifeboat) course here in the Canaries Islands has not been easy. Every time I think I overcame one hurdle another one pops up in front of me. I requested a four days course the crew of the Africa Mercy and was told that the course would take 10 working days. That is problem “ numero uno ”, how could 10 crew members be release for two weeks during the ship’s preparation for the field service in Africa. This was solved when the school manager understood I want a different course, a four days lifeboat course. Then was problem “ numero dos ”, the list of students for the course had to be submitted to the “ Capitania ” Spanish Maritime Authority, two weeks prior to the beginning of the course, but the cou

If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you know that I like to write about my day to day experiences. Last Sunday was one of those memorable moments for its simplicity and predictability; simplicity because life was plain and simple. And predictable because things happened just the way it was supposed to happen. I experience a typical Spanish hospitality after the church service. The pastor and his wife took us to lunch in his house. Lunch was served at an extension on the back of the house. Two large tables were set for us, about 14 people. Food was plenty and delicious, but most remarkable was the fellowship around the table. Everyone was talking to everyone and time to time the conversation changed to Korean, Dutch, English or Spanish. Time suddenly stopped and we became engulfed on the conversations. We laughed and enjoyed the communion with each other. The atmosphere was as relaxed as a siesta can be. I wander if this was what the disciple experienced at the presence of

If there is one thing that really captivates me is a warm welcome. The sense that people are happy because you arrived cannot be described with a picture. It is one of those priceless moments that produce joy and a sense of belonging. Maybe my Brazilian blood senses things more than others, but the reality is; no matter what type of blood one has a warm welcome does something good to you. Few years ago I brought two Officials from a maritime college in Ireland to assess the possibility of providing training to the deck crew of the Africa Mercy. On the flight from Dublin to Tenerife they met a nurse who was returning to the ship. She shared with them that she was unhappy back home and decided to go back to the ship where she could help the poor and needy of Africa. We picked the three of them at the Tenerife airport and drove to the ship; parked the Land Rover close to the ship and began to unload the luggage. On top of the gangway a crew member recognized her and run down to give h

Today is a special day. Thirty two years ago Carla and I got married at Igreja Batista do Meyer in Rio de Janeiro.

The Africa Mercy pulled into dry dock in the Gran Canaries and shifter sideway through a syncrolift system.

Isn’t it remarkable that when asked about our day the first sentence that comes through our months is “ very busy ”, as if the word busy provides a summation of the things we do. Using busy as a statement of how our days go can be a reflection of a chaotic life due to poor time management. In the other hand having a busy day could mean that there was more work to be done than time to do it. Busy work in itself is not necessarily a good thing. It is possible to work a lot, as the expression spinning the wheels goes, with very little result. Jesus disciples were very busy working all night without catching a single fish, Luke 5:5, but at Jesus command, in a short period of work, they caught more fish than their boats could hold. Having a very busy day doesn’t necessarily reflect what we were able to accomplish throughout, the day week or month. Instead of qualifying our work as busy, which have a negative connotation I suggest that we should look at what we accomplish from a

Yesterday at the Tyler Jr. College swimming pool twenty students successfully completed sea survival exercises. Sunday they travel to Africa for the field service before joining the crew of the Africa Mercy in Tenerife, Canaries Islands.

If you have a pet you will know what I’m talking about. During the ten years we lived on board a Mercy Ships we could not have pets. When we moved to Texas the girls found a cat they name Cotton Ball. Then there was Kelly the Dalmatian, more precisely Princes Kelly the 9 th . Between Kelly and Engel the German Sheppard, several cats stepped in the revolving door of our house until we settled for Copernicus and Zion.  Mickey, a mix of Lhasa Apso and Poodle, was two months old when came to our house last year. Vivacious and playful, didn’t take long for him to conquer our affection. Like his ancestors from Central Asia, any noise is enough for him to raise the alarm by barking until something is done. He also has lots of fur, in the spring when he got his first grooming he seemed very small comparing with how he looked before.  Last Wednesday evening, as the Fourth of July celebrations drown to an end, I let White Dog, our daughter Queila’s dog, go out for a leak. She came ba