MaritimeMercy.com

Today we celebrate Thanksgiving. Families and friends gather around tables across this nation to celebrate God’s goodness. This year, Thanksgiving looks a little different for most of us. We have confronted an invisible enemy unlike any we have ever seen. We have been encouraged to gather in small numbers, wear face masks, not to visit grandma and grandpa, and to keep social distance, which is quite difficult for those in the South. If the French greet each other with two kisses on the cheek, Texans like to greet with a big bear hug. Nevertheless, in light of the Apostle Paul’s encouragement that, “You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us, your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God." (2 Corinthians 9:11). I decided to list five things I am thankful for amid a pandemic. Here it goes: Despite many people losing their jobs, I can do my work from home. Despite the impossibility of being with my coworkers in the office or...

Every day the Africa Mercy crew and patients consume 60 metric tons (15,850 gal) of water. This is the equivalent to 60,000 bottles of water, one liter each. That’s a lot of water. The water-men test, treat, filter and test the water again until it is safe for drinking. Last week five deck crew and two Deck Officers attended the Basic Water Safety course. The twelve hours course was delivered by Shirley Quinn, the water engineer responsible for the water and sewage plant at the Mercy Ships International Support Center in Texas. Ibrahim Bangura, one of the course participants said, “The course expanded my knowledge and brought me to a higher level of understanding about how to treat water and make it safe to drink”. The crew who takes care of the water are called water-man, but after I saw all the tests and treatment they do to make the ships water read for consumption I’m calling them ‘Water Doctors’.

This is my second week on-board the Africa Mercy in Cameroon, Africa. To be in Africa is something special because Africa is fascinating, but one need to have the right lens to see the Africa God prepared as a gift to the world. A great Brazilian composer said that “life is not only what you see. It is a bit more”. When looked beyond the unsurmountable needs there are beautiful people, mountains, hills and rivers, deserts, savannas and forests, animals and birds in Africa. Last night someone told me that he saw in a supermarket here in Douala the biggest shrimp he has ever seem. Interesting enough when the Portuguese sailors come to this part of Africa they were so impressed with the quantity and size of the shrimp that they called the land Camarão, the Portuguese word for shrimp, and 500 years later the country is still called Cameroon, Camarão. It is raining season, so it rain every day. Yesterday I woke up at six in the morning it was raining and it rained until 11. The rai...

It is exiting to be back on the Africa Mercy in West Africa. Benin is a beautiful country with beautiful people. The medical team is helping lots of people through the surgeries on-board, dental treatment and the Hope Center. I’m on-board teaching Crowd Management classes, having meetings, planning and enjoying fellowship with so many co-workers from the ship. In one of the classes I taught, only three students out of eleven had English as their first language. This makes the teaching quite interesting because some of the students on top of new English words, have to learn also maritime terms.

The passage to a new year is an opportunity to start a new. To turn to a new page or chapter in the journey of life; or a chance for a clean slate in some circumstances. The turn to a new year also brings to light new resolutions and the possibility of the realization of old desires and wants. The Prophet Isaiah says: “Forget the former things; do not dwell in the past. See, I’m doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV  The good news is that God wants and encourages us to start a new. The prophet Jeremiah points out that God’s mercy is new every morning. Which means that today’s mercy is not the same as the mercy experienced yesterday. So, it is a good practice to make resolutions not only for a new year, but also for a new day, for a new week, month, or phase of your life. Throughout Scriptures there is a strong emphasis in remembrance and reflection, both to remember what led to success, or to destruction and to reflect on it. How...

The last couple of days have been difficult for the residents of our small city of Van here in Texas. Many of our friends, co-workers and neighbors were greatly affected by the tornado that destroyed houses and took two lives. Carla, Cassia and I are grateful for God’s protection over our lives and home. Seven houses from us on my street looks like a war zone.  I’m learning that these types of situations impact us all in different ways. When I look at a house that last week was there and today is gone, I think that could be my house. When I pick a picture on my lawn that was blown by the fierce wind, I think that could be my memory that went away. So I’m grateful that not even a shingle was taken from my house.  We want to thank all of you for reaching out to us by phone calls, emails and face book messages. Please continue to pray for those affected by the storms.