Easter in Community - by Rachel

Easter on the Africa Mercy is a really special time, and many crew who have experienced it before look forward to Holy Week as a chance to immerse ourselves in Jesus' journey.  (With some egg-related activities thrown in along the way.  And most likely some Veggie Tales too.)

As Chaplains, it is our team's privilege to coordinate many different Easter events during this time, so that's what's been keeping us busy for the past weeks:  3 Easter services (Good Friday, Sunday Sunrise, and Easter Morning), 3 movie nights, 1 craft afternoon, 1 Open Cabin evening, 1 Easter Breakfast, and the Maundy Thursday events (more about that later) - all with the help of other crew and volunteers.  We also had an amazing Easter Sunday lunch put on by our Food Services department!

On Thursday we transformed one of our function rooms into the Upper Room...

which included the 12 Stations of the Cross and Communion, and the opportunity to come and find some solitude and stillness all weekend long.

There was a foot-washing station on Deck 7.

The International Lounge became the Garden of Gethsemane

...followed by a place to contemplate what Jesus did for us on the cross on Good Friday

...and then a place of celebration and praise as we filled the cross with flowers on Easter Sunday morning!

It was such a special time.  (Although I'm not sure if Kevin wants to see another palm branch for a while!) We were thankful to have time to experience all of these different aspects of Easter as a family and as a community.

I want to finish with this quote by David Janzen about community life, which we have found to be so true in our work and lives here on the Africa Mercy:

“There's no getting around the truth that community
life regularly brings out the worst in us. Yet what better place can there be for our weakest parts and crankiest moments to happen than among those who love us deeply? Living in community is the choice to lie down on God’s operating table and open our hearts to the Holy Spirit's healing through each another. It is an invitation to spiritual surgery . . . using and submitting to the "surgical tools" of gracious truth-telling and patient listening. God's strength is made perfect in our weakness.” 

May we all experience the depth of His healing and love through each other as we choose vulnerability over perfection.

February, The longest month -By Kevin

Living in the north (above the 47th parallel) I was finding it more and more difficult to survive the month of February.
The cold and darkness seemed never ending and it felt like it was seeping into my bones, pulling me into a foggy funk.  Here in Benin it is quite warm and sunny, but I still find that February seems like it's never ending.  When will spring come?  When will the flow of patients end? We have been working here for 7 months, the pace is fast and steady, the finish line months away.  We have helped thousands of people and our gangway will stay open for thousands more till the end of our field service in June.  Some of us are getting tired and even coffee is not helping.  Our greatest strength is our diversity and unity, but this begins to fray as our strength weakens.  

Following Jesus together we create tremendous amounts of synergy.  Synergy is the combined power of a group of things ( or people) when working together that is greater than the total power achieved by each working separately.  Most of you know what synergy is but I found a cool illustration. 

 “One of the largest, strongest horses in the world is the Belgian draft horse (I’m not sure why such a small country needs such a big horse). Competitions are held to see which horse can pull the most and one Belgian can pull 8,000 pounds (3636KG). The weird thing is if you put two Belgian horses in the harness who are strangers to each other, together they can pull 24,000 (10,909 KG) pounds. Two can pull not twice as much as one but three times as much as one. This example represents the power of synergy. However, if the two horses are raised and trained together they learn to pull and think as one. The trained, and therefore unified, pair can pull 32,000 pounds (14,545 KG), four times as much as a single horse.”  

I think its an amazing picture of what the body of Christ can do when we work at being unified and pull together.  

I love being a part of Mercy Ships because we all pull together and thousands of peoples' wounds are healed and lives forever changed.  The question is, how do we keep our unity when God had made us all so different?  What do we do when the winter drags on, we are tired and there is no time or place to rest?  When I get tired I get selfish, but Jesus recommends that I do the opposite, 

“ This [is what] I command you: that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another.( John 15:17Amplified Bible)

How are you going to love unselfishly? Unselfishly means: generously, charitably, and helpfully.  The way I see it, God’s love is a fuel that I need to love others, but I must make room in my heart by surrendering.  We all need God’s help to love so we must surrender our wants and needs. Instead of looking inside, I look out to those around me.  We can seek ways to encourage one another and unselfishly seek the best for one another.  So this week I have challenged myself and encourage you to think of a person who you would like to value more and love better. Then surrender to God’s love.  God and us loving and pulling together.  Let the synergy begin.

This is "little Kevin"   -not all of us can be Belgian draft horses :-)

During the Celebration of Sight ceremony last week, this grandma who had had a successful surgery on board was praising the Lord: she was blind, but now she could see!  She even put her cane down so she could get "jiggy wid it".  God is good.

Thank you for your support and prayers as we continue to pull together to show God's great love.

The Yangas Clan

Christmas photos! - by Rachel

We've been back on board for 2 weeks now since our Courtesy-of-British-Airways-Christmas-trip-to-the-UK so I wanted to share some photos. We had a lovely time in England with family, lots of muddy walks in the beautiful countryside with wellington boots and dogs, and plenty of great food.  
For 5 days over Christmas, my brother and sister-in-law had 11 humans and 2 dogs at their house: our family, their family and my parents.  They were amazing hosts and we had a great time together:

Christmas morning!

Notice Priya's beautiful table decorations

Cousins!

Elsa was posing as Mother Mary meek and mild, so we may have put a nappy/diaper on Perry after this shot so that he could be baby Jesus...

After Christmas my parents paid for an AirBnB house for 3 nights for the 5 of us, deep in rural Dorset, which was really lovely and relaxing.  It was a tiny cottage with a wood fire, so we were very cozy: 

We went for some sunny walks with gorgeous views

and stops at the local pub with a log fire...

...and an ancient skittle alley!

This was followed by a night in London with Great Aunt Gill and Henry,

who took us to a Peter And The Wolf concert at St Martin in the Fields at Trafalgar Square on New Year's Eve, which was also Daniel's birthday!  I can't believe we have a 12-year old! 

Henry died very unexpectedly the following day, and we feel so honoured to have been able to share one of his last couple of days.  He was the quintessential gentleman who could tell great stories, and we will miss him. 

After this we spent 5 days at my parents' house in Sussex, which I'm afraid we have no photo evidence of, as Kevin caught a really nasty flu virus as soon as we got there.  It was lovely to spend time with my parents but difficult with Kevin being sick.  Unfortunately my Dad also caught it, which hit him really hard and he is still in the process of recovering.  

The rest of us also caught it on our way back to the ship (poor Daniel was feeling awful on the plane!) but we are all mostly recovered now and back to our usual routine.  With many crew having left just prior to Christmas and lots of new crew on board who arrived just after, there are lots of new people for us to meet and try to remember the names of!

In other news, Ashani lost both of her top front teeth in the last 2 days!  I was hoping for a shot of the cute gappy grin look, but the best we can do today is this slightly disturbing spin-off:

Thank you for your prayers and support!  We will continue to serve the people of Benin until June when the ship will sail to the Canary Islands for shipyard.

love, 

the Yangas family

'Tis The Season - by Rachel

Here we are doing some last-minute packing for our 2-week trip to the UK for Christmas with family, courtesy of British Airways (who grounded one of our flights over the summer and gave us some rather generous compensation - thanks BA!), and I realized it had been a shockingly long time since we blogged.... so here it is, a quick glimpse of Christmas season on the Africa Mercy.

Sinter Klaas came to visit us, all the way from the Netherlands.  Via Spain.  I think.

Daniel was less impressed with Sinter Klaas than he was with the cookies in his bag.  Can you spot him?

In our multi-cultural community there are many ways to celebrate, and so many amazing people who put on fabulous events to bring the community together:  Santa Lucia (from Scandinavia), Sinter Klaas (from the Netherlands), cookie baking and decorating, ginger-bread house competition, door-decorating contest, Christmas concert, craft night, Winter Wonderland Christmas bazaar, and Advent services to name just a few.  

Cookie baking!

Christmas craft night!

more crafts...

...and more crafts

The Elementary School Choir getting ready to sing at an Advent Service

...and here's your annual digital Christmas card:

Let me leave you with a thought expressed by one of my fellow-Chaplains at the last Advent service:  

There was no room for Him in the inn.  

There was no room for him.  No room. 

How can we, especially in the midst of what is often a really busy season, make room for him in our schedules, in our lives, in our hearts?

We wish you all a very merry Christmas filled with the peace and joy of His presence.

What do we do all day? - by Rachel

Some of you have asked what our daily lives are like here on board the Africa Mercy.  So, here's basically what we do all day!

The kids go to school from 8:00 til 3:20 with an hour's break at noon when we eat lunch together in the cabin and the boys practice piano. (I'm teaching them, which goes pretty well most days!) The Academy's curriculum includes all the usual subjects plus Bible.  We love that at school they get to learn about God's love and plan for us, as well as getting a great quality education!

Zaden's class wearing the colours of Benin

Ashani scootering on the dock after dinner
Yes she dressed herself :-)

Daniel and Zaden playing games with patients in the ward

Kevin and I are very much enjoying serving the crew by working in the Chaplaincy department again.  At the moment there are 4 full-time chaplains on board, and 3 part-time (we mums/moms work for most of the time our children are in school).  According to official documents:

The focus of the Chaplaincy is to provide and facilitate pastoral care for all Mercy Ships personnel. 
Our goal is to help create an environment for each individual to live in a biblically healthy manner in order to fulfill their purpose in Mercy Ships for as long as the Lord has designed.  
Our belief is that by being objective, safe and impartial we can influence, encourage, shepherd, teach, counsel and mediate in both proactive and responsive ways."

For our Chaplaincy team, this involves a number of different things, including: 
- planning, coordinating and carrying out our weekly Community Meetings and Sunday services
- coordinating Community Groups, youth and children's ministries on board
- debriefing crew after traumatic or stressful events
- walking with crew through crisis - whether that occurs on board or  with friends & family at home
- counseling (individuals, couples, pre-marital)
- listening, praying, coaching
- providing resources (books, Bible studies, Bible reading plans)
- organizing retreats
- leading departmental devotions

As for the two of us, a lot of our time is spent in counseling couples and individuals.  We are so thankful to have taken the excellent counseling school with YWAM earlier this year, as it equipped us in many ways for this season. 

We feel privileged to walk alongside people as they allow God to work in them, as He draws them closer to Him (and each other) and transforms them into His image.  This can be a painful process at times, and it is often hard to be vulnerable and admit our weaknesses or points of growth. When people come to us to share what they're struggling with, we are on holy ground.  
Over the course of a year, around 1,000 crew members come to serve on the ship (usually about 450 at any given time).  We want to help them to serve effectively so that we can all bring hope and healing to the people of Benin, but also help them find God's hope and healing for them personally during their time on board.

counseling crew members

My (Rachel's) main focus in Chaplaincy at the moment is also to coordinate the counseling offered by all of the Chaplains on board, helping to provide resources as needed, giving In-Service counseling training for the Chaplaincy department, and liaising with Mercy Ships' Head Counselor at the International Support Center in Texas.  This is a role that is definitely a steep learning-curve for me, but one that I feel honoured to be in.  I'm learning a lot on the job and feel as though I'm in a really great internship with excellent supervision.  :D

On that note, I am thinking and praying about whether (or not) to pursue further education in counseling during this season.  There are many online programs that have the potential both to equip me further to serve the crew on board now, and also to qualify me to work in the counseling field outside of Mercy Ships in the future. The information available about different programs is overwhelming, and I am seeking clear guidance about this. Any prayers would be welcome!

Visiting patients on the ward

Thank you for your prayers!  

We would love to hear from you and find out what's going on in your life - please drop us a line either by email or via FaceBook! 

Each Number Has a Story -by Kevin

It’s an exciting time on the Africa Mercy because the hospital is open and the surgeries have begun here in Benin.  There is great need here, but the delivery of hope and healing has begun.   We hope to provide 1,500 surgeries, and to impact over 8,000 people with free dental care.  I was reminded this week that each of those numbers has a story. 

  

This story started in 1999 in Freetown Sierra Leone when a 12 year old boy was badly burned - so bad that he spent 18 months in the hospital. (After I visited a hospital in Freetown I was completely overwhelmed by the poor conditions and could not imagine staying there for any length of time.) He developed burn contractures on both legs, making it impossible for him to straighten his legs, or to walk.  He had dreamed of being a soccer player, but now the doctors were recommending amputation to regain some mobility.  A friend of the family pleaded with him to disregard the doctor’s advice, because he felt that God had a different plan for Osman’s life.  They left the hospital the next day, hoping that God would heal him one day. 

  

Six months later, in 2001, God brought a hospital ship to the war torn country, and on the day of surgical screening Osman’s dad made sure that he was first in line to see the doctors.  They arrived at 0300.   When he was told that there was no doctor on board that could help him, he was in despair, but as he started to make his way back home he recalled the book of Job, and his favorite Psalm, #23, “The Lord is my shepherd…” He prayed the whole Psalm.  Then a doctor came out of the screening area looking for him, and said that he could help.  Osman was given a number that would change his life, his date for surgery.  On the Mercy Ship M/V Anastasis, Dr Tertius Venter performed a contracture release on both legs and he was sent down to the ward, where he would stay for 2 months and 3 days.  I remember his face because his bed was at the entrance to the ward, right at the bottom of the stairs.  I passed him every time I started my shift as charge nurse.  Although I did not know his story then, I knew his dressing changes were often twice a day, took a long time, and it were almost always painful.  Osman endured, slowly regained the use of his legs, and was able to walk again.   



In 2011 Mercy Ships returned, and Osman gave up his job to work as a volunteer day crew.  Now he works on board the Africa Mercy full-time, and we reconnected a few weeks ago while I was having a tour of the engine room. When I asked him why he had come to work on the ship, he said: “Others gave up their jobs so I could get my healing, now I want others to get their healing.”  Osman continues to use his sharp mind and strong work ethic to help the healing continue as he works as a member of the engineering department.  Last year in his free time he was able to build 5 hand-pedaled wheel chairs for disabled children so they could find some freedom to move.   Osman knows what its like to be a prisoner in one's own body, and he knows what it’s like to be set free.  I pray that we will all not grow weary of doing good because the numbers can make us numb, but rather to remember that behind every number is a story. 

Osman and (old nurse) Kevin  -Sept 2016

The nurses have been working hard to get the hospital unpacked and ready.

The Hospital Open House on Deck 3 of Africa Mercy.  Future Doctors/Nurses?

Dr Gary Parker and Ashani

Thank you for your prayers and support,

The Yangas Clan