South Africa to Benin - by Rachel

The Africa Mercy has been our home for a month now and much has happened!  4 days after we arrived on the ship in Durban, we set sail for Cape Town: a 3-day sail that was a bit bumpy as we went around the cape.  The seas weren't that rough, the ship just had a bad attitude (she was built as a rail-ferry, not for the open sea). Here's a link to a great video that Miguel, one of our On Boarding team members and ship's photographer created.  It focuses on our 2-week field practice in Winterton, and has some great footage of the sail to Cape Town too:  https://vimeo.com/179564686

We had a lovely 4 days in Cape Town, where we got to catch up with good friends from Cape Town and Worcester!  We also hiked Lion's Head, the mountain between Table Mountain and Signal Hill, with amazing views of Table Bay and the ship:

On the lovely 11-day sail from Cape Town to Benin, all the remaining pollywogs on board became shellbacks as we crossed the Equator, complete with line-dancing and a tug-of war (you can see our 3 in the foreground):

This was the view from our cabin.  Not bad, eh?

And here we are arriving in Benin, West Africa, where we will be spending the next 10 months:

We were welcomed in true West African style with music and dancing, and the First Lady even came to welcome us.

Here's the new view from our cabin, where we get to see container ships coming in every day to dock in the space behind us, off-loading cars and containers:

We are now 3 weeks into the school year, and the kids are finding their feet in the Africa Mercy Academy.  It really is a huge bonus to have such a high quality school on board the ship.  Their goal is that the crew's children's education will not suffer from their parents serving on board, which we really appreciate!   Here's Daniel and his 6th-grade class and home room teacher:

Zaden probably has the biggest adjustment to make, as due to the differences in the South African school system's ages and standards, he essentially missed most of 3rd grade and all of 4th grade.  Here he is with his fellow 5th-graders on the right, with the two 4th graders in his class on the left:

And Ashani is loving her kindergarten class:

One big surprise of arriving in Benin was to find that we have been given a HUGE enclosed dock space.  The soccer, ultimate frisbee and volley ball fans on board lost no time in putting it to good use:  (Daniel is out there, in a blue and orange T-shirt.)

And the "after" photo: 

Kevin is speaking to the community tonight to help them prepare for this 10 months in Benin, the birth place of Voodoo which is practiced by 40-60% of the population.  "This is for keeps, a life and death fight to the finish against the devil and all his angels." Eph 6 (the Message).  We need not be afraid, but we need to be aware, and committed to fight with the weapons of hope, faith and love...and fight to win.

Thank you for your support and prayers.

4 continents in 6 days, 18 beds in 3 months.

Well, here we are, finally settled into our cabin on board the Africa Mercy.  It has been quite the journey!

Our On Boarding team of 30 people left the Mercy Ships base in Texas on July 13th, and we all made it to Heathrow together.  Our family had somehow ended up with a different Heathrow-Johannesburg flight from the rest of the team, and our flight was grounded and rescheduled for the following morning... with NO available connecting flight to Durban for the next 3 days or more!!  We decided that if we were going to be stuck somewhere, my parents' house in Sussex would be preferable to Jo'burg airport.  :D  

So after a lovely night and huge buffet breakfast in a 5-star hotel courtesy of BA, we spent a lovely 2 days with family, including dog-walks in the English countryside and a serendipitous reunion with my brother's family.  Not what we had expected to be doing, but it was really, really lovely and a well-needed rest.  

2 flights and a hotel-night in Dubai later and we finally landed in Durban where our team-leader drove us 3 hours to rejoin the team in Winterton, in the Drakensberg mountains of South Africa.

Our focus for the next 10 days was to support some amazing local ministries in the HIV+ and Zulu communities by helping with construction, painting, and general maintenance.  The nurses in our team also did some home visits and offered medical help.  
Daniel opted to spend his days at the larger site where most of the heavy construction was happening, mixing cement and pulling his weight along with the rest of the team.  The other Yangases went to a smaller site where we help build shelves for the storage unit, repaired the play ground and did some painting - Zaden and Ashani made themselves useful by helping out and running errands, and also spent a lot of time playing with local kids. 

Our other focus was trying to stay warm.  It was beautiful but very cold there at night, and we were housed in an old airforce base: 

Our family had the whole of the attic (green roof on the right) which was HUGE and had 52 beds in it - but was not insulated and about the same temperature as outside (just above freezing most nights.)  This is how we stayed warm at night:

...and in the evenings and early mornings:

We really enjoyed our time in Winterton, getting to see what some other ministries are doing there, and helping out as we were able.  The kids also thoroughly enjoyed feeling like legitimate team-members and interacting with our team-mates.

On Wednesday we made the 3+ hour drive back to Durban, to board the Africa Mercy as long-term crew, for the 4th time (K and R),  2nd time (D and Z) and 1st time (A):

We were (fortunately!) reunited with all the boxes we had sent from Worcester, and thus began the unpacking:

So, this is our new home for the next 3 years.  The boys and Ashani have bedrooms each containing a bunkbed and closets and a small amount of floor-space, we have a large living-room with port-holes facing aft (rear of the ship) which also doubles as our bedroom, a handy entrance-area with storage space, sink, fridge and microwave, and a bathroom with a shower.  We are mostly all settled in now, and we think it's going to serve us very well. 

Our first night on board marked our 18th different bed in 3 months!

The kids are going to be well set up with friends as there are 5 or 6 other boys roughly our boys' ages, and 4 or 5 girls around Ashani's age.  The boys have already been making mayhem on board by participating in some very spirited Nerf-gun wars in the corridors!  The school year will start in 10 days and we are very excited that the kids will get to attend the Academy on board.

Kevin and I will start 3 weeks of in-service training with the Chaplaincy department tomorrow, and we are looking forward to getting to know our fellow Chaplains (total of 4 full-time and 3 half-time) and having the privilege of serving the international crew in this way. 

Thank you for your prayers and support as we have completed the "Unbelievable Intercontinental Adventure"- 23,500 miles.

Kevin:  One of my highlights was seeing our kids do so well in difficult situations.  I am very proud of them.  Ashani has remained out-going and friendly with everyone she has met.  During our time in Winterton she was overheard asking her friend,"Why is your skin brown?" Her new friend Grace reported "because I'm from Nigeria" and Grace asked Ashani the same thing so she explained her situation, "well I'm from India".  With that settled, they carried on playing.

Lunch with 600 - by Kevin

Picture yourself eating lunch in a small restaurant with metal walls, packed with people from around the world.  It is loud, busy, controlled chaos.  Out of the window you can see poverty so intense and gut-wrenching that it overwhelms you.  

Mercy Ships surgical screening day, Sierra Leone, 2011

This is lunch on the Africa Mercy, docked in West Africa.  

How did all these people get here? How are they getting along with each other and providing a million dollars worth of care, every month, free of charge? 

It is a mystery of God's grace, but there is a method in the madness of serving lunch to 600-700 crew members, translators and dayworkers.  Of this group, only 120-150 are long-term crew (serving 10 months +), and they are the pillars that help keep the community in alignment with the core values of Mercy Ships.

This is one of the reasons that the Yangas family is in East Texas in the summertime for 6 weeks.  Having served with Mercy Ships for 8 (Rachel) and 6 (Kevin) years in the past, we are now, along with our 31 classmates, being prepared to be grafted again into the core of long-term crew on the Africa Mercy.  

Our OnBoarding classroom here in Texas

We are a beautifully diverse group on board the ship, from 30-40 different countries, but we must function in unity.  So we are learning about ship life, the history of Mercy Ships and basic safety - and all this is held together by the core values of Mercy Ships:

1) Love God

2) Love and serve others

3) Be people of integrity

4) Be people of excellence in all we say and do

Mercy Ships is a community of faith, intentional in following the 2,000 year old model of Jesus Christ.  The focus is to bring hope and healing to the forgotten poor, using hospital ships.  It takes short-term crew, long-term crew, supporters and donors, and above all God's love and grace.  I don't know how it works, but somehow it does.

Sambany had a 16.5 lb tumour removed on the ship in Madagascar this year.

We have committed to serve as volunteers for 3 years on board the Africa Mercy as part of the chaplaincy team, overseeing the spiritual and emotional wellbeing of the international crew of 400.  When our training here in Texas is complete we will re-join the ship at the end of July in Durban, South Africa.

 Info about giving from the USA
Info about giving from the UK

Dislocate (verb): To disrupt or shift out of place or position.

The Last Supper (in Worcester, SA)

On April 28th we finished packing up our house in Worcester, South Africa, and launched into what we have dubbed our "Unbelievable Intercontinental Adventure".   

First stop:  England.  

The bluebells waited for us!

We stayed in 3 locations: with my (Rachel's) parents, brother and his family, and Great Aunt Gill and really enjoyed some family time and many walks in the country-side. 

Grandma and Papa with Ashani

Eating vast quantities of wild garlic

Barrel-rolling became very popular

Ashani with Aunty Priya

Next stop:  Denver.  We wanted to spend some time with Kevin's dad who had had a stroke and a heart attack and is currently on the hospice program, and also with his mom - especially as neither of them had yet met Ashani.

Planting flowers outside Kevin's mom's apartment block

Kevin's mom was happy to have some help with the flower beds - she said it would have taken her 2 or 3 weeks, and the Yangas family knocked it out in 3 hours.

We took Kevin's dad out to lunch in down-town Denver

From Denver we flew to East Texas where we are currently staying at the "Mecca of Mercy Ships" (aka the Mercy Ships International Operations Center).  We will start training this Saturday, and it will run for 6 weeks.

Kevin and Daniel just returned from a quick 5-night trip to Ellensburg to visit our home church and connect with friends and supporters.  They were also able to spend a day with brother Brian and nephew Connor.

Kevin, Daniel, and Kevin's brother Brian

In July, after our training, we will fly back to South Africa to join the ship, which will be our home for the next 3+ years!  We are excited to get to serve as volunteers again with such a great organization, and we're starting to look forward to not living out of suitcases for a while!

For a great 3-minute overview of Mercy Ships, please click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWL4MujgWRw

For information on  being part of our financial support team, click on this link, and scroll down to the bottom of the page: http://www.ellensburgwellspring.com/yangas-family/

It Is Finished - by Kevin

Rachel and I have graduated from our 12 week Couples and Family Counseling School and our 3 kids seem to be functioning well, so I think we got the balance right.  They have all been really patient with us and our busy schedules as we worked on assignments and research papers. I am proud to say we both got A's (although Rachel got 94.5% to my 93.5%).  

We had so many good speakers and covered so much information, I think it will take some time to process it all.  Rachel has really blossomed in confidence as a counselor and she is so bright she picked up all the theories, and in our practice times she was amazing.  

CFCS 2016 students and staff - missing George and Shellie from the USA and Koami from Togo who had to leave early.

In our last week we had a great speaker named Rod Smith.  He is originally from Durban but now lives in Indiana, USA where he rears his two African-American boys that he adopted as infants... as a single 43 year old.  He works as dean of a school, a teacher, and a family counselor.  He loves to empower people to "Show up, stand up, and speak up".

Here are some nuggets from our week with him: 

- All relationships impact all relationships and those impacts impact all relationships.  

- Healthy people don't become victims or victimize anyone else.  

- Listening is love, you can give someone a BMW and still ignore them.  (Just for the record, if you want to give me a BMW and ignore me, I'm O.K. with that...a blue Z4 roadster).

- When the outside is too shiny the inside must stink.  

- All holiness is local - you can't export what you don't have inside you.  

- All growth requires some loss.  

- We see the world as we are, not as it is.  

Rod really encourages people to find out what they want out of life.  So he asked us what we want, and to write it in 20 words or less.   I thought about this for a couple of days and this is what I want (although it could change next year): "I want to grow to be a mature man and to help others move towards maturity".  What would you do with your 20 words?

Now we are in full-on packing and sorting mode, tying up the loose ends so that we can fly on the 28th.  Tomorrow already our lovely dog Timmy will be moving to his new home on the YWAM base.  We will miss him terribly but he knows something is afoot and the old boy doesn't need any more stress. 

In other news, Ashani lost her first two teeth within the space of a few days.  Here's the first gap:

Daniel and I will be in Ellensburg for a few days to visit my brother and some friends, and we will speak at Wellspring Church on Sunday May 29th at 10:00 - all are welcome to join us!

Our season in Worcester is coming to a close.  It feels strange to be leaving, nothing has gone according to our plans, but as we look back we can see God's finger prints.  Proverb 16:9 says, "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."  What does that mean to me?  The apostle Paul thought he was just going to Damascus.  When we meet Jesus and are eyes are opened, then the real adventure begins.  He is the lion of Judah and he is not tame.  I remember a line from Narnia, about Aslan  "He is not a tame lion...but he is good." 


Thank you for being part of our adventure.  We value your prayers and support.  

Kevin, Rachel, Daniel, Zaden and Ashani.

Learning and Leaving - by Kevin

Our lives and brains are filled to overflowing and we are so thankful.  The Couples and Families Counseling School has been teaching us so many useful tools to equip us to help others.  We are now in week 9 of the 12 week course and here are some of the tools we have been taught about so far: Strategic Family Therapy, Emotional Focused Therapy, Structural Family Therapy, Crisis and Trauma Counseling (for families and children), Genograms, Mapping and Externalizing the Problem, Solution Focused Brief Therapy, Play Therapy, and Critical Incident Stress Debriefing.  We have both finished our 3 book reports and are working on our (12-15 page) research papers.  All this while trying to care for our 3 children and prepare for moving house again two weeks after school finishes.  

It has been pretty intense at times and a few weeks ago I (Kevin) noticed my anxiety level was starting to rise into the red.  My body gave me a few warnings so I approached our school leader and took a few days off to decompress. I have been struggling with anxiety on and off for the last 5 years.  Our school supervisors walked me through one of the tools we had learned called "Mapping and Externalizing the Problem".  This helped me to see that the problem was not part of who I am, but something I had control over.  Through this paradigm shift and working together with the Holy Spirit, God provided me with some healing and my anxiety went from an 8/10 down to a 3/10! I am very thankful for this as the next 6 months will involve a lot of stress that is inherent in relocating, changing jobs and cultures, and traveling over 20,000 miles across three continents.  

We hope to cross paths with lots of you folks, so here is our itinerary:  
1.  We pack the house and magically reduce it to 5 suitcases.  
(We bought a new suitcase and I noticed that Rachel was showing clear signs of Post Traumatic Stress: I found her in the fetal position clutching a roll of packing tape mumbling, "boxes, I need more boxes".  So I used my new counseling tools and gave her a straw and gently told her to "suck it up"...)

For real, here is our itinerary for the next few months:
April 29th - May 18th:  UK
May 19th - 23rd:  Yuma, Arizona, USA (to visit Rich Yangas, aka Papa Rich, recovering from a stroke)
May 23rd - July 13th, East Texas, USA (Mercy Ships base)
also, May 25-30 Kevin and Daniel will be in Ellensburg
July 15th - 28th near Durban, South Africa (working with the local community)
around July 28th, board the Africa Mercy in Durban (Shipyard)
then sail to Benin, West Africa.

We have been working with the kids in trying to prepare for their transition to ship life. We asked them to write letters to our supporters to tell their side of the story.

From Daniel:
Moving to the Africa Mercy is certainly going to be hard for the fact that I will be leaving friends again.  I also have a really good teacher this year and I will miss South Africa's delicious biltong and other meat products.  But it's going to be nice to visit Grandma and Papa in England, my Grandpa in the US, and of course our friends and supporters in home sweet Ellensburg!  I'm also looking forward to joining the Mercy Ships Academy which I have heard good things about.  And I am excited because I love to fly and travel.  Finally, a big thanks to everyone who supports us.

From Zaden:
First of all, I'd like to thank our supporters for supporting us.  Some of the things I have enjoyed about Worcester are: a good school, good friends, a beautiful view of the mountains, and South Africa's delicious biltong!  One of the challenging things I will have to overcome is leaving my good friends behind at school.  One of the good things about going on the ship will be seeing the ocean every day!

And here is a picture of Ashani with a picture that she drew of the ship: 

She said the birds in front of the ship are "Eagles".  I think she meant seagulls :-)

I also was able to celebrate my 12th/48th leap year birthday this year.

 Can you tell which one is 12 and which is 48?

Thanks again for your prayers and loving support,

The Yangi