A day out!

A day out!
It started the day before, 4 of us realised we were all off the next day with no plans, the question was asked, shall we do something tomorrow?
The reply was yes, as it would be nice to get out of the ship and see Sierra Leone, but then the next question was asked, what shall we do?
Some ideas were shared but at last we came up with a great one; a trip to Charlotte Waterfalls and then have a late lunch at the Crown Bakery. We decided to get a taxi in the morning and then head off on our big day out!!.
Next day we meet at 9:30am at reception where another crew member joins us for the trip.
We decide to call a taxi, we ask a few people if they know of any, eventually we get a few numbers. Fortunetly he is only about half an hour away (which is good for Freetown!!) and he knows how to get to Charlotte Falls!

We meet the driver at the top of the lane, we squeeze in, 4 of us at the back. We get up the road and somehow the police let us go - even though we are too many in the car! Its an interesting drive through Freetown as we go through back lanes which unfortunetly have big pot holes! The car overloaded in the back was scrapping the ground making a screech sqerch sound. The driver kept on driving and we eventually get onto a good road. From here on top of the mountain, there was a great view of Freetown. We turn off in the direction of the falls, if we thought the pot holes in Freetown were bad, we were in for an even bigger, bumpier ride! As the car scrapes along the road, we all look at each other, and think are we going to make it?!
After an hour of travelling we make it to as close to the falls as this taxi will go. We stop and walk to the falls, it's nice to get out of the car, we pass a village where a guide then takes us to the waterfalls. The first view of them is impressive, they are lovely, we get to be by them, it's good to have fresh cold water as I splash it on my sweaty face!
We spend a bit of time there and then we head back to the taxi. It's a good walk as it's uphill, eventually we all get in to the taxi, we only go a few hundred yards when we hear a noise that doesn't sound good. The driver stops gets out and looks underneath, comes back to us and tell us to get out as he needs to fix the exhaust pipe!
We all pile out and wait in the heat! It does not take long and we are off again. Down the road we decide to get out as the road is sooo bad that we don't think the car would survive, so we walk a bit while the taxi drives on a bit!
We all file in again, we are getting use to squashing in! We get into Freetown and get dropped off near the Crown Bakery (which is a restaurant) he doesn't drop us off outside cause the traffic is so bad; it is quicker to walk. We enjoy a meal at the restaurant and then we walk back to the ship through the busy market.
It was a good day out, Sierra Leone is a beautiful country, and there is soo much to see!

2 weeks working on the Africa Mercy

It has been 2 weeks since I started working on the ship, it has been interesting coming to grips with the way things are done here! I have been working on the plastics ward, which is great as that's what I do back at home, they may have different ways of doing dressings and paperwork but ultimately the goal is for the wounds to heal which is the same as at home!! The patients are great, they welcome you and make you feel like you have known them for a long time! It will be sad to see them go at the end of this week as the hospital closes. The hospital is closing so we can get things ready to sail, this means double bleaching everything and then securing them so they don't go flying around when we are sailing!!! Next week it will be cleaning time. We are heading to Ghana first for Christmas and then to Togo in January to start a new field service.

I was working yesterday morning; a Sunday, back at home at work I would be thinking I'm missing church, and would rather be there..... But I am sooo pleased that I am here; they had a church service on my ward, it was great. One side of the ward was packed with patients from other wards and staff from the ship. As it was the last Sunday for the hospital they had a worship time and a testimony time. It was great to hear the patients saying thanks to God and how their lives are changed through Mercy Ships!

When I have time I have been able to go to the market and walk around the town, it's so busy but it's easier to walk to places than to drive; the traffic is terrible. The only problem with walking is that you have to dodge the cars, motorbikes, carts and the rubbish lining the streets! It makes for fun times!

This photo is taken from the dock where the ship is. You can actually see this scene from the ship. It serves as a reminder to me of why we are here; to bring hope and healing to the poor.



Better let you know were I am living... I am in a 6 berth cabin, on deck 3, this means there are no windows. The positive thing is that the hospital is on the same deck, so I can roll out of bed and walk down the corridor and I am at work, it beats the M4! One of the things I have to learn is how to share a bathroom with 5 other people, and making sure not to wake up my bunk mate at 6:30 in the morning, especially when I am on the top bunk! It is very different to living in my own house! Space is limited in these cabins, so most of my time is spent out in the common areas. This a good place to meet crew and play games. The conversations are interesting as currently there are 30 nations represented on ship, but thats for another time!

Yarm's Farm Word of Life School, Sierra Leone

After a long journey on 4 differents planes we landed in Sierra Leone at 5 in the evening. The first step out of the plane and I am hit with the heat (especially the humidity) and the smells, and I feel I have come home and I realise in that moment how I have missed those smells that only come from Africa!
We all pile into 2 poda poda's which are van's that really should only sit about 8 people but at times here can fit 20! All our luggage is all loaded on top of these - this is when I am praying that all our luggage gets there in one piece! We are taken to a small car ferry for the hour long ride to Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone! Thunder and lightining guide our way there, no rain yet but its coming!
We arrive in Freetown with all our suitcases somehow they have made it! Then it's a small ride to the ship where we are greeted by food! We don't have long onboard as it's now raining and we need to get to Hope Centre, were we are staying for the next 2 weeks - it's about 45 min drive in good traffic! Fortunately we have a good drive there and we settle into our dorms. The girls, all 12 of us sharing a dorm and the boys sharing the other. The Hope Centre is a beautifull place. We have power from 7 in the evening to 7 in the morning, that means we can cool down at night with the fans blowing; a very good thing after a hot day out in the sun!!

The next day we have a sleep-in as recovery from jet lag! We eventually make our way to Yam's Farm, it's a small fishing village and their main source of income is bringing in sand from the sea and selling it for construction.
The area is very poor, they have no electricity and they get their water from various wells. After a very bumpy ride we get to the school and we are greeted by 250 screaming children all wanting to hold our hands. An incredible moment!! We are then introduced to the Pastor who is also the principle of the school. He shows us around the school which consists of one room with 6 classes in. All the benches are squeezed in, and you wonder how they can teach all these kids in different grades in one room. Then we are showed around the construction site where we are going to help build the extension to the school! 
Four of us were in the children's ministry, this meant teaching the primary school in the morning. We had planned a few lessons before we got there, and we had also got some things we would leave at the school which they could use. We bought a world map, in a school of 271 only a few had ever seen a world map, even the teachers were amazed. How simple things we take for granted in our country to them it's an amazing thing to see. It was great to see the children's eyes glued to the map and to what we were teaching!

After lunch we would join the rest of the team on the construction site. The jobs included making bricks from scratch, digging and more digging, shovelling sand from one place to the other. It was great to see the school extension go up, unfortunately it's not finished yet, but hopefully will go to see the school before we leave Sierra Leone and it would be great to see it finished!
It was hard work at site and it was very hot, at the end of the day we were all drenched in sweat, cement and sand! As a team we all got on really well, supporting each other and enjoying the time we had together as a group.
During the weekends we were able to relax and enjoy the beaches! They are soooo beautiful here, it was nice to be able to swim and go walking on the hot sand :)

In the 2 weeks we were there, we were able to teach at 2 other local schools, this was a great chance to show the love of God. They were very gratefull for us coming and spending time with them. It was a great experience for me, which I will never forget!

Sorry for not having many photos; on the ship it takes a long time to download them. See my facebook for more pictures!
I will write another blog to let you know how are things going here on the ship!

Africa Mercy

Hi all!!!
At last I have internet access! This is a quick note to let you know I am now on the SHIP!
The last 2 weeks as a team we have been in Sierra Leone working on a school, my days were full with teaching in the morning and then helping with building work in the afternoon. We were there to help build an extension to the school. It has been a great 2 weeks, tiring and hot but very rewarding! I will write more later when I get more settled in!