One night in paradise

Sunset on Burah Beach

IT’S THE WEEKEND BABY! The clichéd 5fm line bellows out from within. I join up with two other MS’ers and head out of the port, up Bad Boy lane, to the Savage Square junction. Looking down Bad Boy Lane, past the container trucks with dodgy breaks, the funnel of the Africa Mercy is visible over the tops of the containers in the port. Africa Mercy is Mercy Ships flag ship, currently serving in Sierra Leone.

Poda Poda Wisdom

We flag down a Poda Poda (mini bus taxi) shouting aloolooloo. How you get Waterloo from what sounds like an Indian war chant is still a bit of a mystery to me, but none the less it works. The three of us squeeze into the back bench of the Poda. If you think taxis, pot holes or Eskom are bad in South Africa, you have obviously not been to Salone. Podas are basically rusty beat up sardine cans on wheels. They are South African Taxis, older, more beat-up, less comfortable and definitely more dangerous (if you can believe it) brothers. There are four rows of steel and wood benches which have four people squeezed onto each. The windows have a big steel bar across to stop the crammed people/chickens/goats popping out the windows.

We happily extract ourselves in Waterloo where amid shouts of ‘Abpoto’ and ‘hey white boy!’ we buy a pot, some drinking water and barter for the next leg of the journey. As soon as you pass Waterloo the country side opens up beautifully. Driving southwards down the peninsular you pass through small villages, over clear mountain streams and next to lush green rice paddies. With beautiful jungle covered mountains on your right and big open mangrove lined flats on your left the drive is quite spectacular.

'While walking down the beach to our campsite shaded by coconut trees, the sand squeaks underfoot'

Walking down through the Bureh village to the beach we are welcomed by friendly locals and little children running up and grabbing our hands. While walking down the beach to our campsite shaded by coconut trees, the sand squeaks underfoot. The beach is a long white crescent with rock outcrops on each end and a big rock in the middle of it. Small waves push and pull on the shore with fishing canoes bobbing just beyond them. The bay is framed by a small jungle island on the left and the silhouettes of the jungle covered slopes of the peninsular mountains on the right.

Chilling on the beach with friends with island in back ground.

After a day of swimming and enjoying the beach we all came together for a friends birthday celebration. A number of other MS’ers had made their way out there and we enjoyed a dinner of fresh barracuda, crab (I stayed well away from this as I am allergic) and rice cooked by the local villagers. As the sun went down hammocks were strung up between palms and a campfire was started.

Relaxing in hammocks hung between the coconut palms.

During a late night swim we noticed something amazing happening. Millions of little lights flash around you as you move through the water, giving the impression that your body is glowing. It was incredible to see. This is apparently caused by phosphorescent plankton which lights up when disturbed. If you wee in the water a huge lightshow starts. While this gives you away to those swimming around you, the lightshow is definitely worth it.

Hauling in the midnight catch

On the way to go sleep in my hammock I heard a soft chanting further down the beach. I went to investigate and met a group of fishermen hauling in their fishing nets, so I joined in. About half an hour into it, I started wondering what I had gotten myself into. My hammock was calling as it swayed beneath the midnight shadows of the palms. My knuckles were aching from gripping the rope and the coarse nylon was starting to rip at my hands. Just as I was about to let the locals carry on unhindered, the fishermen excitedly informed me that the chain was onshore. I didn’t know what this meant at first, but about ten minutes later we had a seething net full of fish.

When I finally climbed into my hammock I stared at palm fronds silhouetted against the bright myriad of stars above. No words can describe.

The view from my hammock

The following morning after a nice breakfast and a stroll through the forest, I jumped into a friends van and was looking forward to an afternoon relaxing with friends on the ship. Fate would have it otherwise. As we drove out of the parking lot, we heard the bottom of the vehicle scrape but thought nothing of it. This is Africa after all. A little later a pickin (child) came running up shouting about something leaking under the vehicle. With pinpoint accuracy a rock had knocked the oil sump plug resulting in us losing all the engine oil. After chewing over how to best fix the leak we stopped it up with bubble gum and then sealed the deal with some quick set epoxy (mental note epoxy and duct tape can fix anything). Some other suggestions included laundry soap and cement powder. Who knew? We eventually got back to the ship in time for dinner. What a great week end.

Busting Down Hell’s Gates

For the last few days I have been walking around the ship singing an old Sunday school favourite:

I will build my church (echo)
And the gates of hell (echo)
Will not prevail (echo)
Against it.

The Africa Mercy, Mercyship’s flag ship, currently serving in Sierra Leone, has been absolutely buzzing for the last month or so. In preparation for packing and moving to Togo in December, all the various departments, including mine are trying to finish what needs to be done before we leave. 
Part of the international leadership was recently on the ship and during their time here we had a mini conference aimed at planning and developing the programs strategy. It was really exciting for me to get a glimpse of the direction that we will be heading in over the next few years and to identify where I fit in. During the conference we had a time of prayer. We were given a picture of the ship as a giant battering ram (much to the dismay of Captain Tim) being swung into huge steel gates. With it was the verse: ‘I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’ (Mat 16:18)

God has not given us a spirit of fear^{Rom 8:15}
A ‘’baby’ song taught and forgotten in between the excitement and fun, and sometimes excruciatingly boringness of Sunday school. This foundational verse does not talk about us huddled in a fortress as Hell has it’s way outside. NO! WRONG WAY AROUND!!! It talks about the Church forcefully^{Mat 11:12} and courageously moving forward against Hell in Power, Love, and Self Control^{2Ti 1:7} and not being stopped. Our God is greater^{1Jn 4:4} and the battle has already been won.^{1Cor 15:55}


The Tip of a Spear, One of Many
Mercy Ships is like a cohorts of spears being brought against the enemy. The people on the ship are merely the tips of spears being thrust by their various support structures at home. Just like a battering ram is only one part of a good attack, there are many other Christian organisations working in Sierra Leone. All working together, often without even realising it, following the Lords plans to further the Kingdom of God. 
This drives home the fact that I am not here as a stand alone person, but rather as an extension of the Body of Christ back home.

Destination Unknown

A small rural village whose only access is via boat.

Walking off the Africa Mercy, Mercy Ships flag ship, currently serving in Freetown, Sierra Leone, I am peppered with questions. Where are we actually going? Who are we staying with? Where are we going to sleep? What are we going to eat? How are we going to get there? How long will it take? To each of these questions I simply shrug and say I don’t know. It was the truth, I had no idea. I could see in the eyes of Nathan and JD, the two guys who I had convinced to come with me, the thought of “this guy is crazy, what have we got ourselves into?” I had been invited by a friend I had made in one of the local communities, to go and visit his home village where he had grown up prior to the war. We were going to see rice, we would ride in a boat to get there and it would take three hours. That was all I knew.

A rough map of our route.

Cramped in the back of a Poda Poda, 4 to a bench, trying not to knock our heads.

After a three hour Poda Poda (minibus taxi) ride we arrived in Reutifung. I was more than happy to escape the confines of the rusty death trap on wheels. We had driven about 120km from the ship. So far it had been quite an eventful trip. A flat tire had been replaced, and at the same time something in the suspension was knocked back into alignment with a wheel spanner. We had driven along bumpy dirt tracks, past swamp rice, palm plantations and mangroves. We had driven through muddy pits, police checks and small villages and had even crossed a massive steel bridge in the middle of no where. It was at this point that I thought it would be safer to ride on the roof rack with a couple of the locals so if something happened I would at least be able to jump off and not sink down to the murky depths in a rusty sardine can. Unfortunately the driver wouldn’t let us.

A boat full of people heading back to their villages.

My bums relief from the plank seat in the Poda Poda was not long lived. We boarded a small wooden boat and for the next three hours chugged along the serpentine water ways sitting on another plank. We were crammed into the oversized canoe with bags of rice, foofoo, chickens and babies. The river wound its way between brack water rice paddies and knotted mangrove thickets. This local highway stopped at several villages unloading goods and people on their way home after market day.

Bende Bende, a local shellfish, is cooked in stew and served with rice.

With a flurry of mudskippers skimming across the water as the boat pulled into our stop, we hopped off the boat and headed into the village. Despite the village not being pre-warned of our arrival, we were welcomed with open arms. The village elders were gathered and the head man gave a warm welcome speech. Being the first abpoto (white man) to enter the village in living memory gave us and our host instant celebrity status.

The village wharf with rice paddies on either side.

We were offered dinner, which we gratefully accepted on the condition that it had no shrimp or bende bende (a local shellfish) in it, as I am allergic to shellfish. Jumba fish (mudskippers), lentils and rice were served and eaten with our fingers. For dessert we were served fried bananas with fish. It was also great but to my dismay we got to the bottom of the pot and found shrimp. While I had a bit of anti-histamine on hand, I did not want to go into anaphylactic shock 8 hours from the hospital and so chose insult over poisoning and made myself vomit to get rid of the last few mouthfuls. Thank God I was fine.

There were three in the bed and the little one said "I got bit by bed bugs!"

A morning bath in a clear river pool.

The following morning we were woken to the sound of kreol praise and worship songs. I was a bit stiff as I had shared a mattress of palm fronds on a  small double bed the two other guys and a couple of bed bugs. Aside from elbowing Nathan every time I rolled over, the love bites from the bed bugs, or that JD had decided to open a mosquito restaurant by fighting with the protective netting while sleeping, it had been a good night. After washing in a clear river pool we were treated to chilli chicken on rice for breakfast. We then headed off to catch the boat home.

Our boat ride home.

The homeward bound boat was a lot bigger than the one we had come in on. We were again loaded in with chickens, bananas, palm oil, dried shrimp, smoked fish and other local produce bound for the markets in Freetown. Along the way we stopped at several fishing villages on river islands, one was called England and another Jamaica. These villages were built in the mud of the mangrove swamps, and I think the people in them spent more time in their boats than on dry ground. These villages also marked the rivers exit to the sea.

Jamaica, a small fishing village at the mouth of the river.

It was a bit rough (look at the faces). Even the chickens got sea sick.

Much to my surprise we headed out into open ocean to cross the bay to get to the Freetown peninsular. This is a bit daunting considering there were several rain storms on the horizon and our engine kept cutting out. After enduring a bit of seasickness, which even the chickens felt, one or two down pours and a couple engine stalls, we arrived at our boats destination, Tumbu. I eagerly disembarked, barefoot, picking my way through rubbish and chicken and fish guts. We then caught a poda poda for the hours ride back to the ship.

Hiding from a rain storm out at sea.

The heaving port of Tumbu. 

Despite joyously running down Bad Boy Lane to the ship singing chariots of fire, the weekend had actually been a real great experience. After seeing how the people lived in the village and comparing it to the ‘development’ in Freetown, I can’t help wondering whether development is actually such a good thing.

From left to right: Ryan, Nathan, JD, James (just in case you were wondering, it was Jame's village)

With regards to those first few questions, I still don’t know exactly what I ait, or exactly where I stayed, but that was not the point of the trip. I can’t help thinking about Christian parallels in my life. Where is God leading me? Who will I meet? What will I do? I don’t know, but I trust that God is leading me on a great adventure. There will be hardships, there will be bedbugs, people will think I am crazy and comfort zones will lie in shards on the floor. At the end of the day I hope to look back with satisfaction at what I have achieved and joy in knowing that I have followed Gods calling on my life.

In the Shade of a Mango Tree

Just outside Free Town, past Hastings and the mud hut with the Canadian flag in the window, there is a hill. Take the first dirt road after the hill and head down the road to Old Yams Farm Warf. You will go past a blue tin shack and a poda poda with no wheels. Just after the rocky patch in the road, stop. Below you twists the Freetown estuary weaving its way through the mangroves. The water ways stretching like veins from a heart. Carry on past the cucumber patch and head down the hill. At the bottom of the hill is a mango tree. In fact there is a whole grove of mango trees. Like leaves flicked into the air on a blustery autumns afternoon, civil war refugees and child veterans settled in the cool of this orchard. Walk, passing men mending fishing nets and women chatting around their cooking pots. A young man gets out of his hammock strung between two trees. He stretches out his hand in a gesture of friendship, eyes smiling as he speaks the greeting of “ow de bodi?” The scars on his arm, like numbers on die, betray the mask of the tranquil shade. The unrest that rent this community into being and the magic and superstition lurks beneath. This is Old Yams Farm Warf. A beautiful Muslim fishing village.

The local chief showing us his fishing net he is repairing. Fishing is one of the main sources of income for the village.

A Pioneers Story

The school/church floor was cemented once we left.

Moving from the streets of Freetown, following a calling from God, giving up a well paying profession and trade, Pastor Mark moved into the Yams Farm community. Squeezing into a tightly traditional Muslim village, he ignored death threats, side stepped assassins and established the Word of Life Church. On Sunday the church fellowships under the hot zinc roof swinging the the wooden shutters and doors wide open to let the breeze through. During week days the mudblock building shelters 150 primary school children. They are having the foundations needed to be the country’s future instilled in their young minds. The teachers volunteer their time, driven by the knowledge that in order for their country to advance, the next generation must have an education. The community has recognised the good work of the teachers by allocating land for the schools future development. In order for the school to be recognised by the government, one of the requirements is that there is a ventilation improved pit (VIP) latrine for the children. In faith that they would get the funding for it, the community dug the pit for the latrine outside the school where they wanted it.

Enter Mercy Ships

Two years after the pit was dug we, as Mercy Ships find out about the school and church. After establishing relations with the community leaders and determining exactly what was required at the school we decided to bring a team in to help with the construction of the latrine and do a Holiday Bible Club with the school children at the same time.

Two of the schools students

Latrine Construction

Building sand is dug up from estuary sand bars and boated in. It is another source of income.

Prior to the team arriving I designed the latrine, got the community to straighten up the pit and assisted the community men with the production of the cement blocks to be used in the pit construction. I also sourced the sand and stone required from the local villagers at a very competitive price. Granite stone is painstakingly broken down by hand with hammers and is sold by head pan. The sand is dug up from a sand bar in the estuary and loaded onto a wooden boat and then paddled to the village. It is sold per wheel on the vehicle it is loaded into.

Granite building stone is all broken to the right size using a hammer and rubber tire.

I stayed with the team in a conference facility about 5 minutes drive from Yams Farm. There were two really nice big dormitories with guys sleeping in one and girls in the other. The team was mostly women, but also had an Afrikaans family in it. It was really funny when Rhenier, the little boy realised that I could speak his language.

The pit with foundations and the start of the retaining walls.

The villagers were really excited about having us there and turned out in full force to help out. We started by precasting the cover slabs next to the pit. Once these were done we cast the foundations and built up the retaining wall inside the pit, packing rocks in between the block work and the bank and leaving gaps for the water to drain out.

The pits cover slabs were precast next to it.

Once the block work was built up we levelled off the top and then moved the concrete slabs onto the pit. These were really heavy and involved a lot of grunting, heaving, shouting and crow bars.

Shifting the slabs into position once they had cured.

Once the slabs were in place, the superstructure was built up and the roof was put on. The end result was a little bit lopsided and definitely not symmetrical, but was a million times better than the open pit toilet previously being used.

The roof was zinc sheets on the timber used for the concrete forms.

There were two things which I battled with. One was that this was not a commercial site, but a community site. I did not want to demotivate the team by constantly stopping them and telling them their method was slow, or inefficient and not aesthetically pleasing. The other was that every time I would pick up a block, or spade one of the villagers would take it from me saying, ‘here let me help you.’ They then proceed to ignore the spade lying on the ground next to you and take you.

Concrete, blocks and mortar was passed down a human chain to where it was needed.

We set up scaffolding with plastic over the top to protect us and the new blockwork from the rain

The latrine turned out well and was ended off with a big celebration where the villagers gave each one of us a locally tailored shirt and affirmed us with the positive attributes they had noticed in our lives. It was a really great experience. Aside from the successful construction of the latrine, the project had a number of other outcomes.The biggest thing in my opinion was the unity that it brought the community and the attention that was focussed on the church. It was also great developing inter cultural friendships and learning as well as teaching various things.

The Gateway group, the builders and the cooks outside the finished product.

The path less travelled

Enjoying a chilled evening on a small hidden beach.

I have always enjoyed the idea of exploring life off the beaten track, the prospect of adventure excites me and the idea of finding something new which few others have seen inspires me. I think it has alot to do with getting into God’s creation, learning about and enjoying the presence of our Creator in his creation. At times it is great to go at it yourself as there are no distractions, but at the end of the day it is always more enjoyable to share the experience, even if it is in silence, with another like-minded adventurer. This week I looked up and realised that I am surrounded by like-minded adventurers and friends.


Ship Life
I have moved onto ship for two weeks. A number of families have gone home, wherever that is for them, for the ship’s school summer holidays. This has left a number of free cabins and beds on ship. I have moved into a three birth cabin. This means there are three beds in this cabin. While this is spacious compared to a ten birth cabin, compared to my thirty square meter room back at the off ships team house, my four square meters of personal space is pretty cramped. I am enjoying life on ship. It is really nice not having to start and end the day with a manic drive through what is equivalent to the Durban beachfront on New Year’s day with taxis and mad motorcyclists thrown in.


Birthday Celebrations

I was surprised for my birthday by being seated in the middle of a restaurant and being sung to.

I was wondering what it would be like having my birthday on ship, away from my family and friends back home, and for that matter, anybody who has known me for more than two months. Being the type of guy who is pretty casual with birthdays (ask my family, it drives some of them crazy), I wasn’t expecting much. It turns out it was one of my most enjoyable birthdays ever. I opened my cabin door and someone had put balloons all around it. Another person had put a big Happy Birthday sign on the opposite and yet others had left cards and biscuits. I dodged the lunch time happy birthday song in the dining hall by doing some work at the team house, but got hit twice as hard that evening. We went to salsa dancing, as we normally do, but this night was different. Yes, in hindsight, it was pretty obvious that there would be a party there for me, but like I said I was not expecting the fuss. My Mercy Ships friends sat me in the middle of a busy restaurant and came in singing my praises and carrying a BIG birthday cake. It was a great evening.

She is Belgian and and she Loves Chocolate.

It was also really great to get a bunch of calls from back home in SA and great email and facebook messages. I felt very loved.
My dad used to joke that, when I turned four he was jumping up and down on my Mom’s stomach to try get Simone out on my birthday. She however decided the tenth of July would suit her better. So a few days after my birthday I called my sister for her birthday and was again chatting with family and a good friend who was there as well. It was a good week.

Going where no Mercy Shipper has gone before

While exploring driving through the bush to a beach I found this Chameleon.

My friend Lourens is a great guy. As he is South African, this goes without saying . One day while a bunch of people were lying around on the beach he took a Landrover and went driving. He headed down a dirt track, crossed soccer fields, forged rivers and squeezed through bushes. At the end of the track, which was pretty much a foot path, he and his Landy found a little known beach. On Saturday we loaded up two Landies and headed out to this beach. We dodged chameleons, flying firewood and rice paddies and parked on the beach. A fire was started and we spent the evening roasting sausages and stick bread, drinking warm coke, practicing 4x4 skills and swimming. It was a great chilled evening. A brilliant way to end a great week.

We parked the Landies on the beach and enjoyed a chilled evening braaiing, swimming  and just having a good time.

Generators, Incinerators, Tumours and Scar Tissue
Life is not all about sitting on beaches, catching chameleons and dancing. Believe it or not I also worked this last week. The generators at the HOPE (Hospital Out Patient Extension) centre have been giving problems and one of the things I have been doing is sourcing new parts. I have also been researching incinerator construction. While out and about on one of these trips a father gave me a picture of his little girl who had been badly burnt on her arm. The scar tissue had contracted, fusing her arm to her side. I was also given a photo of a man who has a huge tumour on his head. I took these two photos, amongst many others, to the doctors. They agreed to slot them in and it was surprisingly satisfying calling up the father and letting him know we could help his little girl.

This week has been a relaxed week of researching incinerators, generators and doing odd jobs

Small Group and Worship
When I first arrived on the ship I was a little concerned about my spiritual growth. I was not fellowshiping in a small group and was feeling a bit spiritually dry. I have, however, recently slotted into a home cell with a great bunch of guys who keep each other accountable. I am really glad about this as I find I always grow the most in a small group environment. I am also regularly meeting up with a bunch of people on the top deck of the ship, or on the key side to enjoy the sunset, worship, pray and relax together. We call it the sunset club. It’s a bit cheesy, but its great. I am looking forward to see how God grows me and these groups over the next few months.

Enjoying the sunset at the end of the quay.

Conclusions and prayer needs
It has been a fairly relaxed week work wise, but spiritually and personally I think it has been very productive. Please keep me in your prayers. Pray that God will daily guide and lead me. Pray for spiritual and physical protection over the ship and its crew and finally pray that what we are doing here will be continued and that our stay here will be a catalyst for revival that will continue long after the ship leaves the dock.

Ryan’s Rambles – June Newsletter

Standing on the dock. The ship is to the right of the photo, behind me are some of our Landrovers and on the left is our protective wall of containe

Sierra Leone: An Optimistic Future Despite the problems Sierra Leone has had in the past the potential for a bright future is huge. It contains some of the richest mineral resources in the world including diamonds, titanium, bauxite, gold, rutile and iron ore. It also has the third largest natural harbour in the world. In addition to its mining potential Sierra Leone has some of the best beaches in West Africa combined with stunning forested mountain scenery. The potential for tourism is huge. The ground in Sierra Leone is fertile and flat. Combined with a good climate, the potential for commercial farming is also huge. Regardless of its potential, Sierra Leone is one of the poorest nations in the world. The GDP per capita is $759 per year. This is 13 times less than that in South Africa. Many accredit the cause of the war to corruption. This problem can be seen on every street corner and is even happening right at the gates to Mercy Ships. Corruption is definitely one of the biggest challenges the post war Sierra Leonean government faces. Despite the challenges the Sierra Leonean people are incredibly joyous people. They are extremely friendly and require very little excuse for a party. They jump at every possibility of singing, dancing and celebrating life. It is common place to see traffic brought to a standstill as one or another organisation parades down the streets singing, dancing and playing drums.

Getting into the swing of things
I am settling in and getting into the swing of things. I am fitting in well socially and slotting into the team with my work duties. Another month has flown by and I got quite a shock when I realised that it’s that time of the month again when I must do all those wonderfully fun things like checking my budget and writing newsletters. This month has had its fair share of challenges such as having one of our team members, Armelle, resuscitated and medevac’d to South Africa. Her and her husband Frank are now back safely and have been reunited with their 18 month old daughter. Thank you very much to all who have held her in their prayers.


Work
I am enjoying work and there are several small projects which I have on the go or which are in the planning stage. These include repainting and maintenance of construction tools and equipment, research for constructing a new incinerator at the city’s main hospital, plans to repaint the eye care clinic and the preparations for the construction of a school/church latrine.

Preparations for Latrine Construction

Loading my bakkie with river sand  to be used for casting blocks for the school latrine. 

In mid-July there is a new team of long term Mercy Shippers heading out to Africa. Before they join the ship they will be carrying out a two week outreach project in one of the local communities. I will be joining them for one week to assist with the construction of a VIP toilet and casting a cement screed floor for a local school. So far this has involved collecting river sand (shown left) and the casting of 700 cement blocks. It has been really great getting out of the city and working with these community members. This has been the highlight of my month.

Plans for the Construction of a Medical Waste Incinerator

Medical waste is piling up in the open. We intend to construct an incinerator to dispose of it.

The threat of infected needles is very real around the Freetown hospitals as medical waste is being dumped in the open. These area are unrestricted and the ground is covered with used needles. In future I will not go back onto these hospital grounds without thick leather boots on. This waste is occasionally cleaned up by people in shorts and slops and dumped at the city dump where it is then combed and picked through by people looking for reusable goods. Medical waste has even been seen washed up on the local beaches by Mercy Shippers. Mercy Ships has been asked by the government to construct an incinerator so that these needles can be safely disposed of. I have been doing a bit of research trying to determine the best way to go about this.

Exploratory Assessment of Inland Hospitals

One of the Makeni ambulances spotted on our inland hospital evaluation.

Myself, Frank and Mark headed up to Bo and Makeni to have a preliminary view of the hospitals there. There is a team of engineers coming out in September to do a full assessment of some of the local hospitals. Mercy Ships has entered into a long term agreement with the government to help upgrade the health infrastructure. The idea is to build a data base of projects which have already been assessed and have government approval so that when somebody has the money Mercy Ships can inform them what the highest priority is. While on this trip we found out about Lassa fever which causes major internal bleeding. It is suspected to be spread by eating rodent meat, a local delicacy which we were planning on eating on the way home. A local ambulance used by Makeni Hospital


Off Ship Projects
The Agriculture Site

Jean Claude, Mark Palmer, Jean Abu and myself at the Ag Site

The Food For Life Agriculture Program is aimed at training local farmers in sustainable farming techniques, as well as nutrition. Working in conjunction with other long term NGOs Mercy Ships selects a number of people from various villages to be trained as trainers. These trainers will then return to their villages and NGOs and then show others the various methods. The methods used are those outlined in Farming Gods Way. Basically don’t slash and burn the land, cover the ground with mulch and don’t use commercial pesticides and fertilisers. The returns of this method are incredible and you can see the difference when comparing the Mercy Ships fields to the neighbouring fields.



To Conclude
This month has been a very productive month and I am settling well. We are in a real spiritual battle here and it has taken a while, but I have slotted in with a good bible study group and am taking part in small worship and prayer meetings. I would really appreciate your intercession though, so please keep us in your prayers.

Naturally Supernatural

In rocky ground, but adding a splash of colour to the dull grey rocks.

When I signed up to travel to Freetown, Sierra Leone, to join Mercy Ships on the M/S Africa Mercy I had it in my head that things would be very different from back home in South Africa. Forget about the huge potholes, the language, the culture, the trash, the traffic, the lack of clean water, electricity and marked prices, I am talking about spiritual differences. I was almost expecting a ship full of super Christians, where by just entering into the same room as them, the overflow anointing of the spirit would send you sprawling on your face. It’s not like that at all. In fact, I am finding the spiritual climate here dryer than back home.
I have been doing  bit of salsa dancing here and am really enjoying it. When a guy is a good leader and the girl is in sync with him she flows effortlessly and naturally through the moves blowing the onlookers away. This is what I long for in my work as a missionary. I long to operate powerfully in the spirit, being instep and in sync with the Father, guided through the steps as I go.


Medi Vac
One of our team members was admitted into the ship hospital on Friday. She lapsed into a semi comma and had to be resuscitated at least once. She was diagnosed with pneumonia, but the doctors did not know why there were additional side effects. She was stabilised after receiving several heavy doses of antibiotics. While the doctors on the ship suspected they could probably handle what ever the problem was if they knew what it was, the decision was made to evacuate her to a hospital with adequate diagnostic facilities. She was finally flown out to South Africa 36 hours after the decision to evacuate was made. Her husband followed and left their 2 year old daughter in the hands of the off ships team. It was determined that she had a blockage in her urethra which was causing septicaemia. This was surgically removed and while she is not strong enough to be taken off the respirator she has gained consciousness and has no brain damage.


Slop Island

We camped on 'Slop' Island and enjoyed warm water, fish and rice, a spectacular thunderstorm  and unspoiled beaches.

Myself and seven others headed out to Burah beach a couple of weekends ago. Its about an hours drive south of Freetown, so it doesn’t have all trash in the water that the beaches closer to town have. When we got to the palm lined white beaches we were met by some locals who took us down and showed us around. We eventually decided to catch a boat out to an island and spend the night there. I put my bags on the boat and then swam across. The beaches on the island were quite small, but untouched and our guide slashed a clearing for our tents about five meters from the high water mark. After taking a walk around the island we decided to rename it ‘Slop’ island as if you have ever lost a single flip flop, it is probably there. That night, sitting around a camp fire, eating fresh fish and rice, we were treated to an incredible display of God’s might and glory as a large thunderstorm rumbled above the peninsula mountains, ripping the sky apart with lightning bolts and shaking the ground we were lying on. It was breath taking. We finished off the trip the following day by joined the other mercy shippers on the main beach, doing a bit of surfing and piling into a taxi and holding our breath the whole way home as the driver barely kept his car on the wet roads and scornfully told us how bad the poda poda drivers were.


Word of Life Church/School Latrine

The view of the area where we will be building the VIP latrine

A few days ago I headed out to the small village of Old Yams Warf with Tracey, my manager. There is a fresh team of long term MSers who will be coming out from the states and we will be constructing a VIP Latrine (see last blog). I have recently completed the design, quantifying and costing of the project. The point of the trip to the village was to meet with the local chief and make sure we had his co-operation before we moved into the Muslim village in force. It went really well. He showed us around the parts of the village we hadn’t seen and instructed us on the arts of boat building. He also informed us that we could buy sand from him at a fraction of the price of the other suppliers. This was great for two reasons:

• It cuts our project price by almost half
  
• It would have been political death to buy sand from outside of the village when they themselves supply sand.

Up Country Hospitals and Lassa Fever

The burnt out remains of the Maternity Ward of Makeni hospital which we visited to do a preliminary 

assessment

One of the managers from the International Operations Centre(IOC) in Texas came out for about a week to have a bit of ground time, meet with the team and dodge Freetown traffic. Mark Palmer (IOC Manager), Frank (my team’s assistant manager) and I headed up to Bo. We visited Bo and Makeni Hospitals. In September we are planning to host a team of engineers who will be assessing some of the hospitals in Sierra Leone for future development.

Bio hazard signs had us on our toes in the Lassa Fever department

Sierra Leone Bush Ambulance

On the way out Mark asked me if I had ever tried bush rat. While in Makeni the hospital directed us around and took us into the Lassa Fever department, telling us that the disease was more dangerous than HIV and highly contagious. We nervously looked around asking ‘how exactly is this spread’ only to find out they don’t really know, but suspect it spreads through eating rodents, or the excrements from a particular species. Needless to say we didn’t try the bush rat.


Centre

Me, Mark and two of the ag team

On the way back from Bo we stopped in at the MS Agriculture centre. It is parts of Off Ships Projects and it was great to get to see what the team was doing out there. Basically they teach the community sustainable farming techniques which don’t destroy the soil or use expensive pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers. It is a bit more labour intensive, but promises to increase agricultural output by up to ten times those of traditional methods.The principles used are the same as the Farming Gods Way program. I think that this program has the potential of transforming Africa’s farming output as we know it.


Church Paraplegic Ramp
About 20 minutes away from the ship is an anglican church attended by many paraplegic children. I have been asked to assist in the planning and construction of the ramp. Since the last blog post, I have completed the costing of the ramp and it is currently in the process of ship approval. This will probably be carried out in the end of July.

The staircase we will be building a paraplegic ramp on.

Conclusions and Prayer requests
The last two weeks have been quite productive, but has also been an extremely tough. With two of our team members being evacuated to South Africa the team htaken strain. At the same time we have come under spiritual attack and I am coming down with a cold. Please keep us in your prayers.