Homecoming

Blog 25 28/09

If you have yet to hear, I am home.

After 36 hours, 3 blessed flights and a wonderful day in Brussels I arrived in Cape Town on Monday morning.

My disembarkation from the M/V Africa Mercy was brought forward on Saturday due to extra security measures needing to be taken, resulting from the political strikes happening in Conakry. There was a chance that the other Mercy Shippers on the same flight and I would not be able to reach the airport as a result of these.

After much prayer and planning we were blessed with a smooth and secure airport run. Once there though, I was shocked with the realisation that I was lacking the Visa exemption.  Unlike the other people in the group I was with, I was the only one to have not flown into Conakry and was therefore not emailed this important document. The first man was most unhelpful and would not try and help me, simply sending me away.

Praying a lot I passed this man to another lady who had just opened a booth. After some time she allowed me through, relieving my acute stress.

From Conakry we flew to Banjul- The Gambia- to allow passengers of and receive more before departing for Brussels. Arriving early in the Belgian capital, I met a good family friend, Laurent. We went to the apartment he was staying in, ate and went to a large market with the best looking produce I have ever seen! 

We then dropped his friend at the train station and walked around the richly historical and cultural areas of Brussels, seeing Cathedrals, quaint streets, the famous Mannekin Pis and many state buildings. After much walking on the cold Sunday morning, we went for mussels. Laurent had always told me about ‘The mussels from Brussels’. They certainly were delicious!

He then dropped me at the airport where I caught my light to London. From there it was a hurried passage through the large terminal five to my gate where I was one of the last to embark.

The Lord put a wonderful man in the seat next to me (or me next to him!) and we chatted at length about Mercy Ships and the functioning of such a religious organisation. He really helped me to digest some of the experiences of the last 8 months.  

Having my bag checked twice (and passing the check both times!), I met my family at 8 am. I was very glad to have my Grandma and Betty there as well.

The Lord filled my flights with safety, comfort and good company. My bags met me in Cape Town and nought was amiss!

Now for the last days aboard Africa Mercy.

As the baker was taking leave, I volunteered to make breakfast and bake in my last week. This meant rising at 3am in order to prepare porridge, boiled eggs and French toast/crumpets/pancakes/cheese scones/biscuits for the crew. I sincerely enjoyed this different experience of the galley. With Zamani, a day worker experienced in the bakery, we would bake about 80 loaves of bread and then by lunch I would be finished, giving me time to sleep or complete the things that needed to be before I left. It also meant I had the evenings off to go to talks or socialise.

I hosted a small, 3 course dinner for friends a few days before leaving. We had salad with a Dijon dressing, prawn curry over cinnamon rice and chocolate coffee cake with cookie-dough-ice-cream. I was blessed with unexpected speeches and a few tears.

We also had a pizza and games night and cinnamon roll breakfast. The last days were very relaxing and pleasant.

Again, thank you for reading this year. Thank you for praying and supporting me. If you would like to meet up to chat about my experiences or email me, please do.

Now I will be working as a waiter at the Cavendish branch of the Food Lovers Market and helping around the house. I must also confirm my studies with UCT in the coming days.

 Simon, Anna, Mum, Bex and Betty at the airport- I arrived on Heritage day!

 My pot of mussels!

 We made over one thousands croissants in the bakery two weeks ago!

 Crumpets- a Hedge House Guest House recipe!

 Galley tradition on ones last day!

 Zamani and me with fresh white loaves

 Laurent and me at a public garden

 Mannekin Pis in his latest attire

 Laurent and me at lunch

This Upside Down Pineapple Cake was on the menu the first night I arrived on the ship. It looked delicious but I was sick. The chef promised to make it before me before I left- she left it to my last night aboard :)

Love Ben

Wrapping up

Blog 24

Today marks two weeks until il be home! I am very much looking forward to returning and being reunited with family and friends once again. The Cape Town spring beckons me. I know that Cape Town is where I want to live and I certainly regard her as the Mother City.

Following my desperate plea for prayer for Tom the ward cook, the dilemma was quickly resolved. I was out in town when he got a call from the Chef asking him to come to the ship for a medical. After Tom passed this he was rehired. That’s answer to prayer!

Last week Monday was the main medical screening for this field service. The screening is a process of ascertaining which patient (in both meanings of the word) hopefuls we can and cannot help.  Much planning and organising goes into screening day and most of the crew help in one way or another. From security, escorting, translating, personal info noting to handing out water, cookies and sandwiches.

As in Togo, I helped with security. After finishing work some of us first gathered to make 2000 peanut butter and jam or peanut butter sandwiches. This was very fun and got me energised for the long night ahead. At 2200 we relieved the first security shift at the venue, Palais du Peuple. I spent the next 9 hours guarding a door to the building before leaving at 7. Then there was time for a few hours’ sleep before returning to the screening at 1400 where we remained until the end at 2100.

There were no security issues and all went well on the day. 3500 people came through the gates- many more would have been turned away before then for headaches or referred to dental or eye screenings. About 200 were given appointments and some would be followed up on as we ran out of time. Since we have a ten month field service here I think the word will get out and as we screen further inland, we will fill all possible beds.

Please watch this moving 2 minute film made following the screening day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBf_T7KvHZo

After hearing of the reported 100$ Sierra Leone visas as well as my Ghanaian bunkmate's terrible travels to Freetown a few weeks ago I decided to not try and visit Guinea's southern neighbour. Instead I would spend some of my last free weekend on one of the islands. Roome Island is reportedly the best for tourists possessing a hotel, restaurant and the cleanest beaches. Despite trying to avoid west African travels infuriation aspects- we still encountered many. Leaving the ship an hour late we spent another hour arguing prices with the boatmen and despite their insistence that it was becoming late and that we must hurry, they were the ones causing the delay. Eventually we had more than 20 people standing on the dock who thought we provided good enough entertainment for their Friday night.

We arrived at the island after dark and were led by a local man to a round roofed shelter. We set up our hammocks in here and made a fire on the beach. We roasted marshmallows and put them between biscuits, making s'mores.   

Some of our group of eight put up hammocks outside. As is began raining in the early hours, they soon joined us in the shelter. Sam, the only one without a hammock complained of cockroaches as he slept on the floor! 

In the morning we were able to see our surroundings for the first time. The beach was beautiful. We could view the other islands nearby and their presence no doubt contributed to the calm water. After a swim I had breakfast and we the packed up so we could relocate to the other beach- one with fewer houses overlooking it. Before leaving, however, Sam, as the only French speaker, had the task of satisfying the eight of us and the man whose shelter it was. Of course the man hadn’t told us the price the night before and we assumed that the inflated drinks he was selling us would cover our simple stay. Poor Sam was talking for one hour and gave up in the end. It certainly made me think how we can be so determined to save 1 or 2 dollars that we will argue and waste the little time we have on the island. The other side of the coin is that as the first Mercy Shippers to camp on the island, we set the cost for the next hundreds of crew members who will visit during the field service. If we pay too much crew will continually be overcharged.  

We spent the rest of the afternoon swimming and in a brief spell of rain after which the sun returned as hot as ever. We enjoyed using the life jackets from the boat to ride the waves. We left in the mid afternoon and arrived safely an hour later. The Lord answered our prayer for good weather and safety- as He certainly did on screening day.

Since returning on Saturday night I have not been particularly well and am actually off work today. I have seen the doctor and received the medication and should be back to strength in a few days.  

I don't have any major plans before returning home. Just a few last chores.

I leave Guinea on September 22 and arrive home on the 24. My name was on the departures list this morning. I am not sure I will blog again until one last one once home. Could you please pray for safe and smooth travels over my three flights.  Also for a peaceful reintegration into life at home.

Thank you for reading over the past 8 months.

Love Ben

The beach where we spent the afternoon

Sunset from the ICC- a country club that Mercy Shippers are given free membership for and discounts!

Our hut wherein we suspended our hammocks

On the boat return journey

The morning view from the beach

A picture of the external queue to the screening site

The screening site, Palais du Peuple

Michelle and I signing the national anthem at the ICC following Pistorius' 400m victory!

Guinea and the sail

Blog 23

Guinea and the sail

Brenda van Straten (SA) on the radio, sending down the Guinean flag bearers Michelle, Carys and Lara.

the group that went to the island. The man in black is a friend sam met whose name i never learnt. Sam, me, Rox and Sandy.

Michelle and me before arriving in Guinea

A few SAn crew having a laugh

South African crew!

As scheduled we arrived in Conakry, Guinea last week Wednesday. It was a wet and welcome arrival where we were met by the Advance Team (a group of Mercy Shippers who left the ship 4 months ago to prepare many things in Conakry so that we can hit the ground running once here), the prime minister of Guinea and a Mercy Team (a group of short term servers from a church that come to help with certain projects). Obviously and sadly it is very easy to simply compare Guinea with Togo as I found people comparing Sierra Leone with Togo in my first few weeks with the ship.

Perhaps comparing to ideals is better. Conakry has a small peninsular and this houses many important state offices, popular sites and the port. It is wonderful that we can be walking distance from many things around town. There are many restaurants and markets around and many different things can be found. Last week I found the fish market and bought calamari for a very good price (I cooked some in garlic and the rest in a spicy tomato sauce).  The peninsular is much militarised due to the various departments and presidential palace here. Many roads are blocked to cars by spikes and armed bakkies! It is nice though to be able to run on these roads without fear of cars.

Our berth is rather close to the port exit and the port authorities are pleasant to deal with. We don’t, however, have the luxury of our own dock which increases the safety measures in place. There is a cholera outbreak in Guinea so our hygiene and enforcement thereof on the ship have also been stepped up. Could the health of all the crew and day workers be prayed for please? And, of course, an end to this outbreak.

This week the new day workers began work. The galley has been very full, having 8 extra staff. This will only be until they have all been trained, then they will divide between the two teams. As I’m sure you will remember I wrote about a friend/ day worker in Togo called Tom. Tom was told that he could come and work in Guinea as the ward (hospital) chef. He raised the 160$ from donations that he required to travel from Lomé. Upon arriving he was told that he was never promised a job and did not have the paperwork to prove it. Yesterday I met up with him outside the port gate where he waits, trying to get my boss to call him. I hassled my boss until he called Tom to explain the situation regarding Guinean worker/ non Guinean worker restraints. The galley has finished hiring staff. My boss said that he would speak to Human Resources today to make some sort of arrangement whereby Tom can work. Could you please pray that a solution might be found soon and that Tom is not left in the awkward position he is currently in.  

Thank you

I spent my second to last free weekend in Guinea relaxing and reading while it rained outside- enjoying the little of winter I might get this year. I also went for a drive away from the peninsular which was helpful in learning certain landmarks such as the Grand Marché and our screening venue for Monday and possibly Tuesday’s potential patient screening. I will be able to help with the overnight security the night before the screening and then will have a few hours’ sleep before swopping with a galley worker from the other team on Monday afternoon so that they might get to experience screening day as well. Around 4000 people are expected to arrive for the screening. Could you please pray for peace and safety during this screening as well as opens ears to hear the Gospel?

On Sunday morning 3 friends and I went to one of a few islands off the Conakry coast. We were fortunate in having a beautiful day and in attaining a boat willing to take us there. Owing to the culture here, shorts are not appropriate for wearing ouside. I am, as a result, wearing my tailored ones more often. Due to pollution we may not (and wouldn’t want to) swim at the beaches around the peninsular. The islands have beaches which are somewhat cleaner and not polluted with sewage. We did not have too much time on the islands but did manage a swim and to see a hotel of sorts that looked rather run down. Thankfully the sea was not rough- many people have drowned crossing over due to unsafe boats. I may return there to spend the night next weekend. That would be instead of going to Sierra Leone. Leone is looking like an expensive trip with visas being a reported 100$. We are still investigating though.

With less than four weeks to go I am fast wrapping up my time here.

Once again, thanks for reading!

The last of Tenerife

Taken at the Cross on the hill. Africa Mercy behind.

Im sorry there are few images on the blog, so far. The internet has prevented me uploading them. Il try and get the rest up asap!

Blog 22

At sea once again! What a privilege and surprise to look out the window in the morning (not in my cabin!) and to see the ocean. Sliding to and fro on the office chair while typing this is only a minor inconvenience of sailing. We did sail a day later than hoped but I gather that we are still due in Conakry on the 22 August, next Wednesday.  I am so looking forward to reconnecting with a few day workers from Togo and to enjoy West Africa!

In the past week I have become friends with a beautiful Tenerife family. About two weeks ago a couple stopped and talked to a group of us Mercy Shippers and expressed interest to be visitors aboard as they were 3 years ago when the ship went to the Canary Islands. I took Jorge’s email address and contacted him a few days later. Last Thursday I hosted him, his wife Candela and their young daughter Chloe.  We ate dinner and I showed them around the ship- they both speak English very well. I soon discovered that they are both doctors. Candela specialized in radiology and Jorge did translating instead- he speaks 4 languages! Before leaving on their bicycle and long board skateboard, they gave me a CD of Jorge’s old band, the first album of four. Thankfully it’s in English!

On Saturday they invited friends and me for breakfast at their apartment- about 3kms away. Sam, Michelle and I went and were treated to such a delicious and healthy spread of food. Scrambled eggs, organic bread and croissants, local preserves and goat’s cheese. These were followed by organic cakes.  We were so spoilt! We relaxed around their beautiful coffee table books- which I am now determined to find- and then hurried back to work at 1. 

On Monday I went to a fairly local black sand beach on the island’s north coast with this family. I was fortunate in having Monday and Tuesday off- before our Wednesday scheduled departure. As seems to be popular in Spain, visits to the beach are made in the late afternoon- after the heat of midday. I also met family friends Xavier and Ann, who speaks about 7 languages! We had to hurry home for Chloe who needed to get to bed and we said our farewells from their apartment.

I missed dinner that night as I had had a special and big curry meal for lunch. Friends Hannah and Michelle and I had heard of an Indian man who makes curries and serves them from his apartment. We went there and were the only ones, when we left there were about ten more patrons and a queue! We were served about   6 bowls of different curries, plus a started and dessert. All for a very reasonable 7 euros- especially considering that ‘menu of the day’s go for about 9 euros and Indian restaurants are in short supply.

I was very pleased that despite working the last weekend, I managed to do a fair amount. On Saturday night as Sam and I were walking out of the port- heading for a cross on the mountain, Juan’s taxi from the airport arrived. We accompanied him back to the ship and then headed out to the cross. It turned out to be quite the walk in the end and we arrived at dusk. It was beautiful up there and we had a good view of the ship. We then walked into town for ice creams/sandwiches/cool drinks/smoothies- depending on our hunger. 

On Sunday I was able to run to a pebble beach, have a quick swim and then run back for work. I actually ended up being team leader for a few more days since Josh worked on the other team for a few days. He worked with our team on Wednesday and Thursday.

On Monday and Tuesday mornings I enjoyed breakfast in town and going around historical sites and a beautiful public resource center as well as looking for a few last items. I also went out on Tuesday night for what was potentially our last night in Tenerife. With the Olympic closing ceremony on Sunday and other late nights such as these, I was pretty exhausted after working Wednesday and yesterday. Unusual for me, I slept in very late today, even missing lunch!

The last days in Tenerife cantilevered into farewells to friends, welcomes to returning or new crew and many good memories. The time in the Canary Islands was very special and a blessing. I am however, ready to return to field service, wanting to do my best and much in the four weeks I will have.

Thank you for your time in reading this. Could you please pray for the safe travels of all those to Conakry: the ship, day workers and crew.

Hannah, Michelle and me after curry lunch



Jorge, Candela, Chloe and me



Jorge's first album (still trying to add more photos!)




The Santiago Cross we walked to

Our Curry Buffet

Me, Jorge, Candela, Chloe and family friend, Ann.



Goodbye Tenerife!

Bollullo black sand beach



The dolphin show at Loro Parque

Breakfast at the Serrano family. they gave me a tub of goats cheese when we left!

Rox, Chris, Henry and me at Loro Parque

 Blessings,

Ben

Two weeks on

Blog 21

Two weeks pass so quickly aboard Africa Mercy. These past two weeks brought 40 new long term crew members from Texas, just finished with their Gateway course and great times inside and out of work hours.

About 12 days ago we returned to the galley which has new tilt skillets, stoves and other kitchen equipment. Although some work remained to be done on the deck heads (ceilings) we had to return to be able to cater for the increasing crew size. Our time in the crew galley was not unpleasant and often there was less work than there were people.

 Breakfast for dinner scones

 Brian's (center of bench) farewell at a Gelato Cafe. The photographer insisted we say 'Sex' instead of cheese

 Honey Orange walnut bread :)

 A monument on the way to the beach this morning

The group that I watched the Olympics opening ceremony (very good - I thought) with.  

Last weekend Chef Ken went on leave, leaving me with more responsibility and freedom. Sunday morning breakfast was fun as we were able to bake the bacon (not deep fry!) and see how well-done people like it. Turns out it is not, in fact, dark brown and fragile. We baked figs wrapped in bacon (thanks for the idea, Dad!) and fried mushrooms with garlic to go beyond the usual Sunday cooked breakfast.

On Monday I took a bus to Siam Water Park with some friends. Siam is a great water park with a variety of tube slides of different intensity. We went on one which allowed for four to share a life-raft-y tube and be propelled high up a steepening wall. I also went down a very steep one where the slide passes through the shark tank. Sadly due to the speed and the water, one cannot see a thing! It was a long and tiring day out, but very enjoyable.

On Wednesday a menu change meant that our team was to make pizza for dinner. Pizza, as I have mentioned in another blog, is a tiresome and time consuming task. Other than the crew favourites BBQ Chicken, Margarita, Ham and Olives, Pepperoni and vegetarian pizzas, I decided to add a Cajun Sea food and Pesto chicken on a mayo base to the menu. Both of these were well received  J On Thursday we had the interesting opportunity of serving ‘Breakfast for Dinner’.  As the day was winding down, our new team leader came and introduced himself. His name is Josh and he arrived with the Gateway group. He will be here for at least the next 2 years. I am looking forward to working under him.

This morning I ran 10km to a beach North of Santa Cruz where I had my packed breakfast, read and swam. Afterward I walked back to the ship. I am enjoying my running a lot, especially with the iPod running sleeve which arrived two weeks ago along with other items I had ordered online. I now know much more information about my runs.

On Monday the ship needs to undergo an Inclining Experiment so 90% of the crew is being taken to an animal park called Loro Parque. After that we are even being taken out for dinner. Essentially this means that I have a 4 day weekend. J

So far, despite being somewhat homesick after dad left, I am having a great time here. On the 15^th we should leave for Guinea. I do miss West Africa and can’t wait to return there and see a new country, new day workers as well as those from Togo who will be serving for this field service as well. Please pray that my last 2 months might be as blessed and enjoyable as the first 6.

Love Ben

There and back again

Blog 20

 A monument in Artenara

 Our Pensione in Santa Cruz

View from the campsite

The past 9 days were spent enjoying the company of my dad, Graham, in the Canary Islands. I was granted 9 days as time-off and began these after working last Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday I met my tearful father at Gran Canaria Airport. Dad had just completed the Camino de Santiago, walking 400km of the twelve hundred year old pilgrimage and would holiday with me before fetching Anna from London- she has spent the last 3 months in Wales with my aunt and uncle.

Other than the first two nights camping, dad and I had no plans. Even the plans we did have were thwarted. Camping was a 12km walk from a remote town called Artenara. The bus route-hitch hiking was unsuccessful- there was so infrequent that we only arrived after 8 at night. We were told that there was not one hotel in the town but a peculiar man moved about his tools and charged us to sleep in his spare single mattress room. Dad was slightly cautious but we accepted since we had no other options. Dad had had little sleep the previous evening and we both slept surprisingly well.

We bought coffee and supplies for lunch and began our walk. It was very pleasant under the pines of the meandering mountain road. It was a battle at the campsite to even use the 2 man hammock that we had with us. That night, the wind picked up and it was a very disturbed sleep- we wished for the single mattress of the previous night! Sleeping two people in a hammock is no easy task.

We speedily descended a steep dusty mountain path the next day to find no coffee shops in the town. We snacked and caught a bus to a larger town where we made great use of our 15mins on the internet, booking a hotel for the next three nights in the south of Las Palmas. We arrived at what dad called “time share deluxe” but had a great room- close to the pool, kitchenette and aircon. While in Maspalomas we sought an elusive KFC, swam, cooked and walked a fair amount.

On Monday we caught the Armas Ferry from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, to Santa Cruz, Tenerife. We had secured a car for the next three days but had to get to the south of the island to collect it. We hired a cute Fiat Panda which dad drove to Las Americas, remembering to stay on the right hand side. We rented a room that was in a complex highly populated with loud young Britons. They warned us about the night security man but we didn’t think he would have issue with us. Well at 2 am we were rudely awoken when the man came in with his torch shouting ‘NO’, ‘WATER’ and ‘BALCONY’. We tried to tell him he was mistaken but he yelled for us to keep quiet and then left. 2 minutes later he was at the door like a dog with his tail between his legs, apologizing.

After shopping and searching for another misreported KFC, we travelled north along the island’s west coast. We arrived at a quaint coastal town of Puerto de Santiago which had a fair in town that night. We dozed and swam on a beach with black sands and that night we could see the fire on the mountain which was becoming an increasing problem for the island of Tenerife.

We had booked to go up Mount Teide in the cable car the following day and then spend that night in the Refugio up top. The plan was to see the sun set and rise from Spain’s highest mountain. The mountain is in fact a volcano. After shopping for our curry dinner we planned to create, we arrived at the cable station where our view of the volcano was largely impaired by the smoke from the fire. Upon arriving we were informed that due to the fire the cars were not running for the rest of the day and perhaps longer. We were really annoyed particularly since we had asked to receive an SMS should there be any reason the cars don’t make the 1200m accent. We decided to follow a suggestion of going to a beach town we had not visited in the south of the island, seeing as we would have to return the car there the following morning. The drive should not have been more than an hour but once on the road we were prevented from going further due to the fire and had to go north, through the capital and then south again, taking about 2,5 hours. The town was worth it though and we had a delicious Rogan Josh with chips at a seaside restaurant. Unfortunately we couldn’t cook in the apartment.

After returning the car we returned to Santa Cruz by bus, found a beautiful old pensione with a balcony and high ceilings and began preparing dad’s bags for his flight the next day. After a shwarma lunch and semi siesta we walked to the port in time to see Africa Mercy returning from dry dock in Las Palmas. She left two days later than planned leaving dad and me anxious since he had some things in my cabin. Dad came aboard as my guest and we had dinner, a tour of the ship and even the engine room! So fortunate! After that we had Thursday night ice cream and dad met some of my friends on the ship and then it was time to leave.

Yesterday we went out for lunch with friends before saying goodbye to dad at the tram station. He has arrived safely in London.

I am so lucky to have such a father and to have had a holiday alone with him.

Thankfully I am off this weekend and I may get on with chores such as cleaning and emailing. Hopefully work will be in the galley once again when return on Monday.

I hope to get some more photos from dad and upload them soon.

As for prayers, could you please pray for peace and clarity over the uncertainty of what 2013 holds for me.

 The keeping our bags off the ground, while we still agreed the hammock was fun and convenient!

 Arriving at the dock at the same time as AM, the gangway was yet to be put down.

 We were very fortunate and were offered a tour of the engine room!

 Dads expression was appropriate.

 Peurto de Santiago with daddy

Before leaving for our trip.

Thanks for reading!

Love Benjamin