Greetings from Africa!

After the longest day/s of my life I finally made it to Africa! Man, those flights are hard! We arrived at the Lungi Airport in Sierra Leone and hour early - but being Africa...our transport was 2 hours late. We were thrown into the African atmosphere very quickly and drove through the city at night. Can you believe I fell asleep on the poda poda (travel van with benches)?  This is VERY hard to do in Africa - the roads here are....well, I can see why this country is the second from the bottom on the Human development scale and still recovering from war. You can see the signs of war every where and the poverty is on a level all it's own.

We are staying in an amazingly wonderful place (for Sierra Leone). Yams Farm is located in a small village outside of Sierra Leone. We have electricity from 7 pm - 7 am and there are ceiling fans, running water (but we can't brush our teeth with it), showers and toilets. I couldn't ask for more.

So far I have been to the beach, church, market place, and working on construction.
 
I hurt myself on Tuesday at the work site. Don't worry, I am fine. I was stepping over a large hole from the newly made foundation onto the dirt ground.  The ground gave way and I fell halfway into the hole. I scraped my leg and arm and twisted my ankle pretty good. I'm recovery well and have a slight limp.

I am amazed at the friendliness of the people here. I have been told by an elder lady in the village that I am now her daughter and they visit me every day as I work and teach me Krio and how to make their local food. They have shown me their home and I have held their 3 month old baby girl quite often. Remind me to tell you more about this later on.


I love you all! I wish you could be here but I can tell you....it is very hard to see what I have seen. I am exactly where God wants me to be but the amount of poverty, deformities, death, etc I've seen in the last week can be very hard to handle. However, through it all, I am doing extremely well.

Hi- This is Christina (Nicole's sister) updating you on behalf of Nicole. I send out Nicole's newsletter and will, from time to time, update her blog and supporters for her. If you have questions, feel free to contact me at christina.byrd@gmail.com.

My mom and I got a surprise call from Nicole this afternoon.   She was on the ship for a few hours tonight for their ship community church service. She will be back in a week and will be able to connect online more and hopefully upload a few pictures for us all to see. During the few minuets on the satellite connection there was noise everywhere around her. It must have been the buzz of everyone on the ship talking to friends and connecting. She was excited to tell us her stories and how she was doing.  She also talked about doing dental screenings yesterday that led into using her newly found crowd control skills with four unhappy men and other issues that came up. Other highlights of our conversation:  enjoying cold showers for the first time in her life, the frustration of the language barrier, squatty potties with a twisted ankle, 100% humidity, the children shy away from her skin color but are facinated by her hair color, the expeince of being socially checked for lice in her hair and many other things.
This was the short update she was able to send to me via facebook. Be looking for her update in a week or two with fascinating God stories. Keep praying for her boldness to share the gospel through love and service, for the healing of her injuries and continued health in the extreme conditions, and God's work through her as she finishes up the second half of her field service!

The Mercy Orphanage

 

            Emmanuel Shaw spent six years as a translator, deckhand and cook on the Anastasis, where he met Shola, his future wife, who was working in the dining room. In the late 1990s, the Sierra Leone civil war was finally over, allowing the couple to go to the country on their days off. There they saw many children whose parents had been killed by rebels during the war. “We started to pray about it – my wife and the crew,” said Emmanuel.

            In 2005, the Shaws left the ship and rented a house in Waterloo, where they lived with five orphaned children. “We had nothing but a mattress on the floor. We prayed day and night for three months, seeking God’s direction,” said Emmanuel.

            They began screening in the Waterloo area for homeless orphans. The Minister of Welfare helped them to identify some children in need. When the rent on their house was raised considerably, they decided to move out. With some help from a friend, they purchased 7/10 of an acre of land in Waterloo. Emmanuel spent the next two years building a home for himself and his growing family, which then included eleven children. “The children were sleeping everywhere in the house – in the living room, the kitchen, everywhere,” he recalled.

            When his house was finished, Emmanuel built another two-story house on the property for the children. Each floor has an eating area, a kitchen, a bathroom, and four bedrooms. Two children are assigned to each bedroom. The team of workers that Emmanuel has gathered to help run the orphanage includes his mother, his uncle, a carpenter, and two ladies to clean and cook. He also has several men who work on projects part-time. The entire property is fenced in. However, after thieves broke in and caused some damage, Emmanuel added a security guard.

            There is also a small separate building which houses the main kitchen, where firewood is used to cook at least two meals a day for the children, depending on funding. To augment their food supply, they have sectioned a portion of the property for growing eggplant, okra, cassava, corn, sweet potatoes, papaya and peanuts. They also have two moringa trees, whose leaves can be crushed and ground into a very nutritious powder. Another corner of the property houses the stalls for the pigs, which the children help to tend. “When the baby pigs are sold, the money goes a long way to feed all the children,” said Emmanuel. They currently have sixteen baby pigs. 

            The Shaws live each day with a very strong faith. “Everything we do depends on how God directs us,” said Emmanuel, who is a day-worker on the Africa Mercy during the Sierra Leone field service. The Shaws have been very supportive of Mercy Ships over the years. Emmanuel claims that seeing the crew in action made him decide that he should be doing something himself to help his country. 

            Sahr Dauda is a homeless Mercy Ships patient who was recently released after five months of medical care to straighten his legs. He has joined the Shaws at the Mercy Orphanage, along with Samuel, a boy who was living on the street just outside the gates of the dock where the Africa Mercy is moored. Thanks to the vision of Emmanuel and Shola, these two boys now have a safe and secure home and the opportunity to attend school.

            “I thank the Lord because I had most of the vision (for the orphanage) on the ship,” Emmanuel stated.

Story by Elaine B. Winn

Edited by Nancy Predaina

Photos by Liz Cantu

Video by Beau Chevassus

Tour my new home!

Many people have wondered if I am living on a cruise ship that sails around the world. The quick answer is, "No, I would not call the Africa Mercy a cruise ship." Would you like to see my new home? I know that flying to West Africa for a tour of the ship is a little impractical so I brought the tour to you! If you click on the link below you will find a tour of the ship (anywhere from the rooms, hospital, cafeteria, etc) and also land tours of the projects Mercy Ships has on land! (When in the tour, click on the palm tree icon to link to the land tours)

I hope you enjoy!

360 TOUR OF AFRICA MERCY!!

It's a Monkey World

This story was used in our cultural classes this week.

"A typhoon temporarily stranded a monkey on an island. While feeling secure and waiting for the waters to recede, the monkey spotted a fish struggling against the current. It seemed quite obvious to the monkey that the fish was in need of assistance.

Being kind and compassionate, the monkey resolved to help the fish. A tree dangled precariously over the very spot where the fish was struggling. At considerable risk to himself, the monkey moved far out on the limb, reached down, and snatched the fish from the threatening waters. Immediately scurrying back to the safety of his shelter, he carefully laid the fish on dry ground.

For a few minutes, the fish demonstrated its gratitude for being rescued by vigorously flapping its tail and excitedly wriggling on the ground. After several minutes, the fish settled into a peaceful and contented state of rest. Joy and satisfaction swelled inside the monkey. He had helped another creature and had done it successfully. "

What does this story teach you about the way we need to do missions?