A New Year - Part 2

WHAT WE DO ON THE AFRICA MERCY

In this post I want to tell you what the volunteers do here, to encourage you to participate too! You can watch this video on YouTube to understand a little more of what I am going to tell you here. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA7i2xZxJpg&t=158s)

I live and work on a ship with 8 decks, with approximately 400 people, from 40 different countries. Some come to serve 2 weeks, some months like me, 1 or 2 years, and there are people  that have a long term commitment with 5, 15 and even 30 years serving here! 

We are all here as volunteers, no one receives a salary, we all receive contributions from many people around the world and through this support and God's blessing we offer free surgeries to people who do not have access to them, with illnesses that have generated shame and pain for few or many years and that can even be risky for their lives if they are not treated. 

The ship works with 4 giant engines, has a suction system for all human waste, air conditioning and drinking water, has an incinerator for hospital waste and many more things that I do not understand very well :). For the ship to work, there is a team of engineers, sailors and mechanical maintenance volunteers (there are approximately 15 vehicles that are used every day) to keep the machinery up to date, with 8-hour shifts, 24 hours a day, 7 days of the week.

So that we can live here, there is a cleaning team that is always sweeping, mopping, cleaning tables, stairs, furniture, etc. 

For us to eat, there is a galley and dinning room team, they prepare food every day, wash dishes, clean tables, and make sure that there is always coffee and cold drinks available. 
To welcome and guide the volunteers who arrive every week to the ship, there is a hospitality team that welcome us, make sure that we get to a clean bed, an empty wardrobe and they give us a tour through the ship. 

For the families that come to serve, their children can continue their education in the Academy here, at this moment there are 43 children (from babies to teenagers) and a team of volunteer teachers who during the week offer excellent education to the children. 

Here we can wash our clothes and other things in the laundry room that works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, we also have a laundry team for everything that is used in the hospital and on the ship. 

So that all the people who support us around the world can be aware of what happens on the ship, see the progress of some of the patients and continue to be committed to this ministry, the communications team records videos and takes pictures constantly, and keeps all the social media updated!! (Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!)

On the ship we have a Starbucks coffee donated by this company, we can have coffee and other delicacies with very low prices, we also have a store where we can buy basic things like soap to wash our clothes, deodorant, clothes, African handicrafts, etc. For sales on the ship there is also a team of volunteers who work every day at different times, and even on holidays voluntarily, outside their regular schedule.

We have a bookstore open 24 hours a day, there is also a volunteer who is in charge of keeping the entire loan process organized and up to date and the books that are available. I have really enjoyed the books I found there!!! 

There is a team of volunteers who are in charge of the technology on the ship, we have Wi-Fi, intranet and even a website to watch movies here (Netflix and other platforms are very heavy for the network here, we can not use them). 

There is also a management team and human resources team, a bank so that we can access the donations we have received, pay the monthly crew fee and buy what we need here.

Something very special and unique about this place is that there is a team of chaplains who are in charge of taking care of the spiritual health of this community. On Sundays and Thursdays they prepare meetings with praise, prayer and messages based on the Bible, and we count on their support for any difficult situation that we are going through. During the week there are different small groups with different activities such as Bible studies, prayer, worship, bible journaling, etc. 

It is important to mention that every Thursday we offer to different needs of the community, for example, there is an emergency fund for volunteers who need to leave the ship unexpectedly to travel to their country due to some family calamity; we are supporting a group of Africans who are going to commit themselves as long-term volunteers, we are also supporting an orphanage here in Douala with approximately 40 children and only two people caring for them, with very few resources and little food. Each Thursday the offering seeks to respond to a different need, and it is impressive to see how the volunteers here offer to support each other. God is still faithful and providing !!! "Then they will always have everything they need and there will be plenty of spare to share with others, as the Scriptures say:" Share freely and generously give to the poor"(2 Corinthians 9: 8-9) 

 In addition to the hospital inside of the ship, in the city of Douala, Mercy Ships has a place where patients are treated before and after their surgery (Hope Center), a clinic to rehabilitate children with deformities in their feet (Ponseti Clinic) , a dental clinic (Dental Clinic), a center to care for women with vesico-vaginal fistulas (Women Health Clinic) and different educational programs for hospitals and local health workers. All the people who serve in these places live on the ship or in houses in the city (Team House). 

Mercy Ministries is in charge of serving in places like schools with deaf and blind children, 3 orphanages (approximately 50 children in each one of them), evangelization with outdoor movies in the city, and in addition to the coordinating team, volunteers can participate in our free time!!

Thank you for praying and supporting this ministry, I believe that now there are many more ideas on how to pray for this volunteer community! 

 Next week I will tell you about the hospital inside the ship, I can tell you in advance that the title will be "The work we do and the miracles God does" :)