It is hard to capture in words all that happens in the Africa Mercy life. Time rolls along and we have already reached the halfway point of this field service in Madagascar! Below are some bits and pieces of moments over the last few months.
We celebrated Malagasy Independence Day with our Malagasy friends with dancing, cake, and even a party at the HOPE Center! This place we have lived for a total of about 19 months over the last 2 years (during 3 different field services) has begun to feel more and more like home and will be so hard to say goodbye to at the end of December this year.
Cake to celebrate Madagascar’s Independence Day. 
Celebration of Madagascar’s Independence Day. 
Celebration of Madagascar’s Independence Day. 
Celebration of Madagascar’s Independence Day. 
Orthopedics patients on deck 7 celebrating Madagascar’s Independence Day. 
Orthopedics patients on deck 7 celebrating Madagascar’s Independence Day. 
Orthopedics patients on deck 7 celebrating Madagascar’s Independence Day. 
Orthopedics patients on deck 7 celebrating Madagascar’s Independence Day. 
Orthopedics patients on deck 7 celebrating Madagascar’s Independence Day. 
Orthopedics patients on deck 7 celebrating Madagascar’s Independence Day. 
Orthopedics patients on deck 7 celebrating Madagascar’s Independence Day. 
Orthopedics patients on deck 7 celebrating Madagascar’s Independence Day. 
Orthopedics patients on deck 7 celebrating Madagascar’s Independence Day. 
Celebration of Madagascar Independence Day at the dock. 
Celebration of Madagascar Independence Day at the dock. 
Celebration of Madagascar Independence Day at the dock. 
Celebration of Madagascar Independence Day at the dock. 
Celebration of Madagascar Independence Day at the dock. 
Celebration of Madagascar Independence Day at the dock. 
Celebration of Madagascar Independence Day at the dock. 
Celebration of Madagascar Independence Day at the dock.
Dan has come to the end of his time covering as the Managing Director on board. God has been faithful to carry him through this role, even though some challenging times were involved. We are grateful for all the work our Managing Director does and are looking forward to having him back soon! We were also grateful for our friends (a family who previously served) who came back and covered Dan’s role as Operations Director, which allowed Dan to focus on being Managing Director. We were so sad to see them leave again but hope it is a “see you soon.” The last 2&1/2 weeks Dan was both Operations Director and Managing Director on board, which comes with a lot of responsibility, and we are thankful for God’s leading him during this time. We sure prayed for an uneventful couple of weeks!
Our kids had wonderful experiences over the Academy break and here is an update in their words!
Callahan, who turned 13 at the beginning of the break, wanted to work and got set up with the Medical and General Supply Teams. Here is his experience in his own words.
Hello! It’s Callahan here and I’m going to tell you a bit about what I did during the summer break. During the summer break we stayed on the ship because my dad had to take over for the Managing Director because one of their sons were graduating (congrats on that!). So, I decided to work in the Supply department for the summer. From Mondays to Wednesday I worked in Medical-Supply and on Thursdays I worked in General-Supply. I really enjoyed working with them, they were so kind, and the job was very interesting to learn about how they keep everything we need on the ship. When I was working in Medical-Supply I got to see some of the surgeries and met some of the patients when I was in the wards. General-Supply was really cool too because I got to go in some places of the ship that I’ve never gone. Everyone was so kind with me, and I still chat with the Day-Crew and crew when I see them. It was really cool to see how they do their devotions on Thursdays because I’ve never experienced devotions in a department. Jackson (The supply manager) is a very good preacher, and he always knows exactly what to say. It was very encouraging seeing all the Day Crew get involved with the devotions, by asking questions and even sharing their own views on Christianity. This summer was truly eye opening to me, and I would love to work in supply again sometime.
Ivan also got a full work experience as a HOPE Center facilitator. He trained as a role #2, which basically is working with our supply and kitchen facilities to make sure our day crew have what they need to care for our patients and caregivers at the HOPE Center. He did an awesome job and loved being able to gain some valuable skills in leading and working. Here is his update:
My summer began late in June with the end of our final exams in the academy, which we have every year. I decided to take the first few weeks of my summer off to relax and hang out with some of the families that were at the end of their commitment here on Ship. I wasn’t just hanging out for my whole summer, though; after those two or so weeks were up, I started getting up a bit earlier – 6:00 to be exact. This isn’t something I’d normally do; however, on Ship every summer, all the older academy students have the opportunity to get a glimpse of what different departments do throughout the ship. This includes working in a place of their choice (as long as it’s safe and doesn’t require strict qualifications) such as the galley (making meals), the bakery (making ship pastries and bread), the café (refreshments for the crew), the preoperative (the place patients go before surgery), or another place of interest. I chose what is known here as the Hope Center. The Hope Center is the main off-Ship facility that houses and cares for all of the patients and caregivers. It is run by a handful of crew called facilitators and 63 hired local crew(day crew). I played the role of a facilitator for the summer and had a blast. Even though I had to get up early and work some 12-hour shifts, I found myself feeling accomplished after a day of filling cleaning boxes, preparing breakfast for our patients, washing dishes, taking inventory, and countless other tasks. It only took a few weeks to get my head around all of the tasks for one of the roles, but once I got the hang of it, I started to come up with my own little quirks and routines on the Job. It wasn’t just the job that was the cool part, though. Working at the home for all of the patients comes with really awesome interactions with the patients, day crew, and fellow crew members. I got to know a lot of their names and stories and made all kinds of friends and acquaintances. I even got to help some of the day crew tell patients they could get their surgeries! That is to say, I had a great summer filled with some great memories and experiences I will cherish more and more as I get older. – Ivan
Dara worked with the PreOp team, which she is planning to tell about in a future blog post written by her. So, stayed tuned for that!
We are so grateful to all those who mentored and took our kids into their teams with such a heart of teaching, leading and encouraging them well. They all had the best first work/volunteer experience they could have had! What a blessing to them! They will remember what they learned for a long time and carry it into their futures. It also gave them a much closer look into why we are here and a chance to see up close the people we are serving.
Now, the kids have been back to school since Mid August already! We have a few new families on board and many new teachers as well. We are looking forward to this final year ahead and grateful for those who are surrounding us with support for our family to be able to work here together.
We have experienced so much more over these last months, which is hard to put into words. We learned of the passing of a dear fellow Mercy Shipper who we just had with us on board up until May this year and has been with us often. We thank God for his life and for the legacy of kindness, caring and the servant heart that impacted so many. Vincent Lo is dearly missed by so many.
Dan, along with others from the leadership team on board, had the opportunity to host delegates from the government in July. They had many questions and had the opportunity to learn more about what we are doing and how we go about all we do. We pray that Mercy Ships will find favour with the government and be able to continue working and training in Madagascar even when the ship leaves the port.
Our Canadian crew also hosted a mini Canada Day party for those on board and we made cookies and had some trivia and colouring for people to enjoy. A fun way to share our holiday with other around us!
Finally, I will leave you with some photos from our communications team of some of our patients over this last while in various times and places.
A plastics patient in the corridor. 
Michelle Wright, Dental Team Coordinator, admitting a patient and her mom. 
A plastics patient at the ward. 
Plastics patient with her caregiver on the ward. 
Plastics patients during their farewell from the ship. 
Plastics patients during their farewell from the ship. 
A maxillofacial patient at the ward after surgery. 
Patients and their caregivers at the HOPE Center. 
HOPE Center catering team prepping lunch. 
A patient playing at the HOPE Center. 
A patient playing at the HOPE Center. 
A patient playing at the HOPE Center. 
A patient and caregiver at the HOPE Center. 
Patients playing at the HOPE Center. 
Patients at the HOPE Center. 
A patient and caregiver at the HOPE Center. 
A patient and caregiver at the HOPE Center. 
Katie Lewis, Ward Nurse, escorting a discharged patient. 
Patient waiting for an appointment at the dock. 
Daan Vader, HOPE Center Facilitator, with patients at the HOPE Center. 
Daan Vader, HOPE Center Facilitator, with patients at the HOPE Center. 
Patient at the HOPE Center. 
Patient at the HOPE Center. 
Patient at the HOPE Center. 
Jasmine Ferdinand, Ward Nurse (Pediatric ICU), playing with patients on deck 7. 
Patient playing on deck 7 
Praise Points
- Opportunities to learn and grow for our kids
- The many successful surgeries
- Provision for our needs
- Good visit from government delegates
- Strength and endurance for the work that was accomplished
- Wonderful teachers and Academy staff
- The many volunteers who come to serve
Prayer Points
- Planning for pack up, annual maintenance period and next country
- Resolution for our dockside toilet/sewage system that is broken
- For people who have received news that they will not be able to receive surgery this year
- Our family’s final year on the Africa Mercy and looking forward to what God has in store for us next
- For the 2nd half of our field service in Madagascar and all the patients and people we will impact. May they experience God’s love for them.
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