Good News!

The water company's engineers worked tirelessly to fix the broken main, and water is flowing once again into Freetown!  Hallelujah!  Water is running in the streets again - literally - and the local population can cook and wash again at no cost.  On the Africa Mercy, the laundry is open again and hot water is back on.  Joyfully stolen from Olly's blog! Thanks for praying!  Margo

News from Sierra Leone . . .

Imagine a city of 1.2 million people without water.  According to our good friend, Olly, that's Freetown right now.  The city water supply has been irregular since the war, but there has always been some water.  People got used to waking up early and queuing for hours to fill their buckets and "gallons" from public taps and leaking fresh-water pipes.  Yesterday, the main water supply into Freetown was damaged leaving the whole city dry - 1.2 million people have no water for washing, cooking or drinking.  The wealthier residents are able to buy water from trucks for 2000 Leones a gallon, but as the poorer people live on only 4000 Leones a day, they can only afford food or water.  Pray for them.  Meanwhile, on the ship, there is limited reserves so the crew is back to rationing:  cold showers, the laundry is closed, disposable plates and silverware, etc.  Please pray that the water company gets the pipe repaired and water will flow again!  We'll be there in less than a month . . . Margo 

YAHOO!

So many people have asked me about the floating island of trash that I just had to pass this on.  The reason why the dive team goes down into the muck is (I hope I have this right!) to clear the intake valves.  If they are clogged, the ship's generators (six of them!) shut down.  No generators, no electricity, no air conditioning - no good!  But there is definitely good - the diving team has just been supplied with a crate load of new dive gear: new masks, flippers, and flashlights, not to mention full face masks with built in radios! This will make diving in these awful waters so much safer. Check out how lovely they look:

A Closer Look . . .

Taking just a closer look at that photo of Olly diving for the ship makes me think two things - instead of "Where's Waldo?" it's "Where's Olly?"  Or maybe it's a game of "I spy" - how many flip flops did you find?  Did you see the big kettle floating upside down?  This could be fun - as long as we're not the ones diving!  Margo (:

Meet my friend, Olly!

You know how I keep talking about our friend, Olly, and stealing stuff from his blog?  While, here's your chance to meet him!

He's the guy on the top!  Doesn't that look like fun!

Accreditation!

Since Nikki Aldum, Academy Principal, came on board four years ago, she has been working on the Academy's accreditation process with Brian Blackburn, Mercy Ships Academy Chief Administrator.  She wrote me this morning and asked for prayer.  They have two major deadlines this week:  sending off the accreditation report today(which should be done) and having the Academy's website with all supporting documents loaded by Friday.  Once these two deadlines are complete, then they will wait for the Accreditation Team to arrive on Monday, May 23 and by Friday, May 27 they should know if the Academy is accredited!  Please pray that God would bring this to pass.  I was able to play a small part in the accreditation process by writing the summer program manual three years ago!  Thanks so much!  Margo  

Another GREAT BIG Thanks!

It hit me this morning that I had not publicly thanked our friends, Tom and Sheila, for graciously purchasing our art projects for the summer!  It is an amazing and wonderful gift that we are truly grateful for - one that will bring much delight to the children we are working with as well as joy to the staff because that's one less thing we will have to plan.  So, Tom and Sheila, THANK YOU!    

The J Team Rules!

Sam and I often laugh because the children's pastor at our former church, Jana, and the children's pastor at our current church, Julie, remind us so much of each other!  Jana is definitely Julie in brunette and Julie is without a doubt Jana in blonde!  Their hearts for children are simply amazing and both are generous beyond all belief . . . so we want to take this time to thank both of them for all they've done to make our summer on the ship a great success.  We have been given more programming ideas than we will ever be able to use.  Art projects that will make summer so fun!  And great craft projects to do with the patients on the wards and at Hope Centre.  Not only will we be able to bless the children on board, but the people of Sierra Leone.  Jana and Julie, thank you ever so much for all you've done for us!  Sam and Margo  

What a view!

Enlarge this picture to see our future ocean front view!  Sierra Leone's rainy season has begun and everything that was in Freetown's clogged sewers and drains went straight into the river, resulting in this MASSIVE island of garbage near the ship!  Lovely . . . Margo  

Just across the ocean . . .

It was an exciting day at our house yesterday!  Our first box of art supplies for summer arrived, our malaria prescriptions were filled and Micah received a blue ribbon at the Science Fair in Mankato . . .

There she is - right in the middle!

Here she is with a smile!

Meanwhile, across the ocean this past Thursday, a young boy was brought to the ship seeking help.  Eight-year-old Ibrahim Kamara was burnt in a farm fire last Sunday.  He was at the gate, on a cardboard stretcher, wrapped up in dry sheets with his mother fanning him. He was unconscious and covered in dry blackened cooked flesh from his face to his knees . . . One of the ship nurses took a look at him, but he was beyond even the help of Mercy Ships.  Our friend, Olly, got one of the ship drivers to take him to the childrens hospital around the corner, where he will most likely die.  It will be a miracle if he survives; if he does he will be badly scarred and need numerous skin grafts and operations to free contractures.  If he pulls through, in a few months time, Mercy Ships may be able to help him.  Do pray for Ibrahim and those working on the good ship Mercy.