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MERCY SHIPS' REQUEST FOR
ASSISTANCE
In late May or early June I received an email followed by a phone call from
the Mercy Ships international office in Garden Valley, Texas, asking me if
I'd consider helping them out on the M/V Anastasis, one of their large
hospital ships, during it's shipyard phase in South Africa. I had
volunteered my technical services three times before on this ship, and
once on two of their other ships over the last fourteen years. So I began
thinking and praying about the possibility of yet another time of serving
the Lord with Mercy Ships. Before I had even made up my mind, nearly all
of the necessary finances to make this long trip had materialized from
several sources! It appeared that God had His hand in this. I began
searching for a plane ticket and originally wanted to go via London to
stay a few days so I could break up the long trip, get over jet-lag, and
visit friends, but it was going to cost an additional $500, so I opted for
the direct flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg. So, on the EARLY morning
of July 27th my parents graciously drove me to the Dallas/Ft.Worth airport
to begin my long journey...
UNEXPECTED DIVERSION TO
ENGLAND!
The first leg of my trip was on Delta Airlines to Atlanta and upon my
arrival I found out that South African Airways was on strike so my flight
to Johannesburg was canceled (hmmm, why didn't they tell me that in
Dallas?). SAA personnel in Atlanta scrambled to try to find another
carrier to get me on my way, but there was none available. They told me
that they could get me to Europe on Delta and from there I could catch the
next available flight to Johannesburg. "How about London?," I asked.
Within minutes I had a reservation on the overnight flight to London! In
the meantime SAA provided me with a room at a nice hotel with food
vouchers!
 When I arrived in London, my check-in bag
didn't. No big deal because I always pack a few shirts, socks, toiletries,
and other necessities in my carry-on bag. I filled out a report form and
was told that Delta would allow me to buy some replacement clothes to use
in the absence of my lost bag, and supposedly they'd pay me
£25 (nearly $50) for each day that I
was without my luggage (7 days total). And
because of the inconvenience, South African Airways was to pay all my
living expenses in London while I awaited the next available flight out.
So, upon landing in
London I took a train from
Gatwick airport to Lewisham to my friends' house (the
Walkers) where I got some rest and began adjusting to GMT time. As it
turned out the Walkers were in the process of packing and moving to
another house not far away, so I was able to help them in the big task of
moving. One
blessing in London was to get better acquainted with Andrew and Teresa
Whyte and family. We spent a couple of evenings together, and Andrew and I
had several amazing theological discussions that week. While in London I
also got to spend an evening with Pari Rickard. I heard him
preach at a church in London and then we went out for Turkish food. [Pari
was the youth pastor at CCF until last year; he and his family are north
of London now]. My 7-day time
in London
was certainly a God-thing. Altogether, including
vouchers from Delta and expense reimbursements from SSA, my unplanned
London detour wound up being about a $500 bonus...the figure it was
originally going to cost me to fly via London!
Another amazing thing
about the London diversion is that when I
had first arrived at the Dallas/FW airport
on July 27th the ticket
counter people were confused because their records showed that I was
booked for an August 4th flight to South Africa...but my printed ticket
was for July 27th. In Atlanta they saw the same Aug. 4th booking and
scratched their heads. On Aug. 1st I went to the South African Airways office
in London to try to work out the continuance of my trip
and the soonest they could fly me out was on...August 4th!
Obviously God knew all along that I'd be flying to South
Africa on the 4th, but from London, not Atlanta!
Also, after I had originally booked my tickets in Texas
I wished I had planned to stay a bit longer in South Africa so I could
sail to Cape Town on the Anastasis and then fly back from there, but the
special fare I had would not allow me to change the location of departure,
only the date. But because the SAA strike caused me to miss the first week
of my time on the ship, they allowed me to reschedule my return from Cape
Town about ten days later for no charge!
Whatever happened to that lost check-in bag,
you ask? I kept calling Delta's London office all week long but it never
showed up. But while on my layover in Johannesburg (en route to the port
city of East London, South Africa), I decided to stop by the "lost and
found" office, and there it was, waiting for me, as if it was planned
ahead of time to prevent me from having to tote it around London all
this time! Only God could've seamlessly planned it all as He did,
turning what some would've considered an incovenience into an adventure
with a purpose.
ABOARD THE ANASTASIS IN SOUTH
AFRICA
I finally arrived in East London, South Africa on August 5th and
after a relaxing weekend I began working in the electrical department
aboard the Anastasis. I was assigned the project of installing a new fire sprinkler system in the engine & generator rooms on
the ship. This system was being required for certification before the ship would be allowed to sail next.
It was a long, detailed project, pulling cables through tight spaces
(getting all greasy and dirty), and wiring up all the control panels and
motorized release valves. I had plenty of exercise walking up and down
the many flights of stairs in the engine room and throughout the ship.
Besides the sprinkler system project,
I also took turns as "duty electrician," being on
call for various electrical problems that arose on the ship.
 Community
life aboard the ship was fun and at times a bit challenging. There are men, women
& children from about thirty different nations from all over
the world serving on the Anastasis. As has been the case on previous times I've
served on the Anastasis and Caribbean Mercy ships, it was a rewarding and
learning experience to mix with other cultures and develop friendships. As
a tall person I have a few challenges on this old ship built for short
people! Ducking and dodging the lights and sprinkler heads is a constant
task, and managing to cope with a short bunk is always interesting.
SOUTH AFRICAN EXPERIENCE
On the weekends I had fun experiencing South Africa. One weekend I went on a day-trip
with Steve Wargo and other friends up the coast to Kei Mouth & Morgan's
Bay, enjoying the beautiful Indian Ocean coastlines of South Africa. The
next weekend I went bicycle riding with Willem Van Duijvendijk to the
beaches of East London, and also visited a wildlife park where I got to
hold a 3-month-old lion cub and stand face-to-face with a giraffe (I was
on a platform and he wasn't! HaHa). The next weekend I went on safari at
Inkwenkwezi Game Reserve not far from East London. It was a two-day event
which included outings in a Land Rover to explore the African animals on
the 10,000 acre reserve. We were provided with very nice tent
accommodations out in the bush, but certainly not roughing it. The tents
had hardwood floors, nice beds, electricity, telephones, coffee/tea, and
nice cave-looking bathrooms with artificial water fall hot showers. They
also fed us three fabulous meals. Mercy Ships crew were given a special
discount so the two-day safari get-away only cost US$66 total, including
transportation to/from the ship!
We were supposed to set sail from East London
to Cape Town on Monday, 5 Sept., but because of bad weather the captain
postponed our departure till Wednesday the 7th. As a result I didn't have
much time in Cape Town before leaving the country on Sunday the 11th. Our
sail across
southern South Africa was fun except for some occasional queasiness
because of high swells. Spotting breaching whales & seals was fun as was
viewing the brilliant stars at night.
I also thoroughly enjoyed escaping the
miserable August heat of Texas. August is winter in South Africa, but
very mild ones. It was just perfect with normal highs around 70-75°F
(21-24°C) and cooling off to about 50-60°F (10-15°C). It was clear and
sunny almost every day, but pretty windy much of the time (makes for
beautiful waves at the beaches).
The day we arrived in Cape Town I took the
cable car up to Table Mountain, a must-see. Oh what an incredible sight
that was; mountains everywhere, gorgeous coastline views, rock formations,
flora & fauna, fresh air! I spent about three hours hiking the trails and
taking in the beauty atop Table Mountain.
I was blessed to get to know fellow
electrician Winston Myers from Cape Town while serving on the ship. The
day before I left South Africa he and his family took me around the Cape
Town area, specifically out near Cape Point. I spent the night with the
Myers family and went to church with them on Sunday morning, where I was
asked to share a
brief testimony during the service. On my way to the airport that
afternoon Winston and I were talking about how much we enjoy spontaneous
adventures. "For example," I told him, "if my flight across the Atlantic
has to make an emergency landing in--Accra, Ghana, for instance--it could be an
adventure rather than an inconvenience." Wouldn't you know, there we were
out over the Atlantic when the captain made a page asking for a medical
doctor. Unfortunately, a passenger had suffered a heart attack so I knew right away we
would be making an emergency medical landing...but where? It wasn't long
before I noticed the flight map on the monitor in front of me had a course
change--to Accra, Ghana! So that 18 hour flight across the Atlantic
turned into a 20 hour one! But hey, now I've been to Ghana...sort-of!
Thank you for your prayers as I fulfilled this
mission aboard that wonderful 53-year-old hospital ship. The Anastasis, by
the way, is scheduled to sail to Liberia, West Africa after it's time in
Cape Town, and will have several months of ministry to the poor and needy
there, "bringing hope and healing."
Click
HERE to read a front page article in the Lindale
News about my trip to serve with Mercy Ships:
(they didn't get all the facts exactly right, but it's not bad)
Visit the Mercy Ships website:
www.mercyships.org
More South Africa Photos
(click on the thumbnail images to display
larger ones in separate browsers)
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East London
(ship right of center) |
Close-up of Anastasis |
East London coastline |
Roland & the Anastasis |
Roland with one of the many flame detectors & alarm
units |
Looking down from the top of the ship to the engine room |
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Roland & lion cub |
Willem, Roland & Steve with lion cub |
Roland with tortoise |
Roland with giraffe |
East London coast |
Driving to coastline near Kei Mouth |
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Beach near Kei Mouth |
Coast near Kei Mouth |
Giraffe at Inkwenkwezi |
Zebras at Inkwenkwezi |
Wildebeests at Inkwenkwezi |
Antelopes at Inkwenkwezi |
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