In Memory of Collin Carroll

One year ago today, the Africa Mercy lost one of its crew members Collin Carroll. Collin was with some fellow mercy shippers at the beach. Unfortunately there was an under current that pulled Collin out to sea. He fought against the current and soon tired himself out. As he was fighting the current a set of waves came in too big for him to handle. One wave crashed on him, and then another and another. By this time, some speculators, he was unconscious. One more wave hit him and he had lost all hope to live. His body disappeared for an hour before it washed on shore. Some tried to resuscitate but it was no use. Collin Carroll died July 29, 2007. This morning a service was held on the dock in memory of his life. Some people who were here when it happened and knew him were crying and mourning. Tonight a memorial service will be held at the beach at which he drowned. The hope that comes out of this tragedy is that we all know that we will see him with our Father in heaven someday. God Bless the Carroll Family.

Hydro Plant

I havent done a whole lot since visiting the HIV hospice. On Thursday I went out with the HIV team to Coffee Farm Church about 20 minutes from the ship. What we did was we put on a HIV Workshop for local pastors. We taught them how they can educate their communities on how HIV spreads, how it can be managed and how to handle situations of stigma. We showed them ways that people need to change their behavior in order to slow down the spread of HIV and the beliefs people have that cause HIV to spread. All in all it was a 9 hour day. Yesterday nothing happened. I worked all morning cleaning bathrooms and mopping floors. In the afternoon Sales needed help unloading a huge shipment they got of soda, candy and snacks. You would think that would be easy but it took us 3 hours to unload. We filled up a 12x12 ft refridgerator with soda and loaded about 100 boxes of snacks into food storage 4 decks below where it was unloaded. That made for a long day. Today was a ton of fun though. I went on an expedition through the jungle. We left this morning about 8am and then made a 2 hour drive out to a hydroplant. We explored the plant for a bit and then we grabbed our stuff and hiked another 2 hours up the river. I never believed in the myth of fire ants but I do now thats for sure. They feasted on me all day. Their tiny little bites kill! Anyway, the hike was intense. Some parts of the hike could only be crossed by wading through chest high water. That was probably my favorite part. It took us 30 minutes to get 15 people across. From there we hiked past all the rapids. In the river there were these massive rapids and currents. If you found yourself stuck in the currents you might as well pray for God's mercy and hold on cause it was going to be bumpy. We took a little break at one of the rapids. Everyone went down to the rapid to get under the waterfall that was right there as well and rest. Me and my friend Bates from South Africa we down a little further to where the water was pretty still to swim. We let the currents take us around and around. We were extremely careful not to get sucked into the currents. After our little pool party we headed back. Once we were back at the hydroplant we ate lunch and then piled back in the cars to make the drive back. When I got back I took a 2 hour nap and then got up took a shower and went to dinner. Im not sure what I am doing tomorrow. I might go to the Beach Church or Obijai. I dont know. Or I might stay on shio. Ill let you know either way.

Sajj

So today was a full day. I got up at 7:00am and had breakfast. Then I went to Missionaries for Charity, Sisters of Mother Theresa. It is a hospice for HIV patients. They range from infants to the elderly. Some of the kids though have Tuberculosis or are malnourished. It was not easy on the eyes. It was tough at first. I didnt hold back though. The kids dont really get a whole lot of one-on-one time at all so they were practically killing each other for our attention. It was so tough to see that. I cant really explain what I felt. Basically what we did for 2 hours was love on them, cuddle with them and play with them. It was alot of fun and eye opening. On the way back to the ship I saw a boy about my younger sisters age that had down syndrome but not that bad. Just a minor case but you could still see it was there. Anyway, he was out in the pouring rain trying to clean car windows with the biggest smile on his face you've ever seen. And I knew is was 100% genuine. He was just smiling about life, about being alive and I dont know what else he was smiling about. It was hard to see him trudge through the rain trying to make a living. That really opened my eyes. I just wanted to get out of the car to tell him that God loves him and so do I. Well, enough of that...haha. The rest of the day was filled with cleaning, movies (Big Fish - really disappointing, didnt like it at all) and going out to dinner. Me and two other people went to Sajj Restaurant, its about 30 minutes from the ship. We took two bike taxis. We had dinner and dessert and got back about 30 minutes ago. It was a blast. Well that was my day. Ill update again tomorrow because I will be going to the HIV Clinic and registering Africans for treatment or testing. Fun day tomorrow. Well, adios!

Grand Bassa & ANDP

This is place is amazing. The more time I spend here the more I enjoy myself. On Saturday I went to an orphanage in Grand Bassa, about 2 1/2 hours from the ship. We didnt do much there except love on the kids and villagers. We played games with them, swam with them, sang with them, basically lived life with them for a day. My friend from the Dominican Republic (Juan) and I were the fun guys. We were the ones who made the kids laugh and let them use us as a jungle gym. We skipped down to the river with them, did stadium chants and taught them fun games. It didnt take long for us to get worn out so we had to turn it over to the girls. They gave them pictures to color, sang bible school songs and taugh them bible stories. We stayed probably about 5 hours with them. Oh yeah, on the way to the village we passed the Firestone Headquaters. We were able to see how they get the rubber to make the tires. It was cool. Well that was Saturday.
Sunday I went to a church called Obijei (O-bee-jay). It was the coolest church service Id ever been a part of. They ''wing it''. Haha. The church service is structured but you still never know what they might ask us white people to do. Yesterday, they asked one of us to introduce each person from Mercy Ships. There were about 9 of us. After we had been introduce we then lead the church in two songs of worship. It was so funny. You have to be super flexible when you go to the churches in Liberia. Sometimes they will ask us to give the sermon...no joke. I was originally supposed to go a Liberian Civil War Refugee Camp and gop to church there. But it fell through and we werent able to go. Hopefully next Sunday. Well thats basically what happened this weekend. Oh I had to say goodbye to a friend today, but not really. She'll be back in two weeks. And oh, Im not the only 18 year old anymore. Two more just came on board so Im stoked for that! Well ttfn

7.17.08

So here I sit. On the eve of the release of The Dark Night. Technically I could go get a pirated copy off the street for 50 Liberty (Liberian Dollar) or just under $1 USD. But I cant do that. I have to experience it on the big screen.
Oh man, Ive already been here 11 days! Time flies. I get home exactly 3 weeks from today. I'm excited but there is still so much for me to do. I forgot to mention in the Indiana Jones entry that I saw quite a handful of malnourished children and babies. Not a sight for the weak minded. It was tough for me to handle let me tell you. Made me think about just how important getting fed everyday as an infant is and having the right nutrition around to grow strong. Saturday, I head to an orphanage called Grand Bassa. Its going to be one heck of an experience.
Not much has happened since I got back from the whole jungle fiasco. The other night when the All-Star Game was on I stayed up until just after 4:30am to watch it. It started about 12:45am Liberia time. I went to bed just after the 12th inning was finished when Nate McLouth threw out Dioner Navarro to save the game (at least until the AL took it in the 15th). Pretty boring game but it was the only Live baseball Ive had in weeks. Gosh I take baseball for granted. Everyday I realize something little I take for granted. Tiny stuff you wouldnt even think about. Like soap or butter or cinabons. Haha.
Ok so since Im being made fun of because about the whole fabric thing (*cough* Mrs. Norton) let me explain that. On Monday I was taken to the market by my older sisters (they treat me like their little bro, just a tad annoying but its ususally fun) and we all bought African fabric. The fabric is made by Liberians in their villages and then sold at Water Street Market for $2.50 per lapa. A lapa is an amount of cloth. I took the cloth I bought to a tailor across the street from the port and Im having 2 nice dress shirts made from it for $10 a piece or 620 Liberty. There you go, now no more laughing at me.
Ok so now thats explained, Im going to give you a little history lesson. After the American Civil War was over. The US government deported alot of African slaves to Liberia. I cant remember the number but it was like half a million former slaves I believe. The US dropped them off here on the coast of Liberia. As a result there is alot of American influence here. The capitol of Liberi, Monrovia, is named after James Monroe a US president. You can also see the influence in the countries name itself. There is a town called New Georgia after the state of Georgia. Its not just the name of the cities. The only music they know comes from the US .There favorites are Akon, T-Pain, Alicia Keys, Kanye West and Chris Brown. My partner I work with sings songs I never wouldve guessed he knew. Since I know he does I blast my iPod so we both can hear it. Its funny cause people will walk by and we're rockin out to like Chris Brown or Alicia Keys. Its hilarious. So thats just a little taste of the culture here. Im not done, I just wanted to give you a taste.

Indiana Jones

I know Im crazy. Its almost midnight here but Im staying up to watch the MLB All-Star Game. I have to. I hardly get any baseball here. I saw Josh Hamilton rise from hero to legend last night after in blasted 28 home runs into the New York Sky Line during the first round of the Home Run Derby. Anyway, I had the best day today so far since Ive been on the Africa Mercy. The whole day was like Indiana Jones. Filled with off-roading with jeeps, weaving in and out of trees, dodging mud puddles and having to cross really really rickety bridges. And oh, crazy wild savages shooting blow darts with poison on them at us...jk not really. Almost though. So today I went out with Paul Waldron who is one of the key members on the CDS team (when I find out what that stands for Ill let you know). So what he does is go into villages cerca Monrovia and helps the villagers build and teach them to maintain wells. Its fun. Today I helped him pick up some sand in order to make some cement so put around the new well. We did that but then in turned into driving all through the jungle helping villagers with minor tasks, fixing wells, teaching them how to farm effeciently and almost tipping over off a bridge (twice) and into a river 10 ft below. Crazy. For a few seconds I thought I might die. By the way Im not exaggerating this one bit. We left the port around 830 this morning and arrived back at 515. Long day. On our way back to the main road from the jungle we saw (and tried to run over) this massively long snake about 12-15 ft long. We missed. But I think when I saw that I literally thought I was Indy searching for some treasure, lost long ago but an ancient forgotten tribe. Im not done. It rained all last night...terribly hard. It was crazy. I think we're about to get a hurricane soon or something. As we drove through the jungle it rained on and off all day. For a while we thought we might get rained in and have to spend the night. But God showed us a way out and around. We drove through puddles that were easily waist deep on me. It was nuts but such an amazing day. Paul said he had never had such an eventful day in Liberia. It was crazy.
Yesterday I went to the market with a few friends. It was almost as nuts as the jungle. As we entered the market this Liberian started screaming at us, yelling at us about something (I had no idea what it was). For a while I thought it was some selling technique and I was like, ''If this is how the market is going to be, I want to leave now.'' I ended up finding out that he was probably mad because the doctors mightve had to turn away a loved one of his because they were unable to help them. Youd be surprised how much that happens. Anyway, we spent maybe an hour and half in the market. I bought some fabric and Im getting dress shirts made by a local tailor. On the way back to AFM we rode motorcycle taxis. That was fun. There was life 4 of us (2 Americans, 1 Canadien, and a Philipino). We tried to race. At the tailor we went to their was birthday party going on and we were invited to join. That was a blast. The last two days have been incredible. If the rest of the trip goes like this Im going to go loco. #

I promise that all the stories above are 100% true.

Time to Catch Up

Hey everyone. Not much has been happening so I didnt really have a whole lot to report about. But now I do. Work is grueling, somedays the bathrooms are still nice and clean and others...ugh lets not go there. Today I felt like I was going to see my breakfast and lunch. It wasnt fun. Ive met so many people here. Its incredible how genuine and sincere everyone is here. I met someone with the same birthday that came in the day before me so we've kind of clicked. Its super easy to make friends cause everyone is in the same boat (literally). Last night we had a church service and it was so cool to listen to God's people from all over the world be united in worship. This morning my alarm actually woke me up. Thats a good sign because I think Ive finally adjusted to the time change.
Today was a interesting day. I worked and slept on and off all day. There was not much to do until just before dinner when Charles (Liberian co-worker) and I had to clean the mens/womens showers on deck 2. That was not fun. It was really dirty and disgusting. Charles threw up two or three times. After that I took a nap and then went to dinner. Let me tell you the food can be really good or terrible. They serve left over dinner the next day for lunch. Bleh. Anyway, tonight was really good because we had pizza. It was decent, but still it was pizza. After dinner I sat down in the Starbucks lounge and read Do Hard Things. Let me tell you, this book is rocking my world right. Its causing me to look into my life and see if Im truly living how God wants me too. In the little things in my life I get an F but in the big things I get a C...not doing to good. It definitly challenging me to live differently.
On Sunday we have someone leaving us (although, people are continually coming and going everyday) so we went out to dessert at 7:30. The place was so nice. We all just sat around and talked. Got to know some people alot better and get to know people I hardly knew. I cant get over how everyone is accepting and open to meeting new people and getting to know them. We left Krystal Point Hotel (name of the place) at 10:50 and just got back. It was so much fun. I dont have a whole lot going on tomorrow other than maybe joining Prison Fellowship, but I dont know if thats going to work out. Well thats it. TTFN, ta-ta-for-now!

First Day on the Job

Well, today I had my first day on the job. About 10 this morning I met my boss Sherry Carpenito. She showed me the expectations and explained what the job holds. I work from 8am-5pm everyday except Saturday and Sunday.
Today Sherry had me work with one of the day crew members (Liberians who come onto the ship everyday and hold a position in a department) and we mopped Deck 2 and 3 and then I cleaned a vent and dusted the stairways. Not much to do but I only worked half the day. Tomorrow will be my first day working 8 to 5. Well thats work...let me tell you about the people Ive met.
My bunk mate is a 19 year old from Seirra Leone one of my roomates is from Oklahoma. Across the hall there is room full of like 8 girls who range from 19-22 or so. Im just going to tell you where theyre all from: Columbus, Georgia Fresno, California Chicago, Illinois Calgary, Canada and right now Im drawing a blank on the rest. Sorry. Ive met a few guys from England and a girl from Liverpool, England. I work along side of guy from Switzerland, a woman from Norway and Sweden. There are so many people from everywhere that I cant keep track. Its hard. Well I have to go. Im having problems getting my pictures to work and my videos up. Im getting some help. Hopefully in the next few days Ill get them up for you to see the ship. Well adios for now.

Finally In Liberia

3 flights, 2 connections and 30 hours later Ive finally arrived on Liberia. Its rainy, humid and hot here. Its pooring like there is no tomorrow. Its kind of cool.
So let me tell you about my last 35 hours. After arriving at LAX I made my first flight on time. But when we went onto the run way and were abour to take off the pilots told us there was maintenance problems and we were headed back to our gate. When we got there we sat there an hour waiting for them to fix the problem, but as they fixed the first they found a new one and then another one and another one. Finally they decided they were going to take that plane out of commission and so let unloaded us on and put us on another flight. When I landed in Chicago our gate was occupado and I had 20 minutes to make my flight to Brussels, Belgium. I was fortunate enough that, once we got to the gate, someone overheard me talking about my flight and the amount of time I had to make it to my gate that they told everyone to let me get off first so I could make it. I made with just a few minutes to spare. 9 hours later I landed in Brussels. Called the folks to let them know I was alright and then got some lunch (cost me $15!, stupid bad economy), and charged the ole iPod. The flight to Monrovia, Liberia had no problems and I fortunate enough to have the Director of Development for Mercy Ships on my flight. She was escorting Rookie NFL Star Malcom Kellie to the Africa Mercy. He'll be here a week and a half. So when we landed Malcom had a press conference with the Liberia Media. They spent half an hour asking him questions and then we got our baggage and jumped in some jeeps and drove an hour and a half to the ship. Let me tell you. Its nicer than I expected. Im sharing a room with three other guys and they are super nice. Right now Im in the internet cafe updating and waiting for an open line to make some calls home.

More new on my trip coming Tuesday.....

Last Day

So today is my last day in the US for 33 days. How fitting is it that my last day is our great nations birthday? It couldn't have been better.

I sit here at my computer knowing that in 5 hours Ill be headed to the airport to start my great adventure. For all those that don't know, I'm flying out of LAX at 7:30 am. From LAX I head to O'Hare, Chicago where I will connect on an American Airlines flight to Brussels, Belgium. From there its to Monrovia, Liberia and then to Mercy Ships. My total flight time is 19 hours and 10 minutes, and total time just about reaches 30 hours. Yikes. Just keep praying that God will allow for good weather and smooth travels.

I want to thank everyone for making this happen. My actions on this trip represent everyone's generosity and commitment for our Savior. Thank so much for all your prayers and support. I couldn't be more grateful.

In Africa I will be keeping a calender and on each day I will be praying for someone different who contributed to my trip.
Thank you all so much. God Bless.

Wes