Ayiti Cheri: Perceptions

Ayiti Cheri means “My Dear Haiti.” We’d like to share with you about some of the things we’ve experienced in this country that is becoming dear to us and tell you how we perceive these experiences: two foreigners in a beautiful land with beautiful people, but with many struggles as well. This is the first of a series of stories about our life in Haiti.

Questions of conscience

One thing is to talk about disparities between the rich and the poor, but another thing is to see them both living in such close proximity. Imagine eating at an expensive restaurant while you watch a video about starving children. Would you be able to enjoy your meal? What kind of things would come to your mind? Think about it.

One day we were celebrating a friend’s birthday at a nice restaurant in a wealthy neighborhood in Port Au Prince. We were very happy to share that special time with friends and we enjoyed ourselves. The menu has its prices in US Dollars and if you want to pay with the local currency, they’ll charge a higher exchange rate… How interesting, do they think we are rich?! Well, maybe we are rich here: we have access to private transportation, we eat more than one meal per day, we drink water that does not make us sick, and we are blan (white, foreigner), which puts us in that category by default anyways. But as we stepped out of the restaurant, right in front of us, there was a sight that brought uneasy feelings: the park was filled with tents and people living in them. Then the questions came:

“Is it right for us to spend money at a place like that when there are so many people living in such circumstances? But, we ourselves can’t take care of all who are in need. Maybe it is okay to enjoy ourselves like that sometimes. What kind of people are we that we feel okay spending in the same way, as long as there is no sight like that in front of us? How interesting is human nature, that we prefer to separate ourselves from that kind of sight, so we can feel okay about living our lives comfortably.” These were all thoughts that came to mind and things we had to “debrief” with each other. Questions of conscience. And they keep coming.

They keep coming as we finish having lunch during field trips and old ladies come begging for money touching their bellies and saying “I am hungry, give me some money,” as we drive through the busy streets of Pòtoprens and little kids offer to wipe the car if we give them some money, as we drive with teams of Americans and people yell in English “Give me one Dollah!” when they see us pass by. We struggle saying NO to people because it is easier to give them a coin and feel good about ourselves. But we say NO. We decided we won’t give money to people asking or begging for it because if we do, it’s almost like making a contract with them that says “I will give you money, if you get out of my way.” We feel we don’t treat people with dignity when we hand out money or things without knowing their names, their family or whether our “help” is really what they need to have a life with dignity: to come out of poverty, to take care of their families, to leave a legacy to their grandchildren, and to see others and themselves in a healthy way in order to interact with each other honorably and respectfully.

And you know what? We wrote this yesterday, but today instead of saying NO, we said apre (later) to the kid outside the bakery. We brought a snack out in case he was still there, and he was. And as we were leaving we saw him share the little snack with a younger child. As you see, each day is a new day, and we can’t base our actions on strict dogma. We will keep asking God to guide our interactions to act wisely, and to help us wrestle with the big questions about life, development, poverty and true riches.

How we got to Haiti the long way around

“Where are you from?  Where did you use to live?  What drew you to Haiti?” are frequent questions we get, but we lack simple ‘conversation-friendly’ answers because we are a cross-cultural couple and lived out of suitcases for more than a year.  It seems the answers are getting more and more interesting the longer we are together.

Where are you from?

Nate: “Well, I am originally from Massachusetts”
Cecilia: “And I am from Ecuador, but we used to live in Ithaca, NY until about a year ago”
Nate: “Then we travelled to many places for a full year”
Cecilia: “We did not intend that, it just happened that way”

On a mountain with Port Au Prince in the background

Interesting… So how did you end up in Haiti?

Ecuador update: Looking back, looking forward

This is a brief recount of where we’ve been and what we are doing now in Quito, Ecuador.

Nate, Cecilia, and some of our work-mates at the church, Dulce Refugio

Port Au Prince: SUPPLIES!

In October 2010, we went to Haiti with Mercy Ships as part of a short term medical team.  We went to work in a clinic that is part of a larger organization called Mission of Hope. Since the earthquake, this ministry has been instrumental in distribution of food and medical supplies, and in providing healthcare to the Haitian people around Port-Au-Prince.
On our 2 week trip we learned more than we could have imagined.  Please enjoy the following short account of just one aspect of the work we did there.

Sierra Leone: City of Rest

The Aberdeen West Africa Fistula Centre front door in Sierra Leone where we went to an international Christian fellowship.

We walked through a metal door in a high concrete wall with a sign on the side that says "Mercy Ships Sierra Leone: Aberdeen West Africa Fistula Centre".  Years ago, Mercy Ships helped to construct and staff a women's fistula clinic in this area of Freetown, Sierra Leone.  Slowly and carefully it is being turned over to the Freedom from Fistula Foundation. We went there and made a quite expected connection.

Sierra Leone - Land of Beauty

Our first impressions of Freetown as we went up to the team house on the hill that first day were of beauty and majesty. We will never forget it.

The Pocket Notebook

On our journey from Ithaca to Texas to Africa, we've collected a few things along the way.  However, none have been so helpful and used to such benefit than one spontaneous and seemingly insignificant gift from a friend in up-state New York.  It's a little nicely bound pocket notebook.

Up-Country Adventures in Togo: Healing in the North

I love this report.  It shows both the difficulties of practicing medicine in the poorest places of the world, but also the transformation it can bring to people's lives.  It's only 11 days till we get on the plane to Africa, and we are more than excited.  We hope you enjoy this story, written and photographed by Mercy Ships staff:


Dr. Tony Giles, maxillofacial surgeon, and his wife Ann, an OR nurse, have worked with Mercy Ships in many capacities over the past fourteen years. Recently, they conducted a 28-day screening tour in the northern areas of Togo, from Dapaong to Kpalime. It turned out to be quite an adventure!


Travelling more than 2000km through plateau, jungle, mountain pass and desert scrub, they encountered high winds, downpours, sudden electrical storms and power outages. They worked twelve-hour days – screening and performing surgeries with sub-standard equipment and local anesthetics. A power outage occurred during one surgery, but the flickering light of Dr. Tony's mobile phone allowed him to complete the procedure. And in Dapaong, Dr. Tony removed a pear-shaped growth from the forehead of a 99-year-old man under local anesthetic.




Tony and Ann were greatly encouraged by their Togolese team members. The two observers from the Minister of Health, realizing what was being done for their citizens, took an active and very helpful part in the screenings. The five volunteer translators, two of whom were drivers, helped to transport patients to and from the ship, the Hospitality Center, and testing facilities. They also organized minibus taxis to take patients home and to bring new patients to the screenings. Since they were so closely involved with the screening process, Dr. Tony trained them in pre-screening. As a result, they were able to continue the process with 95% accuracy during the week that the Tony and Ann returned to the ship to cover for Dr. Gary Parker.


Madame Adjeh Assoupi, from the Office of the Minister of Health, joined the team at Atakpame. She was instrumental in solving many of the problems encountered on the tour. Because the surrounding area consisted primarily of farming communities, there were many hernia problems – more than could be handled on the ship. Many of these people could be treated locally, but couldn't afford surgery. So, Madame Adjeh arranged for government funding for them to have hernia surgery at the hospital for a very small charge.


Shortly before leaving Atakpame, a 60-year-old man named Koffi arrived with a limpoma, a large growth on his back attached to his neck. Surgery had been completed for the day, and the team was about to move on to Kpalime. Madame Adjeh suggested transporting Koffi to Kpalime, where Dr. Tony could perform the surgery. She also made sure a diatherm ( to prevent bleeding) would be available for the surgery. She then made overnight arrangements at the local hospital for Koffi, and he went to Kpalime with the government film crew the next day. Using the hospital's instruments, Dr. Tony removed the 12-pound growth, the largest ever to be removed under local anesthetic. The entire procedure was captured by the government film crew. Madame Adjeh and the Assistant Director of the hospital even secured some badly needed clothes for the man and arranged for him to be returned to his village the next day.



Koffi Before






Koffi After


Dr. Tony and Ann told the people, through the interpreters, that goitres are caused by poor diet and a lack of iodine. The film crew interviewed them and also got the local dietician to talk about it on camera. Then the crew went to the local market and filmed the foods, like fish and shrimp, that would help with these problems. This type of adult education can go a long way toward eliminating these problems.


The screenings were advertised through churches and on government radio. The President's TV crew joined the screening team in Kara to film the proceedings, which were broadcast daily in ten-minute segments. The word definitely penetrated the area, but no one realized that such publicity might cause a security problem. By the time the team reached Kpalime, there were so many people surrounding the screening site, an open circular shelter in the ground, the team couldn't get in. The Prefect of Atakpame tried, unsuccessfully, to control the crowd. Finally, the army was called in to restore order. Dr. Tony described the incredible scene: “People just invaded. We were surrounded. We were stuck. We couldn't move. We got a megaphone, but people still didn't want to get out. They didn't want to lose their chance of seeing us. But we couldn't see anybody because we couldn't move. They swarmed everywhere – around us, behind us, in front of us… cramming in. I thought they'd crush us.”



Crowds pressing in at an up-country screening in Togo


They saw many facial tumors, cleft lips and cleft palates, VVF women, burns, hernias, and orthopedic problems – in all, over 3,000 people during the tour. They performed 31 surgeries with local anesthetic and selected 200 patients for possible surgeries. However, Dr. Tony is quick to acknowledge that their primary interest is in the individuals, rather than the numbers.




Due to the strong relationships forged during the screenings and everyone's willingness to help, the partnership between the government and Mercy Ships was played out once again with a remarkably successful result.




Dr. Tony and Ann have seen many miracles over the years, and this screening journey has added to their list. “You see all sorts of things happen. You begin to get confidence,” he explained. “It works … God does it. And these people's lives are changed!”


Story by Elaine Winn
Edited by Nancy Predaina

A Visit With Edoh

We have shared Edoh's story with some of you before.  Recently, a team went to Edoh's village and made a report.  That report is printed here.  If you haven't heard Edoh's story read on.

A sweet, gentle young woman walked forward, holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Thirty joyful family members joined her in welcoming the visitors from the Mercy Ship. This was Edoh - a life restored by mercy.

Edoh is the youngest of six children. When she was about four years old, her eye became very red and began to swell. Her mother, Afua, desperately tried to find help, going from hospital to hospital in Togo and Ghana. But no one could help her little girl.

By the time Edoh was nine, a massive facial tumor had displaced her left eye, distorted her cheek and mouth, and left her teeth protruding at odd angles from the edges of the mass. She struggled to eat and breathe. The tumor was literally stealing the breath of life from her - she was slowly suffocating.

Then Afua heard about a hospital ship, a Mercy Ship, that had arrived in her country to offer free medical care. So, she took Edoh to the screening.

A huge crowd of six thousand crushed into the stadium in Togo, almost tearing off the gate. These desperate people were living lives of misery and rejection because of their abnormalities - viewed as a curse in their culture. Unable to work, or even live in society, they saw Mercy Ships as their only chance to have a normal life. They wanted a chance for a free surgery, the chance for a miracle.

But in the midst of all that suffering and desperate longing, mercy raised its head. A little girl's gasping struggle to breathe captured the attention of the crowd. Arms of compassion - some weak and some strong - lifted Edoh and passed her to the front of the long line.

Edoh remembers that moment - the moment that changed her life forever. She recalls, "I remember being lifted over the heads of the crowd and being passed along to the gate. A nurse saw me and said, 'This is the type of surgery we need to do.'"

And that day Edoh received an appointment card for surgery ... an appointment to receive life instead of death.

The doctors warned Afua that this was a difficult, risky case. But she wisely replied, "God gives children; God can take away. We will give it all to God and go ahead with the surgery."

And her faith was rewarded. Edoh returned home to a very surprised community. "It's a miracle!" they exclaimed. And they held a big party to celebrate.

A year later, Dr. Luer Koeper, a maxillofacial surgeon, who had helped to remove the tumor, took Edoh to Germany for a second surgery on her lip. Then in 2003, she had another surgery on her lower eyelid.

And now, 15 years after her first surgery, this "walking miracle" was welcoming Mercy Ships volunteers to her village.

Edoh happily described the transformation in her life. She recalled how she used to stay away from people. She couldn't go to school. She became very shy, hiding in her home. But now she can go everywhere - including school.

In fact, Edoh is a good student. After she completes her secondary education, she wants to become a nurse to help others - just like the dedicated Mercy Ships volunteers helped her.

The celebration arranged by the family continued at the "cascade," a beautiful waterfall that roars down the mountain behind Edoh's home. There, her brothers played their native drums, and everyone sang praises to God for His mercy toward Edoh.

A smiling Edoh added, " If it wasn't for the Mercy Ship, maybe I would be dead. Mercy Ships changed that. I used to look in the mirror and feel pity for myself. But now I think about what happened to me, and it's all about God. I put everything in God's hands."

Written by Elaine B. Winn
Edited by Nancy Predaina
Photos by Debra Bell

Road Trip 2010 - DONE

 We arrived at Mercy Ships Headquarters and completed our first day at Gateway Training.  We even had a chance to catch some of the World Cup!  Now to pick up where we left off and wrap up our journey to Texas:
From Raleigh, North Carolina, heading South West to Georgia, we stopped in Cumming, GA to visit our great friends, the Ashleys.

David and Gina are great hosts, and their kids Ethan, Evan, and Ryan are tons of fun.

We stayed for a couple nights with them and re-connect after not seeing them for many years.  

We geared up for the 9-hour ride from Atlanta to Little Rock, Arkansas and left early in the morning.  

With a short stop in Memphis, we were in Little Rock before we knew it.  We met one of Cecilia's good friends from college who just had a baby, 

and a great couple we met through an International Christian Fellowship back in Ithaca.  Mark and Karen were great hosts even though it was a short visit. 

From Little Rock, we drove North West to Fayetteville.  There, we spent a whole week with our dear friends, Tom and Barbara.  At their house we met many internationals, including a couple from Togo! 

We also visited friends and mentors of Cecilia's while at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.  

They are all very special people in our lives, and we are blessed to know them.

We are now in Texas after a week in Arkansas, and a 6 hour drive this morning.  We are ready for the next month of training, rested, relaxed, and refreshed after:

8 different overnight locations, 19 states crossed, 50 hours of driving logged, 3,095 miles traveled in 30 days. 

THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HOSTED US, HELPED US ON OUR WAY, OR PRAYED FOR US!!! WE COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU!!!

Tom is a bee keeper, and we had the privilege to help label his first big batch of honey!

It's a BEEutiful thing!

DC Excitement to North Carolina Respite

Washington DC is a place of inspiration for both of us.  The city is a hub of action, and it has moved us to action in many ways.  We re-affirmed our vision to work internationally with the poor when we were there in April, 2009 while visiting friends, and we both felt at peace to quit our jobs to seek work in that capacity.  Therefore, it is appropriate we returned for a visit on our way to Texas for training with Mercy Ships. 

Our good friend, Emily invited us to stay, and she was happy to accommodate us royally in her small apartment, right in the middle of the city.  Emily works in the huge non-profit sector in DC with an organization called AED.   She introduced us to many of her friends who all have a passion for working internationally and making a difference in the world.  We were only there for a day, but it was filled with action! 

We ran in the morning, applied for our visas at the Benin Embassy, 

checked out the “wild” animals at the DC Zoo, 

and had a party at Emily’s house with friends.  We got a chance to see Ayago, our friend from Kenya who we met in Ithaca.  He’s now living  and working in DC too.  

Later that night we went Latin-dancing with Emily and her friends and danced late into the night.  We know Africans love to dance, so we see it as part of our continuing cultural training.  We left DC exhilarated yet tired.

We left early the next morning for North Carolina to visit our friends Wesley and Barbara Moses.  To contrast the action and excitement of Washington DC, our time in North Carolina can be characterized as immensely peaceful and restful. 

Wes and Barb just had a new baby, Josiah and we had fun holding him, trying to make him smile.  We played tennis, met some of their friends and went to their church in Raleigh. 

Our time with them was so restful both physically and spiritually, and we are so grateful for the opportunity to stay with them.    

Next stop:  Georgia, The Peach State! and play time with the Ashleys.

Hartford to NYC to Philly

Travelling South West from Connecticut with our GPS at hand, we made an un-planned, spontaneous visit to our friends Brian and Kristin in Brooklyn, NY.  We had seen them a week ago when they picked us up from the airport, but it was only about 25 minutes out of our way to visit, so we swooped into Brooklyn to find Brian a little under the weather.

Get well soon, Brian!

From there we headed South West to Philadelphia to stay the night with our friends, Ben and Kate.  Kate was away, but we visited with Ben, and had a great time catching up, talking about Mercy Ships, and breaking a sweat playing Wii.

We had lunch with Behzad, a friend from Cornell, who is also living and working in Philly.  He had to go back to work like most "normal" people, so we got a chance to tour his lab at Penn University, walk the campus, and just hang out at the Penn bookstore.  They have a really nice bookstore.

It's a great blessing to visit so many of our friends:  people who have made a great difference in our lives for the better.

Next episode:  Washington DC: Wild-Asia meets Metro-Urban at the DC Zoo.

Road Trip III

Today marks our second day on the road to Texas.
We have been planning this trip for months, and finally we are on the road.  Our first stop, Jeff and Tatyana's new home in Hartford, Connecticut!  They just moved in last month.

We arrived at around 6:45PM to see Jeff chatting with one of his new neighbors, Tom.  We had a great night of getting acquainted with their new house, which is a beautiful old English Tudor style home, and having great conversation.  Unfortunately, Tatyana is in her residency and was on the night shift while we were there, so we didn't get a chance to see her much.  She'll be a great doctor, and when she gets established, who knows?  Maybe she'll come volunteer with us in Africa!

Jeff gave us a walking tour of their new garden which he has been feverishly planting and preparing.  We ate some of the first fruits, which were three perfectly ripened strawberries from the patch he had planted recently.

It's amazing that even though the garden is very young, it is already producing fruit and flower.  I have a feeling the next time we come, there will be all sorts of fruits to enjoy.

Jeff has the uncanny ability to make people feel welcome.  We know he and his wife, Tatyana, and soon their new baby who is due in a few months, will certainly be a light in their community.  We are so glad to start our trip with them.

We'll be updating more as we go.  Please stay in touch!

Keep on Grillin' Jeff! We'll see you again real soon!

Ecuador, Deep and Colorful

We´ve been in Quito, Ecuador since Tuesday, May 4.  We´ve seen and done much, but mostly we´ve just been living here with the family and enjoying the rich experience of being in the hot sun of the day and the cool breeze of the night.

We´ve gone to a parade held by the school where Edwin, Cecilia´s brother, teaches. 

The parade was set to begin at 10:00 AM, and sure enough, people were arriving, getting ready, and assembling on the street at 10:00 AM sharp.  Parents and locals gathered for the procession of the yough. 

The parade began with the ¨War Band¨setting the beat.  All drums, some snare, some bass. 
The batonistas surrounded the drummer boys in front and behind, twirling their batons. 
The valedictorian of the school and the two other best students led the procession bearing the flags of the nation, the school, and the city. 

Following was a display of the many cultures, dances, and people groups within Ecuador.  The entire school from the youngest first graders to graduating high-schoolers had a part to play. 

In the park nearby, some kids were setting off firework rockets that boomed overhead, and seemed to match the beat of the drummers.  One mis-fired and landed in a half-constructed building across the street from where we stood watching.  Lucy it exploded on the ground behind a brick wall, hurting noone, just setting off a few car alarms.

We watched from the shade of a building, Cecilia, Nate, and the moms, Maria and Christine.  It was a seemingly endless parade of children, bands, and cars dressed up to portray the rich culture of various different parts of the country. 

I was struck by the amazing fact that here in Ecuador, the culture, the history, the dances, and the people are connected and celebrated by all.  It´s not for the tourists to come and pay to be entertained.  It´s close to the heart of the people, and it´s celebrated in the streets far far away from the tourists with their cameras.  To be there was like being included in a procession that has been marching along since the distant past, before the spanish came, before there were written records and recording devices to capture the moment forever.  It was like being invited as a very special guest, and I will always remember it. 

What's in a name: African Roots to American Fruits

My Grandmother is a wonderful storyteller.  She weaves stories that put you on the edge of your seat, and that make you stop to think.  She holds a huge library of fiction and non-fiction in her head, and you never know what story she'll choose from the annals to entertain you with.  Here's a recent one that tells the story of my family's Surname, "Tarter".

Gustav Tata grew up in South Africa to Indian ex-patriots.  It was in Africa that he was educated and became an educator himself.  He became well known on the island of Zanzibar, where he lived, off the coast of Tanzania.

Zanzibar

He became a leader in education, eventually throughout an entire district of Tanzania.  Through his close ties to England, and by virtue of being educator to some of the British who were in Tanzania, he fell in love with a British lady, I think her name was Penny.  They had 3 children in Zanzibar, but she was not interested in staying.  She took the children to live in England despite the fact that Gustav would not come to England.  It was a multi-cultural marriage, but it seems neither of them were ready to start a family outside their own culture.  It came to pass that Penny legally changed her family name to the more British-sounding "Tate" instead of enduring the questioning glances and ill repute of having a very Indian surname.  

Gustav visited his wife and children in England very seldom, and much legend and story grew up around him in his absence.  They told stories of Gustav's exploits as a big game hunter on the plains of the Tanzanian savannah and the jungles of the African continent.  They called him "Bowana the Hunter", and passed the tales of daring and danger on to their friends and later, their children.  The middle child, Peter, who is my Grandfather, was rather individualistic, funny, and inventive.  Over the course of time he decided to change his name once again.  For some reason, he legally changed his surname to "Tarter". He met his wife, Patsy, in London, had 3 boys, and moved to the US in 1956.  The three boys grew up to marry, and have children of their own.  Peter Thurston, the middle child, had two boys.  One of those boys is me.  

I had no clue of my Tata heritage, spanning from India to South Africa to Tanzania to England, only to be changed twice in one generation.  The strangest thing is that when I went to college and started using on-line identities for chat groups and AIM, the screen name I chose was "Nate Tata".  It seems that unwittingly I went back to my roots and dug up the old family name without knowing a thing about it.  My actual idea was that "tata" is close to how you'd say the word "Tarter" in Massachusetts, with the typical New England accent.  Further, I had no idea I would marry my wife, starting my own multi-cultural family.  I am confident we will not have the same difficulty my great grandfather experienced as his family was split across continents and oceans.  My wife and I are solidly "in it together", wherever the Lord may lead us. 

Now Cecilia and I travel to Africa on an adventure of our own.  We will be in a completely different part of the continent, but who knows? I will certainly be on the look-out for some long lost Tata relative as we traverse the landscape and seek our place in the world.  If I find them, they will probably look much more Indian, or African than me.  I imagine what a family picture might look like, going back just 3 generations.  We'd look African, Indian, Scandinavian, and South American.  Blood from all over the world runs through our veins.  I have no "homeland", and I am thrilled by the opportunity to work internationally with countless others from all over the globe.  

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Mercy Ministries in Benin, 2009

This story was published in 2009.  I include it in this blog because we will be a part of this type of work starting in Togo, then Sierra Leone.  Cecilia and Nate will be land-based "host receivers", as part of a team to further coordinate the work of Mercy Ships on land.  Please read to see one side of the work Mercy Ships is doing to bring hope to a world of need.

Many crew members of the Africa Mercy hold positions that involve little or no interaction with the local community.  Thus, in every field service, Mercy Ministries provides opportunities for crew members to work within the local community through partnerships with longstanding, land-based ministry projects.  "Many of the crew work eight-hour, very routine jobs onboard the Africa Mercy," said Mercy Ministries Coordinator, Ines Kronester.  "I think they appreciate the opportunity to get a feel for what is going on outside in the local community.  It's important to see how other ministries are working in Africa."  

Mercy Ships crew member visit children at the School of the Deaf in Benin.  It's one of several land-based ministry sites crew members regularly visit.

Before the Africa Mercy enters a country, a small team is sent in advance to begin forming relationships with local ministries.  Upon arrival, Ines identifies approximately ten ministry sites crew members can partner with throughout the field service.   

"Ideally we find team leaders for each site.  Crew members can then sign up to go out and minister at theses sites during their spare time.  Ideally, most opportunities occur in evenings and the weekends," said Kronester.  "It's very low-key at the beginning.  We start by doing visitations, playing with kids, and supporting long-term ministries in practical ways like painting and cleaning."

During the 2009 Field Service in Benin, ministry opportunities have included working at a home for trafficked and abused boys, alongside the Missionaries of Charity, and supporting Soeurs Salisiennes, a skills training program for market girls run by the female branch of Don Bosco.

Ines Kronester, of Germany, reads a story to children at the C.E.O. Boy's Home for abandoned and trafficked street kids. 

The skills training program has been one of Kronester's favorite ministry sites.  "It's an amazing program," she said.  Participating girls come from the harsh market, where they have a rough and stressful daily routine.  Each is given the opportunity to complete two of the six-month courses on baking, pastry-making, cooking, or soap-making.  Girls are taken in overnight for a small fee and complete the skills training in the mornings, returning to sell in the market in the afternoons.  The program is designed to enable girls to sell better items in the market or leave the harsh environment altogether.   

One of the children at the C.E.O. Boys Home works on a special art project. 

Mercy Ships crew have had the opportunity to share the message of Jesus Christ during their visitations.  "We visit the program every week.  Because it's girls who are coming from the market, it's not a place where everyone is well-behaved and quiet.  They can be really rude and competitive. But many have never really heard about Jesus.  We try to bring a piece of the Gospel message across with very simple language, visualizations, and acting out scenarios," said Kronester.   

Market girls participate in the Soeurs Salisiennes skills training program.  "We visit the program every week.  It's an amazing program," said Ines Kronester.

On average, eighty crew members visit various Mercy Ministry sites every week.  Often, crew members discover serious needs of land-based partners.  Many times, crew members have offered further assistance through financial offerings and special projects.  "It often becomes much bigger than visitations.  Crew members feel like they've left something behind, something very purposeful," said Kronester.  "We try to offer a broad range of ministry opportunities so everyone can find their place.  We've gotten a lot of feedback from exiting crew members saying these are often the most valuable times for them.  It's been well-received." 

Written by Megan Petock

Edited by Nancy Predaina

Thurston Ave. Love

Sunday, March 14, 2010 was a cold, cloudy, rainy day on Cornell campus.  The past week has been tragic for the student body here.  A number of students took their lives by jumping from some of the bridges that span the gorges on campus. Why do I mention this on our blog?  Because some friends chose to stand at this bridge, the Thurston Ave bridge, and try to impact people for the better.  They went with chalk, and a pleasant disposition to try to brighten the mood and let students know that someone really does care.

It was a somber atmosphere, with a security guard in a red jacket posted at the bridge too.

People wrote things like  "Thurston Ave Love" and "be the change" on the concrete in bright letters.

We bowed in prayer for the whole campus, then left.  It's a small thing to do, but I KNOW that if we reach out to others, it is well worth the investment in time, money, and whatever else it could be.  When you reach out to someone who need a little hope in their life, you are changing the world.

Those are hard words to really follow.  I have a few ideas though:  

1. Play positive music from loud speakers in the Arts quad while classes are changing.  For that matter, when you drive on campus, roll down the windows and play loud, good, positive music from your car.  Of course some people will look at you strange, but others will start walking to the beat and smile at you.  

2. Set up random "free tea and coffee" stations, staffed by positive people who are willing to smile, and chat for a while. 

3. When you talk to your friends and acquaintances, REALLY REALLY LISTEN.

Learning French

I am psyched about learning French.  
It is a wonderful language, especially when spoken by our tutor, Germain.  He is a wonderfully strong-willed man, originally from Congo.  He came from a rural village to study in France and has been back and forth many times.  He has been in the US for about 6 years now, and has been teaching at Syracuse University, and tutoring high school students French here in Ithaca.  He has a heart for teaching, and we have a great time when we get together.  We don't just have a French lesson, but we talk about Africa, about world issues, about history and the problems of the day.  He is African, and he has an African perspective.  He is also schooled in Europe and has a very unique viewpoint from there as well.  He can see things from both sides.  He knows what it's like to be both African and European.  We have a great time talking and I always look forward to his arrival at our home.  God has brought many people into our lives to prepare us for this adventure in Africa with Mercy Ships.  Germain is one of those people, and we thank God for his presence in our lives. 

Je suis heureux!

Rusty old boats in the Congo river, Brazzaville.

Useful boats in the Congo River, Brazzaville.