Anastasis

In October the Mercy Ships International Board voted to retire the Anastasis from service. This decision was largely a financial necessity as they considered the cost of upgrading the Anastasis to meet marine standards in 2010 vs. concentrating their support on the Africa Mercy. The Africa Mercy will meet the 2010 standards, has an anticipated 30-year lifespan, and will double the capacity of the Anastasis and Caribbean Mercy.

Perhaps you can imagine how this news affected the Anastasis crew. In a moment they learned that their homes and their jobs would be gone at the end of the Liberia field service in May. They were all offered the opportunity to request a transfer to the Africa Mercy and applications are under consideration in light of staffing needs, housing availability, and tenure. Some who have been accepted on the Africa Mercy may lose positions; others from the Anastasis may not find positions on the Africa Mercy. Please pray for grace and understanding during this difficult time.

Construction

In my last newsletter I shared that I had chosen my cabin. In the past few months a lot of the cabin furniture (see right) has been installed, including a wardrobe (closet), kitchen and desk units, vanity (no sinks yet). It is fun to see them take shape and figure out just how much storage space there will be (it’s all about storage J as my friends who knew me on the Anastasis learned).

 In the hospital, the CT scanner is in place and has been tested. The rest of the radiology equipment is also ready for installation. The autoclaves and washer/disinfectors (dishwashers for surgical instruments) are in place. Linoleum is down on most of the floors, a rather nasty green in my opinion, but I wasn’t given a choice. Some of our crew are installing the trunking (below left) for the medical gas system in the wards.   top

Please pray for:

     Favor from ASHA to purchase anesthesia supplies & monitoring equipment for the Africa Mercy. We have received word that we will receive the funds, but there are still a few forms to complete and hoops to jump through before we have the cash in hand.

     Favor with companies who are offered opportunities to participate in outfitting the Africa Mercy hospital.

Would you join me in giving thanks that:

     We are likely to have a crew physician confirmed by the end of the month.

     Other key positions are likely to be filled with transfers from the Anastasis, adding crew with strong experience.

     Udo Kronester, a German who has spent several years with Mercy Ships, most recently as Executive Director of the Caribbean Mercy, will join us in January as the Program Director (my boss). He is in the process of settling his family (4 children) in Germany for the next few months.                                                            top

Please pray for

     Relationships between the shipyard and the main subcontractor. It has been a rocky course to say the least.

     Financial support for the Africa Mercy’s inaugural field service to Ghana via the project proposals. Keep on praying!

Dates to Remember

     November 28-30: I’m going to Holland to help sort medical supply donations.

     November 30: Final date to notify all Anastasis transfer applicants of the outcome of their requests.

     January: probable trip to Liberia or Sierra Leone to gather information for projects during Africa Mercy visit in 2007.

     March 31: The A&P Shipyard promises to have the Africa Mercy delivered on this date. We’ve seen dates come and go over the past few years. Pray that this one will become reality.

     Nov ’05 – May ’06: Anastasis in service in Liberia. With violence associated with the recent election, they’ve been confined to the ship at times.

Our Mercy Ships booth at an October exhibition for OR staff. We made lots of good contacts with potential volunteers and companies.                           top

It’s been a year since the Africa Mercy was last in drydock, so she went in for annual checkup at the end of October.

Instrument washer/disinfectors in place in the hospital.

Contact Info

Do you use an instant messenger? I’m online with AOL, yahoo and MSN. Write and ask me for the details of my screen names.  I also use Skype to make phone calls and if you have it, we can converse over internet for free.

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Jean