The Schwebel Family Adventures

Birds of a Feather Flock Together.

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:30:00 +0000

I'm continuing on with my 365 day challenge from the book A Daily Creativity Journal. This suggestion was to "Make something heavy seem light" Well not that birds are very heavy to start with, but this little one is made with beads on wire.

"How tall can you make something that stands up on its own? My newspaper bird here, which looked taller before Ethan came to stand next to it. But then he's now taller than me!

"Use only things you find around the bathroom to create something." This is eyeliner and shaving cream on the bathroom mirror.

"Make something only using dots" I found some sticky dots in my desk drawer to make this "Happy Bird Day" card.

A tiny owl made out of pen dots.

"Write an advertising jingle for something in nature"

"A bird a day will keep the blues away,

Singing its song as you wear it all day long

Reminding you that your joy is a fact

So get yours now, don't worry how

Catherine has tons, and some very interesting ones!"

Bird necklaces made with carved birds I got at the market and hand made glass beads from Ghana.

"Life size. Make something as big as you possibly can!" I'm not sure what came in the container in this large box, but it makes an almost life-size ostrich, which is now taking up a lot of room in my office!

Community Meeting on the Dock!

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 17:06:00 +0000

This past Thursday evening we had our weekly Community meeting (planned by Chaplaincy) out on the dock with a BBQ beforehand so that the 200+ day crew could attend too. These are the workers that come on daily while we are in a country to do a variety of jobs from translating to cleaning to engineering and we couldn't function without them!

We had a great dinner, as you can see from the lines of people waiting to get their hotdogs and fixings.

Marty with one of the Day Crew, Maxwell, who works in the deck department.

We tried to spruce the dock up a bit by putting up some African fabric we bought in town. We also wanted to celebrate the fact that we have all the crew together for an evening...what a blessing!

Our managing director, Donovan Palmer, shared a short message of encouragement and then one of the Day crew gave a short talk also.

We had a great time of worship with the African crew leading.

And I couldn't resist getting a few "bird" pictures in...I love the African fabric patterns!

A Short Bird Week...

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:46:00 +0000

I have to confess, I didn't get all my birds done this week, but here are the ones I did do. Now it's Monday and I'll start again! This first one was from the assignment to "make something upside down," so this is a toucan (turned right side up so you don't have to stand on your head to see it!)

I went away for the weekend with a group of ladies from the ship for some time to hike and explore a town 2 hours north called Kpalime. I got creative with my bedspread at the little hotel we were staying at to "create a large version of something that would normally be much smaller."

I didn't paint this bird; it was done by an artist in one of the villages we hiked through. It's all painted with natural dyes from leaves, bark, berries and earth. I love the colors and smooth lines. It does fit in with one of the suggestions to "learn something new," because one of the girls on our trip showed me how to use the settings on the camera to get this cool darkened effect around the edges of the photo.

These were some birds in a ceramic shop using the same camera effect I learned.

This one was "work with the gravel, sand or rocks near your home." I'm sure the people walking by thought I was a bit crazy to be drawing in the dirt with a stick...especially when I started hopping up and down on one foot shaking the other wildly because I had been standing on an ant highway and they were crawling up my leg!

Screening Day Togo 2012 (Part 2) Little "Moises"

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:48:00 +0000

As you could see from yesterday's post, the screening day had hundreds of people in attendance. Because I was helping with the lines of people waiting to see the nurses who were screening for problems we could help with, I stood with some people for quite a while.

One of the ladies I met was Delphine who had brought her 4 month old baby "Moises" in hopes of getting his cleft lip repaired. Since Delphine had already been in line for hours holding him as well as carrying 2 bags of baby supplies, I offered to hold him for her for the last 20 minutes or so that she was in line. By then I was becoming very attached to him and was hopeful that they could operate even though he was tiny for a 4 month old.

She got through to the doctors, who diagnosed him with a not only cleft lip, but also a genetic issue which causes brain malformation and does not have a good prognosis.

He was very loved on and prayed for by all the crew that met him!

I have to admit that I was very saddened to find out that he had such a serious condition, but glad that he will go through the Infant Feeding Program and be able to have the lip surgery, which will at least make his quality of life better for whatever time here on earth he does have.

Screening Day Togo 2012 (by Catherine)

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:27:00 +0000

The mass screening for the outreach in Togo this year took place on Feb. 1st. It was amazing to see how many people came with a variety of problems hoping for help. Marty and Nathan had spent the night doing security the night before and I went for the day to help guide people where to go. Here are a few photos showing the process of people coming in to get screened.

Me with one of the nurses in the screening line.

Waiting to register before seeing the doctors.

Doing the biopsy.

A possible plastics patient.

A double cleft lip baby.

Getting photographed with her appointment card.

The kids had fun playing with chalk we brought.

Taking water to those waiting in line in the hot sun.

A patient with an appointment card!

"Lovey Dovey" (by Catherine)

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:01:00 +0000

Happy Valentine's Day!

This was my Valentine's to Marty, "Working white on white" using handmade paper with flowers pressed into it, fuzzy paper, translucent vellum paper, and silver pen. I won't show you the inside because it's a bit sappy :-)

For those of you who are wondering why there are all these pictures of birds every week on our blog, check out my blog (schwebelfamily.blogspot.com) from Jan. 8th, which explains my obsession!

This one came from the suggestion to "use lots of something to create your image." Since we pop our own popcorn each week for our Friday family movie night, I had lots on hand to make this corny chicken.

This image was prompted by "use tape, any kind, on a non-traditional surface." Since there are always so many swallows swooping around the docks, hopefully eating the mosquitoes, I decided to make them in masking tape on the warehouse wall opposite the ship.I just had to look above me while I was doing it for inspiration.

And more swallows, cut from African fabric, that I put on one of our lampshades. They will keep our wooden giraffe company.

This owl on a card came from the suggestion to "use yarn."

And the California quail (my mom's favorite!) comes from "using old/junk mail" and this was a from a small packet sent from England.

Thank you to Theo for this idea! I was getting ready to paint a color wheel and he told me to make out of birds showing the colors of paint I have.

Thanks to those of you who have given me different bird quotes, idioms, verses etc. Keep them coming!

Don't Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch! (by Catherine)

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:22:00 +0000

"Work underwater" was the idea for this one...my plasticine chicken in a bowl...with eggs. Of course I'm not counting my "chickens" yet, but I'm going to keep trying to make one every day!

Did I REALLY commit to making 365 birds, one each day for a year?!! Wow, that's a lot of bird related things...I'm up to 43 days and the novelty is wearing off. However, I was hoping to grow in my daily disciplines, so I'm not going to give up! Here's my offerings this week:

Use "staples" so this is my blue jay and his lost feather.

This is a practice painting I did in acrylic that goes along with the entry to "Create a Haiku (a 3 line Japanese poem)" I'm counting this as 2...the Haiku and the painting!

My brush full of paint

Sweeps the canvas like a bird

A wing of color

A welcome sign for the International Chaplains, Patrik and Diana Bergstrom who arrived this week from the International Operations Center (IOC) in Texas for a 3 week stay on the Africa Mercy. They will be helping us in the Chaplaincy to brainstorm and plan for the coming year. We are really happy to have them here!

"Use flowers, real or artificial."

"Take something old and make it look new" These were scraps of paper and pieces of left over watercolor paper that I made into 2 happy birds playing in a puddle in the rain. It's on a stretched canvas frame and modge-podged. I hung it in the bathroom and they make me smile every morning!

Got My Ducks in a Row...(by Catherine)

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:16:00 +0000

It's a new week of birds inspired by Noah Scalin's book, "A Daily Creativity Journal,"and my first project was to "Create a bridge," so here are my African carved ducks crossing a bridge of toilet paper!

"Work with wire" gave me a chance to make a bird to go with the wire tree and nest I made last week.

"Make something ephemeral," and it's always good to have an excuse to get a good cup of coffee at the cafe.

"Use pens as your medium/inspiration." These are eagle's wings I drew and later used in a different project (see below).

"Work with toys" Thanks Theo for sharing your Lego!

"Make a path for people to follow..." This is a path of eagle footprints leading to a message outside our cabin door:

Now these last two birds were the result of having to create instructions that others can use to make something. In case you'd like to try drawing a bird of your own, you can follow the directions below:

1. Draw an oval slightly tilted for the bird's body.

2. At the top end draw a circle 1/3 the size of the body for the head.

3. In the middle of the head draw a small circle for the eye and put a solid circle inside for the eyeball.

4. For the beak, draw a long skinny triangle and put a line along the center to divide the beak.

5. On top of the head make a little curly-cue like a quail has.

6. For the wing, draw a smile in the middle of the body.

7. For the tail, draw 2 lines from the bottom of the oval opposite the head and connect them with the letter "M."

8. For the legs, draw 2 straight lines down, about as long as the oval, and at the bottom of each make 3 small flower petal shaped shapes for the feet.

9. Draw a line/branch for your bird to stand on and you are finished!

Theo's bird.

Hospital Open House

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:21:00 +0000

Every year before the patients arrive and the field service starts, the hospital has an open house for all the crew to come visit and see all the equipment and how the hospital operates. The nurses dress up and think of funny games for the visitors to play. Here's a few pictures of our visit this year.

A view through the CAT Scan machine.

3 year old Xavier is "operating" on Theo with a little help from the scrub nurse.

The sterilizing room.

Marty watching a manikin get intubated. I now know that that means they stick a tube down the throat for the anesthesia.

The beds made up with practice "patients."

Theo practicing eye surgery...on a parrot!

Learning how to put an IV in.

A "match the name with the piece of equipment" game.

Races to fill a bed pan (don't worry, it was only lemonade!).

The correct technique to give an orange a shot.

It was a fun night and we enjoyed getting to see the operating rooms which are usually closed to keep sterile. A big THANK YOU to all the hospital staff for putting on such a great event! Now you're ready for the patients who will start coming in for surgery next week.

As Free as a Bird

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:57:00 +0000

I took my shell bird outside to be free...he was made with "natural materials."

A real Christian is a person who can give his pet parrot to the town gossip.

Billy Graham

This one was made "using green materials" so I took it literally and figuratively (the parrot is cut from a Sprite can).

"Use school supplies." This one was easy...I "borrowed" a couple of pages from Theo's notebooks to draw these ostriches on.

Success is full of promise till one gets it, and then it seems like a nest from which the bird has flown.
Henry Ward Beecher

This one was "make something portable that normally isn't." My wire tree with bird's nest and pearl eggs.

"Make a disguise."

"Use materials from the recycling bin." Soda can cardinals, paper plate birdbath with envelope water, brown bag branch with napkin leaves.

Dreamscape Bird Guides

"Be inspired by a dream." I have a reoccurring dream where I'm in a city trying to get somewhere and I can't seem to find it. Sometimes I know I've been there before, but I'm still seeking. This collage represents the city but with my bird guides to show me the way. I'm going to try and dream them in next time I have that dream.

Thank you...

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:59:00 +0000

There are so many ways to say thank you and we can never say it enough. Please watch this "thank you" clip straight from the crew of the Africa Mercy. It really brings out the diversity of our crew. You might even just recognize someone you know!

The Touch of a Hand.

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Today at our Monday morning community meeting, our head surgeon, Dr. Gary Parker, spoke a little bit about what to expect at the huge mass screening we will do on February 1st to look for potential surgical candidates. There will be anywhere between 3000-5000 people lining up (probably the night before) at the giant sports stadium where the screening will be, each hoping for some relief from aliments they have been suffering from. Unfortunately there are only certain kinds of surgeries that we can perform on the ship, so many will be turned away. Each person that we can't help will get prayed for before they leave. He asked us to pray that God would bring the right people that we have the expertise to help and that the others would not be lead to come but would find the help they need from other sources. We hope you will join us in that prayer.

Togo screening 2010

Catherine helping with the 2010 Togo screening day.

Dr. Parker also told a very poignant story about how important each of the crew is that helps with screening, and since almost everyone comes to help, from every department on the ship, there will be several hundred crew there. Even the Academy kids come and help by playing with some of the children who have to wait to see the screening doctors. He remembered a particular screening where a woman waited alone, away from the other potential patients, her head covered with a giant scarf to hide the huge, oozing, smelly tumor extending out of her head.

A Togolese woman in 2010 with a similar condition.

None of the other people waiting wanted to be near her. Then a Mercy Ships crew member came and sat down next her and put their arm around her to comfort and encourage her while she waited. Later, when she did indeed get a surgery appointment and was telling a translator on the ship how scared she was to not only see the ocean for the first time in her life, but to get on a huge piece of floating steel to get her surgery, she said what made it possible for her to overcome her fear of the unknown was the fact that a crew member had shown her love and touched her, despite her condition. She had had the tumor for 10 years, and not once during that time had she received any human touch from anyone in her small village up in the north. She knew if she was shown this kind of love from a stranger, that she didn't need to fear coming on the ship for surgery.

A photo by ship photographer Tom Bradley of a woman with a tumor.

I was so touched by this story and that fact that we never know how our actions towards a stranger, wherever we are, can impact another person's life. I wanted to share this story with you and encourage each of you to reach out to others around you with compassion and love. Maybe you too will change a life in a small but significant way.

A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush!

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:05:00 +0000

Continuing on my "create a bird everyday" theme:

Using a dollar bill...I would have liked an African bill, but they are so colorful that nothing would have shown up on one!

This assignment was to make something that would go over your eyes. Silver pen on black paper.

Make a potato or sponge print...potatoes are far superior I found! This is a blue Guinea Hen that I stamped on some left-over linen and then cut out and made cards from.

Something that floats...my stencil swans are reincarnated and float in my bowl from Ghana.

This was a collage made in the "Treasured Possessions" small group I lead on Tuesday evenings. My friend Peggy from SF wrote it (http://www.redecorateyourlife.net/) and she is amazingly creative and insightful. We are having a lot of fun using collage imagery to look at who God created us to be. I worked my bird in by using a peacock on the shield.

Make something out of what you find in your car...since we don't have one, I improvised. There is usually an empty soda can in many people's cars, so I used one to make a little birdcage.

The last assignment for the week was to write a 10 word love story and illustrate it. Here's mine: "Switzerland; cowbells ring, mountains tower. Catherine, Marty, fall in love!"

Setting up for the Togo Outreach

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:02:00 +0000

On the dock they have just set up two new giant tents to house the eye team and the physical therapy team, since there isn't enough room down in the hospital for everything. The patients coming in will also process all their paperwork out here on the dock before they come in for surgery.

There are about 100 new crew coming in each week as we get ready to start the Togo outreach. All of the hospital needs to be unpacked from the sail and beds and materials made ready for the patients who will be coming for surgeries soon.

Here are some pictures of the different wards in varying stages of readiness.

This is a map on the hospital wall showing where all the people who work there come from. A very international bunch!

Mattresses waiting to be made up.

I don't get to help down in the hospital, but there are other areas of the ship that I do get to help set up, like the top of the cafe, which is kind of a cool display area. At Christmas we had Christmas trees up here and that back wall was where my Nativity advent was.

I helped my friend Susan set up, and we tried to incorporate a bit of African life. I love the African children's clothes up on the line!

This is the cooking area...I'm hoping to find a little charcoal stove to put out with the corn. The tall stick in the back is a fufu (boiled yam) masher, which is one of the staple foods here in Togo.

Birds...Week two

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:27:00 +0000

One of my "bird" entries this week stems from some time in prayer I spent asking the Lord if there was a scripture or picture He had for the crew of the Africa Mercy while we are here in Togo. I shared this with the crew at our Community meeting this week, and the verse that came to mind was Isaiah 58:10-11which says:

"If you open your heart to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will shine out from the darkness and your night will be as bright as noon. The Lord will guide you continually; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will restore your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring."

This painting was the picture I saw of Africa being a beautiful garden, shining out of the darkness. I hope this is indeed the experience we will have here in Togo as we open our hearts to the people here whose surgical needs we are trying to satisfy.

This is a hint as to where I sneaked in my bird! Can you find it?

Another bird this week came out of the book's suggestion to make something in miniature, so here is my African Crowned Heron inside the outline of Africa. It's one inch square and has a glass top over it.

"Work with the first fruit or vegetable you spot in your kitchen" Since the only thing I had in my kitchen was an apple, I carved a bird out of it. I was kind of hoping it would go wrinkly like those apple doll heads do, but instead it just went moldy after a few days.

These next few came from the suggestion to use only water as your medium/inspiration.

I took a brush and water and painted large birds on the hot metal deck outside. It evaporated almost as quickly as I could paint it.

I did get a quick photo in before they faded away though.

Day 11 was to paint with your opposite hand.

This project was to use camouflage.

The last project (just finished!) was to use tea or tea bags or liquid tea...so this is my giant teabag tag with a pop-up bird and nest inside. I haven't made a pop-up card since grade school Valentine's Day and it took about 10 tries to get the bird right! The book page has been stained with tea.

I'll end with a quote my friend Sheryl sent me:

" If you come across a bird’s nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young."

Deuteronomy 22:6

365 Days of Birds (by Catherine)

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 11:20:00 +0000

One of my most inspiring Christmas presents was the book A Daily Creativity Journal; Make Something Every Day and Change Your Life! by Noah Scalin. The premise is that making something everyday for a year is like running a marathon and will challenge but develop and grow one's creativity and skills. He also suggests picking a theme, so I've chosen "birds." Each day there is a suggestion to trigger and inspire your creativity. He also suggests sharing your work with an audience so you have some accountability and encouragement to continue on, so I'm sharing it with our blog readers. I will post regularly, so expect to see lots of birds!

Day one was to make something that fits in the palm of your hand using only the resources in your immediate environment. Since we live on a ship in Africa, there will be no dashing out to the craft store for me...fortunately Theo got some plasticine for Christmas and let me use it to make my first bird.

The next few days I did small projects in the pages

One day was to use a collection of something, so here is a bird made from jewelry:

This next one was a combination of making a stencil (the purple swan) and transforming an old book into something new. I incorporated the mask I made for the New Year's Eve Masquerade Ball so it's a very layered piece.

Today's suggestion was to make something with your breakfast before you eat it...actually I ate mine and then used one of the boy's pancakes and a lone Cheerio, but no one has eaten it yet!

Happy bird-filled 2012!

Bienvenue au Togo!

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:35:00 +0000

We left Tema, Ghana this morning before 7:00am and arrived in Lome about 10 hours later. Togo was the first West African country we visited with Mercy Ships so we are happy to return to a familiar place. There is much work to be done in this country. Please pray for all of the crew as we spend the next few weeks preparing the hospital.

Captain Tim steering us in to port

A glimpse of the fishing boats with the phosphorous plant in the background

One of our tugs

The gangway touching down!

January 1 - Two Year Anniversary of Living on a Hospital Ship

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 11:12:00 +0000

We arrived on the Africa Mercy 2 years ago today - January 1, 2010

This is us about 2 years later!

Happy New Year from all of us!

We are amazed at all that can happen in two years time. It was early 2009 when we felt God calling us to Mercy Ships. Within a year from that call we stepped on to the Africa Mercy in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands of Spain. In the past three years since we got that call we have seen so much and our view of poverty has changed. We now know for certain that God can use a few people to affect great change in the lives of many in the world. God is using people from all over the world in a variety of organizations and individually to bring hope for the future. We can say that after two years of adventure abroad that our outlook for the future is bright.

We have decided to continue to serve with Mercy Ships until God makes it clear what the next step will be. We do know our future is in His hands. We send our greetings from West Africa and we thank you all for your support.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

December 31 - The challenge is complete

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 14:29:00 +0000

We hope you have enjoyed our daily blog in December. We ended our year with a few days of retreat in the Volta Region of Ghana. We stayed in a beautiful and peaceful place on the Volta River near Akosombo, Ghana. It was a great time to rest and bond as a family.

The best part of this retreat was spending hours watching the "activity" on the lake.

We took a little boat ride to the Volta Dam.

We had one nice day of rain that cleaned the air nicely.

Every day we watched these flocks of white birds crossing the lake.

December 30 - Year End Giving

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Christmas is a time when we give to one another. Yes, Christmas has gone over the top in many developed societies, however, it remains a time when "giving" happens because ultimately God "gave" his son to us to save us (John 3:16). God is the greatest "giver" and if we choose to follow His lead then we will also be great givers of our time and resources.

If you are looking for ways to give this Christmas season we encourage you to give towards eradicating poverty and slavery. Give towards the development of societies around the world. We have learned that knowledge is the best thing we can give in Africa. When you have knowledge in Africa, you have the ability to advance in your family, village, country, region and continent/world.

Here are a few ideas of how you can give this Christmas:

1. Mercy Ships Power the Ship Campaign. It costs $12,000 to run our hospital ship for one full day and $8 every minute - this includes fuel to run our generators, hospital supplies and food to feed our volunteer crew. Giving to Mercy Ships will improve the lives of thousands in West Africa and help build improved medical infrastructure in the region. Watch this video - http://youtu.be/Cr4Iu7-Ujfg

2. World Vision - This organization is impressive. You can sponsor a child or give water wells and livestock directly to people in need. One of my favorite books is written by the CEO of World Vision and is called "The Hole in Our Gospel" - check it out.

3. Not 4 Sale - I am still amazed that slavery in any form could still exist today but it does. I love that organizations like Not 4 Sale are bringing an awareness to a problem that keeps coming back in various forms.

4. And last but not least, if you would like to give towards our financial needs as we volunteer and pay to live on the Africa Mercy you can do so on our giving page - http://mercyships-us.donorpages.com/crewmates/schwebelm/

Acts 20:35

And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

December 29 - A Little Boy Gets Straight Legs

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Sahr Dauda and his buddy sat with both legs in casts and bandaged in front of them. A look of gleeful anticipation lighted the faces of both boys. They were waiting for the hallway to be clear enough to begin their wheelchair race in the hall of the hospital ship, the Africa Mercy. The volunteer surgeons had straightened the legs of both boys. Since it would take many weeks for their legs to heal, they had plenty of time to hone their racing skills while they built their friendship.

Sahr was born sometime in the mid-90’s in a village near Koidu in northern Sierra Leone. Whether his legs were horribly misshapen at birth or were the result of a congenital disease is not known. Below his knees, his legs angled out and bent back at the shin. His ankles were parallel to the floor, causing his feet to hug the floor at an angle. Walking was difficult and painful.

His mother fled shortly after his birth, possibly to escape being labeled a “demon” for giving birth to a child with such deformed legs. Sahr’s father was killed by rebels during the violent civil war in Sierra Leone. The young boy was supported by his stepmother for a while. He wanted to go to school, but there wasn’t enough money for that. Instead, his stepmother wanted him to use his disability to beg in the streets. He refused to do that and ended up becoming a street kid anyway. Occasionally his stepmother would let him stay with her.

Essentially homeless and without love and support, he was drawn to a man who was training local teachers to include the disabled in their schools. This man showed a fatherly interest in Sahr, encouraged his desire to go to school, and even arranged for him to have a wheelchair. But he was unable to fully support Sahr because he was struggling to support his own family.

A radio announcement alerted Sahr’s stepmother that a Mercy Ship would soon be docked in Freetown. An advance medical team was scheduled to be in their area to hold a preliminary screening for potential patients with problems like Sahr’s. She took him to register at the government hospital for the screening, and he was among the first to receive a Mercy Ships appointment for surgery.

When they got to the transport vehicle, however, Sahr’s stepmother told him she wasn’t able to be his caregiver. Without a caregiver, Sahr would not be able to have his surgery. Digba, a woman who was accepted for a surgery of her own, agreed to be his caregiver. She traveled with him to the ship and stayed in the HOPE Center as he awaited his surgery. When Digma went home, Mariama, the mother of his buddy Tamba, became his caregiver.

The volunteer doctors performed two complicated surgeries to repair Sahr’s legs, using pins that will help his legs become straighter as he grows. Sahr was delighted to be a Mercy Ships patient. For the first time in his life, his needs were being supplied – a clean hospital bed, three meals a day, caring nurses and state-of-the-art medical care from some of the world’s finest surgeons.

He also thoroughly enjoyed the many weeks he spent recovering at the HOPE Center, making friends with the other children. After surgery, he would bounce on his hospital bed, slapping his hands on the mattress. When asked why he did that, he would respond with a big grin, “I’m just happy to be here!”
Several weeks of post-operative care were necessary to help Sahr learn to walk on his newly straightened legs. The physiotherapists worked with him on exercises to build his lower leg muscles and to train his knees to face forward without collapsing into each other. Much of this was painful, but he accepted it with gratitude, while building relationships with the medical team working with him.

After about five months, it was time for Sahr to leave. But no one would be waiting for him back in his village. He needed the security of a home, the love of parents, the opportunity to attend school – the provisions of life. The Patient Life Team, concerned about his future, located an orphanage. The orphanage agreed to provide a loving home for Sahr. He will have a mother and father, as well as several new brothers and sisters. Also, he will attend a local private school, thanks to a scholarship donated by a couple of Mercy Ships volunteer crew members.

Friends recovering at the HOPE Center gave him a grand send-off as two Mercy Ships Land Rovers filled with crew members from Patient Life and other concerned departments drove him to his new home. The children, including his new bunk-mate, Sheku, welcomed him warmly.

Somewhat at a loss for words, Sahr said, “Thank you. It’s fine here. I like it. Thank you.” But his jubilant smile revealed the joy in his heart as he waved goodbye to his Mercy Ship friends and began a new life.

Story by Elaine B. Winn
Edited by Nancy Predaina
Photos by Tom Bradley, Debra Bell, and Liz Cantu,

December 28 - Easter Continued...

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

The Good Friday service was a short but powerful time to contemplate the day that Jesus died

We set aside time to nail on the cross anything in our lives that we wanted to release into the hands of God.

Easter sunrise worship service on Deck 8

We had the long batik banners made by artists in Togo from an original design by Catherine

Everyone that wanted to could put a paper bougainvillaea into the holes on the cross

The youth performed a piece that showed the national diversity of our ship. Our crew comes from over 35 different nations.

Catherine serving communion

The Africa Mercy Chaplains...(Ans Rozema is our Senior Chaplain from Holland)

Easter brunch...

December 27 -Easter at Christmas?!

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Well it is Easter for the next couple of days for our readers, because looking back at our blog we realized we never said anything about what the chaplaincy did at Easter, which is one of our biggest events of the year! I guess we were so busy working on it that we forgot to post! Anyway, we'll show some pictures from Easter weekend for the next couple of days.

This is a close up of the African Easter Egg tree that I (Catherine) made for the reception area. I know some people think the idea of eggs is pagan, but I look at it as a symbol of the new life we have in Christ if we chose it.

Here the kids are helping decorate the the International Lounge with real palm fronds. We had about 100 of them and they had to go in the walk-in freezer for 3 days before hand to be sure they didn't have any "guests" they were bringing onto the ship.

Outside on the deck we created a foot washing station for people as they recreated the journey of Jesus and his disciples.

Ethan washing Marty's feet while Theo waits.

The Upper Room where people could come and contemplate the last days of Jesus' life on earth.

Communion was available.

A time to pray.

Thursday night before Easter we had the crew visit the "Garden of Gethsemane" to reflect and pray after they had been to the "Upper Room" to take communion and also the foot washing station.

The Garden of Gethsemane which had beautiful music playing in the background while people had a chance to pray and meditate for one hour like the disciples did.

Stay tuned for Good Friday and Easter Sunday!

December 26 - "Chris-Myth Busters"

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

This is Ethan as Joseph in the manger scene, and Theo is just visible on the far right as a shepherd.

Every year during the last week of the fall semester, the Academy students put on a play. They take the full week to rehearse, learn songs and choreography for a 1 hour show and it's amazing how well they do! They also help make all the costumes and sets.

This year's production was about looking at some of the things we assume about Christmas, like were there really three wise men? What day was Jesus really born on? and, were the angels singing or merely talking?

Our boys all participated, and we're glad for them to have this kind of opportunity.

December 25 - Merry Christmas from the Schwebel Family!

noreply@blogger.com (Schwebel Family) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 13:20:00 +0000

Dear family and friends, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

We pray that each of you will be at peace and filled with JOY that comes from our Father in Heaven.

We are very thankful to be able to celebrate Christmas on the ship this year with a group of about 200 crew members from all over the world.

Here are a few memories from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2011 on the Africa Mercy

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service - The Youth of the ship lighting the Christ Candle (signifying the "peace" of heaven coming to earth)

Nikki Aldum, our awesome Academy principal lighting the Christ Candle.

Starting on Sunday November 28th we had a service every Sunday night. Each night we lit a candle as we "journeyed" to Bethlehem like Mary & Joseph did 2,000 years ago. Each candle has a specific meaning depending on your tradition. For us, the candles symbolized hope, preparation, joy, love and peace.

The ship community follows a Dutch tradition of putting shoes outside your door in hopes of receiving gifts by morning.

Ethan delivered our gifts to crew members sporting a stealth, ninja, Santa type look.

Some of the evidence left behind. This is the only time you will see the hallways in this state on the AFM.

Outside our cabin door - thank you fellow crew members for blessing us!

I ran into a special visitor to the AFM

A beautiful display awaited us on Christmas morning. Who needs a Carnival Cruise?!

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

Matthew 2:11