One of the project during this technical work phase is replacing the logo on the stack of the Africa Mercy. As we changed our logo awhile back, we need now to replace the old logo on the ship. You will notice in the background the hill/mountains as this island has many mountains including the highest point in Espana (Spain).
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KRB Update #2149 January 10, 2010
Technical Work Phase
Greetings to you all at the beginning of a new year 2010!!!
I am writing to you from on board the ship while in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands – islands owned by Spain but only 100 km off the African coast near Morocco (see the map below). You may ask, “What are you doing there?” The ship is required to go
through various inspections, obtain various certificates, etc and this is the closest place a ship of our size can go to for these services. Without the required certificates, we would not be permitted to sail. Mercy Ships has had a long term relationship with our agent and vendors here which all help in our dealings with them. There are many ship repairs that need to be done when the hospital is not in use and when the number of crew members on board is lower (as many long term crew take vacation during part of this time). We are not required to go into the drydock as that is when they take the ship out of the water – in those cases all the families have to move off for safety reason, but the singles and couples remain living on board with limited services. When I asked “What are some of our main projects happening this time?”, our Captain Tim shared the following: annual checks, lifeboats serviced and certified, water tanks (see photo) and other tanks cleaned and surveyed, hull surveys, work on the anchor chains, modification on the upper deck 8, modifications in almost every area of the hospital on deck 3, and general maintena
nce and smaller projects.
Personally, I am not involved in the technical work, though they have asked for volunteers from the general crew to assist with crawling into the tanks and doing the cleaning. I have been working intently on all the required final Benin ’09 field service reports and in particular on each of the 14 final project reports for the hospital and the activities off the ship. I strive for integrity and excellence with our reports, including our statistics and financial reporting on these projects. In addition, I continue to serve as the advance team liaison on board as our team is in Lomé, Togo. I am also working on preparations for our next field service in the nation of Togo (sailing date of January 31st).
Greetings to you all at the beginning of a new year 2010!!!
I am writing to you from on board the ship while in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands – islands owned by Spain but only 100 km off the African coast near Morocco (see the map below). You may ask, “What are you doing there?” The ship is required to go
through various inspections, obtain various certificates, etc and this is the closest place a ship of our size can go to for these services. Without the required certificates, we would not be permitted to sail. Mercy Ships has had a long term relationship with our agent and vendors here which all help in our dealings with them. There are many ship repairs that need to be done when the hospital is not in use and when the number of crew members on board is lower (as many long term crew take vacation during part of this time). We are not required to go into the drydock as that is when they take the ship out of the water – in those cases all the families have to move off for safety reason, but the singles and couples remain living on board with limited services. When I asked “What are some of our main projects happening this time?”, our Captain Tim shared the following: annual checks, lifeboats serviced and certified, water tanks (see photo) and other tanks cleaned and surveyed, hull surveys, work on the anchor chains, modification on the upper deck 8, modifications in almost every area of the hospital on deck 3, and general maintena
nce and smaller projects.Personally, I am not involved in the technical work, though they have asked for volunteers from the general crew to assist with crawling into the tanks and doing the cleaning. I have been working intently on all the required final Benin ’09 field service reports and in particular on each of the 14 final project reports for the hospital and the activities off the ship. I strive for integrity and excellence with our reports, including our statistics and financial reporting on these projects. In addition, I continue to serve as the advance team liaison on board as our team is in Lomé, Togo. I am also working on preparations for our next field service in the nation of Togo (sailing date of January 31st).
Last Sunday, I was invited to a local evangelical church (Iglesia Cristiana Fuente de Paz y Esperanza) here on the island. My friend Clementine had met some of the people from this church last year and invited us to return. I was given the privilege to share in their morning service; I chose to share in Español and thought I will watch their faces to see if they can understand my Español. My language skills have not improved since I am not using it regularly except in correspondence with friends in Central America and with the few crew members on board who speak Español also. One recent slip/goof at a store was calling a lady here ‘Madame’ and saying ‘s’il vous plait’ (please in French).
Serving Together,
Keith
Email: [email protected] – using this email account for personal correspondence
Mail: Keith R. Brinkman, Mercy Ships, P.O. Box 2020, Lindale, TX 75771 USA
Cleaning Water Tanks
As part of our ship repairs, modifications and inspections in this season in Tenerife, this is a photo of some of the crew cleaning the water tanks on board the ship. Others were cleaning other tanks much dirtier than this, but they did it willingly. I continue working on reports from our time in Benin and preparing things for our upcoming field service in Togo.
New Year’s Day – Africa Mercy
This is an early morning photo of the Africa Mercy here in Santa Cruz de Tenerife – photo taken by a fellow crew member – Murray.
Last Sunday I had the privilege of sharing at Iglesia Cristiana Fuente de Paz y Esperanza during their morning service. I felt lead to share the story of Alimou who had both a physical and spiritual transformation. Then I went on to share more about Mercy Ships. I shared in Espanol/Spanish instead of being translated. I was a bit nervous as I don’t use my Spanish so much now serving in Africa – but I could tell from the expressions of the people’s faces they were understanding. Some from the church having already visited us on the ship and more will come later.
Captains Board
This is a whiteboard where the Captain and Managing Director place important announcements for the crew – it is just inside the entry at the gangway, by Reception. The Captain wrote ‘God’s Blessings to All in 2010!!’ and that would be my prayer also.
Christmas Day Brunch
We gathered together this morning for our Christmas Day brunch. Ken is showing me one of his favorite fruits – strawberries – which is also my favorite. I joined their family for the morning brunch. We enjoyed many types of fruits that are just not available in Africa, but are available here in Tenerife. Merry Christmas Feliz Navidad
Shoes outside our doors
Being an multi-national crew on the ship, for Christmas for many years we celebrate the dutch tradition of placing a shoe outside your door – for us our cabin door and friends place in the shoe late on Christmas eve a small gift. Amazing to see the long hallways on deck 4 where I live.
Christmas Eve Dinner
For our Christmas Eve dinner on board the Africa Mercy, I joined with the Royston family – Tony (who is our biomedical technician for the hospital), Patricia (school teacher), their son Elliott (also known by a Ghanaian name of Kwesi) and our senior chaplain PJ Hopkins. The galley team did a great job and prepared both ham and turkey and the fixings and various deserts like pecan pie.
Advent 4 with Biney Family
This past Sunday was the fourth Sunday of Advent and the Biney Family who I have known for years from the Caribbean Mercy initially – they lite the four candles and read the scriptures from the Old Testament and New Testament. The theme of this service was ‘Peace’.
OR Door for Christmas
Please see the photo for what the Operating Room crew did for their decoration of their administration office door. The sign above says “The Operating Room is putting Santa Claus to sleep & celebrating the true meaning of Christmas!” They were the winner of the office door decorating contest.