This has been my home at the rented Appelsbosch College since September 2nd – in block A – room # A115. Most of all the non-technical crew members moved to Appelsbosch while the Africa Mercy has been in drydock/shipyard in Durban. Though we hope to be able to move home this coming weekend if the generators testing goes well.
Christmas Day on the Ship
We were so blessed to be able to celebrate Christmas on the ship – even in shipyard! The Southern African Shipyards allowed all the crew from Appelsbosch (including our children) to come to the ship for Christmas Day! A group of us volunteered to help with setting up and cleaning for the celebration and we were able to stay overnight the ship on ship on Friday night. This meant I was able to sleep in my own bed in my cabin even though it was hot in the 90’s and so enjoyed being home.
Christmas South Africa
Christmas in South Africa
Greetings from South Africa to you all my family and friends around the globe at this special time of the year as we approach Christmas.
Our chaplains have led us in the four Sundays of Advent during our Sunday Evening Services at Appelsbosch. The first candle is a symbol of Hope, the second a symbol of Preparation, the third of Joy and then the fourth candle reminds us that Jesus comes to bring Peace to both the world and to people’s hearts. Without Christ there is no peace in this world. He also shared this quote from an anonymous source: Peace: It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.
“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. His ever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David. The passionate commitment of the LORD Almighty will guarantee this!” Isaiah 9:6-7
We have had some of our familiar activities leading up to Christmas, though since our community is divided it has been a bit different. We have those living on the ship in Durban, those of us non-technical crew out here at Appelsbosch and then also our long term crew who are away on extended leave during this unique period. Here at Appelsbosch we have had the four Sundays of Advent, time to decorate the tree (a friend said it looks like a Charlie Brown tree – see photo to the left), time to build gingerbread houses (which we did last night – see photo below), worship services with carols and all. For Christmas Day we have permission for the group living at Appelsbosch who are not traveling to go to the Africa Mercy for the day, which I am looking forward to our time together. This will be my first Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere.
Merry Christmas and UKhisimusi omuhle (which is in the local language of Zulu)
Prayer Requests: ** Safety for those living on and off the ship ** The final stages of the shipyard phase (as my friend Greenfield put it ‘that everything is done accurately and correctly the first time’ ** For our Advance Team in Sierra Leone preparing the way for our 2011 Field Service including surgical screening which will take place next month prior to the ship’s arrival.
KRB Update Appelsbosch South Africa
KRB Update #2160 November 3, 2010
Keith R. Brinkman
Appelsbosch South Africa
Greetings from Kwa Zulu Natal, Republic of South Africa. As I have previously mentioned the Africa Mercy crew have been divided – the technical crew who continue to live and work on board the ship while in shipyard and drydock and the balance of the crew (myself included) who are being housed at Appelsbosch, an abandoned college left empty after the defeat of apartheid in the mid 90’s. One of the responsibilities of the Advance Team for South Africa was to find suitable accommodations and I remember the first drive to this property back in April with Brenda and Cathy.
Someone asked about Appelsbosch and the history is interesting and I thought I would share a bit. A church was established at Appelsbosch by missionaries from the Swedish Mission. The founder of Appelsbosch was the late Reverend J. Jungquist around 1883. Their aim was to bring the Gospel, the Light (schools) and Health (hospital). A Lutheran church is just across the road from the college where we worshipped our first Sunday. We are living at the former college campus and there are other elementary and high school schools very close. The hospital serves in the greater area and is part of the Department of Health for the government. I have been to the hospital twice with crew members who needed to see a doctor.
A fellow crew member, Elaine Winn, serves in our Communications Department as a writer wrote this paragraph and I think her choice of words is much more descriptive than mine. “It is 3,000 feet up in the mountains in a very remote area about an hour from Durban. The land is rolling and beautiful, with many canyons called ‘drifts’ which are often seven thousand feet deep. Despite this, all the land is cultivated and farmed, neatly segmented into various shapes for growing sugar cane, corn, bananas, or trees. As we drive along the hilly, curving road, the vast expanse of farmlands looks like a giant African quilt of greens and browns. It can take your breath away!
There is a marked dichotomy in the residents; many blacks – Zulus mostly, descendants of the tribes that were forced into the area by the government many years ago and whites descendants of the Dutch, German or Swedish farmers and missionaries who came here in the 1800s. There has been much strife in the past but they are beginning to learn to work together for their mutual benefit, which is the only way it can successfully work. Both are South African now and neither wants to change that. Although the area is well into its spring to summer season, we have many days that seem to be more like late November at home (New Hampshire, USA). When the clouds roll in, as they seem to very often, we realize we are actually IN them. A light mist covers us and visibility can be cut off very suddenly. Then again, we will have a mid summer day of high 80’s. But I understand when the summer hits, we will know it.” Last Thursday, we had a storm roll in and lost power for over seven hours and there was hail – pinging on my window so hard I thought it would break. Some of our West African crew had never seen hail before.
Prayer Requests: ** Safety for those living on and off the ship ** Dental project working with the Department of Health – providing services and education + their upcoming extreme outreach providing services to the homeless in Durban in partnership with a local church ** That the shipyard phase will finish on schedule and without problems – I went to the ship on Saturday – seems like I had been away for a long time (actually only two months).
Group photo of Newcastle – Mental Health
During my visit to the venue for the Mental Health / Whole Person Ministry workshop, Debra Bell from our Communications Department took this photo of us all. Great group of male church leaders who are now friends and brothers in the Lord.
Lamin Conteh from The Gambia
In memory of my friend from The Gambia here in West Africa – Lamin Conteh who died on the 13th of October due to drowning as he gave his life to save a friend. My last communications with him was at the end of September as he stayed in touch via email.
Mental Health / Whole Person Ministry Workshop
Last week, I was able to go to Newcastle, Kwa Zulu Natal for a couple days for the mental health/whole person ministry workshop for 24 church leaders from the TAM Christian Council. Dr. Lyn and Clementine had 70 hours of training with these church leaders over two weeks. It was a privilege to visit them. Part of my role here in South Africa was to make initial contacts with the Christian Councils and see what might be possible related to this type of training plus to assist with administration and logistics.
Shipyard Generator Replacement
This is a photo of one of the new MAN generators to be installed on the Africa Mercy. They will be able to produce all the electrical power needed while sailing and while in port and being able to do that with less noise pollution and will offer better fuel efficiency also.
Looking at the engineering space of Africa Mercy
The Africa Mercy is in the graving dock/drydock now here in Durban – here is a photo looking in on the engineering space as they have been taking out the old and preparing to bring in the new generators for decades of good life. The reports are that the progress is going along well. Please keep praying.
KRB Update Programs in South Africa
KRB Update #2159 October 08, 2010
Keith R. Brinkman
Programs in South Africa
Greetings from Kwa Zulu Natal, Republic of South Africa. As the Africa Mercy is in the drydock at the shipyard currently up on blocks, we do have some programs that are active here in South Africa. Those three programs are: Mental Health Training, Dental Care and the Eye Project. Here is a little more information on those:
Mental Health / Whole Person Ministry: Our team has been working with church leaders here in this province to offer training in Mental Health & Whole Person Ministry. As part of my role on the Advance Team, I researched and connected with possible partners for this training. I am grateful for Mxolisi Nyuswa, who is the director at the Kwa Zulu Regional Christian Council. Our team has offered four courses with them in Pietermaritzburg, Pongola, Eshowe and Mbazwana for a total of 96 participants. Their last training seminar is happening now and will continue till next week with the Thukela Amajuba Mzinyathi Christian Council (TAMCC) which is led by Rev. Gugu Shelembe. We are really believing that this will help to make an impact in the Christian community and that they will share what they have learned with their churches and other leaders. Here is a quote from one of the participants Pastor Gumede: “God can heal psychologically, mentally and socially… but it will start with their heart. First they must change their mind before their spirit can be changed. Then they can accept Jesus. They must then apologize to their victims and ask for forgiveness, even if they are in jail for life.” He has found this training seminar extremely helpful for dealing with members of his congregation and the prisoners – especially in dealing with trauma and conflict.
Dental Care: In partnership with the Department of Health, a smaller version of our Dental team is going to rural clinics. They are offering training for some of their dentists in specific surgical skills (incision and drainage, removal of impacted teeth). The Dental team is doing dental procedures for up to 1,000 patients and some dental hygiene services. They are also going into the public schools and doing sessions on basic oral health with a goal of 5,000 students.
Eye Project: In partnership with the Mercy Ships Southern Africa office and the Fred Hollows Foundation, our Eye Team professionals are working in another province – the Eastern Cape. They will be in three locations – Port Elizabeth, Queenstown and Umthatha. Training will be provided both to surgeons, surgical nurses and the community eye care workers. We are hoping to assist to build sustainable capacity of the local eye care system. I enjoyed recently being able to visit them for a few days in September to see how things are progressing and to have a few meetings.
Prayer Requests: ** Safety for those living on and off the ship ** Training Participants – church leaders participating in the mental health training ** Dental project working with the Department of Health – providing services and education ** Eye project working at 3 locations in the Eastern Cape ** Our community as we are separated