Last Month on the Global Mercy

Our time on serving with Mercy Ships on the Global Mercy is coming to a close. We had a good seven day sail from Freetown to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. The atmosphere on the ship is much different. We are still preparing and serving food to all onboard. However the hospital is closed and the ship is full of maintenance personnel. We are reminded that this maintenance is very important for Mercy Ships to do the work it does helping the people with much needed surgery. The island is beautiful and we are taking advantage of our days off to explore. We are docked in a very large port where ships come to have maintenance. Tim especially is having fun looking at the ships and watching the work being done.

We have talked to quite a few of the maintenance crew. Some come back every year to volunteer for a month to work on special projects. Some have been serving Mercy Ships for years. There are currently 205 people on board the ship from 36 countries.

Because the port is so large, it takes us a good thirty minutes to walk to town and the nearby beach. In order to walk to the port gate we are required to wear hard hats and flashers. We are definitely getting our steps in each day, either working or walking to town to explore or catch a bus to go farther. Tim gets over 20,000 steps working in the dining room each 12 hour shift!

The island is full of volcanoes, it almost seems like the island is one big volcano! We have walked a lot exploring Las Palmas. There is a lovely old town, Vegueta, that is a short bus ride away. We have also taken two tours with a local tour company. One was to the northern part of the island, visiting the small towns of Aruca and Firgus and a small vineyard and coffee plantation.

We traveled to the interior of Gran Canaria to view the volcanic scenery and visit three more villages. San Mateo for the bakery, Cruz de Tejeda for the views and sampling local food and Teror for the beautiful buildings and church.

There have been many walks to the beach to have dinner with friends. We are so thankful for the friends we have made on the ship. It has been a joy.

Roximo works with Tim in the dining room during the maintenance period. But his real job during the field service is working in the sterilization rooms preparing instruments for surgery. He was excited to show us his job area and explain the complicated procedures involved.

We have one more week on the ship and only two more days of work. We are looking forward to being home. We have enjoyed our time on the Global Mercy. We are grateful for the privilege to serve and will miss the community onboard and the friends we have made.