Tiim & Kathy

A Family Visit and Takugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary

We are a little behind with our story! We will catch up on our activities from some of our days off. In order to get around in Freetown you either need to arrange for a driver or take a Keke. Sometimes that takes a little time and effort and recommendations from other crew on the ship. The traffic here is crazy and renting a car is not possible even if the driving was easy. No one wants to rent you a car as there is no guarantee that the car will be returned. So you rent the driver with a car!

On May 18 we went to the Tokugawa Chimpanzee Sanctuary with two friends from the ship. Most of the chimps were rescued from homes that were keeping them as pets. Many of the chimp’s parents were killed in the effort for poachers to take the babies to sell them as pets. The chimps are kept in large enclosures and the newly rescued ones are given play equipment to learn to climb and swing like they would in the wild. The older ones are in a very large enclosure where they live in the wild rain forest.

The next day we were able to visit with Moses’ wife, Rachel and their two daughters, Favor and Grace. Moses is the brother of Augustine. Hawa met us and invited the Keke driver in to share the lunch she had prepared. Rachel and the girls had traveled from Liberia just to meet us. I took most of the morning to arrange for a Keke to pick us up. Augustine was able to talk to the driver and direct them to his place. We enjoyed talking with them. Favor is nine and Grace is two. Grace was afraid of us white people. She eventually allowed me to hold her on my lap. She even held Tim’s hand as we walked back to the Keke. Rachel recently successfully completed a basic tailoring class. She is hoping to start a business to help support the family.

Hawa, Tim, Favor, Rachel, Kathy and a reluctant Grace.

Aberdeen Women’s Center, Birthday and Work

We have been on the Global Mercy for over five weeks! It is hard to believe as the time has flown by. Work is becoming more routine and easier. The ship sails to Las Palmas, Canary Islands for maintenance in mid June. The last surgeries are this week and the hospital closes next week. Many of the galley and dining room workers are locals from Sierra Leone (day crew) and they will not sail with us, so our workload will increase! I guess we need to know what we are doing soon! It is an honor to be here and serve the nurses, doctors and all the staff bringing help and healing to the people here in Sierra Leone. The focus is always serving and giving God the glory.

Going back a few days to Kathy’s birthday, May 13, we spent the morning touring the Aberdeen Women’s Hospital. This hospital was started by Mercy Ships and is now run by the Freedom From Fistula Foundation of the UK. It opened in 2004 after the civil war in Sierra Leone. It provides obstetric fistula repair, maternity care and an out patient clinic. They have two surgery theaters. They also provide care for pregnant teens for delivery and ante and post natal care. The services are all provided free to the needy. We were impressed with the care given to the patients. There is also a program called Dream Girls for the teen mothers. They meet weekly for education and to learn skills like sewing and gara (tie-dying) and batik. We were not allowed to take photos.

Our friends, Augustine and Samuel, picked us up at 5:00 and took us to a restaurant called Bread Heaven. We were greeted in the parking lot by Hawa, Alimatu and her mother, Safiatu. The biggest surprise were three young men with a trumpet and drums playing Happy Birthday. i really felt honored.

House Visit and Sunday Church

Our friend, Augustine, has been saving his money and bought land and built a house near Waterloo. Samuel and Augustine picked us up and drove us out to the house. Most of the drive was on good roads, but the last bit was a rather bumpy dirt road. The house is beautiful and painters were there putting on the last touches. Hawa, Augustine’s mother, greeted us and had cooked us a delicious lunch of fish, fried plantains, rice and spicy sauce, with fresh juicy pineapple for dessert. What an unexpected treat!

On Sunday we attended Calvary Free Pentecostal Church. Three new friends from the ship came with us. It is so fun to experience worship with the Sierra Leonian culture. It involved a lot of prayer, dancing and singing and a good message from the assistant pastor, Grace, on the sovereignty of God. Samuel’s wife Salamatu prepared a nice lunch for us of chicken with sauce to put over the roasted plantain and sweet potato. And lovely fresh fruit. We are definitely getting spoiled!

Me, Ruth, David, Pastor Basse, Salamatu, Robert, Pastor Timothy Kettor

Ship Life

Life aboard the Global Mercy Hospital Ship is an amazing and unique experience. I would like to somehow help you to experience our ship life.

Neither Kathy nor I have spent much time in the maritime world. This big metal structure is a living and breathing machine. A complete, self sustaining, floating city that just happens to also be a hospital. The ship receives water shipments from the dock, then purifies it for on-board use. Conservation is key. For example the maintenance crews reclaim the water condensed in the air conditioning system to supply the laundry. Just like in all of Sierra Leone, our water supply is limited. Since we arrived, our floating city has been rationing water wherever possible. Two minute showers, don’t flush more than necessary, and of course no water fights!

We are docked right along side container ships who are coming and going daily. We can watch them load and unload both day and night and wave hello and goodby as they head out to sea.

Edwina Dumbuya, Galley Team Leader, preparing food.

As we are both involved in the food side of ship life, it has been eye-opening to witness the storage, management, and preparation of so much food. Everything managed to exact temperatures and cleanliness. Even left-overs return in fresh new recipes. Kathy chops fruits and vegetables for hours and Tim is constantly moving food from one place to another, cleaning everything in site including volumes of dishes, glasses, and silverware.

Then there are the people we meet. We are finding a beautiful golden thread of a servant mindset. Most of the people here are volunteers giving their available skills and time to serve others. This seems to influence the whole experience. We listen to the stories of some who have found ways in their off hours to drill wells that will deliver water in distant villages, or connect and encourage local day workers. Everyone striving to change one life at a time. All of this in addition to the incredible medical treatments and education that is the foundation of the Mercy Ship organization.

We talk often with a man who serves as a bio-medical technician. He spends his hours keeping all the equipment running in the hospital and throughout the ship. We hear stories of how surgeons are faced with medical issues they rarely see and have limited resources to resolve it. Yet they do. Using whatever they can find, to creatively solve the problem and restore health.

In the non-work hours the coffee shop area is a common hang out with places to sit and chat with new and old friends, or engage in a puzzle or card game. The walking deck provides an evening stroll with 360 degree views the city, ships loading and unloading, and the ocean.

Throughout the week there are numerous times to worship. Large groups in the International Lounge or a small group in the intimate chapel. To end a very long day of work with a time of heartfelt praise is a treasure. Above all it’s the joy of experiencing the nature of Christ lived out in so many people serving together.

Freetown City Tour and Family Visit to the Global Mercy

Every two weeks we have three days off. This weekend was especially full with activities. We began on Friday with a tour of Freetown’s historic sites led by Abu, a young tour guide we met in 2021. Sierra Leone was colonized by England as they sent freed slaves from Nova Scotia and Jamaica to settle there. The city was given the name Freetown. Our first stop was at the abandoned old Fourah Bay College, which was the first university established in Western Africa.

The Railroad Museum was historic and fun. Queen Elizabeth visited Sierra Leone in 1961 to mark the independence of Sierra Leone. A coach was built in Freetown for her visit. There were many other historic rail cars in the museum.

We went from fun to sobering, as we toured the Peace Museum. This museum commemorates the peace that happened after their ten year civil war, 1991-2001. Many lives were lost and people maimed as the rebel soldiers of several factions ruled the land. The people do not want to forget what happened and make sure it never happens again. We also visited the Peace Monument. The words on the monuments are poignant and meaningful.

There are two historic churches in Freetown that we visited. St. George Anglican church was built in 1823 . St. John Maroon Church was built by former Jamaican slaves in 1822. The slaves were originally deported to Nova Scotia and then to Freetown in 1800. The ceiling of the church was made from the lumber from the ship that brought them to Sierra Leone.

We ended the day hosting our friends, Aaron, Mariama and family on the Global Mercy. The children had never seen western style living, nor had they ridden an elevator. It was a great experience for them.

Aaron, the Principal

We met Aaron and his family in 2021. He is now pursuing a degree in law. But in the meantime, he and his wife Mariama, decided to start a school that would serve the children of their neighborhood. They desired to provide quality Christian education at low cost. They named it Tengbeh International School.

We were excited to see the school. Aaron borrowed a car from a friend and drove us to the school. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the beauty is on the inside, where there are various classrooms filled with children according to age and ability. We were amazed at the young teachers and their engagement with the students.

Some of the teachers had certificates to teach from Freetown Teachers College. However teachers are paid less than the equivalent of $100/month. Many of the teachers were working as teachers during the day and pursuing college degrees at night. Several of the young teachers were graduates of Tengeh School and were passing there knowledge and passion to the young students.

Many of the teachers told us that Aaron was their example and like a father to them. It was very inspiring for us to hear.

After visiting the school, we went to Aaron and Mariama’s home where we were served fish, potatoes, fried plantains and papaya. Most was prepared by their daughter, Martha. Yumm! I’m still not used to eating the fish and picking through all the bones!

Augustine, The Manager

In 2021 we met a young man who is trained as a driver and provided transportation for us during our stay in Sierra Leone that year. We began to understand that he had the potential to become financially sustainable if he had a vehicle to generate income. We teamed up with Augustine to locate and ship to Sierra Leone, a 29 passenger Toyota Coaster Bus.

This young man is very resourceful and a very good manager. His skills have enabled him to now have a contract providing transportation for the employees of a mining company to and from Freetown and the city of Rutile. He has faced many challenges and has managed his money very well. After selling the initial bus, he has purchased the one he now operates and has just purchased another one. It is currently enroute to Freetown and is scheduled to arrive about the time we leave.

For me (Tim) it meant so much to see, in person, the current bus and be able to travel in it. Another very important part of Augustine’s success is being mentored by a very godly man, Samuel Essah. Samuel has trained, encouraged, and supported Augustine through this whole adventure. God’s hand in this adventure has been amazing to witness. We are very proud of Augustine! Especially the Godly man he has become. Please pray for him as he manages this business. The mining road is very challenging, especially during the rainy season that begins in the next few weeks.

Mariama and Laboratory Medicine at Connaught Hospital

Today we are picked up by Mariama in a Keke with a driver to ride to Connaught Hospital in downtown Freetown. This the largest government hospital in Sierra Leone. Mariama is a student at a local university studying Laboratory Science. Mariama was a patient of our daughter Alyssa on the Africa Mercy in 2011.

We enjoyed a tour of the lab by one of the laboratory techs. He was very complementary of Mariama’s knowledge and work ethic. We are very proud of what she has accomplished. The lab had analyzers and printer to print out results. They had some very modern equipment in the Microbiology lab donated by a organization in England. Mariama showed us how they test for Sickle Cell Anemia.

Hematology Lab with Mariama and the Chemistry Tech.

The time at the lab was very enjoyable as they were ending their week celebrating Professional Laboratory Professional Week. We were waiting in their break room as Mariama was helping organize lunch for the staff. Finally a young woman comes in with a large tub on her head. It was filled with fried rice!

They really do have fun celebrating!

Tim and I were invited to join the laboratory staff and student interns for a walk the next morning from Congo Cross to Aberdeen Beach to celebrate Medical Laboratory week. It was quite an event, with the boombox blaring Sierra Leonean music and marching down the street dodging Kekes. It was also quite hot and about 5 kilometers. But we made it and were glad to rest at the beach. A great experience!

Worklife

Learning new things is a wonderful thing! I think! After a a day to settle in and a morning class on food safety we are ready to get to work. The schedule is spread over two weeks. This is the easy week – Work Wednesday and Thursday, off Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Nest week is working Monday, Tuesday. Off Wednesday and Thursday, then working Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Even through Kathy is in the Galley, we both have the same schedule.

Dining Room (Tim) – I will forever appreciate the work it takes to operate a dining room. Learning where to find everything, what needs to be cleaned, and what am I supposed to do next. They have the dining room operation organized into areas of responsibilities. Each learning day is focused on one of those areas. Everyone is very helpful and it will all become very automatic. Meanwhile 5:45 am comes pretty early.

One of the advantages of being dining room staff is I see everyone working on the ship and can enjoy occasional conversations. These are truly an amazing group of people. Their joy and compassion is obvious and it is an honor to help provide food for them.

Galley (Kathy) – I have begun work in the galley in the cold room or salad room. I work with a delightful hardworking group of Africans. The oldest worker is Bernadette, but everyone calls her Grandma. Since I am older than she is, I just call her Bernadette! So far, my work includes a lot of chopping and cleaning. So much cleaning!! The twelve hour days are long but doable. There is so much to learn still and it is an education to see all the work that goes into providing breakfast, lunch and dinner to 600 people.

Arrival and Learning The Ropes

After long flights and many time zones, we are in Freetown, Sierra Leone on the Global Mercy hospital ship. After collecting luggage and clearing passport control we worked our way to a small ferry boat for the 45 minute ride to the city. By now we have met the 10 other volunteers traveling in on the same flight.

Augustine and Samuel, two men from Sierra Leone that we have known for several years, met us at the ferry dock. It was very special to be welcomed by them.

We still needed to get checked in and receive the badges and orientation to get us started. It was a late night followed by an early all crew meeting the next morning.

More meetings and training today and another all morning session tomorrow. Then our first work shifts begin Wednesday. The galley and dining room serve 3,000 meals each day. We will be busy!

It is such a privilege to serve with so many kindhearted and dedicated people from around the world, and many more yet to meet.