End of 2005 - Time to be thankful

I can't believe how quickly a year has passed. Nearly 19 months away from home and still 2 more years ahead of us minimum. This year has been full of great new adventures, sights and sounds - Benin, Liberia, South Africa, Italy, England and Scotland. Orphanges, construction, cleaning, welding, new friends, mentoring and being mentored, moving-moving-moving and moving again. It has been exhausting and exhilerating at the same time and here we are toasting the old year out and praying that each of you will be blessed in so many ways this coming year. I'm sure toasts work when you are using spiced apple juice - - right?

Susan was able to take a breather for about 5 days early in December and her and 6 friends went by train west of Inverness to the Beaufort Castle which is owned by Ann Gloag. Ann is on the board of the Mercy Ships and genereously allows Mercy Shippers to stay in a cottage on her 1000 acre estate. It costs us the price of a train ticket to enjoy beauty beyond believe. They went to Loch Ness to try another attempt at finding Nessie but without luck, went to Plodda Falls (a fair hike into the mountains), ate Haggis (cow stomach packed with don't ask), neeps and tatties (turnips and potatoes) and took more pictures of my favorite Scottish farm animal, the Highland Cow. Or as the Scottish say "Heiland Coo". My friends are on the nuts-o side of life and they kept warning the cows that the crazy American lady with the camera was coming so run for your lives. Thankfully, they did not listen and I got even more pictures. We enjoyed evenings around the fire, working puzzles, watching movies, eating sweets and good old-fashioned conversations and devotions. It could have only been better if Robert could have joined us - - but there is no rest for Engineering - - EVER!

SHIP NEWS! It has been slow in the last month when the ship workers were laid off but the new year has a new promise. There should be over 200 men working 24/7 and the promise from the yard is that they are still on target to deliver the ship on March 31. These last 3 months will be extremely busy for everyone here. Helping each other trying to get their departments up and running. Preparing for the day that another 250 crew members will join us to set sail to Ghana in May. While in prayer one day it was decided that the ship yard workers needed more incentive to understand why we were so desireous of the ship leaving the shipyard. Therefore, a Mercy Ships video explaining all that we do, the surgeries, water and sanitation, education and construction projects runs 24/7 just as you come up the gangway for all of them to watch. Now we are getting comments like "It will be sad to see her go, but she MUST go because she has a purpose and it's not to stay in the ship yard!" PTL, they are getting it!

PRAYER REQUESTS

• For the people who have been accepted as crew but do not know when they can join us - some have sold homes and are ready to come, others still need to raise support.
• For the crew of the Anastasis as they continue to deal with loosing their home, their ministry, their friends, their school.
• For finances for the ministry to properly supply the Anastasis until she goes out of service in June
• For finances for the ministry to properly supply the Africa Mercy for the many years to come
• For wisdom for all those in leadership roles to lead by example and to look only to the God that set them in those positions for the true answers
• Needed equipment for Susan's departments (library shelves, floor scrubbing & polishing machines, chemical supplies, printers, scanners, laminators, kitchen equipment)
• For the Aged, Orphaned and Abandoned children's home in Monrovia Liberia.