IN LIKE A LION

I don’t know about you guys but January came in like a Lion for us! A lot of opportunities to spend with friends, workload increased (some self-imposed), promises kept, changing scenery, old hobby renewed, eating cake from the floor just to name a few.

January is an awesome month; some of the best people I know were born in January! In our immediate circle of close friends there were 5 birthdays in January. You know what that means, right? We eat a lot, especially cake in January. Even when someone (I won’t mention their name Pam) drops the birthday cake on the floor. Being resourceful missionaries that we are, you just can’t throw away a cake just because it hit the floor. There is the 30 second rule you know. Here it’s more like a 30 minute rule. Anyway, you make a layer cake out of the crumbs. A layer of whipped cream, layer of cake chunks, etc and top it off with our favorite, M&Ms. So, Happy Birthday to me, Patti, Mike, Gordon and Pam!

I think I need my head examined…..not like I don’t have enough to do trying to manage two ship’s Crew Service Departments and Head up the Antiquity Team. But in MY SPARE TIME I too an on-line Braille course. It is amazingly difficult but great fun to learn. The beginner’s class was 6 weeks and I passed my final exam with a 97% and am now certified Grade I braillist! I’m still trying to figure out what I’m going to do with that talent - - do you think maybe God already knows???

In January my department was also able to provide another 900,000 cedis towards scholarships to the pastor’s training school. That is another 5 people who get to attend bible school. Our total is now at 51 pastors that will be well-trained and sent back into the bush to lead village churches.

We purchased over 100 bibles with money that was donated by friends back home for Pantang Psychiatric Hospital. Because of a discount the Bible Society gave us I also purchased some children’s books and bibles to take into the orphanage at Liberia we will be working. Of all the things I have been privileged to do, bringing the word into dark places is my absolute favorite thing.

The Harmata Winds have been blowing now for about 2 months. It is the subsahara sands that blow across Africa. As you can see in the photos, you are looking at the sun through the sands that blow. The sky is yellow and hazy, the sands blow across the roads like snow would in high winds. It makes everything sandy and gritty and also makes it hard to breathe for those who are young or elderly or have asthma issues anyway.

I have taken up an old hobby of mine, knitting. This time it has a purpose. To present patients on the ward with baby blankets and slippers for the adult patients. Our patients are not use to air conditioning and they are always wrapped up in as many blankets as they can find, stocking caps and sometimes coats. I gave this first blanket to a little boy named Adam, the smile that came across his mother’s face was thanks enough. My first attempt at sock slippers went to a very critical woman, Adjoa. In fact, she is on a ventilator and is still very critical so please pray for her miraculous recovery. Our ship will be leaving Ghana Feb 25 and the medical team is scurrying to find the right facility for her when we leave.

Two other things I’m taking on are also keeping me hopping. I was trained recently to be a debriefer. Every time people leave our service or when we close out one outreach and start into another a team of debriefers will meet with the different departments to give people time to talk about their experiences, make suggestions how better to handle the next outreach. The hardest part of that job for me is NOT talking. A debriefer is there only to encourage discussion, not to participate. You know I’m busting at the seams to put in my 2 cents! I will debrief 6 departments over the next 3 weeks. The other thing is the Antiquities. That just means old stuff on the ship. Mercy Ships wants to preserve some of the original items on this ship. There are many beautiful artifacts from when the Anastasis was the Victoria, an Italian passenger ship. It is my teams job to identify those items, catalog, photograph, remove, package and ship them. We worked about 4 hours yesterday going through people’s cabins looking for these things. We will dedicate 8 hours a week for the next 4 weeks just to get through the cabins on the ship. Then there are all the public areas. We will not be removing the items until after everyone moves to the Africa Mercy - - we are simply locating and identifying them at this stage.

Excitement is in the air about moving to Liberia, so much preparation to move a ship like this. Many outreach departments such as construction to finish their projects and load their equipment back aboard, surgery, dental and eye clinics to start closing, pack it up and tie it down. Our sail should only be 3 days but sails are always an exciting time.

FOR MORE PICTURES TO GO WITH THESE STORIES CLICK HERE: http://www.dropshots.com/day.php?userid=92780&cdate=20070127

Until next time, we remain your friends, your co-workers in Christ and humbled by your love and support.

Robert & Susan Blanchard
Missionaries – West Africa