|
|
MARCH 2000
Greetings from La Union, El Salvador! Somehow it took us getting to a developing nation in Central America before our email would once again be running at full capacity. I hope that you have received some of the snail mail newsletters sent out these past few months and are aware of where I have been and where I am. For now, I will begin from November 1999.
Two weeks in Pulupandan, Philippines
As we finished two very brief weeks of outreach in Pulupandan, I was again amazed at how the Lord can put people in your path and bind friendships in short periods of time. Two people I met through friends on the ship were Bjarni and Dolly Salvador. Bjarni is a secondary mathematics teacher and Dolly is an elementary teacher in a town near Pulupandan. In addition to teaching, Bjarni also has a "Trike Service" to help make ends meet. (Trike's are their cheapest and most prolific mode of transportation. They are basically a motorcycle with a four seat side car attachment. Generally they carry six to eight people - or more.
Yes, I know I just said it was a four seat side car - say, you're good at math! :-) I had the opportunity to take our on board school highschool age students to Bjarni's school. We were able to sit in on a Math class, a Science class, and were treated to some traditional dance by their students. They were very hospitable. Their home economics class even made a lovely snack for us of some traditional Filipino foods. They sent each of us home with something created by a student on the campus in their wood & crafts class. It is amazing what they can recycle into useful or beautiful items.
Several things struck us about the school while we were there. None of the rooms had electricity to them. They depended upon the sunlight through walls of open windows for light. It is pretty dependable, but different from our expectations. We were also saddened by the condition of their text books. Many were literally held together by strings without covers and surely missing pages. We also knew from what Bjarni told us that "regular" school supplies are difficult to get. However, we also could see that the teachers were dedicated and creative in teaching the children what they need to know. Most children retained the hope of going on to higher education in Bacolod (the big city on the Island of Negros Occidental) or even leaving their home Island. It was good to see that hope was not quenched and to think that many may reach their goal despite what we see as great differences.
In addition to sharing their work life with us, Bjarni and Dolly opened their home to several of us to give us a taste of Filipino food. Dolly set before us a grand dinner including shrimp, stuffed crab shell and fresh mangos. There was a sweet coconut drink made from young coconuts as well. It was a pleasure to share in their home, meet their four young children, and get to know them as a couple.
While in the Philippines we ministered alongside our sister ship, the ISLAND MERCY. She's a good deal smaller than we, but the crew puts out oodles of energy and they touch thousands of people in each area they visit. It is great to feel we know our fellow Mercy Shippers in the South Pacific a bit. Because the ISLAND MERCY is smaller, they can reach into islands that don't permit larger ships. Some of our crew were originally part of the ISLAND MERCY crew when it was still known as the GOOD SAMARITAN and they enjoyed seeing all the upgrades made on the ship.
TTwenty Seven Days at Sea
In brief, we survived and more. It was a bumpy ride since we are a Norwegian coastal ferry and the designers never expected it to be in southern waters let alone cross the middle of the Pacific Ocean! My most enjoyable moments were the lovely Thanksgiving Dinner I shared with friends and numerous Scrabble games! Oh, and you have never seen so many stars! I don't think I will tire of sailing.
In the midst of the sail we did stop twice for fuel - another thing the designers never expected is the need for fuel for 20+ days of sailing! One stop was in Honolulu where I met my cousin Dolly. She is an exceptional woman and I enjoyed every bit of our short visit. One thing you can tell right away is that she loves life.
San Diego - Six Weeks of Recuperation and Preparation
I got to meet some more of my cousins. This seemed to become a habit - friends and family at every West Coast port. We enjoyed getting to know each other and I am looking forward to our next visit in San Diego so I can spend some more time with them. My three wonderful, devoted, loving, extraordinary sisters also came for a visit. Overwhelmed with love and so happy to have family, we spent four days getting totally exhausted. We shopped, played with Minnie & Mickey (guess where - compliments of the cousins), and ate lots of ice cream. Many Kodak moments and memories. I spent the month of January getting ready for outreach, saying "See you later" to some wonderful friends, and welcoming other friends back after long weeks away from the ship. Then it was another eight day sail which was totally beautiful. Okay, there was a rough spot and we lost a few dishes, but I enjoyed it very much.
That brings us to the present -- La Union, El Salvador.
We will be here for 4 months. We began screening today. Twelve hours of welcoming people desperate for a chance at sight; sight they lost due to cataracts, trauma, glaucoma, diabetes, or simply old age. We will screen for two more days and there will be hundreds we must turn away. Please pray for stamina, patience on the part of the people, and wisdom for the screening doctors. Perhaps the biggest prayer request is on behalf of all of those we can not help medically. We want them to see that God is bigger than our medicine and that His Life, His Salvation is so much more important than any medical procedure we could possibly do.
I will close on that note. I'm glad to be able to be back in touch more regularly. Thank you for your prayers. I know I will have a lot to share about screening and all that goes on this month. Please let me know how YOU are and forward to me your prayer need. (I do ask that you continue to refrain from forwarding jokes, stories, and chain emails - Thanks) I praise the Lord for you!
Grace & peace,
Deb
A little update: We finished screening and though it was exhausting it was also wonderful to be able to be a part of it. One of my stories that has come out of screening will soon be on the Mercy Ships website under the Caribbean Mercy Fleet Report.You can look up the ship reports at the web page:
http://www.mercyships.org/Caribbean%20Mercy/2000%20Reports/2000fleetreports.htm
I don't know when it will be posted. It isn't there yet. I think it is her first March report.