Africa Mercy at last!

Here are photos of the murals we painted on the back walls of the classrooms at the deaf school. The mural with the map of Africa also has the flags of 50 of the countries.

                                              Catrice painting the alphabet in sign language

We boarded ship yesterday, what an exciting day! I am on the 3rd deck in a room of 6. It is surprisingly roomier than I anticipated. Our three bunks are divided into cubicles with a curtain to draw closed for sleeping. I have a closet about a foot wide with three shelves at the bottom and a space to hang clothes above the shelves. The biggest challenge so far was how to get down from the top bunk this morning without falling or stepping on my bunk mate. I am around the corner from a flight of stairs that  goes right to the dining room which is on the 5th deck. We had an hour tour of the ship yesterday and so far I have not gotten lost.  Deck 7 is open to the outside so yesterday for lunch a friend from Switzerland took me to the port (left) side to eat and we enjoyed the fresh air coming in off the sea.  The gangway is on the starboard (right) side. It is such a good feeling to finally be here. Monday officially starts our work, beginning with orientation.
I can't wait to get started!

Conakry, at last!

We arrived safely in Conakry on Sunday, March 10th. The flight took us over the Sahara Desert and I was amazed to see only sand for miles and miles. We are staying in a dorm; the 6 men on the ground level and the 12 women up a flight of stairs.  We share a common bathroom area. The toilets we flush with buckets that we fill from the shower in the same tiny space; 3 work of 6. We are so blessed to have air conditioning in our sleeping areas. It was quite a change from 22 degrees in Chicago to 90 degrees in Conakry! Our original plan for our short term field service changed, and we have been painting the rooms at a school for deaf children. One of our team members, Catrice, is quite proficient in ASL (American Sign Language) and she signs to a deaf person who then translates into French.  Who would have ever thought we would have a deaf translater? God is so good! We are painting murals on the back walls of the classrooms. One room is finished and it is of the solar system. We are nearly done with a map of Africa in another room and of an underwater seascape, including a whale, shark, shells, stingray, jellyfish, coral, etc. that will be in the kindergarten room. The children have been out of school this week while we complete the painting. Some of us will continue to paint there next week in order to finish murals in a few more rooms. We are in the shade in the classrooms so it has been easier to adjust to the heat. Sometimes there is even a breeze.
   Today Sunday, March 17th we went to  "The :Love of God"' an English speaking church with a French translator.  There was singing and dancing for an hour and during one of the dancing songs I was blessed to hold a baby who slept in my arms the entire dance! Then the minister spoke for an hour. Quite a celebration!
Life is good.

Chicago, not Conakry

It's been an interesting three days.   Our group of 19 left Mercy Ships IOC Wednesday March 5th and had been divided into two groups; half of us leaving via Tyler, TX to Houston, TX to Chicago,IL to Brussels then to Conakry.  The other half were to leave via Dallas,TX to Newark, NJ to Brussels (where we would all meet up again and fly together the last 8+ hours to Conakry.) The snowstorm cancelled Newark's flights so that group was rerouted to Chicago and we were going to fly together to Brussels after all! We should have been in Conakry by now but as we were taxiing toward the runway for take-off, the captain announced they had discovered a mechanical problem during the final check.  As he was speaking a loud alarm sounded.  We turned around and headed back to the gate. After about 45 minutes sitting at the gate, we all got off the plane. We moved to a different gate. As time went on, we realized we would not make it to Brussels in time for our connecting flight to Conakry. The flight from Brussels to Conakry only flies two days a week, by the way, so when we missed that connection we would have to wait until Sunday for the next flight. So. . . we have had a little mini vacation in Chicago. What a cold place for us who sent all our winter clothes home, expecting to be in Africa by now! We rode the subway train, the "L", taking the blue line downtown.  (My very first time on a subway!!) We visited the Art Institute, had a wonderful view of the city from the 96th floor of the Hancock building, walked to the Navy Pier, and walked to Millenium Park. What a fun few days, and our entire group is together.  We head out tonight, our flight leaving at 6pm. Once again, please pray for safe travels.