Africa Mercy Reports

This page from Mercy Ships has been forwarded to you by tyronebcookin:

http://www.mercyships.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=agLOI4OFKrF&b=1364771&ct=3895951

If the text above does not appear as a full, clickable link, please copy the whole web address and paste it into the address box of your browser.

Africa Mercy - President of Liberia Visits

This page from Mercy Ships has been forwarded to you by tyronebcookin:

http://www.mercyships.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=agLOI4OFKrF&b=1364771&ct=3912041

If the text above does not appear as a full, clickable link, please copy the whole web address and paste it into the address box of your browser.

tyronebcookin

Shameless link promotion:

tyronebcookin
Old tyronebcookin site
Tyrone and Stephanie

My Vista Problems

Official

From the Mercy Ships Int'l Operations Center, Friday, Oct 6:

Dear Alumni

We have recieved the following update from Mercy Ships founder Don Stevens about the future of the Caribbean Mercy.

***

I am pleased to announce that Mercy Ships completed the sale of the Caribbean Mercy on Oct 5, 2006 to a family charitable trust who plans to lease the vessel to CME at Sea Ltd. I appreciate the work done by Jim Paterson and the marine operations department in facilitating this process and am thankful to God for providing a buyer.

CME at Sea Ltd plans to prepare the vessel for service in Central America by adding to the medical facility on board. In addition to offering medical care, they also intend to provide training and continuing education opportunities for US based physicians.

The company is currently in negotiations to keep the ship at its present location in Chickasaw to do their preparations.

I am reminded again of the thousands of people who were given hope and healing through this vessel and her dedicated crew.

Don

*Ed. note--
for the curious....CME At Sea Ltd.
and for the rest....one last look.

A new development for an x - caretaker!

Tyrone's Updates
Tyrone's Wedding

The End Of An Era

(link & source: Alicia's Porch Swing)

After a long and fruitful career of service to Central America, Asia, South America, and the United States, it has been decided that the Caribbean Mercy will at last be retired. The following is the official text of the final decision:

1. On April 6, 2006 Mercy Ships will commission the flagship of our future, the Africa Mercy. Due to a significant increase in the hospital and community development capacity, the Africa Mercy will double the amount of people served by the Anastasis and Caribbean Mercy combined.

2. It is our belief that the Africa Mercy will serve some of the region’s most needy for the next 30 years.

3. Both the Caribbean Mercy and Anastasis are over 50 years old. International maritime regulations indicate significant additional expense should the two ships remain in service. The Africa Mercy is the first ship of a new era of Mercy Ships hospital ships and part of the long range plan to bring hope and healing to the world’s poorest people.

4. The Anastasis and Caribbean Mercy are both to be retired after serving as effective tools in bringing hope and healing to countless of the world’s poor.

5. Many of the crew from the Anastasis and Caribbean Mercy are considering service on the Africa Mercy.

Thank you so much to all who have followed the news here, worked, and prayed along with the crew. Especial thanks and recognition are also due to the last of the faithful long-term caretakers: Maria Elena, Kathy, Tom, and Joyce. May God be with every one of the countless crewmembers who have served together on the CBM in years past as we all seek his dreams for the future.

Today, I went to the Sea & Sky Spectacular Festival with Katie and Jeremy. It was sooo nice to just lay out on the beach. You've got to love Florida when you know that it's November and I got a little pink at the beach! Anyway, my favorite part was when the Stealth jet flew by, but he was so dang quiet, I think I missed most of his show. I tried to take pictures of the Blue Angels and was failing miserably. I got about 17 shots of sky. But, those 17 shots were worth it when I got one perfect shot...I couldn't have asked for a better shot.

Funny Stories...

I love the ship, but I love being home. Here is just a day in the life at my house.
So, yesterday was Saturday, my mom made some kind of mess for lunch in her favorite Pampered Chef dish. So, I was helping clean up and I was emptying the remaining contents of the dish in the garbage can when the garbage can slid and the pan was hot, so I dropped it and it made this cracking noise. I looked at my mom and was like, "Don't cry." She actually had a tear in her eye...really! I was thinking, "It's just a dish!" Well, it was broken. So, I thought, "sweet, at least it's one less thing I have to wash!" Well, I ended up having to wash it. So, it was just sitting in the sink. Well, my mom is in the kitchen and somehow knocks this vase over, into the sink, further breaking the dish I broke and breaking the vase. She thought my cousin had made the vase and was trying to find glue to glue it back together, but when I went in and saw what she had done, I told I had made the vase, so RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, she throws it in the garbage! About an hour later, she asked me to take this pile of left overs out to the dog. I was running late, so I couldn't. She calls me about 16 (because I don't like 0's and 5's) minutes later and tells me that my brother took the plate of left overs and accidently dropped it on the couch on his way out the back door. So, it was a really rough day for my mom...but, at least I know what to get her for Christmas...a new Pampered Chef baking dish.
Life is good.

This is ridiculous....

Why am I sitting in Jacksonville not knowing what's going on back at my home away from home...or is that here, at home? I don't know anymore. Kathy, figure out your password and get on here. You don't have to worry about cooking my dinner anymore, so you have time to write now! Maria Elena...how's watch going? I'm sorry I didn't get to say good bye. Captain Hook forced me to leave without getting to say all my goodbyes. Tyrone...hi, you aren't there anyway, but hi. Tom, you will always be Tom. Cait, I miss you my little lumberjack! Daniel, I hope things are working out for you. Dick, smile, I'm talking to you! Sue, I didn't get to say goodbye!!! Henry and Pearl...take care of that hot truck you've got, and grow some good stuff, because we all know I can't! Ciaran, congrats on the little girl! Bob, have fun...and get some rest! Marilyn, look in reception for the leis...in case you ever need one. Keeper, I miss you, thanks for being "my baby"! Mary...take care of my Kathy, I miss you! If I'm forgeting anyone else, I miss you, I really do. However, I've had to go to the tanning bed to get my tan on for this dang wedding and so (without going into too much detail) I must go because sitting too long is quite painful! I love you all! Even if your just reading this, I love you!
Tus pirata en Christo,
Missy <><

Theories on datable, marriagable, and lustable trucks....

Many people have questioned my theory on datable, marriagable, and lustable trucks and so now I will explain it once and for all and you will all understand and applaud me for my brillance in compiling such an exquisite work.
The Dateable truck. Examples of the datable truck would be the Tacoma, an older Chevrolet truck (2 door, no extended cab), anything with monster tires...not like "I-need-a-ladder-to-get-in" tires, but just much larger than stock. A datable truck is just that, datable. Therefore it doesn't usually have a backseat for kids or groceries (because the guy is clearly just out having fun and not really planning ahead), but it has a big bed for 4 wheelers, kayaks, surfboards, and other fun things that you can do while your dating. Really any truck can be datable, but it takes effort to make a truck marriagable...just as effort is needed in marriage. (Exceptions to that rule, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES WHATSOEVER WILL THE CHEVROLET AVALANCHE BE CONSIDERED UNDER ANY OF THESE CATAGORIES.)
The marriagable truck. A marriagable truck is basically anything in the Ford F-series, but, let's face it, no one really needs an F350, and the dually of any kind is out completely, they just look like they have big butts, what's that all about? Also marriagable are Silverados...can we say HOT? The Tundra has also been catching my eye lately. But, here's what takes the truck from datable to marriagable. The accessories. See, for instance, the spray in bed liner...he likes to take care of his stuff, therefore, he's responsible. The grill guard, he's protective. Dual exhaust...he wants people to know he's coming (I would rather listen to the sound of dual exhaust than Mark Broussard!). The diamond-plated toolbox...he's practical. An SUV can get by with becoming marriagable with roof racks, but not ones for bikes. Then we get into colors...red is a no, it clashes with my hair and we can't possibly even date if your vehicle clashes with my hair, we'd just have to take my Jeep everywhere. Yellow is also a mistake, are we lifeguards? Black, dark blue, and hunter green are insanely hot, but undoubtedbly the best color for a truck is silver. Tan isn't so bad, it's just kind of boring, as is white. If you have a pink or purple truck, you should be arrested for being dumb.
The lustable truck. The only lustable truck that there is the the Landrover Defender 90. It's B-E-A-utiful. Yeah, sure, in the world where the cost of gas doesn't matter, it's a practical truck...but I like the old ones, as in pre-Ford takeover. Oh, wow, they are so hot.
So, now you know my views on what is datable, marriagable, and lustable. I wish I could show you my illustrations, but I haven't gotten that far in blogschool yet.
Disclaimer: These opinions expressed are opinions of this pirate only and not of others here on board who might think a Geo Metro is a fine ride...or that a "tricked out" 4 Runner is acceptable.

I'm no competition for Emeril...or Kathy...or Tyrone....

The Caretakers
It's 4:39 am and I can barely keep my eyes open. I attempted to make cookies earlier tonight. I made a few mistakes...probably the first being attempting to bake. The second was probably sometime around the "2 cups of flour" business where I couldn't find the flour, so I just used yellow cake mix. I like cake, I like cookies, it should work, right? I thought it was kind of runny, but it was going to be just fine, I knew it...they were going to be the best cookies ever! I found this great pan, you know, one of those industrial-cook-for-a-million kind of pans. I was able to put all of the cookies on it. Then, the oven beeped and it was now heated to 375 degrees...or maybe it was 365 degrees...my mom says it always matters, but to me, when it's less than like 50 degrees out, it's flippin' cold and when it's more than 90 degrees, it's flippin' hot...and if I can't tell the difference, neither can cookies...it's dough, what does it know? So, I went to put the industrial size pan into the kitchen size oven and found out why those pans looked un-used...because they don't fit in the oven we are now using. So, I had to transfer the dough onto another smaller pan, so I used a huge spatula thinking that that was a great idea. It kind of was, but it was so big that it kind of combined two cookies into one, but no one's ever complained about a cookie being too big, especially one of these amazing yellow cake chocolate chip cookies. I finally transferred about 24 puddles of dough into 12 piles on the new cookie sheet and put them in the oven. I went on a round. Ten minutes later, the buzzer went off and I was all excited about my cookies only to find that the 12 piles had become one big flat bleehhwe. (I don't really know what that last word was, but I don't really know how to explain the mess, so that works). What a big dissappointment! My amazing cookies are worthless...they aren't even cookies, they are more like a natural disaster that's not really natural, it's just me. Well, at least those who know me will know that I haven't changed much. I'll try to follow the recipe next time...no, I probably won't. So, you won't someday see me on the food network, but I'm pretty sure I can live with that.

Just alot of wind, no pirates....

It is seriously windy here right now. I'm sitting in reception on my watch and I just watched one of those plastic pool chairs slide across the breezeway. The STEEL building on the dock is making alot of noise and there are lights falling off the ship. They say that it's only gusts of about 25 mph. Only 25 mph! In a few short hours, Hurricane Wilma will hit Florida. Being here makes me know what I will see when I turn on the news tomorrow...it won't be pretty. But, enough about that because Fox News, CNN, and other newsy people will tell you more than you ever want to hear, so I will tell you what keeps blowing by the window here in reception...well, there goes Maria Elena...she didn't really blow by, but she did walk by...ok, we just went and secured some things here on the ship. Where the heck did this wind come from? Ok, yeah, I know about how the sun heats up the water which causes evaporation and heating and cooling processes cause wind because hot air rises and takes place of the cold air that rushes in only to be warmed by the water that the sun is heating...yeah, I majored in meteorology for a semester...don't look so suprised, I majored in about everything...holy crap, the wind is blowin the ship, I just felt it pitch...ahhhh! Why can't I be asleep for this! Ok, so I will tell you about..whoa...Keeper's (the ship dog) house just flew past the gangway security camera...what the heck is going on!!! Ok, so back to my original thought...must read blog to figure out what original thought was...oh, yeah, so I don't like the engine room much...I think it comes from the fact that I'm from Florida and never had to deal having a basement or cellar, so I never had to get over that whole being afraid of the basement thing. But, now, I have a basement...it's the biggest, scariest, loudest basement ever! I mean, there's this place that I go around on my round and it looks like there's someone standing there hiding around the corner! It's really just a bunch of rolled up coveralls that are strategically placed for a person's shoulder and leg. Then, there's this machine that kicks on everytime I walk by it. I even brace myself to walk by it and still it scares me. Then, there's this duct that blows some seriously cold air downward very fast and it messes up my hair...which never looks hot when I'm on watch. And then there's this other machine that hisses at me! And this is every hour!!! When something actually goes wrong down there, there's the most awful alarm. Well, I just went down there and saw that the wind has us pitched about 2 degrees. That's "out of control" as Caitlin would say. I will update you later on tonight as to other things that may be going on on the ship...but for now, I think I'm going to make some chocolate chip cookies.

Yo quiero un pirata

T...You ARE a pirate, pirating onto this blog and all. And you cook, and you love Jesus. What are your thoughts on Chik-fil-a? Depending on your answer, I might just have to marry you!
I wish I had known there were suprises in the fridges, that might have made some of my watches more interesting. What kind of booty am I looking for? Gold? I'm really more partial to silver as I have orangy-gold hair, even pirates don't want to clash. Is the "treasure" bouncy balls...or even ice cream?
And had I known that there was Starbucks coffee onboard, the piliging would have begun long ago. What I wouldn't give for a decaf sumatra (grande in a venti cup with one splenda and filled to the top with half and half). Or maybe I'd splurge and go with a white chocolate mocha. Yeah, I think I just discredited all pirate aspects about myself in this last paragraph.
Anyway, onboard currently is Kathy, Maria Elana the Montavan, Tom, Ciaran, and Joyce...then some people you don't know.
I read your email of how you are eating your way across the States. You crack me up. Don't you know that there's super cool stuff to do all those places? Instead your like, "I went to the Cheesecake Factory and had shrimp appetisers, then went to Joe Schmo's for lasagne al a mode". You should come to Jacksonville sometime and eat at my favorite restuarant, Mojo's. Mmmm...it's soo good. I would offer to pay, but I'd just be lying to you.
We miss you! And Keeper (the sequel) is such a great dog, he just eats shoes, birds, fish, and he won't fetch.
<

Real Pirate?

Like how I pirated my way back on this blog?

I have the record for 'bouncy-ball' score! 27!!! OK, ok, just kidding....I don't.

How much of the pork has been eaten up lately? And check around in all the freezers and refrigerators that are running...if you look real deep in each one, you may find some surprises hidden in them (unless Kathy has found all the good ones).

How many crew are still on board? I am assuming that you (the pirate) Missy, Kathy, and Tom...but who else?

If you need to get rid of the rest of the Starbucks Coffee in the hold have some one drop it off in Huntsville Alabama (or somewhere near by) and I will come get it all...we are a bunch of coffee-holics up here (although them nice Fu-Fu coffee drinks are getting expensive). Or if you would like to mail it to me a case at a time:

Tyrone B.
2640 Blue Springs Rd Apt E-1
Huntsville, AL 35810

But seriously, I will donate it to my church or ministries here that have taken a lot of the Hurricane Evacuees. (Besides, it went out of date the beginning of this year).

But enough about the coffee...this x-caretaker would like to see some more pictures, including the dumb dog (your words, not mine...or was it stupid?).

Thanks
tyronebcookin'

The Caretakers

The Caretakers
I was on watch last night until 6 AM this morning. I actually slept for 12 hours...which is amazing. I woke up to find this note on the message board, "Most wannabe pirates are from Jacksonville and are jealous of the Welsh maritime legacy." Now, what would cause such awful words to be written about me? Maybe the fact that before it said that, it said, "Most pirates are from Wales, but just because your Welsh and have done an 'armed boarding' does not make you a pirate." I wrote the second note, but the first was from the captain who left today.
When he was first asked if he was a pirate, he responded, "no". But, then, he somehow (it's blatantly obvious) caught onto my infatuation with pirates and decided that he was a pirate. However, if he was a pirate(which he's not!), he was the worst pirate ever. He actually once went to board a ship, fell overboard and caught onto the ship, asked the crew of the ship he was boarding to HOLD HIS MACHINE GUN while he dried off. Then, the crew of the ship gave him coffee while he waited for the rest of the British Navy to come onboard. Pirates don't have machine guns. Not fun ones anyway.
Because I'm so bored, I googled pirates and found a really funny article that was talking about the hardships of pirates being long days at sea, storms, starvation, mutiny, then it busts out with "no ice for cocktails, no air-conditioning, no showers, no clean sheets"...clean sheets? Pirates don't do laundry or take showers...maybe this captain was a real pirate. But, of all the bad things or things to write about being a pirate...clean sheets is just not that high on my list. That's what makes me a pirate. Arrrggg....

The Pirate is Back...

Wow, how cool am I. I'm the newest little blogger in the CBM Caretakers...and I'm taking it over. Cause that's what pirates do.
It's quite strange living on a big ship with only a few people, but I've found it to be quite nice. I mean, now, there's no fear when walking into the pantry that one of those pesky pantry fairies will kill you for taking a piece of toast. And we have cake almost every night! We have a dog! He's the dumbest thing ever, but we're working on "fetch" and "sit", but it's been highly unsuccessful. My room is HUGE, I mean, I can almost stretch without touching a wall. And I don't have to wait in line for a shower.
And how crazy...I hated gangway watch when I was here in Belize, and now, I come back just to do 8-hour security rounds. What am I thinking? But, it's been pretty fun and I've only almost sunk the ship once.
Since I'm bored, I will compile a list of things to do on watch....
1) Write emails to all the people in your address book.
2) Check the weather.
3) Do your hourly rounds.
4) Write a song about how tired you are.
5) Make breakfast...because cereal is the worst stuff ever!
6) Remember that Jay Leno comes on at 3 and Conan on at 4.
7) Do laundry.
8) Clean your room.
9) Watch movies.
10) Chase Keeper on the dock.
11) Think of fun events for the ship.
12) Buy random things on Ebay.
13) Google people on the ship.
14) Make fun signs to stick on people's door.
15) Write real letters to people back at home.
16) Bounce bouncy balls down the aft staircase...give yourself one point for every step it hits from promenade deck to c-deck (current record, 23).
17) Moon security cameras and run back to reception to see if you can see yourself.
18) Do pilates.
19) Learn to knit.
20) Decide your awful at knitting.
21) Kill small fuzzy animal in Reception.
22) Realize small fuzzy animal WAS your knitting project and again reassure yourself you will never knit again.
23) Plan trips you'll never take.
24) Count the stars.
25) Try to figure out why cabins still smell like people who were in them years ago.
26) Think about what you'd like to dream about when you get off in 5 hours and 28 minutes.
27) Go do another round...which is what I'm going to do now.

Have fun,
The Pirate <><

Gone Fishing

Maria Elena decided to take her off and go fishing. She wanted to get away for work, relax, and spend some time outside. Since she doesn't drive and has a hard time getting away from the ship she did the next best thing. With tackle and bait in hand off she went. A long walk to the bow of the ship.

Community Meeting

Comunity Meeting is still a part of life on board the ship. Usually we view a video. But with the size of the doubling last week we had a guest speaker. A person we all know and love and someone who always speaks from his heart, Rob Miller. We called him Pastor Rob for the week.

Family Visit

It was really great having Ciaran, Lilian, Joy and Rob to spend a few days with us last week. We had a great time, well Maria Elean and Kathy did anyway. They were off the ship almost every day with Lilan. It was a real treat. Tom worked a lot harder the usual. He was helping Ciaran with the 6 week start up. Can't tell you how good it was to hear the engerators and the AC running. All those sounds we were so use to before and haven't heard for a long time. Of course Ciaran did give us a bit of a tease. He ran the AC for only a day and a half. Just about the time is started to cool off the whole ship, He turned it off. NOT FAIR.

I don't want to say Bill and Rebecca had a lot of stuff.
But a picture is worth a thousand words

One More Good-Bye

Once again we say good-bye to family. Bill and Rebecca left us on Monday morning.
They will leave a hugh empty place on the ship. We were really sad to see them leave.
I'd like to think they were sad about leaving too but from the look on their faces I wonder.
Good-Bye Bill and Rebecca we will miss you alot!!

And then Ther were Three

Well Bill and Rebecca left this morning. That leaves Tom, Maria Elena and Kathy. Not quit the Three Stooges or the Three Mustcateers. Huey, Duey and Luey? Maybe! We will continue to Guard and watch over our beloved ship. In only 2 months we have gone from 80 to 17 to 9 to 7 to 5 to 3. At this rate Tom will be very lonely here by himself in a couple of weeks. Just kidding!!!

A visit from Paul

A big thank you to Paul for driving over from Florida to fix the PA system. He is headed to the Africa Mercy on Monday. God speed, Paul!

A visit from our Safety Officer

Captain Jon Fadely came for a short visit. We especially are grateful for giving us the catch-up news of the goings on with the evaluation process for our little ship. We appreciate so much all the labor that our leadership and the CBM evaluation team are lovingly giving as they seek the Lord's will for the future.
Thank you, Capt Jon! Please come again soon!

Bill "orientating" the newest Crew Member.

Whooah! It is Nellie!

A real treat for the Caribbean Mercy! Nellie Kloosterman's ship the Mighty Servant 3
is docked for a few days in Pascagoula, MS. Nellie gave us a call saying she had some time off, so we hopped in the car and picked her up. When she walked up the gangway, she said "Oh! It smells like the Caribbean Mercy!" (We think that means it smells like home) She spent one night with us then was able to attend church in Mobile - Living Word Christian Center - where she had been baptised. What a wonderful blessing for her! She was able to share how God has shown himself faithful since she has returned to commercial shipping. She is welcome to return to us anytime!

Gardening...

So, with this hot, humid weather we have taken to gardening. Yes, we are still harvesting peppers, 4 varieties (!) that Jeremy planted in a pot on the dock. Bill has been faithful in disposing of all of them.

We are also trying out hydroponic gardening, only we aren't sure what it is, exactly, that is growing on the bumper. Then, on Aft Deck, we have a couple of other items growing. We are considering getting a couple of chickens and housing them out there to keep the growth down and possibly provide us with fresh eggs every morning. Haven't run that one by Marine Ops, yet.

Good-by Keeper

Keeper

Everyone knew that you needed to be careful around Keeper. She either loved you or hated you - and sometimes both. Tyrone dubbed her "schizophrenic" and now we think that may have been true. One minute you were her best friend and the next moment she would nip at you. When Rick and Britt were here, she did just that and nearly got a good piece of Rick's hand. So, sadly, we made the decision to return her to the Humane Society. We did not want to take the chance of her biting a visitor or any of the Crew. We miss her.

Keeper, the Sequel

KEEPER, THE SEQUEL

OK, we did not expect this to happen. Uh, ummmm, well, see, this dog just showed up inside the gate. Tom put him out. Then the (smart) cute little thing started whinning and Tom, soft hearted bloke that he is, couldn't stand it and let him in. He has made himself comfortable on the dock, has taken over Keeper's harness and leash, has eaten the left-over hamburgers and has wheedled his way in to the Caretaker's hearts. So what are we suppose to do? He just showed up. Hey, whadya think - did God send him???

Goodbys

Well, we said good by to Jamie last Friday and to Tyrone on Saturday. We thought about tying them to the ship, but gave up the idea... We surely do miss them both! We had a treat, though, when Rick and Brittany Schommer stopped by for a visit. It was wonderful to catch up with them. They are on a fundraising tour then plan to head to Honduras for a new land-based adventure with Mercy Ships. We give them our blessings!
This week we are doing our check-offs, cleaning up the place (a never ending job!), and trying to stay cool in record temperatures and humidity. Friday the heat index was 110+.
Well, here's the latest scoop. Bill and I will be going home on August 8 for a leave. We have some family things to take care of. Please pray for us as we prepare to leave "home" to go "home." I know this sounds confusing to some of you, but those who are former Crew know EXACTLY how we feel. We will do some re-evaluating while home and make a decision later about returning. We really want to be here when she gets ready to sail out again!
Thanks for the encouraging emails you send us. We love hearing from you! You can email all of us at once at cbmcaretakers@mercyships.org.

This is the installation of the security fence around A-Deck. Note the pitiful faces of those who participated in the installation. We are trying to figure out if the fence is to keep intruders off or us on - what do you think?

Float#1

Float#1
Originally uploaded by Bill and Rebecca Long.

The new (??) float was installed so we are ready for any leaks / spills.

Float #2

Float #2
Originally uploaded by Bill and Rebecca Long.

Not too pretty to look at, but it will do the job!

Float#3

Float#3
Originally uploaded by Bill and Rebecca Long.

My only question is...
Is it gator proof?

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

DSCN0227
Originally uploaded by Bill and Rebecca Long.

DSCN0230

DSCN0230
Originally uploaded by Bill and Rebecca Long.

New Crew member!

Tuesday Morning

OK, I don't like this at all. Yesterday we said good-by to Jeremy and Katie. While we are excited about their new adventures including the friend-family tour and a trip to Europe, we will miss them terribly. Jeremy's quiet, steadfast presence (and his amazing humor!), and Katie's enthusiasm and youthful energy have been a real blessing to us. We are looking forward to the day when Jeremy will remember his old ship buddies and provide free tickets to fly around the world! They leave with our blessings and prayers for a wonderful future - one filled with joy and peace, success and prospertity - the kind that only the Lord can give. We miss you, already, dear children! Go in the Lord!

Hard work, but someone needs to do it

As we prepared for Dennis' arrival, some one was needed to do the hards tasks. And then we have the onlookers.

Chickasaw Charlie, aka Albert Aligator

Chickasaw Charlie, aka Albert Aligator
Originally uploaded by Bill and Rebecca Long.

As promised, here he (she?) is!

As promised!

So, here is the picture of Charlie. He (she) finally came out of hiding and spent quite a long time checking us out as we were checking him (her) out. We think we may have seen one more gator over by the corner of the swamp, but we're not sure. Bill and Tom braved the waters (therefore, no picutres of the new Bosun - Kathy who is our OS in training!) and paddled over to the other side of the slip to bring back the lines that we set out for Hurricane Dennis. This is no easy task since it is the paint float they use for transportation, but they are getting pretty good at it! Charlie stayed in her corner of the water and watched as the boys were pulled back to the ship.
It has been raining - actually pouring outside with some thunder and lightning. The good news is that it has really cooled down and we are appreciating the nice little breeze that has come up. Tonite is "Community Meeting" and we plan to start the video series we found in the Chaplin's office: "The Five Love Languages." We are well and acclimating to the ship and the heat after the little jaunt to East Texas. It is good to be home.

Sugar and Gators...

The sugar is directly South of the salt, its in a plastic bin/container underneath the counter. Your choice of white or brown.

I think I would have better chances of petting the Gator and making friends. But Keeper seems to be a good dog for those of you that can interact with her. hahaha.

Some have implied that I don't like dogs, but thats not true...our family even had a big ole mongrel we loved to death for ten years. Keeper just seems to be overly suspicious of me (kinda like most people in Mercy Ships, just kidding!). Maybe I remind her of someone who used to abuse her?

You can quote me, 'I am not a dog hater' just ask Billy and Dancer!

Good luck with the cornbread, its needs all the help it can get straight out of the bag!

tyronebcookin

Return of the Prodigal!

Sighted: Chickasaw Charlie, aka Albert Aligator, was sighted this morning just aft of the mooring line to the other side of the slip. We tried to get a picture of him (her?) but all our stomping around caused him (her?) to submerge. We will keep an eye out and try to get a picture. This afternoon we will pull the lines away from the other side and it is rumored that Deck Hand Kathy will be on the paint float. For this we will definitely get pictures, so stay tuned!

Cornbread, anyone?

OK. So who knew?

The last time we had cornbread I thought it was not sweet enough. So yesterday, when it was my turn to cook I decided to bake some and add a little sugar to it. So – well – ummmm – I guess the plastic container on top of the shelf in the galley is NOT sugar. It is salt. Tom was the first to discover this and I have apologized all over myself to him. Bill thought it was a hoot because this has happened one other time with me – to lemon meringue pie - this was during a church campout and it was discovered before it was inflicted upon any innocent bystanders. I am humbled by the experience. And to think... the cornbread looked so pretty. Hmmmmm, there must be a sermon in here somewhere...

OK, so where IS the sugar in the galley, anyway?

Hints from tyronebcookin

IF, a big if, you are refering to the tupperware container on top of the small frigerator in the galley on the counter by the radio...none of you, I repeat, none of you are tall enough to read that it is labeled salt on top of it unless you take it down. Or, you did not turn it around to read the labeling on the other side.

Next, taste! Always taste!

Lastly, if you read the bag of cornbread mix you will see that its made with honey already (yuck, thats Northern Style cornbread) so if you added any more sugar to it (Mrs. X) it would be corn cake!

BUT the fact is its an honest mistake and I can't hold my southern grudges against a premixed bag of cornbread...but rest assured if I was there the day that came in on the US Food truck I would have sent it back quicker than Tom spitting it out!!!

Don't let this discourage you from trying again Mrs. X!

tyronebcookin

Don't try the cornbread!

Dinner tonight provided much entertainment and laughs for all. A particular crew member, who we shall refer to from this point on as "Ms. X", made beans and cornbread for everyone. Tom grabbed a big hunk of cornbread and started in on it, when all of the sudden the color drained from his face and he made a mad dash to the garbage can and passionately spit out what was left of the cornbread. Now, for those of you who know Tom, he is not the drama queen that this incident would suggest. "Something wrong with the cornbread?" I asked. "Not if you like eating a salt lick," he answered. We decided that we'd try it on Bill, since he eats just about anything and enjoys it. Bill took only a few crumbs to taste, and the look on his face was priceless. Along with his comments afterward. It turns out that though the cornbread was from a box, Ms. X had decided to "sweeten" it with some of the white granules from the not-so-clearly labeled tupperware on top of the microwave. Oops! Bill took it outside and dumped the remains into the water. You know it's bad when he won't even give it to the dog!

Speaking of Keeper, her first bath today was very successful and uneventful. At first she tried to run away from the hose, but then resorted to standing still with her tail between her legs, all the while glaring at me as I soaped her up. We're still friends though, and now she smells of Pert Plus rather than dumpster drainage.

And we're back

Well, it turns out that Hurricane Dennis' bark was worse than his bite, at least for the Gulf States. The storm weakened to a category 3 hurricane when it hit land on Sunday, and wasn't nearly as destructive as his buddy Ivan from last year. Unfortunately Pensacola was in the direct line of this one as well. I think that if I own(ed) a home there, I'd seriously think about relocating.

The 6 of us (me, Jeremy, Bill, Rebecca, Jamie and Tom) enjoyed a long weekend at the IOC, visiting former crew members and trying not to speculate what shape we'd find the ship (or the freezers, which had been unplugged) in when we returned. Jeremy flew out to New Mexico to check out a flight school on Monday afternoon, and that night the 3 remaining guys drove back to Chickasaw. Rebecca and I left this morning (Tuesday) around 7:00 and made record time getting back. The ship looks about the same as we left her, aside from a few differences:

1. The dumpster, which hasn't been emptied in 7 weeks, STINKS! The heavy rain pounded on the garbage for awhile on Sunday, leaked out the bottom of the dumpster, and created a wide river on the dock that smells of wet dog and raw sewage. I nearly gagged when I stepped out of the car today.
2. Our pepper plants have suffered, probably from not receiving enough sunlight indoors. I watered them tonight and placed them back in their spot where they had been thriving. This spot, however, is in the path of the dumpster's river, so perhaps our fresh-picked peppers will be no more.
3. The pool is overflowing and leaning even more towards the edge of the dock. All I can think is that the day we finally get Tyrone in the pool will be the day our pool decides to become one with the larger body of water just a few feet away. People screaming, limbs flailing, Keeper biting the flowing water...it would not be pretty.

I am on night watch right now, at least for a few hours. Chief Officer Jamie drove all through the night, then worked all day putting the ship back together, and was scheduled for night watch. So he's catching a few much-needed winks. It's a little scary walking through B-deck late at night. I thought of taking Keeper with me, but she's even afraid of those mini crabs in the water here, so she wouldn't be much help or comfort.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post: Keeper's First Bath.

Current Chickasaw Forecast: Direct Hit, Late Sunday Afternoon

Story: Dennis Plows Through Gulf

Evacuation from Mobile

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to ride out a Cat 4/5 hurricane on a 80m long vessel. That is what our merry little band of Caretakers had plan to do if "Dennis" had of take a more easterly route. But when the officials from the two counties Baldwin and Mobile were going to order a mandatory evacuation and the US Cost Guard recommend that we do the same. I figured that we should head to Texas to Mercy Ship's International Operations Center (IOC). I decided to leave Noon on Friday fun. We had to totally shutdown the M/V Caribbean Mercy, disconnect stom shore power, disconnect water & Sewage, all cables and shore connections. Putout additional lines, lower the anchor, secure the decks, lower the gangway and then disembark from the vessel- jumping about 5 feet from the pilot ladder to the dock. doing all this with a crew of 1 engr, 2 deck hands and 1 ordinary seaman. However the real fun will be reboarding, reconnecting, and restarting all of the systems on board.
After we left the ship a 7 PM on Friday night we were caught up with major traffic so I called my personal OnStar person, Cindi- my wife and she redirected us onto an alternate path. Where the road not so busy, just long. Our normally 9-10 hour trip was a mere 12 hours to drive. We arrived at the IOC at 8 AM after having Breakfast. Only to find out that the Cat 5 was now a 1. But, mandatory evacuations are still taking place and all roads into the area where converted to outbound so we missed the heavy traffic out.
We are now at the IOC and will contact the Chief of Police on Monday to determine when we will be returning to the Ship. As it looks we are planning to return Tuesday and start the process of reconnecting everything.
Keep us in your prayers.

IOC Edition

Every once in a while we like to shake things up a little, just for fun. This week we decided to change around our entertainment schedule a bit. Rather than knocking off an hour or two early on Friday and going to the movies, we threw our clothes into bags and evacuated the ship and drove all night for thirteen hours to get to Texas.

So we're at the IOC, except for Tyrone who's hoping his parents will take him in. Last we heard last night on our way out, the governor of Alabama has declared a state of emergency and ordered mandatory evacuations for all counties along the coast - including the whole city of Mobile - by six o'clock tonight. They said the state troopers were going to close down all the southbound interstate lanes and use them for northbound traffic (asTyrone apparently discovered this morning). We heard this just as we hit the solid wall of red taillights, an hour and a half north of the coast. Half a million people fleeing in Alabama alone. All night we saw fellow refugees straggling north. Families crammed in pickups, dogs in the back, rich and redneck alike standing bleary-eyed around fluorescent-lit gas stations at 2 a.m.. Kids little excited, adults a little lost.

It keeps you fresh, you know, this kind of thing. Don't want to get in a rut.

South I-65 closed from Montgomery down...

I left at 5am Saturday morning heading North on I-65. Traffic was slow here and there...but what was amazing the exits on the left side (going south side) were all full with State Troopers and all kind of state vehicles, EVERY EXIT!

I posted these pictures that were taken (about 7:30am) from the North side of Montgomery cars trying to go South or trying to turn around and find another way to go.

See ya on tha other side (of the Hurricane, not life)!



tyronebcookin

Current Pics & Ship Trivia

Trivia items for the week -

1. Nice and sunny today. Very pleasant.
2. According to Fox News, if Dennis hits with its current strength it will be the most catastrophic hurricane to strike the U.S. in thirteen years.
3. Dennis will probably continue to strengthen tonight and tomorrow before it hits us.

Have a nice day!

Dennis Reaches Category 4

...and is only 6 mph from being a Category 5. If you don't hear from us for a while, we'll be on the beach.
In Bermuda.
Sipping cuba libres.

Special Thanks to the Caretakers!

I was content to stay on the ship for my birthday this year (July 4th)...and my mom was actually happy I wasn't going to try and drive home. Being that the 4th of July weekend is one of the worst to be traveling.

I got wonderful cards, had special birthday head gear to wear (see picture on earlier post), didn't cook a thing...and enjoyed quite a nice time.

Rebecca cooked and we had Hot Dogs (Hebrew National - one of the best brands), potato salad (her own recipe, very good!), and baked beans (not the ones in the can either!). Katie made a wonderful spice cake with a divine frosting to go on top. We had our choice of either Double Strawberry or Vanilla (Blue Bunny) Ice Cream. I took a little of both!

Most of the day I just slept or watched food network, I think even a movie or two. Yeah, perfect, relaxed, peaceful bliss on a wonderful birthday...Oh thats right, It was Independance Day!!! (almost forgot it was a public holiday besides being my birthday!)

Although later that night I do regret not seeing Keeper (ships dog/mascot/security) try to eat the fireworks after they were lit!!! Hahaha

Thanks!

tyronebcookin

more pretty cloud pictures

I see a llama... Wait - no - a herd of stampeding ground squirrels.... no...um...Jon Voight being attacked by his electric toothbrush?

Anyone?

--jeremy

Dennis, as of Wednesday night

Bill

Ever since Bill came back from visiting his family he's been acting kind of strange...

Radios

Jeremy and I were on duty today, which requires us to carry around a radio, pager, phone and set of keys. This morning I heard something kind of interesting coming through the radio, kind of like a muffled snorting. I chalked it up to Tropical Storm Cindy creating strange electromagnietic fields around the ship and went on with my duties. An hour later, however, I heard the same sort of thing, although this time it distinctly sounded like slurping. "Oh well," I thought, as the wind and rain pounded the ship. But when it happened for the 3rd time this morning, I knew something was up. The 3rd time around the sound was even clearer - yes, someone has been licking the radios. I have my guesses as to who it is, and will get to the bottom of this somehow.

Tropical Storm Cindy

Well, here we go with tropical storm #2 for the Caribbean Mercy. This one is called Cindy. This morning she woke me up at 4:20 with rain beating against the window. I checked and sure enough there was a little bit of a leak so I put down a towel, got up and dressed and started checking out boat deck for other leaks. There were a few very minor ones, one steady drip outside of Tyrone's cabin and one drip right on top of the computer monitor in the Chaplain's cabin. I put out the appropriate buckets and towels.
By the time I got through with that the rain had stopped so I got Keeper and we went for a walk on the dock. The wind was pretty strong and the warehouse was making all kinds of noise as the wind blew through it. I put Keeper on the leash and we walked down to the end. The water is just up to where the concrete slopes and Keeper had fun splashing around. On the way back to the ship we checked out the pool and found the float actually floating in the aligator's domain, but we braved the water and captured it, along with a pair of sunglasses and a deck chair that had flown away from their original resting places. By then the wind was kicking up again so we went back to the ship. Keeper was not enthusiastic about getting back in the kennel, but I baited it with some food, so there she'll stay until the next break in the weather.
The weather man says we are in for some more heavy rain and wind, thunder and lightning and some possible tornados, but for the most part should be gone by this afternoon. The ship is moving around slightly, but no seasick pills are required :) ! We'll keep you posted!

Chickasaw Grocery

I made Tyrone's birthday spice cake this morning (slightly intimidating to cook for one of the best cooks I know!) when I realized that we were out of milk. So I hopped in the Automatic and drove one mile to the Chickasaw Grocery. It is located in a strip mall and is only slightly larger than most gas station mini-marts. There were only 3 gallons of milk in the cooler, dated June 30, July 2, and July 13. Seeing as today is July 4, this was quite amusing to me. Also, they have Coke in glass bottles, complete with "1/2 LITRO" marked on the side. Between that and the potholes in our road, I was right back on outreach.

Birthday Boy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYRONE!!!

Late-night recreation, Chickasaw style

It's two hours into the night watch, and i hear voices drifting across the water. This is unusual. I scan the inlet, seeing nothing, and look out toward the river. Still nothing. Finally, i peer directly down over the rail. Four scruffy faces look back up at me, surrounded by a jumble of flashlights, long-handled nets, and five-gallon buckets. A guy in a baseball hat offers a gap-toothed grin (i am not kidding) and hoists a beer can in a happy salute. "How ya doin', brother?" It's the fifth johnboat of the night, out looking for crabs.

Oh, almost forgot. Here's the inside of the preschool classroom - recognize? - during the thunderstorms the other day. The water cascades in from aft deck through the rusted-out bulkhead (as well as directly in through the holes in the starboard side), but it cascades out again just as quickly through the even bigger holes in the deck. So it all works out very nicely.

Lifejackets

My first project after the crew left was to visit every nook and cranny on the ship and find every single lifejacket onboard. I then took them up to the International Lounge and covered about half the Lounge with them, therefore creating Lifejacket Summit. Then I had to wrap them all up properly (reflecting tape and lights on the outside, whistles in their pockets, strings through the loops) and group them according to the expiration dates on the lights. It was at that point that I suggested that all incoming crew be given a training class on how to wrap lifejackets. Impressively, only 3 lights were already expired, thanks to our hard-working Safety Officers. Kathy and I grouped them on tables in the forward dining room, using almost every table, stacking the lifejackets 6 high, creating Lifejacket Canyon. A few days later Jamie made a chute out of a tarp from Promenade Deck down to the dock, and we threw the lifejackets down (in groupings according to expiration dates, of course), stacked them on pallets and shrink-wrapped them. It was almost painful to watch all of the whistles that I had so carefully placed in their pockets come free as they were tossed down the chute. That afternoon we put the pallets into the cargo hold.

In the end we counted something like 250 lifejackets onboard. The only ones we found after the proces was over were the 2 in Reception - my old workplace and one of the most frequented places for the caretakers, go figure!

Keeper Update

Nuff said?!
(This picture may have been modified to accentuate the authors feelings)

Da Hoopty (my car)

My car had a slow leak in the back passenger tire that became a fast leak. When I tried to get it patched Walmart told me it was because the rim was dented. So today I went to the junkyard to get a rim. The rim cost the same amount whether it had a tire on it or not! So Bill and I ( Thanks to Bill for taking me there and helping me find the wheels!) found a rim with a good tire on it that was still holding air..then I got to thinking about getting a second one...hmmm. Now I could replace that bicycle tire they call a temporary that was in my trunk with no air in it!!!

I bought two wheels today, both with excellant tires on them that still held air and had good tread. When I got back I took the two back tires off...I kept the one that was flat because it still had a good tire on it (remember the rim was dented) and I took the other off and replaced the temporary in the deep part of the trunk and lo' and behold!!! There was enough rust down there to deteriorate part of the temporary rim and the rest of the trunk!!!

Well I am not certain that the actual trunk was in danger of falling thru like spots on the ship...I just looked around quickly to make sure Katie had not seen this and come running with a needle gun (I think she has an obsession with that thing and rust!) whewwww, I quickly breathed a sigh of relief remembering they were gone to the movies.

On second thought maybe I should let her get at it, then primer and coat it when they get done..what do you think? Nahhhh, its just Da Hoopty!

tyronebcookin

To the person who kept a Kenny Rogers CD stashed under their mattress (and forgot it when they left):

We know who you are.

Hahahahahahahaha

It is Friday!

Today is Friday - clean-up day for the ship. I have always appreciated those who do the daily housekeeping aboard this ship, but I now have a new appreciation for all of you after vacuming this huge (OK, it just seems like it is huge...) place and up and down all those stairs! I say a hearty "thank you!" to all who have served in this way! I think I have sweated off at least 5 pounds by now.

Also, we have sort of started a tradition for Friday afternoons. After a week of working in this heat we are now setting aside late Friday afternoons for the movies. Where else can you obtain mindless entertainment in a wonderfully air conditioned room with comfortable seating and popcorn and lemonade at your fingertips? This week its "War of the Worlds" which beats out the "war of the rust" that has been waged this past week aboard ship.

Bill is back to work after spending a week with his family in California and recovering from the angiogram he had. We are happy to report that he is back to normal. Kathy Long is visiting friends in California for a couple of weeks. Tyrone (the wonder-chef) went to a Food show in Biloxi and has returned to do his magic in the kitchen. Katie "Needle-Gun Queen" has been working in the hot sun on the bow, learning the delicate (haha) skills of rust removal, along with Jeremy and Jamie. Tom has been hauling out rust and other junk from the cabins that we are destroying (OH! sorry...) I mean removing the flooring and some of the bulkehads so inspections can take place. Maria Elena, our night owl has been keeping us safe at night. We get to see her around noon everyday. I am doing housekeeping stuff, running errands and dealing with whatever paper work comes up. We have devotions together Monday, Wednesday and Friday and on Thursday evenings we meet for our "Community Meeting." We are all getting along wonderfully well, feeling more like a little family all the time. We have been focusing on the idea that we are here to do the Lord's work, no matter if the ship will return to service or not. We are here to be good stewards of what He has entrusted to us AND we are here to be an example of Christ's love for each other. We are also having a lot of fun along with all the hard work.

NOTES: 1. Found in a crew member's ex-cabin (OK, it was Kathy Long's!) behind a dresser-
a still wrapped slice of processed cheese that was flexible and looked like you
could still eat it. We think it has been there for at least a year...

2. Never, NEVER plug in anything electrical in to an orange outlet in
Reception. This blows out 3 different circuits that have to be reset which
is a real trick especially when you don't know where the circuits are located!
Rebecca now knows not to do that ever again! Thank you Don Golden for
bailing us out!

3. There are many holes on the landing outside Cabin 353 - you can actually see
down in to some of the cabins on B-deck! Walk lightly in this area!

4. Never leave your flip-flops on the dock when you take them off to go in the
pool. Keeper has discovered the delights of stealing them and carrying
them off.

5. We want to thank Marta Toth for the wonderful object lesson she gave
to us some time ago about drinking lots of liquids when working in the heat.
We talked about it this morning and remember fondly the time she (at the
expense of the good Dr. Mike) showed us exactly what to look for in the
pee department.

Well, that's it for me for now. I have attached a copy of the "Keeper" for those of you who have asked me for one. This seemed like the easiest way to distribute it. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers. We plug along daily and find that, indeed, the JOY of the LORD is our strength!

KEEPER

So, what is a ship anyway?

It is a container made of steel.

It is just a thing – a tool to be used.

It is a means to get from one place to another.

What is the Caribbean Mercy?

It is a little white ship,

a vessel that carries things.

What kind of things?
People
Cargo
Friendship
Hopes
Dreams
Expectations
Relief
Healing
Love
Compassion
Mercy
Purpose
Determination
A vision
A calling
Bugs
Answers to prayer
A light in a dark world
A new beginning

This ship has been a dearly beloved part of my life for 10 years. It has been a place that I have called home. It is a place where the dearest of friends have been met, said good-by to and met again and a place where good-bys are said to dearest friends who will never be met again in this world. It is a place where mighty work has been done in my life, where growing has sometimes been painful and full of groans. It is a place that has brought me some of the greatest joy of my life, some of the most precious friends, some of the hardest and some of the most delightful experiences I have ever had.

And now, this little ship is being laid-by for a time. She will be docked in a sweet place and will patiently wait for her resurrection. She will be lovingly taken care of by a small group of keepers: Keepers of the ship. Keepers of the vision. Keepers of the hope. Keepers of the faith. We will remain as the rear guard, to preserve her as best we can for the future when she will again sail the waters.

We will remind ourselves of the mighty things that have been accomplished in the past years by the faithful who have given up their lives for a time to serve aboard her: Time given to the Lord of Lord and King of Kings; Time when we came to serve and minister and found instead that we were served and ministered to; Times when someone came out of curiosity and went home with a brand new relationship with a Savior who loves them.

We will remember the faces of the ones who we saw with our own eyes regain their vision or smile again having teeth that did not hurt any more. We will remember the faces of those who have a new roof to keep the rain out of their humble dwelling and the little family that no longer lives in a chicken coop, but have a home with beds and even their own latrine. We will remember the death of the young soldier and the way the crew came to bring comfort and hope to his friends. We will remember the face of little Dulcie, who now goes to school because she can see. We will remember the delight on the faces of the elderly who for the first time in years are able to pick up their Bible and read with the use of a simple pair of reading glasses. We will remember the young man who has no legs, but now has a Personal Transport cart which gives him freedom to move around and even have his own little business. So many memories… so many blessings… so much emotion.

Yes, we will remain for a time as the rear guard. We will lift up our leadership as they seek the Lord for the future of this little sailing vessel. We serve a mighty God who is full of compassion and love and who can be trusted with the future.

Yes, we will be keepers of the ship… keepers of the vision ...

keepers of the hope… keepers of the faith.



Rebecca Long
Chickasaw, Alabama, USA
June 2005

New Habits

Don't they say that it takes 2 weeks to break an old habit, or to form a new one? Well, my first 2 weeks of needle-gunning have passed, and I find myself looking at the ship completely differently. In the shower yesterday, for example, I looked at a patch of rust on the wall and thought to myself, "I really should hit that with a needle-gun. Or maybe an air-chisel first, then a needle-gun. But if I did that all of the rust would fly through the air into the cabin, and get all over everything. However, if I were to shut the door and run duct tape all along the sides of the door and create a vacuum using the exhaust, then no rust would be allowed out into the cabin. After I needle-gunned I could stand in the shower for a half hour until all the dust settled, then take a vacuum to it. Oh, and I'd have to block up the drain so that none of the rust would go into the system" Thank goodness I only have 2 more weeks of this!

Is this Bow or Where did all the rust go

We have been working on scaling the bow; in fact it started when we were back in Honduras last Fall. As you can see, it needed it. However, as we were stripping off the paint, we are finding many shades of white paint, grays, some light green, black and of course orange and red primer layers.
The thickness reveals 50 years of painting. Based upon the colors used and pictures we have seen of the CBM before she came into the service of the King, we may be stripping of some of the original paint. The paint is older that most of the CBM past crew member and a couple of the current. However some of us do predate the paint.

Katie peeled off some layers of paint to reveal a practical joker who wrote Hi. It had to have been a CBMer in that it was written on the White paint. If you ever wonder how much paint is on the vessel. Well the 1 square foot of the paint that is being chipped of weighs approximately 1 pound (we used a postal scale to weigh the paint pictured). The paint is 5-6 mm thick and we lost count at over 30 layers, with about an even 50/50 split on thickness.

Unlike the crew of the past(we have the luxury of time and no current schedule), rather than chipping only the rested areas, we are stripping down to the raw steel, sealing the steel, priming twice and will paint a new fresh white coat in preparation for the new mission that God has for the CBM. As you can see we are well on our way.

Jeremy, Katie the Needle gun queen, Kathy, Tom and I have gotten very familiar with rust. In fact Katie said at Community Meeting tonight that when she looks at metal, she looks for the rusted areas to be removed. We will update the Blog as we progress with this project. Other projects are, cabin overhead rip outs, cabin deck removals, passageway deck removals as highlighted in another report.

Keep checking this site as we bring you the continued saga of the transformation of the King’s vessel in to the new and improved Caribbean Mercy, ready to go anywhere, do anything that the King calls us to do in His name. It not by our might that anything is accomplished but by His Calling and direction.

Death to the Cruncheroos

Death to the Cruncheroos
Originally uploaded by Bill and Rebecca Long.

The only way to get rid of these things!

Cool Dog

Cool Dog
Originally uploaded by Bill and Rebecca Long.

Keeper knows how to keep cool!

ThisIsADrill

ThisIsADrill
Originally uploaded by Bill and Rebecca Long.

Do you remember this!! We had a bomb drill about a year ago and we finally found the thing in Maria Elena's cabin!

Headband Rebecca.jpb

Headband Rebecca.jpb
Originally uploaded by Bill and Rebecca Long.

Yes, I do occasionally work hard enough to require a headband to keep the sweat out of my eyes. Thankfully, most of my work involves dishes, vacuming, and paperwork!

Sunrise.jpg

Sunrise.jpg
Originally uploaded by Bill and Rebecca Long.

Sunrise in Chickasaw. I usually sit out on the dock at this time of day to do my devotions as Keeper runs around inspecting the area.

Katie takes over...

I guess I better get back to bloggin on this thing before Katie takes over...

When Jamies kids were here we used (or should I say they, I was pre-occupied with my weekly grocery shopping) the elevator to send all the canned items from the storeroom up. They are all in the cooler (its off) upstairs in the galley. I am using my walk-in cooler like a pantry and we are also using the boutique as a small pantry of sorts. We tend to keep stuff that would be more beneficial to the caretakers in there like chips, crackers, cereals, fresh fruits...Things of a single serving nature easily accessed at any time.

I will eventually move all the pasta and beans upstairs from the storeroom to the galley and also store them in the cooler/pantry. To my surprise I realized the storeroom cooler and freezer doors were being shut while I was trying to leave them open to 'air out' after they have been shut off...So now I have mold and mildew on the plastic strips in the door and more fuzzy creatures growing in the holes of the rubber mats on the floor. So I guess I just figured out what my next cleaning job will be.

The galley is pretty hot now that there is no AC in it...But its cool compared to the galley on the Anastasis! Although, the heat and dirt that is in the air from work on the ship has my face breaking out like a teenager with bad skin!

I heard the comment before everyone left, 'why should you need much money with such a small crew left'. Food items cost more when you can't buy them at a bulk rate, don't have large amounts of storage, or spend part of the year in Central America (that keeps cost down some too). When I mean 'cost more' I mean per person per day, not feeding 9 people on a 100 person budget.

I let everybody have a say in what I shop for with meal preferences and etcetera...Come on, you really didn't think we were going to alternate cauliflower and squash (as a vegetable) & pork and meatballs (as a meat) till it was all gone did you?!?!?!

Its like I am personal chef for 9 people (sometimes more with guests).

For some of you who know how I sleep, or don't sleep...Off and on with crazy hours in between...From time to time I scare Maria Elena when I am coming and going or moving around the ship because she has the night watch except for the days she is off and Jeremy does it.

I guess Keeper (the dog) is doing alright...I don't mess with her much because its always a 50 percent chance she (psycho) is going to bite me. I have been bitten before by a pit bull and it was bloody with some scaring (but the scars are unnoticeable now), so I am not really worried about actually getting bit. Its the 'making me mad' part I am worried about, so its better just left alone.

Well, gotta go...Have some blanching to do this afternoon. First we will do the Aparagus, then the fresh green beans that I already 'snapped'...later I need to poach some pears for a great dessert.

What are you having for dinner?

tyronebcookin

My Discovery

Today I found a new way to get to B-deck: through the floor of A-deck. This afternoon we tore up the floor (I guess technically you'd call it the deck) on A-deck, right outside cabin 353. Jamie was breaking apart the concrete and rust with a sledgehammer, Kathy and I were moving the chunks of concrete and rust from the floor to buckets, and Tom was moving the buckets outside into the ever-increasing piles on the dock. I grabbed a large crowbar at one point and started chipping away at the layers of rust, when I lost half of the crowbar underneath the section of rust I was working on. I had found our first hole in the steel! The novelty of it was short-lived as we discovered many, many more holes. I'm definitely treading a bit more gently around the ship now.

Random Topic For The Day

So i was bored last night on night watch (imagine that) and around 3 a.m. or so i ran across the website of Hurtigruten, the 115-year-old Norwegian ferry company that used to operate the Caribbean Mercy before it became a Mercy Ship. Formerly MS Polarlys, as you probably already knew, she was purpose-built for the ice and storms of the far North Atlantic, and she served about forty-five years connecting the little fjord-isolated villages far to the north of Bergen. (see photo)



Interestingly, they replaced our little ship with a new Polarlys that entered service in 1996:


I know at least one CBMer who has sailed as a passenger on the new Polarlys. She said that when the crew discovered she was from their old ship, now the Caribbean Mercy - which many of them remembered well - they took her in and adopted her like she was family.

Maybe theirs is newer, but i say ours is prettier. So there.

My Imagination

This afternoon all of the "keepers" went to see the new Batman movie, except for Maria Elena and me. I'm a little nervous at the thought of keeping our not-so-small-when-you're-one-of-two-people-on-it ship safe. Especially if another engine room alarm goes off that I won't know what to do with. Today the low pressure alarm went off, so I silenced it, went upstairs to my cabin, turned on the shower, thought the pressure to be fine, and figured everything to be alright. (Just kidding, Ciaran!)

I took Keeper the dog for a walk, during which we had loads of excitement. There's something on the dock that looks like this:Sometimes I get too curious, but I listened to that voice in the very far away place in my head telling me not to go there. Then we saw two things in the pool, one floating, one on the bottom, that looked like this:But, upon further examination, I found that they were just two workgloves that blew into the pool.

On a more realistic note, Keeper and I met our very first Chickasaw snake this afternoon. She loves to play in the tall grass after sitting in the river, so I let her lead me toward that end of the dock. She suddenly became very interested in something at the edge of the grass, and as she pushed her nose toward it, a snake came out and lunged at Keeper. I was happily about 15 feet away (yay for training leashes). For the next minute or so, the dog wavered between being very scared at what had transpired to wanting to go back in order to redeem her pride. My guess is that we'll be making many more tense explorations at the edge of the grass.

Darn Dog

My relationship with Keeper (the dog) has been strained lately. Yesterday I took her for a pee after lunch. She caught sight of the tug boat that was moving very slowly in the river, and stayed completely fixated on it for at least 20 minutes. I kept trying to pull her back towards her run, but she would have no part of it. Finally I decided that getting back to work was more important that letting her watch this tug boat, so I picked her up in my arms and carried her back. Then she saw Jeremy and wanted to run to him, so I let her off her leash. After she was done licking Jeremy, she took off into the field and refused to come back. She's still trying to pretend like she doesn't know her name. So, fine. I went inside and pretended like I didn't care if the alligator got her. She came back eventually. And I will not carry her back home again after the comments I have received of, "Now, are you training the dog, or is she training you??"

Community Meeting

Tonight is Community Meeting. If it's anything like last week's meeting, I'm really looking forward to it. I made virgin pina coladas, Bill set up the beach umbrellas and made a fire, and we all sat around for an hour or so. We even rummaged through the function-ware and used those nice water glasses =)

Poor little ant

I learned how to needle-gun, air-chisel and wire-wheel yesterday! Well, not really wire-wheel; I'm scared of it since I saw that episode on Season 2 of 24. Yesterday I needle-gunned 2 ants, 1 beetle, and a small portion of the bow. Today I needle-gunned one spider and a larger (but still pretty small) portion of the bow. It wasn't so bad, except after the 10:00am break when it got really, really hot up there. The coveralls were pointless after that, since the sweat that started at the filth on my face and neck carried the filth into protected areas. I got much dirtier today, which was mostly Tom's fault because he was wire-wheeling about 3 inches from my face and creating a wind tunnel that swept right past me. I did not like the color of the stuff that came out of my nose and ears after (alright, alright, yes I did).

Yesterday we found out the reason why cabin 222 keeps flooding - the faucet across the hall was left on, probably for a couple of days. Mainly due to the ever-increasing nasty smell of wet dog, we tore out the carpet and lineoleum, then busted up the concrete and rust on top of the steel (or what is left of the steel). We hauled out buckets and dumped them onto the dock with the piles of concrete that were here before we arrived.

Big Ole Dude (Bob, now in Agriculture at the IOC )

As I was slowly packing away some stuff that I do not necessarily use (that's why its still in my old room 302) that I will carry home (one weekend) I glanced over to Bob's old cabin and realized that his room actually did have a floor!!! Better than that the room actually looked clean and his carpet was better than mine! If you had seen Bob's room the way he usually kept it, it would remind you of 'Sanford & Son' junkyard/salvage with maybe a 'runaway' Maringa tree growing from one of the cracks in paraphenalia laying around the room...Maybe from the odor eater sole of an old shoe.

Yep, I was amazed...But now I wonder if Bob cleans up that good?

Well on top of the B-Deck update below I would like to say that my new cabin (405) only faintly smells like an armpit now after throwing out the old mattresses and chair! And of course I have my own airfreshener that I brought from my old cabin.

You guessed it, the scent is WATERMELON! Surprised?

Tyronebcookin

UPDATE

B-Deck smells like wet socks.

Spiders and ants...

I thoroughly believe that some of you ladies (and men) that left this ship may not be able to 'hack' it if you stayed. This ship is being overrun by ants and spiders galore...Black, red, brown, & see thru ones. Yes, those colors in both species.

Tonight as I was coming back from a 'coffee' break at Moka's (something or another) a local (Saraland, about 10 minutes away by car) place that is quite nice, free wireless (which for some reason my laptop picks it up, and says its connected but doesn't work) and plugs for your worn out battery that never lasts as long as it should. And, in addition to that...It plays the Christian music station. Oh yeah, as I was saying...After coming back from there I also noticed an inch long bug or two that we (me and my home folks in Hunstville) call water roaches.

Out by the gate if you are walking anywhere (or running) we have deer flies that circle your head and touch down on you every so often, if you are unfortunate to stop for a few seconds (like trying to come back in the gate but the old crusty lock is taking to long) you are sure to get bit. And then you get this big quarter size whelp on your skin. Not pretty. If you try to slap them, wear bug spray, or run away it just makes them more aggressive. Its like a couple of Blackhawk Helicopters coming to do some serious damage to you on a secret ops mission.

Lately I have been spending a lot of time with Joyce Meyers (have a few of her tapes I found on board, thank you somebody!) and reading a little Max Lucado and Donald Miller. I occasionally sneak a Bon Appetit magazine or a chapter or two of Larousse Gastronomique in there just for culinary balance...And of course there is my Bible reading which comes quite frequently while checking the validity of these 'spiritual' books I am reading and tapes I am listening too...Hey! Don't take for granted they are telling you the truth, research it and know what you believe.

Oops, Ok let me stop getting on my soapbox. That's reserved for my own website (laughing to myself).

Tom is enjoying his brother here visiting.

The dog, Keeper, is just as playful as it has been...I think if it ever really does bite me severely I am just going to bite it back just as hard (literally). I don't know about turning the other cheek when its comes to this dog bite thing...I think that was just for humans.

I would tell you what we have been eating here on board, but I don't want you to become jealous or envious so just let your imagination run away with itself (within budget of course!).

Really though, its the people who cook when I am not working that really put out some good food. Maria Elena, Kathy, I think that's it right now...Lillian did some Papoosa's one night but I was gone (probably reading at Barnes & Noble) man was I disappointed I missed that! Kathy has done some excellent food, great quiches one night (everyone was surprised I actually came to sit down and eat with them, something I rarely do when cooking myself). And Maria Elena of course has fixed some great meals including a breakfast not long ago. If I was going to eat breakfast (which I hardly ever) I would like to eat like Maria Elena does, beans, tortillas, cheeses, actually throw in a few eggs some salsa and cook me some Carne Asada too because I want it all...Big ole mansize portions. Anyway...

Work and duty rotations carry on...Jamie's family will be visiting him this week and there have been some new developments just recently with Bill. So keep us all in prayer please.

Jeremy and Katie, well nobody has seen them for days...hahaha. But I am sure they are fine...oh, sorry thats not true, Jeremy just came thru on night patrol. All's well.

Off to bed for me...5am comes early.

tyronebcookin

Entertainment Is Where You Find It

I like the loud pops and creaks and crashes that come from our warehouse whenever there's a light breeze. Or a light breeze in the next county. Or a large insect flying anywhere within about a quarter mile.

There's a nice thunderstorm coming through right now, and it's brought things down to about 85 or so, according to the aft deck thermometer. Katie thinks it's hot. I say, down from this afternoon's heat index of 105 or so, it's okay by me.

Of course, as soon as our distinguished visitors leave again tomorrow, the A/C goes off again. On Sunday it was 103 on the pantry thermometer, and the pantry was cooler than the dining room. Much more of this and i'll be standing watch the way two certain motormen did once, a few outreaches back...'nuff said.

We're all officially certified Caribbean Mercy deckhands now that everyone's gone through the deck orientation. There was an engine room orientation as well, with about twenty-five different things to check (once an hour, every hour, all night), but the main actions on our part in any given situation, as best we can tell, consist of two steps:

1) Silence the alarm
2) Call Ciaran's cell phone in Texas.

Check back here in a few weeks. There ought to be some interesting stories out of that.

I'm first?!

I am surprised that I am the first one that is going to kick this bloggin' thing off...But don' worry 'bout a ting mon! I'll giv'it to ya straight...

Typical day (for now) is I get up about 4:45am and get ready to kick'it to the YMCA. They have been lettin' us Mercy Shippers come there for free for awhile now...Thank YOU! Kathy will also get up and we amble out to the Hoopty (my car) and get started on our way into downtown Mobile. The one thing I should tell you is we have this locked gate we have to open and close when we come in or go out...And its aggravating gettin' eatin' alive by bugs why you are doing this. The lock is not all that great either.

After a big workout, shower, and change of clothes its back to the ship to eat breakfast (or in my case read and check email) then in the 'lounge' for devo's and today's work schedule.

Since I am cooking for this 'left behind' crew I am usually doing just that, preparing for lunch and dinner. Kinda like a personal chef for 8 or 9 people ( I think there are twelve now until Ciaran and his family leave). That also includes cleaning, shopping, tying up loose ends from shutting down the big coolers and freezer. Occasional 'ship rounds' as called for 3 or 4 times a day when on 'caretaker' rotation, which happens about every 3 to 4 days...And then you are basically on call 24 hours and can not leave the ship. Sometimes I help with other projects...Just depends on what it is and how much time I have.

The dog we have here named Keeper wants to play one minute and bite me the next, so the jury is still out on that one...I think it's schizophrenic or has multiple personalities.

I like it that our 'Direct TV' has the Food Network. That's riiiiiight baby!!! That's what I am talking about!!! Otherwise I would have to spend what little time I have left before going to bed at night to think about whats for dinner tomorrow! Hahaha

tyronebcookin

Welcome To...

the everyday life of the caretaker crew on the Caribbean Mercy.