Waiting

As some of you may know the Africa Mercy has postponed its departure for Benin, West Africa. We were scheduled to sail for Benin on August 15th. Due to issues with our propeller as well as monitoring the ebola situation we are still in the Canary Islands. Please be in prayer for our leaders and crew as they seek the best next step. I have full confidence in the leaders God has put in place here and have no doubt they will make a wise decision. I am very thankful for the emphasis they place on the crew safety. 

Here is part of an article written recently in Christianity today:

"Mercy Ships, which operates the Africa Mercy hospital ship, announced that the Africa Mercy was due to sail for the port of Cotonou, Benin, for its 10-month field service last week, but has delayed its departure pending further assessment due to the virulence of the outbreak in neighboring Nigeria. In April, Mercy Ships made the difficult decision to cancel the hospital ship’s planned deployment to Guinea, where the Ebola outbreak began last December.

“Currently docked in the Canary Islands, following the vessel’s annual maintenance phase, the 16,500-ton Mercy Ship is designed to deploy specialized surgical expertise and educational support. It is unequipped to treat viral epidemics,” according to the charity’s president and founder Don Stephens.

“Multi-bed wards and limited isolation facilities, close proximity to crew accommodation and dining for families and children are but a few restraints,” Stephens said. “We also hire 200 day crew in each port as part of our training and capacity building for Africa.”

“Africa is and remains our priority, but crew safety drives every decision,” he emphasized. “We request prayer as we consider all options to manage the risk, including deployment to other unaffected nations.” This ship’s crew of 400 represents 40 nations, with up to 60 children onboard at any time.

In additional remarks to CT, Stephens said, “Many early symptoms of Ebola are similar to malaria and other diseases. During our more than 20 years of involvement directly within Africa, this type of contagious situation is unprecedented, in my recollection.”

You can see the rest of the article here.

There are also two more:

Texas Link

NBC

I will keep you updated as I have more information. Please, please pray for the people as Africa as well as for our crew and leaders!