Albert the Baker

From time to time Albert (a retired baker from Germany) comes to the ship -  the Anastasis but now the on the Africa Mercy - to grace us with his presence for about 3 months at a time.  No, I am not making fun.  He can put out crescents, rolls, bread, specialty baked items like nobody's business...he's THE MAN!

The last time he left he really had a passion to have some equipment items he deemed necessary for our small bakery on board.  So he directly went home, raised the money, bought the equipment...and had it delivered to the Dutch office before we even knew what was going on!!!

And we're not talking about a couple of pizza cutters, we're talking about thousands of Euros in money and hundreds of kilos in weight.

[Click picture to make larger]

This mixer is specifically made for mixing dough.  Our other mixer was moved further down and has multiple attachments to do a myriad of other things...So now it is nice to be able to use the older mixer for everyday bulk prep & use in the kitchen without 'bumping' heads with the baker. 

This is a semi-automatic bun roller.  You slide a weight of dough in the machine on one of the 'trays' you see hanging on the side of the machine.  You pull the big handle down for it to cut the dough into equal proportions.  Then you slide over another lever to lock it into gear,

and pull another for it to start gyrating...It's kind of like doing the twist.  Mechanically it gyrates/vibrates (in a circular pattern) the 'tray' under the cut dough until they form separate balls trapped within the cutter.  Stop the machine lift the big handle and pull out the tray for your precise made dough balls for rolls or small breads.

Thanks, Albert!  And all who contributed to these purchases...They are both installed and ready for action when you come back to visit us!  But don't worry the current baker is using them now...the only dust they'll collect is from the flour.

Perfection

In Liberia, there are not a whole lot of options for weekend get-a-ways. One of the Mercy Ships' favorites is Robert's Port. It is about a 3-hour drive and is a beautiful beach. Up until a couple of months ago, camping was the only lodging there, and anyone who knows me would just laugh at me even considering sleeping in a tent as fun. But now there are these luxurious "tents" that are built on a wood platform. The tent I stayed in had 3 double beds, a fridge, a fan, light, and 2 big comfy chairs, hardly camping... Praise Jesus.

It sounds quite easy, jumping in a car and driving 3 hours to stay right on the beach, but in Liberia, the transportation can be horrible. I had been keeping my ears open when each group would come home from a Robert's Port trip to find a reliable taxi and Abu and his Mazda Minivan kept coming up. So I called him and he came to pick up the 6 of us girls. Usually, at least one disaster happens on a trip in Liberia, but everything went wonderfully as planned.

We played in the clean, beautiful ocean, walked on the beach, laid out in the sun, took naps, body boarded some perfect waves, ate some delicious food, and enjoyed each other's company. The group of girls included my dear friend Becky, actually, the trip was sort of Becky's goodbye party. She will leave in 10 days so it was precious to spend the weekend with her.

This weekend had the potential to turn out disastrous but was actually quite perfect.

I'm in

I find myself saying the phrase "do not be afraid" frequently. I tell my patients in recovery who are just waking up from anesthesia and are feeling weird and fearful, "do not be afraid." When I am starting an IV or changing a bandage and I see my patients' anxiety level raising and the squirming increases, I tell them "do not be afraid". When someone asks me "What are you and Tyrone doing when you leave the ship?" and my only answer is "I don't know." My pulse starts racing and I tell myself "do not be afraid".

I am reading "The Shack" by William Young and one of the main things I have gotten out of it is that God does not want us to live in the future in worry and fear, He wants us to enjoy the present with Him. He wants us to shut down the lie that we are alone and that He will leave us. He wants us to live in the joy of a relationship with Him. I believe it. I'm in.

John 14:25-27 (the message)

^{25 -27} "I'm telling you these things while I'm still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I'm leaving you well and whole. That's my parting gift to you. Peace. I don't leave you the way you're used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft, alone. So don't be upset. Don't be distraught."

Practicing the Presence of People

Subtitle:  How we learn to love

(a book review by Tyrone)  I just finished reading this book.

Mike Mason, being highly motivated by Brother Lawrence's book The Practice of the Presence of God, felt knowing how to practice the presence of people should go 'hand-in-hand' with knowing God.

Here is the original book description:  In the deepest part of our hearts and souls is the desire to love well. Yet in our struggle to do so, we learn that, as Mike Mason puts it, "We are not born with love; it is something we must learn." Now, in Practicing the Presence of People, he helps us launch that learning process. Mason points the way to fresh knowledge and fresh experience, showing how we can discover new things about those we love, understand them from the inside out, tenderly identify with their weaknesses, and celebrate that they too were lovingly made by the hand of God.

I think Mike makes some mistakes and gets a little personally creative with his thoughts about God and scripture, but I believe the majority of the book endorses, encourages, and pushes us towards realizing that if we can never love our neighbor/'brother' who we can see, how can we love God who we can't see?

It gives some excellent examples and writing for what it means to Mike to really take stock in people (who are the church, not the building) and really test our love and limitations with these people.

Jesus himself continues all thru the new testament telling us that if we serve or love all kinds of people we are doing it for him. Relationship(s) is a key element in the Bible whether it be between us and our neighbor or God and his people.

There were parts of the book I personally did not agree with but overall thought the book was very successful at helping us see the importance of people and our relationships, and how it effects our lives and relationship with God.

The third H

My dear friend Bendu was back on the ward earlier this week. She came to have her eyelid and forehead worked on by Dr. Gary. I went in to see Bendu as she was leaving and she was very upset. She eventually told me " I don't understand. Everyone is talking about my arm, but my face is the problem. I am young and with this problem (her facial burns) no man will marry me." She went on to say that the nurses and Dr.s have not mentioned any plan of surgery on her face. I went into the OR to talk to Dr. Tertius and he said that we have to wait at least 1 year to do surgery or it will not take due to all the scarring.

This keeps running through my mind over and over. There is nothing I can do for Bendu except pray. Mercy Ship's motto is Hope and Healing. Those who have been here for a while think they should add another H for heartache. Unfortunately not everyone's story ends up with a happy ending. Sometimes it is just an ending and all we can do is pray that joy will come later, maybe that is better than a happy ending.

So much...

I have so much to say that I feel like I could have explosive diarrhea of the mouth. I would love for all my thoughts to come out eloquently, but that's just not me.

Every time I walk into D ward Cecilia's mom lights up and gives me a great big hug. Cecilia had a tumor under her right eye that was causing her eye to bulge out and would have eventually blinded her. She is grateful to me because I started an IV on Cecelia and took care of her after surgery, Cecilia (age 5), on the other hand, holds a bit of resentment of the pain I caused her. But, her mother knows that those things that caused pain needed to be done in order for the problem to be resolved. I have been thinking about this a lot lately. I have been thinking this is how God works in our lives. We have an area that is causing us pain but are not able to see that enduring a little more pain will lead to a full recovery in the long term.

Over the past couple of months, I have been on the ward nurse activities team. In June we did Coffee night in the Queen's lounge. We made coffee, had nice music playing, yummy treats, and just had a fun time of fellowship with the ward nurses. In July we did a brunch in the dining room. It was just so fun to hang out with nurses and organize something for these hard-working ladies and 2 gentlemen.

Yesterday, I went to my friend Nalea's house for a graduation party for her nephew. It was very fun and interesting. It was by no means the cookie-cutter Mercy Ships activity. We ate with her family and chatted with her and her guests. They did some traditional dances and what I liked was that it was not for us the white people, they did it because that is what they do when they are celebrating. Of course, we were the odd ones out and sort of a novelty but it didn't matter, they invited us to be a part of their celebration.

So much to be grateful for.

Judged by a meal...( A Rant )

I was talking on the phone to a friend recently who is in multiple facets of the foodservice business. One thing we have had in common in the past (many times) is the frustration and anger of being judged negatively by your 'bosses' personal taste buds, even though everyone else's taste buds are being satisfied every day.

Here's the scenario:  You have a boss that eats some of your food and because he personally doesn't like the meal he feels like your 'heart' was not in the meal.  But later your boss eats a meal that he really loves (you know the standard 'meat & potato' meal with no creativity) and he thinks you are doing 'better'.  But really that was the least amount of work and thought you ever put into a meal, actually, it almost cooked itself.

It's really hard to be judged according to someone else's taste buds when their taste buds are inexperienced and offended at anything different.  My friend is in a similar situation to me.  He cooks by menu's he's developed to help accommodate some international 'taste' so it's quite easy to 'offend' the 'meat & potato' mouth.  Especially when the 'meat & potato' mouth accuses you of not putting your 'heart' into your job.  Frustrating.  Wouldn't the boss like to know it took 'zilch' effort to cook the meal he liked the best?

I had a similar experience in the past...cooking a certain lunch crowd I pulled out the creativity and went a little 'Asian' style with some grilled chicken salads.  Later a 'colleague' commented that the interim boss -a temporary boss- asked them (the colleague), if I was 'ok' or doing well because they felt like something was wrong with me AND THAT'S why my lunch chicken salad was not what he liked or expected (not the BIG BOSS that arranged the lunch who I have cooked for over & over again -- and they know and like my 'style').  He thought I made a poor lunch and questioned whether I did it on purpose because I didn't like my job.  Does he not realize that everyone else doesn't enjoy the boring food he likes?  Or even comes from the same country or cultural background?
 
Hello, the lunch was not for him or arranged by him.  He was just a guest of the bigger boss.
I hate it when people judge our performance or 'welfare' based off of their BLAND NON-CREATIVE taste buds...Ah, but that was in the past, in a land far away...but it does really make me MAD for my friend because I recognize the 'mind-set' he is dealing with.

SORRY, my friend, I feel your pain and It makes me just as mad knowing you have to deal with it!
(End Tyrone's personal rant, sympathy, & empathy for a fellow Epicurean)

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Kids say the FUNNIEST things!

My mother writes about my niece & nephew (Noah is 8)...

They are studying the presidents, and we talked about them when Noah and Katy were here last night. Noah is impressed with little quotes and sayings, and he told me that Kennedy said,

"Ask not what your country can do for you!  Ask if you can do one for your country!"

I asked them which president left the White House in disgrace, and they didn't know, so I told them it was Nixon, and then they asked me what he did (to bring disgrace on himself)  and I told them that Nixon was involved with a bad thing that folks call "Watergate".

Noah said: "Oh!.......I thought he was involved with POLITICS!"

The Proof is in the Picture...

Thirst

I have been working in the Recovery Room for the past 3 weeks and I really love it. Although, I must admit I do miss the relationships that I have with the patients in the ward. I truly believe I have the best of both worlds by switching back and forth from the recovery room to the ward.

I am really happy, well actually I think I can accurately use the word joyful to describe where I am at right now. I think the reason why I finally have this joy and the undertones of being miserable are gone, is because of the time I have been spending reading the Bible. I have known forever that reading God's word is important but I did not know that it would quench my thirst. I did not know that it would allow me to rest easy, as the Liberians say.

When a patient wakes up from surgery the first thing they say is "I want drink". See, they have not been allowed to drink anything since midnight the night before and by the time they waited most of the day to go to the OR and then they finally woke up after their surgery they are truly parched. This is a huge picture of my life right now. I have been parched, but no more I know the keeper of the well, and I will thirst no more.

Frozen Moldy Tortillas

The following pictures are of the Corn Tortillas that were sent on the frozen container - I just recently started using them.  After having them pulled from the freezer and defrosted for half a day I discovered that even though they were frozen there were ADVANCED cases of MOLD on them and I threw at least half of the case away in the trash/rubbish.  I have not looked at the other cases yet but we bought both corn and flour.

Yes, it's a little scary to know the mold was advancing on the tortillas sometime before they arrived for us...especially since that doesn't happen unless they have been thawed out and froze again.

If you try to fry these corn tortillas they will probably kill the mold culture and be safe to eat, BUT the mold still makes dark spots on the chips when frying them.

Another good way to tell mold if you can't see it well is by smelling the product.  Mold smells, and it smells like no corn tortilla you ever sniffed or any other food for that matter.

It's really going to be a shame if the rest are that way...another unplanned trip to the 'deep freeze' tomorrow.  Oh, what Joy!

So....

First of all, let me just say Tyrone got his first pedicure and he loved it.... enough said.

I feel like a lot is going through my head right now but I don't have any actual stories per se. This past weekend has been a ships 4 day holiday and has been such a time of relaxation and fun.

On Friday I went out to the orphanage for a sleepover but it turned into a layover due to the nonexistent sleep. Sleeping in a small room with no fan with 11 people and 1 small window that is covered by fabric. It was incredibly hot and at one point I felt something creepy, crawly on my face. We made dinner, sang songs, and just hung out. I love those girls. They are so fun and now I feel like we are getting to know their deeper side or sillier side depending on how you look at it.

Today I went down to the ward to see little Yeme and she was so sad. It just breaks my heart to see the normally smiley girl be so sad. I think she is sad because she misses her family and she said her tummy is upset. But I think maybe it was the age-old "my tummy hurts" but actually there is something else going on. Her friends in the next 2 beds were moved over to A ward and I think the ache of missing her family has kicked in. We were asking her a little more about how she got here and she said that her mother sent her with her older sister to the border and she got separated from her sister but she met up with John (a guy who works in Guinea and helps patients get to the ship) who brought her to the ship. She said she was so scared because she did not know John and he was speaking French to her but she does not know French well and she said she didn't even really know where she was going, her mom just told her to go and some Dr. would help her. I patted her head and stroked her arm and she laid there with tears streaming down her face.

As I sat at Yeme's bed I could not help but sob for this little one. There is nothing I can do for her. I can't take away her fear, loneliness, or pain. All I can do is just pray that the Lord does.

International Cuisine, Everyday

With over 30 nations represented on board there is a chance that you can experience international cuisine everyday.  We have a crew galley that is open and has equipment for multiple cooking stations and cleaning up.  During certain times of the day or week you can go in here and find many different people cooking their own 'home' comfort foods or 'favorites' from any cooking style.

Last night I was showing a lady from Ghana and Jamaica how I make bread, and bread rolls fresh from yeast, flour, salt, oil, and a little sugar.  (kind of like a home demonstration).  During this time they were also cooking their own dinner.  No, this does not offend me in the least.  I encourage it so people can be more independent of the ships galley and maybe have a better appreciation of what we do for 400 everyday.

[As a side note I have found that people who like to cook for themselves from time to time do not usually complain about the food on the ship...mostly its those who are confined to eating the ships menu everyday because they don't or are unwilling willing to cook for themselves from time to time who complain the most...or maybe they just don't like cleaning up after themselves or have time to do itl.]

Also the guys from Nepal (our security Gurkhas) were cooking at the same time.  Let me tell you, these guys are nice...yes sir, no sir, yes chef, good evening chef...it goes on and on.  They treat most everyone on the ship with much respect and are always ready to give a helping hand.  Very humble in their demeanor.  But if there is an emergency, alert, or security issue...Yes, it would be in your best interest to NOT find out what they are capable of.

As I came back after the second rise of the dough (which were formed into rolls after the first rise) my wife and I were offered Curried Chicken (Curry was a Jamaican blend and it was cooked with coconut milk) & fried Plantains by Joyce from Jamaica.  And she was in collaboration (preparing food and rice to share) with Comfort from Ghana and she offered us Jasmine Rice with home made Shito.  During this time we were offered a stew of sorts (I don't know any Nepalese) from Ganesh & Chitro from Nepal.  The stew was like a Brunswick Stew (minus the meat) mixed with some Indian & Thai (?) spices (best I know how to describe it not necessarily what it was)...Wow!  Although it was spicy hot, it was VERY flavorful.  I could feel the beads of sweat literally popping up on my forehead as I ate more.

Several groups actually get together no matter how big or small and do certain country/culture foods from time to time.  You just need to know when to be 'hanging out' in the vicinity of getting fed.  Timing is everything.  And if you have mastered that 'hungry look' then you should apply it here.  The invitation will usually materialize soon after!