Wheelbarrow Entrepreneurs in Monrovia

Going to the market is definitely an experience...but the wheelbarrow business is here to stay!

I have been told that you can actually rent a wheelbarrow to put your goods on to sell for a day AND I just assumed each person owned their own.  In addition to that, I have heard recently that they even had a union you can join?!?

I leave you with a few pictures and a link to the photos in case you would like to see them all!

Click to see all the pictures HERE!

The Culinary Challenge Has Begun!

Dear Crew,

The Culinary Challenge has officially begun! The three teams/participants entered are:

- Tatyana Silva

- Mark and Peggy Shrime

- Josh Becker and Peter Fullerton

These contestants, using ingredients available onboard, will create a full meal (main entrée, side dish, and vegetable) and submit it for tasting and judgment on Saturday, April 26th in the Dining Room at 13:00 (1pm).

The judging panel will be decided this week but all crew is invited to come to join in the fun!

The judges will decide the top two entrants who will then move on to assisting the cooking teams in preparing their meal for the entire crew. This will happen back to back on Saturday, May 10th, and Sunday, May 11th (this is the Saturday and Sunday of the 4 day ships holiday). You, as a crew, will then be able to judge for your favorite of the two meals to determine the ultimate champion by voting on the AFM Menu blog that is accessible from the Intranet Main Page. You will have until Monday night to vote. The winner will be announced Tuesday morning at the 07:45 Community Prayer and Communication Meeting.

Please feel free to email or call me if you have any questions.

Blessings,

Peter

Potatoes, what it takes...

Freddie brings up usually at least 100 kilos (220 pounds) of potato for 400 plus people.

Hand-picked over by several galley staff. Rinsed. Then the potatoes are machine washed. Yes that's right, machine washed. (no not the potato peeler, we do have an automatic one of those which we may discuss in another post)

Then picked over again. Rotten spots cut off, eyes gouged out, panned up in steamer pans, and then baked. It takes at least an hour maybe more to bake them all. The steamer pans are used so the air circulates more fully when baking the potatoes.

Can you guess which kind of machine we use to clean hundreds of kilos/pounds of potato in one afternoon in order to make a lovely dinner? (leave an answer by commenting)

Sweetness

I have fallen head over heels in love with this sweet 6-year-old boy, Garpueh. When he first came to the ship he barely said a word. I was his nurse for 4 shifts and spent as much time as I could with him. We colored while he was still on bed rest then progressed to playing on the floor with blocks. From the first day, I met Garpueh I felt like he needed a little extra love. It is so fun to see him get more talkative and playful as he recovers from his surgery.

He is on B ward where is Auntie who heard about Mercy Ships, has brought him through the whole process from screening to surgery. She faithfully sleeps under his bed on a mattress and even helps feed one of the patients who could not feed herself.

Both of Garpueh's feet were burnt in a fire when he was a baby. He had a contracture release with a skin graft done. Now Garpueh is scooting around the wards on his pint-size little crutches.

Today I was working on A-Ward and the door opened and little Garpueh came crutching in and he said: " I miss you so I come and sit with you." So Garpueh sat on one of the beds near the nursing station and he colored and I charted. He is just so darn cute I have to give him a ton of kisses.

Some Assembly Required...(hint, hint, Katy)

This Sunday we will have another go at Semi-Vegetarian Night.

What's a semi?  It's when you can eat the whole meal without actually choosing meat because it's an option to go with the rest of the meal. So you can still have a wonderful dinner without relenting to your carnivorous side. (but still, have that option).

Last Semi-Vegetarian Night we had a little confusion. Yes, the potatoes were baked in the oven, but no, I did not mean for them to be peeled. But sometimes it's too late when a mistake is realized, and apparently, I didn't use the English term 'jacket potatoes' otherwise they may have understood me quicker. But no worries...

The real confusion came at assembly.

Apparently, some people came thru the line oblivious to the fact that you should ASSEMBLE, that's right 'build' your potato up with toppings making a wonderful mountain of a meal, loaded baked potato style!!! And after seeing several other people's plates resembling a loaded baked potato realized what they were missing. But it was too late.

So this Sunday we will be having the Mashed Potato Bar with toppings (sorry no martini glass supplied), and side dishes of mixed vegetables and lentils cooked by our very own on-site vegetarian Michal. So just remember...

Some Assembly Required.