Continuation of June Newsletter - June 27th

We got very busy getting things ready to sail and didn’t have time to finish the June newsletter until today. We sailed all day yesterday from Puerto Castilla, Honduras and arrived here in Cozumel, Mexico this morning. We are happy and blessed to have cleared our first port with the new security regulations! We will stay here until Friday, July 9th. The plan while we are here is to have all the crew get 3 days off (most of you will have a long weekend with 3 days off!) In order for all of our crew to get off we must rotate the shifts…so those of us who usually work during the week and are off (at least for the most part) on weekends… we fill in for the crew that doesn’t! This includes the deck and engineering crew which only some of the crew is trained to fill in! Also, the galley, housekeeping and dining room staff! Another part of the challenge is that we also have added duties as security patrol for a few days before we leave to sail from a foreign port. We (Rob and I) plan to get away from the ship overnight to the other side of the island, maybe tomorrow night! We’ll see! Basically, we are trying to get away from our duties for just a bit which seem to follow you 24/7 when you live and work on a ship!

Sailing to Cozumel, Mexico 

Denise has been working very hard on our website, www.mercywatch.com, we try to load new pictures at least weekly. Sometimes this is not possible, not because we don’t try to, but because with storm fronts in New Orleans, LA where our switch is we can not get a good connection so we can’t upload the information. So if you happen to visit the website and notice that our usual Sunday night update hasn’t taken place, try checking back on Monday because we’ll get the information out there as soon as possible.

Denise at the office 

Richardo reminded us of the story in the Bible of the woman who was caught in the act of adultery and how the towns people had led her out to be stoned and how Jesus told them that those without sin to cast the first stone. How one by one they all dropped their stones and left. Eventually she was left alone with Jesus who asked her where her accusers where. Jesus did not accuse her and admonished her to go and sin no more. We have seen this same story unfold before us with Esmerelda, she was not caring for her children and her own parents, brother and family lived within 100 feet of the “Chicken Coop” where the five children lived, yet would have nothing to do with her or her children. The children were not cared for, she seemed in a helpless situation, depressed and having little or no ability to change her situation.

Esmeralda and her family at the "chicken coop" house, after the crew cleaned up the kids and the house. 

Now several weeks later, many prayers later, her children are being cared for by her, she has repented of her sins and previous lifestyle. Her family has reunited with her. Mercy Ships CDS staff and crew have built her a new home, the crew has taken a collection of clothes, personal hygiene items, new furniture, a new propane stove to help equip her new home. They have taken new beds and made new curtains for the windows. The Lord has lifted her and her family up out of the pit of depression and damnation she had been in. She has connected with a local church and Pastor Nahum is looking after her and her family to ensure their continued pastoral care. We will be excited to visit them upon our return in September to share in the changed lives we will surely see. Praises be to God!!

You are a part of this, each of you, our prayer warriors and faithful supporters. Thank you for continuously interceding on behalf of us and on behalf of this ministry. We know the miracles we see and experiences we have, would not, could not, happen without continued fervent prayer. Thank you!!

Esmeralda's new house (the house the crew built) and some of our crew members who came for the dedication of the house. 

We hope you are enjoying looking at the website and all the pictures! We think it is important to share these with you … so you can see what God is doing through you! We pray for you and think of you often, as we close this newsletter our constant prayer for you is this... “That your life will be as wonderful as it was in the mind of God the day He made you!”

God’s blessings,
Rob and Denise

Rob in his office and Blake, our 4th engineer.