In London, every year the Lord Mayor of London has a HUGE parade and it is quite an event! The parade participants were lined for over 3 miles and the parade route is just under 1.5 miles! Our friends in the UK know exactly what this is!
| Mercy Watch |  |
| Thoughts from Liberia Rob and Denise Miller |
Hello Friends,
How is it that the month of October has gone by so quickly. Sometimes it amazes us, when we realize it is time to send out another monthly newsletter that yet another month has passed. I wonder if we didn’t have this reminder, if we’d be as aware of the passing of the time, or if many months would go by before we realized we had not sent out any letters.
So, as we’ve been reminded of this passing, let us tell you a little of what has been happening in the past month. I (Rob) have been described as a “collector” of books and not a “reader”. Often times I’ll come across a book that captures my attention for one reason or another and I purchase the book, with intentions of reading it. 
Before I know it, much time has passed by and I’ve not completed reading the book, although I may have started it or scanned it many times. Sometimes, this is because the author may be challenging me in an area I’m not ready to deal with, or other events seem to require my attention more. Recently, I’ve been challenged to read a series of books by an author I’ve not previously been familiar with, his name is Stu Weber, and the book which got my attention recently is titled Infinite Impact. I must confess, sometimes when selecting a book, I ask, what experience does this author have in this area? What experience does he have to speak concerning this subject? How can I relate to what he is saying in my life? And sometimes it may just be I don’t really like the author’s writing style even though the subject matter is valid and I could learn from it. I tend to like reading from authors who tell me a story and relate their story to biblical truths. (Sounds like Jesus’ parables :^)) So I was pleasantly surprised to find that Stu Weber has all of these qualities I was looking for. If you’d like to read the first chapter of this book you may do so at http://files.tyndale.com/thpdata/FirstChapters/978-0-8423-7441-5.pdf
In our last newsletter we spoke some of Christian and his father, Anthony. This month they have been back several times for follow-up, dressing changes and physical therapy on Christian’s foot. 
He is healing wonderfully. We and the nursing staff that cares for Christian are so pleased with Anthony who so lovingly encourages Christian to do the painful exercises and also does daily massage on Christian’s foot to help it heal. Anthony asked that we take several pictures as he is going home this weekend to visit with his family, and to harvest the rice that he grows. Christian will stay here in Monrovia with his Uncle and await his father’s return. We enjoyed a meal together this past week after Christian had come for one of his appointments. It is a privilege to be able to become friends with Christian and his father, and we look forward to Anthony’s return so we can hear about the harvest and how the remainder of his family is doing. The picture above is Christian in the dining room with us. We surprised him with a new outfit and he was so happy to wear it when he came to eat lunch with us. The photo on the right is Christian getting his bandages changed. (One of the nurses shared this picture with us) You can see the upper part of his leg where the skin was taken to use for grafting the top of his right foot. 
You can also see that he has 5 toes now on his right foot! Praise the Lord!
Several Saturdays ago we were able to visit one of the orphanages locally and spend some time with the children. I (Rob) was able to talk with some of the older boys at length and learn more about them as they shared their stories with me. I’m humbled by the degree of suffering these young men have endured, and touched by their gentle spirit. It wasn’t until after I’d answered some of their questions about my childhood, and challenges growing up, that they shared their stories with me. I felt I knew a little about having a turbulent childhood, but quickly realized how truly blessed mine was. The picture to the right is of Tommy, one of these older boys, showing the window in the floor of the bridge on the Africa Mercy to Peter, one of the younger boys at the orphanage. The children and the staff of the orphanage came to visit the ship last weekend. The picture on the left is of the children and the staff.
This past Sunday, Denise was privileged to preach at church, and had been asked by the Pastor to bring a message which would encourage and challenge the woman of our congregation. She did an excellent job, as she recounted God’s early call on her life and how she has lived out that call, as a young woman, daughter, sister, wife, mother, grand-mother, friend, and business-woman. She shared of her heart and her successes and challenges. She spoke of submission and provided some insight for the women as to how her submission was unto the Lord. Additionally, she spoke of providing a Christian witness through obedience to God and how through this witness over a period of seven years brought her unbelieving husband to true faith in the Lord. (Rob snapped this picture as we were finishing the song prior to the preaching.)
Denise is going through a little transition period in her job. She has completed the two year commitment in Reception and is transferring into the Staff Development department, tomorrow. She is excited about the planning that is ongoing in Staff Development and her new role within this team.
The crew has just passed our external audit for our Lloyd’s Surveyor in the areas of International Safety Management (ISM) and International Ships Port and Facility Security (ISPS). We have a system in place to adhere to the international policies governing the Safety and Security of our ship and that there is an atmosphere aboard that fosters the understanding and utilization of these systems by our crew. This is quite an accomplishment, considering the frequent rotation of our crew. The surveyor engaged the crew randomly asking questions concerning their understanding of the ISM and ISPS codes, and their authority and responsibilities under these codes. This is surely another blessing from God and an outpouring of His amazing wisdom and unity. Only God could bring together a crew of over 350 people from all over the world (about 40 nations on board currently) and just a 10th of them experienced or trained in the operations of ships prior to their time with Mercy Ships and have a Lloyd’s Surveyor leave impressed with the crew’s knowledge of these essential systems!
Denise and I are getting more and more excited about our upcoming holiday. In approximately six weeks, we’ll be back in Florida, USA. We look forward to seeing many of you. We’ll be staying with our oldest son, Jason and his family in St. Augustine,
May you be blessed abundantly, and your cup filled to overflowing, may the Lord bless you and keep you, and make His face to shine upon you and give you rest!
God's blessings,
Rob and Denise
Mercy Ships, M/V Africa Mercy
currently in Monrovia, Liberia
As many of you know, inJesus.com is honored to partner with Promenade Pictures, in the release of "The Ten Commandments." I have had the opportunity to view the film in it's entirety several weeks ago prior to its release on inJesus.com. My children and I thoroughly enjoyed the film for its content and the superb animation. It is exciting to finally have a animated Christian film that is done with excellence.
Below you will find a email from one of the executives of Promenade Pictures and a link to Disney's response to the film. Please show your support as we strive to bring quality Christian alternatives to the families. Share this trailer and link with you friends and church.
-Thank you,
Dave Moore
inJesus.com
From: Ron Booth [mailto:mailto:rbooth@promenadepictures.com]
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 2:49 PM
Subject: The Ten Commandments/ Fox News
Please check out this from Fox News that came out today regarding our film, The Ten Commandments.Disney Radio made us take out "chosen by God" in the ads. So who told Moses what to do, Tinkerbell? We open on Friday and please feel free to send this email to everyone! http://www.vmsdigital.com
Sometimes we are not able to restore sight, but a prosthestic eye helps restore self confidence and dignity. Suah is no longer rejected and denied employment due to her blindness in one eye.
We recently held another Celebration of Sight with over 200 eye patients attending. An article and the story of Suah is included in the link below.
Here is a video of the Celebration of Sight!
| Mercy Watch | |
| Subscribe Unsubscribe Change E-mail View Archive |
September 2007
Hello Friends,
We would like to thank you for the opportunity each month to share with you a little of what is happening in our lives aboard the Mercy Ships’ Africa Mercy and in general here in Liberia. This month has seemed to go by rather quickly. We are including pictures taken by our Communication’s Department as well as some of our own. 
We are asked while here to limit our picture taking … so the Communication’s Department shares pictures with the crew. We thank them for allowing us to share these to help tell the stories of what Mercy Ships is doing here in Liberia and how God is working here through us!
This first picture is of the young girl we told you about last time…she seems to walk sideways as she walks…amazing that she can walk. We look forward to sharing an after picture with you later! There has been much activity onboard and off ship in many different areas. We’ll try and give to a brief update of some of these ministries:
Eye Surgeries continue and two operating theatres are dedicated to continuing them. 
We had another Celebration of Sight, recently. During the Celebration of Sight, the eye surgery patients return to the ship for possible laser treatment, if needed, to prevent the re-occurrence of the cataract. 100 patients were invited to come participate in this day of celebration and they may bring a family member or friend to accompany them. This is the second Celebration of Sight since our arrival in May. This picture is one taken at the first Celebration of Sight. Denise was able to help serve the patients after they had their treatments. They were given a Bible before they went home.
Reconstructive Surgeries - Plastics and Maxillofacial surgeries have begun a few weeks ago with Dr. Gary, Dr. Terius and Dr. Tony’s return to the Africa Mercy. These surgeries include tumor removals, cleft-lip and palate repairs, burn scar contracture releases and to correct complications of injury or infection. These patients receive counseling to help them cope and heal from emotional scars and also rehabilitation in physical and occupational therapy as needed.
Orthopedics have finished their 2nd group of surgeries on the Africa Mercy and the rehabilitation team continues physical and occupational therapies both on the ship and in the patient’s homes.
This picture is of Benedict coming down the gangway after screening and before his surgery on his right foot. He was born with club feet. He has learned to walk using his feet as best he can. It is so amazing to see how the Liberians adjust to their limitations and press through even in the face of great pain and suffering! The surgery on his right foot was successful and he will be brought to Sierra Leone next year for surgery on his left foot as well. 
We are so blessed in developed nations to be able to go to the doctor and have these conditions fixed as soon as possible where our children will not need to suffer for years or possibly their entire lives with a condition that is so readily fixed with surgery.
A Palliative Care team goes to visit and help those terminally ill that were unable to receive surgeries to help them and show the love of Christ to those suffering and their families. Some of these patients have wounds that need to be dressed and cleaned weekly or even more often. The palliative care team helps the family care for the terminally ill and then continues to visit and care for the family after the patient has passed on.
The Church Empowerment team heads up the Mercy Ministries for the crew to get involved with various ministries such as orphanages, disabled homes, prison ministry, the local pediatric hospital, etc. They also oversee the relationships with various churches and hold a pastor’s conference in October. A follow-up on the previous Pastor and Church Leader’s conference held earlier in the year in Buchannan, Liberia was held this past month and was well received with many of the pastors continuing to meet together and bring unity across denominational barriers.
VVF surgeries have been put on hold for now. The VVF wards are now being used for the other surgery patients. The VVF surgeries will continue in October for 3 more weeks. These 2 pictures shows you the women in the ward recovering from their surgeries and then just before they go home to their villages, the Dress Ceremony! The Dress Ceremony is a celebration of their new lives without constantly leaking urine and usually acceptance back into their communities. These ladies stay on the ship recovering for at least 2 weeks and many have not been in an environment where love is shown to them unconditionally. You may notice the handmade crocheted Teddy Bears....some of these are the ones some of you made! Thank you so much!!! Almost 100 VVF surgeries have been performed since we began the end of June! 
Adopt-a-Patient – We have adopted another patient and his father, Christian and Anthony. Christian is a 7 year old boy and his dad is his caregiver, staying with him and sleeping under Christian’s bed in the ward. They are from Grand Bassa, Liberia and walked 3 days to come for the surgery appointment for Christian’s foot. Christian was about a year old when he stepped into a pot of boiling water on the fire. His Dad said he thought it was a bath. Christian’s right foot was severely burned and as it healed the skin constricted, limiting the movement and also deforming his foot. Christian had to walk on the outside of his right foot and his little toe was completely covered in scar tissue, making it look like a knuckle.
Anthony asked us the first day, if the Doctor would be able to make a toe again for Christian. We explained that the Doctor would do everything possible to make Christian’s foot functional and normal looking, but we didn’t know if he’d be able to make a toe!
After the surgery, we talked with the Doctor and he was able to give Christian back his toe! We have found the parents here in Liberia to be so much like us, caring very much for their children, wanting the best for them, proud of them as they do their schoolwork, so happy when you take the time to say what a beautiful child they have and they even want to be able to count all their fingers and toes! Anthony told us that he cried when the accident happened and he is so happy that we are able to help Christian.
Dental clinic continues to serve the Liberian people, who have no dentist to help them. Throughout the field service 3-4 dentists are daily pulling, filling and restoring teeth! Basic dental education, opportunities for prayer and salvation are also offered through the dental clinic and the counselor on site with the team. Denise was privileged to go to the clinic to serve as a dental sterilizer for a day this past month!
Jesus Film – three times a week a team and crew members go out into the villages to set up and show the Jesus Film. About 15-20 crew members set up the screen, generator and equipment, play with the kids, talk to the villagers and then show the movie.
After the movie, a time of prayer and an opportunity to ask Jesus into your heart is given. The crew enjoy meeting with the people and sharing one on one with them.
So as you can see from a small glimpse into the life both on and off the ship, you are having a huge impact upon the lives of the people of Liberia. God is doing incredible things here!
Recently, we were discussing some of the items we wanted to include in this month’s newsletter and thought we’d take this opportunity to look back over the past five years, as it is this month that we celebrate five years of service with Mercy Ships, so a little chronological recap.
We started with Mercy by attending a three month Crossroads Class at Mercy Ships International Operations Center in Texas and our class outreach in Nicaragua. This picture is of our class in 2002 when we were in Nicaragua. Yes, that is a volcano in the background!
Just this past week, we were able to have dinner with two of our classmates Don Wolven and Marleene Keefler. Don was here as the Company Safety and Security Officer to help us prepare for an audit that we will have later in the year with our insurer, Lloyd’s of London. Marleene is here on the ship with us and serves as the Technical Administrator for Deck and Engineering Departments.
One week after we graduated from our Crossroads Discipleship Training School (CDTS), we were crew on the Caribbean Mercy. We were privileged to serve in Engineering and Human Resources. In June of 2005, Mercy Ships laid the Caribbean Mercy aside and we went to the International Operations Center (IOC) to serve for 5 months in Engineering and in Information Technology. We joined the Africa Mercy during refit in Northeast England during November 2005. During the last 5 years, we have served in 10 nations and 10 cities in the United States!
As we look back at all of the various places and people we have had the privilege to meet , serve with and serve over these past five years we are very thankful for each experience. Each person has added a little more to our lives, made wonderful memories and helped us to grow.
We could write chapters on each area and tell of the many wonderful experiences we’ve enjoyed. We’ve tried to do some of this as we’ve gone along to keep you informed. You may at times wonder how you are a part of all of this…simply… you carry us in your hearts and we carry you in ours. We believe that as we share love and stories with those we meet and often times you are part of God’s love tapestry (His Story) as your stories are shared with others. The stories we tell are of our continued journey in following Jesus, and how each of you has been part of this journey. We share different parts of His Story as they seem appropriate.
We hope that as we share with you, that this to will give you different stories to tell as God brings those needing to hear into your lives. Please send us an email, card or phone call to share a story of your lives with us! We love to hear from you! 1Peter 3:15 says “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give reason for the hope that you have.”
As the sun goes down here in Monrovia…the day continues in the west and so we pass our love and blessings on to you in each new day!
God’s abundant blessings,
Denise and Rob Miller
M/V Africa Mercy
Mercy Ships
| Mercy Watch | |
Hello Friends,
Surgeries have begun; actually, they’ve been ongoing for over a month. Sometimes as we walk along the corridors of the ship, it takes a minute to realize that just over 2 months ago we were transitioning into the vibrant community we are today. In our last newsletter, we spoke much about transition and change. There has been much change, but as we’ve been through this, one axiom for community comes to mind and this is “common unity”. With the Holy Spirit empowering us, we are given the strength and the extra measure of grace required to be a member of this “Common Unity”.
I (Rob) must confess that on some days I’ve caused others to use their full measure of grace to allow me to grow within our community. Thankfully, God’s still working on me and within this community many old issues are being healed. Funny isn’t it…We come onboard a hospital ship to bring “Hope and Healing to the poorest of the poor” and sometimes we are the ones who receive the healing and are given a new measure of hope. So, it is as we begin this newsletter; we’d like to share with you a little of what life aboard the Africa Mercy has been like over this past month and as you read, we hope you’ll see what God can do through a community serving together.
First, just a bit of background, the Anastasis arrived in Liberia in March 2007 and we stopped surgeries and most ministries while we transferred crew, equipment and supplies during most of the month of June. We will be in Liberia until December 2007 and are serving here in a country where there has been a 14 year civil war ending in 2004. The Anastasis was here in March-June 2005 and in Nov 2005 – May 2006, so this is Mercy Ships 3rd time here in Liberia.
The people of Liberia are precious and friendly; however, they have many issues concerning the trauma they have been through. Many of the young men were child soldiers and the violence they have seen is tragic! Also, there was no schooling for many during the war and many adults are unable to read. Monrovia is the capital city of Liberia and even here there is no electricity or running water in most houses and businesses. Generators provide electricity in some churches, businesses and government buildings. Prior to the war, this was a beautiful and modern city.
Liberia has just celebrated, on 26 July, their 160th year of Independence. The Liberian people are very happy for the peace in their nation at this time. We are reminded with the presence of the UN soldiers that the peace is very fragile. 
Most of the population here claims to be Christian...but the African Traditions have also made their way in as well. In serving with the Liberian people, please pray that God would give us opportunities to help restore hope to these precious people and to show His love for them.
We are very busy now as always, but it is so good to finally be here and in ministry to these lovely people in Liberia! We are able to serve side by side with them on the ship as there are about 100 day workers serving as translators in the Hospital, serving in housekeeping and in food services. Most of these day workers are from the area's many churches. 
There are translators in the Hospital 24/7 as many of the patients speak local languages (most in addition to English - which is the country's primary language) Sometimes the English they speak to us is difficult, at best, to understand. Some of the patients come from a village away from the capital city of Monrovia and speak a native language, especially when they are in pain and don't know the English word to explain themselves.
We find it amazing to see all of the different types of services that Mercy Ships is able to offer to Liberia. We will try to describe some of the ones we were able to participate in this month.
Adopt-A-Patient
Eye Surgery was the first surgery done on the Africa Mercy on Monday, June 25th and then the next day we began VVF surgeries. I (Denise)was able to adopt a 36 year old VVF patient, Bendu. She had been leaking urine for 20 years...since she was 16 and lost a baby while still in her womb. She does have 2 children born before this 3rd one was lost. She had her VVF surgery on 29 June and she is doing great!
She was a bit frightened that the surgery may not have totally made her continent, but the surgeon said that was not true, she had developed a urinary tract infection and so she had been urinating more frequently. 
But the bladder is holding tight as it should! Her bladder was not use to holding tight and that gave her much pain as it would spasm before she went to the toilet to relieve the pressure. The spasms frightened her and so she wouldn't want to get up to go to the toilet, so she was a bit tense and that just complicated the matter! I’ve since learned that it is their belief that if they lay down then they won’t leak, so this explains why she didn’t want to get up and walk around. So I tried to help her to relax and just praise God that He had healed her!
On 7 July 07, Bendu had a wonderful celebration day and her dress ceremony! I was so excited for her! The dress ceremony was wonderful! She looked lovely and after the ceremony found out that she would be able to go home as well and when our communication photographer took the ladies on the gangway for pictures of the 6 lovely ladies... Bendu saw her family waiting on the dockside...she was so excited! Many more surgeries will be done on the Africa Mercy for VVF. 
We have one Operating Theatre dedicated for this type of surgery.
Mercy Ships organizes the dress ceremony and makes the dresses for the ladies and also provides them with a card to have a C-section at a hospital here in ELWA. This is the only hospital in Liberia that can perform a C-section - the hospital is run by a Christian inter-denominational organization called ELWA.... Eternal Love Winning Africa! They also have a radio station here. Bendu will give God the glory (she is a Christian)...she was given a Bible and a little pocket mirror at the ceremony and Clementine (one of our disciplers) told the 6 ladies that they had been given these Bibles to share the Good News with their people. The pocket mirror was for them to be reminded of how much God loved them!
Rob adopted a patient, Kolee and he went home a week ago. He was an orthopedic patient that had a broken arm from about 6 years ago. We found out that it happened during the war and the x-ray showed a strange form in his wrist as well. Well, when Dr. James operated on it, there was actually a piece of shrapnel (metal) about 6 inches long, a 1/2 inch wide and 1/8 inch thick! Dr. James removed it and it just kept coming out! There was also a sack of infection around it and Dr. James was able to get it all cleaned out and fix one of the bones in Kolee's arm.
He couldn't do anything for the other bone...but he assured us and Kolee that his arm would be much better.
Kolee is from Lofa which is a long way from here (up country) and the Red Cross brought him to the ship by airplane. He needs to come back to the ship for a few follow-up appointments. Fortunately, Kolee’s sister lives here in Monrovia, so he will stay with her until he is able to go back home to Lofa. He loved sitting outside on Deck 7 with Rob and they would talk about all kinds of things! He also is a great checker (draughts) player.
Orphanages
Rob and I also went to an orphanage and played with the kids one Saturday. The kids just want to be held, we sang with them and played with them and of course, we held them. We love it and so do they! I've gone to another orphanage a couple times and met a young man about 15-16, named Tommy that is interested in computers. He has been in the orphanage since he was 3 ½ years old. I asked him if he had worked on a computer and he said no, he doesn’t have a teacher. So a couple weeks ago, we went to the Internet cafe in his village. He had only ever watched people on line and he went on line for the first time! It was quite exciting! I believe the Lord has linked me up with him and that he will be able to go to school and learn computers and fulfill his dream! He is so excited to have a teacher and I am thrilled to be able to help him learn a life skill!
Community Development Services
This ship community is just incredible to say the least and the work in so many areas that can be done through it is amazing! I (Denise) was privileged to go out on 31 July and see some of the work in progress with a Vision Team. A vision team is a group that Mercy Ships sponsors to come see the work being done while on field assignment. The group pays their own expenses and Mercy Ships arranges their time on board to really get a good look at the various ministries that we are involved in on and off the ship. They are usually here for just a week or sometimes not even that long. Anyway, I was able to go out and see some of the projects with them. We visited the prison agricultural project, a school building project for a church in Monrovia, a medical clinic building project for another church in Gayetown and another agricultural project in a village called Bernard's Farm. 
I am always so impressed with the work planned and completed by Mercy Ships! It is just so excellently done! From the planning through the completion you can see God's hand in it all! The initial assessment trips search out projects that are sustainable and ones that we can come alongside the community and really help them achieve what their felt needs are.
Just an example of this is the school at Congo Town in Monrovia....(wording is from the proposal for this project - click here for a look at the Mercy Ships proposal) "The state of education in Liberia suffered greatly during the war. Congo Town, a war-torn area of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, is one such community. Many times during the course of the civil war, children of Congo Town, like others throughout the Liberia, would start a school year and then have to abandon their studies due to the fighting and unrest. Sometimes children weren't able to go to school at all for several years. Congo Town has a considerable population of ex-combatants, which complicates the social structure. These young men and women were some of the child soldiers during the war. Many were taken forcibly and trained to commit terrible crimes, including murder and rape.
The young people of Liberia – many who have missed years of education – are now trying to put their lives back together. Open Bible School, founded by Open Bible Church, is based in Congo Town and has been in existence since 1976, albeit tentative at times due to the war. The school operates a biblically-based learning facility for 650+ students in kindergarten through 12th grade with evening classes for adult education. Open Bible School is currently based in a rented facility in an escalating rent environment which is threatening the financial viability of the school. There are other schools within the surrounding area, but the need is greater than the combined capacity to provide educational services."
The church has had drawings done by an architect who is a member of their church for 3 wings of a school building. Each wing has 4 classrooms in it. So they started building it. The way they build buildings here is they buy the materials as they build and so they stop when they run out of money...raise more money and start again. So the church had begun putting up the walls of one wing of the school. Mercy Ships determined that this would be a good partnership as they were willing to be involved and the project meets Mercy Ships criteria for being sustainable.
Mercy Ships came alongside them in March 2007 and agreed to put up the other two wings of the building (just one floor - with preparations for the 2nd floor). So working as they do, and alongside them with only tools that are available to them and buying local materials ... we help them build the building.
So it is now at the stage to paint and it really looks nice! It is complete with a stairway to the roof (what will be the second floor one day) and a good solid roof to hold the 2nd floor (one day), complete with rebar wire for the support columns on the second floor. These 2 wings will be ready for classes beginning in September! They will have 2 sessions of classes, morning and evening... the evening is for the adults to learn as they didn't have school when they were school age due to the war!
Some of the adults are former child soldiers that were forced to fight. They are so happy to be going to school now!
Rob would like to get more involved in the Community Development Projects...especially water wells and water well drilling. So we'll see what the Lord has in mind! We are not drilling wells here in Liberia as the water table is so high...the hand dug wells are a better fit here. The Liberians don't have the machinery or money for machinery, but can dig a hole to get water, so that is more sustainable here! We are doing much more education training for them, such as where to dig a well (not too close to your toilet, etc.) and the importance of clean water.
Life in General
Rob’s job on the ship is basically doing similar to what he did on the Caribbean Mercy. Finding the parts that the engineers need and keeping up with the computerized scheduling of maintenance. The engineers bring him parts that need replacing or he determines the consumable items and orders them for scheduled maintenance work. 
Sometimes the parts are quite challenging to figure out what they are….see the picture on the right of some of their latest parts needing to be replaced. To me it is amazing that he can figure these out and actually find new or replacement parts! The engineers will bring the part they need to replace and ask for “one just like this” ….Rob says “Ok…I’ll work on it” and then brings them the new part and says…”Sorry I couldn’t get one just like the old one, but I hope this new one will do the job.”
It is not as hot here as I had expected. The wind is usually blowing some and the temperature is in the low to mid 80s. It is even cooler, if it's been raining! So it's quite nice outside. I've been able to explore a little off the ship with some of my girlfriends. 
We went shopping and for lunch one day. That was an experience! Shopping here is very different! The vendors sell mainly from small stands, wheelbarrows or plastic tubs.
Some of the larger shops in downtown Monrovia have a space inside a building that has a narrow doorway and then the goods laid out on tables. Usually, no electricity!
So that means only the sunlight that comes in through the narrow doorway lights the shop area. I did get some fabric to have a couple dresses made and a couple shirts made for Rob.
Soon after we sent out the last newsletter, we learned of the death of one of our former crew members, Dallas. He worked with us on the Caribbean Mercy several times and also in Newcastle, UK on the Africa Mercy earlier this year! He passed away suddenly in May from an apparent heart attack. Last Sunday, a crew member here on the Africa Mercy in Liberia, drowned at one of the beaches here. Collin was 21 and he was our Assistant Dental Coordinator. He chose to volunteer in Liberia for 6 months after graduating from Texas A&M. Collin wrote on his application to Mercy Ships, "I have two options. I can start a meaningless job that I would soon have to leave to continue my education, or I can do something that will have a profound and meaningful effect on my life while glorifying God and helping those in need. I choose the latter." To see a short Mercy Ships video in memory of Collin please click, here.
Also, soon after our last newsletter, our oldest son, Jason, had a mini stroke and lots of tests. Jason is doing well now and is working on some lifestyle changes to reduce his stress. I think more golfing is his favorite! This next year is critical to see that he is ok and is handling stress alright. Thank you for your prayers! Please continue to pray that he is able to put some good stress management skills into practice for his health's sake! Jill, Jason’s wife, has been so supportive of him. Knowing that they have a strong marriage and love each other so much is a blessing to us!
We are going to fly to Orlando on Dec 16th and stay with Jason & Jill until January 16th. The ship will be in Tenerife, Canary Islands at that time and we thought we'd fly to Florida and have the holidays with our family! The ship will leave for Sierra Leone about the 25th of January. So we'll be back in time for the sail to Sierra Leone.
We have just begun a new website, www.mercywatch.org and we are moving some of the information on our other site, www.mercywatch.com to our blog or the new site. We had some difficulties earlier in July with the old website. The provider had a major server crash and couldn’t fix the buttons on our website, and also lost about 4 hours worth of work to update it. It has been sort of flakey since then, so we decided to go with another provider. Since our internet connection here is so slow, it takes quite a bit of time to update the website, so please bear with us as we create the new one. Add it to your favorites and check out there to see the new features. The blog is a bit easier to update and that is why it gets updated more regularly and with more pictures! Our newsletters are being dated where they should go chronologically on the blog so that we have the history out there. The address to our blog is http://mercywatch.blogspot.com.
As I worked in reception the day before the Orthopedic Surgeries began, there was a screening for orthopedics....oh my! Many people came through reception with limbs that were out of shape, club feet, broken feet that hadn't healed. Wow! It was amazing. One little girl, I think ... maybe about 7 or 8 years old walked sideways but forward. I've never seen it before, but her hips must have been broken somehow. Her clothes were very loose so you couldn't really tell unless you looked at her legs as she walked. One man walked with his foot laying on it's side. Many had strange breaks in the limbs that had healed and were now bent. One little boy had a foot that was a club foot and he walked on it and his foot pointed about half way around backwards. One lady had a shorter leg, but only the tips of her toes touched the ground and she walked on them.
I was reminded of how fortunate we are to have medical care when we are injured or born with a deformity. We just can’t imagine the pain and perseverance that these people have been through as their life was changed by an accident, the war or even since birth.
We are very excited and blessed to be a part of this crew field service to Liberia. Thank you so much for your part in everything here in Liberia as you are a part of all of this too! Please continue to pray for us as each day brings new opportunities and challenges! “May the God who give endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans 15:5-7 (NIV)
God’s abundant blessings,
Denise and Rob
Contact information for us (Hint…please email, write or call! We love to hear from you):
denise.miller@mercyships.org or robert.miller@mercyships.org
http://mercywatch.blogspot.com (for up to date info of what’s going on in our lives and those we serve)
Phone: US number – 954 538-6110 ext. 4423 (our cabin), 1002 (Denise’s office), 1215 (Rob’s office) We are GMT…4 hours ahead of EST and 5 hours ahead of CST
US Post:
Rob and Denise Miller
Africa Mercy
PO Box 2020
Lindale, TX 75771
UK and Europe Post:
Rob and Denise Miller
Africa Mercy, Mercy Ships Holland
Strevelsweg 700/317
3083 AS Rotterdam
Posts
All Comments
