For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a door keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
It has been a while since I have written the newsletter. My new role as Security Officer has kept me extremely busy the last 5 months and I decided it was time to fill you in on what the Lord has been doing in me and with me since my last communication. This letter is intended as a praise report on the faithfulness of our God during the times that I have found myself on my knees asking God for the wisdom and grace to help me protect my family, ship and crew of 350 brothers and sisters in Christ. I want to make sure that God gets all the glory for this good report, it is a testimony of what an extremely average man can do when an unbelievably awesome God guides his actions and words. I know many of you have been lifting us up in prayer as Zana has sent out our prayer needs and we are so grateful for you timely response to our prayer needs.
In June, I took on my new role as we sailed from Monrovia to East London in South Africa. During our first week in East London I was sent to Cape Town for security training, the University was so impressed with what we do that they gave me the training for free and asked me to come back and instruct their students on a 3 day course on crisis management. During our 3 months in East London, our young crew who didn’t seem to understand the dangers of South Africa kept me busy. There is a prevailing myth that sleeping with a virgin will cure AIDS here. This is so rampant that last year in South Africa 1400 children under the age of 3 were raped by people trying to cure their disease. Because of who we are, there is the view that all of the women on our ship are pure and possibly a source of a cure. Keeping our women safe had to be at the forefront of all that we did. East London is also in an economic down turn where the dock area was an area of prostitution, drugs and violent crimes. We give thanks to God, that even though we had some close calls and a few thefts none of our crew were hurt.
In August we sailed to Cape Town, which brought a whole new set of challenges for us. This was our 3 weeks of PR tours and meant that I had to prepare for thousands of people coming on board our ship while still meeting all the international security requirements. To make matters worse was that Cape Town has a huge Muslim population that engaged in a bombing campaign a few yeas back against any business with a US name (Planet Hollywood, New York Bagel…) even though they were South African owned. For those 3 weeks I had to manage security for tours and special event with a constantly changing staff. We actually had over ¼ of our visitors who were obvious Muslims and some of them were so radical that they were wearing burka’s, covering the women from head to toe with only their eyes visible through their veils. To meet the security requirements each handbag and backpack had to be searched and each male was checked for any firearms. In the end we broke all records in the 3 weeks we had over 17,500 people tour the ship and had 11 special events on board. We searched over 10,000 bags and found 10 undeclared weapons. During this time we lost only one purse, one cell phone, and one child……I’m glad to report all were found and returned to their owners. We also hosted Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu for a commissioning ceremony. He was a very cute old man who charmed everyone on board.
The funniest moment during this time had to be when one the many Islamic schools came to the ship. The kids were obviously moved by what they saw and as they were leaving one of them asked what he could do to grow up and join our ship. I immediately saw the schools cleric staring at me with his long beard and robes and hat; I could tell this could instantly be a political blunder or an opportunity to share the gospel or possibly both. Thinking quickly to defuse the situation, I smiled at the child and told him that he could check out the ships web site or my site to get more information. The cleric was not happy but at least he didn’t yell or hit the child while he was there on the pier.
Before we left Cape Town a Liberian man working at the local aquarium donated the opportunity for the Captain and I to dive with the sharks at their aquarium it was a lot of fun. The sharks were jagged tooth sharks that were 9 ft long and about 650lbs. Just to make things interesting I accidentally cut my hand going into the tank and got the sharks a little agitated before we went in.
We had a beautiful 10 day sail to Monrovia. The seas were relatively calm and Zana and the girls soon got their sea legs. I can’t express the joy I have sharing my love of the sea with my wife and girls. It is amazing to watch their faces as we see the dolphins, whales, sharks, new constellations, the milky way and falling stars. The last night we laid in hammocks on the bow listened to people singing praise songs and watched a distant lightning storm. As I watched the girls get excited by the huge lightning displays, I took the time to thank God for calling us here and allowing us to share this experience together as a family.
Once we arrived in Liberia I found my self knee deep in setting up our security protocols with the port officials, UN Military and the US Embassy. We have been able to keep our crew safe during the violent elections and the subsequent civil unrest. I have had to recall our crew 5 times and redirect them back to our ship or to safe points. I have had to deal with attacks on our pier by groups of armed swimmers hoping to rob or hurt our crew. These rogues were able to board another ship and threaten the crew with machetes. I can’t afford to have armed intruders on our boat with over 200 women and children on board, so I have to take proactive and yet non-lethal measures. I have outfitted my dock with over 15 1000W halogen lights and armed my Gurkha guards with wrist rocket slingshots using 38 caliber ball bearings.
The Anastasis has the only water asset, our small boat, in Liberia. I have been called upon to use it to assist a sinking vessel and help recovering the bodies of drowning victims. I guess old Coasties never die they just get used in another part of the world. I have also had to deal with the dead bodies of thieves who had been killed by vigilante mobs and left to rot on our front gate over our Christmas break.
In the last 3 weeks I have had to deal:
1. a crew member with a psychotic episode, went missing
2. A mugging of 2 female crew members
3. The beating of crew by UNMIL soldiers
4. Mugging of 2 day workers
5. 4 crew members returning to the ship drunk
6. 2 Segue students mugged
7. Drowned body recovery
8. Stolen Bicycle
9. Preached to 75 Ghanaian Peace Keepers
Zana, on the other hand, was quickly drawn into her new role as head of the ward. She will be working with the plastics and VVF patients. I can’t tell you how proud I am of her she seems to be able to do anything they ask of her. Her outcomes for the last 4 months have been nothing short of amazing. Historically they have average 50-60% success rate. Under her watch both plastics and VVF have had a 100% success rate! God is really using her here and it is amazing to watch the patients cry with her as they realize they’ll be going home cured.
Sometimes I find himself living a life I only read about in my Tom Clancy novels, with pirates, intelligence operatives, military response teams, extraction points, safe houses, APC’s, tanks, and gun ships. Then there the other times when the mantle of trying to protect 350 men, women and children in war torn 3rd world country seems too much of a burden for me. But I know I am not alone. God called me to this position and he will use whatever skills and energy I have to fulfill this task. He has also greatly blessed me with great friends who lift us up in their prayers.
The hardest aspect of my job is that most days I have to go to our front gate and turn away 30-100 people who have showed up in the hopes of getting surgery. Occasionally I find a candidate for surgery, that we still have a slot open for. The look on their faces when they realize that they are going to be seen by a doctor is amazing. I offer to pray with those I turn away, but it is hard. We were their only hope and I can only offer them prayer that God will find another way to heal them.
So today, I have given up my job, house and cars to be a door keeper in this part of God’s kingdom. I stand at our gate with my Gurkhas and allow patients to come through and guard the ship against rogues. It is the greatest job I have ever known and I have no regrets. When I felt God calling me I had no idea I would end up here in this role, but He did. He built my life for just this purpose and He has built you too. He has great plans for all of us, are you listening for His call? Don’t be afraid He has an awesome adventure waiting for you! He will not disappoint you. His burden is light and His joy is unimaginable.
In His love,
Mark
In June, I took on my new role as we sailed from Monrovia to East London in South Africa. During our first week in East London I was sent to Cape Town for security training, the University was so impressed with what we do that they gave me the training for free and asked me to come back and instruct their students on a 3 day course on crisis management. During our 3 months in East London, our young crew who didn’t seem to understand the dangers of South Africa kept me busy. There is a prevailing myth that sleeping with a virgin will cure AIDS here. This is so rampant that last year in South Africa 1400 children under the age of 3 were raped by people trying to cure their disease. Because of who we are, there is the view that all of the women on our ship are pure and possibly a source of a cure. Keeping our women safe had to be at the forefront of all that we did. East London is also in an economic down turn where the dock area was an area of prostitution, drugs and violent crimes. We give thanks to God, that even though we had some close calls and a few thefts none of our crew were hurt.
In August we sailed to Cape Town, which brought a whole new set of challenges for us. This was our 3 weeks of PR tours and meant that I had to prepare for thousands of people coming on board our ship while still meeting all the international security requirements. To make matters worse was that Cape Town has a huge Muslim population that engaged in a bombing campaign a few yeas back against any business with a US name (Planet Hollywood, New York Bagel…) even though they were South African owned. For those 3 weeks I had to manage security for tours and special event with a constantly changing staff. We actually had over ¼ of our visitors who were obvious Muslims and some of them were so radical that they were wearing burka’s, covering the women from head to toe with only their eyes visible through their veils. To meet the security requirements each handbag and backpack had to be searched and each male was checked for any firearms. In the end we broke all records in the 3 weeks we had over 17,500 people tour the ship and had 11 special events on board. We searched over 10,000 bags and found 10 undeclared weapons. During this time we lost only one purse, one cell phone, and one child……I’m glad to report all were found and returned to their owners. We also hosted Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu for a commissioning ceremony. He was a very cute old man who charmed everyone on board.
The funniest moment during this time had to be when one the many Islamic schools came to the ship. The kids were obviously moved by what they saw and as they were leaving one of them asked what he could do to grow up and join our ship. I immediately saw the schools cleric staring at me with his long beard and robes and hat; I could tell this could instantly be a political blunder or an opportunity to share the gospel or possibly both. Thinking quickly to defuse the situation, I smiled at the child and told him that he could check out the ships web site or my site to get more information. The cleric was not happy but at least he didn’t yell or hit the child while he was there on the pier.
Before we left Cape Town a Liberian man working at the local aquarium donated the opportunity for the Captain and I to dive with the sharks at their aquarium it was a lot of fun. The sharks were jagged tooth sharks that were 9 ft long and about 650lbs. Just to make things interesting I accidentally cut my hand going into the tank and got the sharks a little agitated before we went in.
We had a beautiful 10 day sail to Monrovia. The seas were relatively calm and Zana and the girls soon got their sea legs. I can’t express the joy I have sharing my love of the sea with my wife and girls. It is amazing to watch their faces as we see the dolphins, whales, sharks, new constellations, the milky way and falling stars. The last night we laid in hammocks on the bow listened to people singing praise songs and watched a distant lightning storm. As I watched the girls get excited by the huge lightning displays, I took the time to thank God for calling us here and allowing us to share this experience together as a family.
Once we arrived in Liberia I found my self knee deep in setting up our security protocols with the port officials, UN Military and the US Embassy. We have been able to keep our crew safe during the violent elections and the subsequent civil unrest. I have had to recall our crew 5 times and redirect them back to our ship or to safe points. I have had to deal with attacks on our pier by groups of armed swimmers hoping to rob or hurt our crew. These rogues were able to board another ship and threaten the crew with machetes. I can’t afford to have armed intruders on our boat with over 200 women and children on board, so I have to take proactive and yet non-lethal measures. I have outfitted my dock with over 15 1000W halogen lights and armed my Gurkha guards with wrist rocket slingshots using 38 caliber ball bearings.
The Anastasis has the only water asset, our small boat, in Liberia. I have been called upon to use it to assist a sinking vessel and help recovering the bodies of drowning victims. I guess old Coasties never die they just get used in another part of the world. I have also had to deal with the dead bodies of thieves who had been killed by vigilante mobs and left to rot on our front gate over our Christmas break.
In the last 3 weeks I have had to deal:
1. a crew member with a psychotic episode, went missing
2. A mugging of 2 female crew members
3. The beating of crew by UNMIL soldiers
4. Mugging of 2 day workers
5. 4 crew members returning to the ship drunk
6. 2 Segue students mugged
7. Drowned body recovery
8. Stolen Bicycle
9. Preached to 75 Ghanaian Peace Keepers
Zana, on the other hand, was quickly drawn into her new role as head of the ward. She will be working with the plastics and VVF patients. I can’t tell you how proud I am of her she seems to be able to do anything they ask of her. Her outcomes for the last 4 months have been nothing short of amazing. Historically they have average 50-60% success rate. Under her watch both plastics and VVF have had a 100% success rate! God is really using her here and it is amazing to watch the patients cry with her as they realize they’ll be going home cured.
Sometimes I find himself living a life I only read about in my Tom Clancy novels, with pirates, intelligence operatives, military response teams, extraction points, safe houses, APC’s, tanks, and gun ships. Then there the other times when the mantle of trying to protect 350 men, women and children in war torn 3rd world country seems too much of a burden for me. But I know I am not alone. God called me to this position and he will use whatever skills and energy I have to fulfill this task. He has also greatly blessed me with great friends who lift us up in their prayers.
The hardest aspect of my job is that most days I have to go to our front gate and turn away 30-100 people who have showed up in the hopes of getting surgery. Occasionally I find a candidate for surgery, that we still have a slot open for. The look on their faces when they realize that they are going to be seen by a doctor is amazing. I offer to pray with those I turn away, but it is hard. We were their only hope and I can only offer them prayer that God will find another way to heal them.
So today, I have given up my job, house and cars to be a door keeper in this part of God’s kingdom. I stand at our gate with my Gurkhas and allow patients to come through and guard the ship against rogues. It is the greatest job I have ever known and I have no regrets. When I felt God calling me I had no idea I would end up here in this role, but He did. He built my life for just this purpose and He has built you too. He has great plans for all of us, are you listening for His call? Don’t be afraid He has an awesome adventure waiting for you! He will not disappoint you. His burden is light and His joy is unimaginable.
In His love,
Mark
