January 2006 - Touch down in Liberia, West Africa

Greetings friends and family,

It’s been a month since we touched down on the African continent, and arrived at our cabin on B deck on board the Marine Vessel Anastasis, docked at the port of Monrovia, Liberia. I thought instead of writing an essay, perhaps we should just share some vignettes, some first impressions of our life here. So here goes!

* Julien playing with the ship football team in a match against the UN Ghanaian soldiers (they were smashed 1-4, not bad seeing whom they played against)

* Enjoying the 3m by 3m swimming pool together as a family on Pool Deck, then having dinner watching the sun set into the sea.

* Etienne’s daily (sometimes more often) walk on the dock: to the right of the gangway -- to visit the ship forklift and land rovers (and sometimes sit at the wheel for a few minutes, compliments of the dental/community development teams before they leave for their day’s work), to watch the mechanics at their workshop fix engines and headlights etc, to say hello to the UN soldiers at the port gates; and to the left of the gangway -– to visit the bikes and motorbikes that belong to crew parked on the dock, to see the sea turtle near a pier and watch the fishes in the sea. He was offered a ride on the UN water tanker one day but he changed his mind last minute!

* Being able to do only 1 load of laundry per person per week, every 2 weeks so far, because of the poor water and fuel supply in Liberia. God bless the Irish - the Irish UN base offered Anastasis water for a while and everyday a UN water tanker transported precious water to us, but they couldn’t do it forever, so please remember this situation in prayer. Ship showers have officially been reduced from 2 minutes to 1 minute, and the Captain timed a personal best at 25 seconds!

* Being comforted that we’re all in the same boat (pun intended) – management is not just giving orders and living in an ivory tower themselves, the captain and CEO suffers the water situation as much as we do, we all eat the same food as the chief steward, and if the engine breaks down the chief engineer’s family will be affected by it as much as the rest of the crew.

* Crazy brits and aussies playing cricket on Aft deck every weekend and sending balls flying into hatches or all over the place (but not overboard…yet!).

* Having to pack ham and tuna sandwiches every (but every) Saturday and Sunday for lunch….kae has signed up to cook in the Upper Deck ripostos (kitchen). Apparently not as bad as one vintage year when the ship had too much ham donation and it was ham breakfast lunch and dinner, or when another time they did carrots everything for the same reason (carrots grated/chopped for salad, carrot juice, carrot stew for main course, carrot cake for desert, you get the picture!)

* Having to climb 5 floors of stairs to reach the nursery on Pre-school Deck from our cabin on B Deck. Etienne did 4 in a row on his own yesterday! The babies who grew up on board can do it almost before they learn to walk.

* Being able to leave Etienne sleeping in the cabin (naps or nights) and rove around the ship with the help of powerful Motorola radios (talkie-walkies). Thus being able to work or attend bible studies/ meetings/aerobics sessions/gatherings with friends or go to the post office/bank/ship shop/hair saloon on board.

* Finally visiting a local supermarket and gasping like a hillbilly at the goods (Maggie instant noodles! Soya sauce! Cheese! Chocolate! Thermos flask! And best of all…Diapers!)

* Etienne playing with the patients on their daily exercise/walk/play at the Aft Deck. We have a video of him playing with Harris and not being concerned at all about how Harris looked or why there is a big bandage around his head (see the Mercy Ships news at http://www.mercyships.org/ or http://www.onamercyship.com/ for Harris’ story)..

* Being the only Chinese (and Malaysian) on board for Chinese new year. Made up for it by attending the Aussie party for Aussie Day (with didgeridoo music, NZ cookies, an aussie quiz, cake and ice cream and lots of fun and laughter).

* Julien and the rest of the IT team getting frequent deliveries of biscuits to cheer them up as they have a big workload and the department is only 50% staffed. He is now interim IT manager as his boss Don leaves with wife Kathy back to the states for Kathy’s health check-up following some cardiac symptoms. Please remember them in prayer: they are a retired couple who sold their dream house and left everything to serve with Mercy Ship for years. Please pray for Julien and the IT team on board too, especially that they can keep the satellite working and that the servers won’t crash.

* The great need in Liberia: The medical calendar is full for eye operations and really everything else, the surgeons work overtime and still many more Liberians come seeking…. There are plans for the new ship Africa Mercy to come to Liberia. Please pray for the healthcare team for good quality work and not to be too tired to still give compassion to each patient.

* Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Liberia’s new president and the first female president of Africa, visited the ship and has expressed thanks and support to Mercy Ships’ work here. Please pray for a continuous good relationship with the current government and NGOs working in Liberia. Recently, UN supported the ship’s development team’s proposal to build bridges here by providing materials. More than 80% of the population does not have consistent access to towns because of the poor road and bridge conditions.

* Again, water. Mercy Ship engineers work alongside Liberians at the national water station to try to fix the water pumps and engines to ensure consistent water supply to Monrovia and then to the ship. There is perhaps a stronger feeling of solidarity, in contrast to UN or the US embassy who have their own wells and thus consistent laundry facilities.

Thanks again for keeping in touch with us despite our slow response, we miss you and remember you often and will get back to you soon! Blessings and love,

Kae, Julien and EtienneMonrovia, Liberia

‘I am only one, but I am still one;
I cannot do everything, but I can still do something;
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.’
Helen Keller

Our work here is made possible through acts of generosity from individuals and groups. Please contact us if you are interested in supporting our work.

Postal address: Kae & Julien Trouilloud, M/V Anastasis, Mercy Ships International, P.O. Box 2020, Garden Valley, TX 75771-2020, USA.Satellite phone (based in Florida so US local rates): + 1 954 538 4258 (ext. 2126)p.s. Please do not send packages over 250g before confirming with us, we pay postal fees for courier to be sent to Liberia and they are weight-based and may be costly. Thanks!

Photos: 1. & 2. Etienne showing off his room and our little kitchen/dining area, we have a separate bedroom, the cabin is around 30m2.

3. & 4. A pinata party for the toddlers, courtesy of a mexican mum on board!

5. & 6. Celebrating little Ye-an's first birthday, spot the cookie monster!

7. & 8. Etienne at Cece beach with friends :)

9. 10. 11. Etienne ready for bed, Evening walk on the dock, Family photo in the dining room.