Lives changed in the Dominican Republic - mainly mine!

Well I have recently returned from an amazing 2 1/2 weeks in the Dominican Republic - and in all honesty - I don't know how i'll be able to even begin to share with you all just how much of an amazing experience it has been.

In brief, we spent the majority of our time working in a predominately Haitian community, helping to construct an extension to a dining room at the local school. This in itself was a real challenge, but one that the team rose to and more! As well as this construction work, we did some drama's in the classrooms with the children, played with the kids during recess and spent a lot of time walking around in the community, meeting people, getting to know them and building relationships.

I'm very aware that I have so many stories that I could talk for a days about, concealed in the few brief lines that I have written above, but am also very aware that if I did I would bore you to death and you'd never want to read one of my blogs again.....so instead, this video will try and focus on one of two stories that will begin to give you a glimpse of our time away.

I would like to introduce you to Ezekial. He is 9 years old, lives in this small house with his Mum, Dad, 3 sisters and one brother. Ezekials house has two rooms, two beds, small kitchen/living area.....and that is about it. I met Ezekial on our first day in the village, and had the privilege of meeting up with him more or less each day, getting to know him (with the help of becca N - who felt like my own personal translator) and playing games with him.

What was so phenomenal about Ezekial and his family, to me anyway, was the life and spirit they had in them. Despite their situation, they had a few of us over for lunch twice and, despite the language barrier, were some of the warmest most hospitable people I have ever met. It really made me think, about how easily little things can get me down and how I can easily let those little things affect my relationships with other people. Talk about helping to put things into perspective.....

The second person I would like to introduce you to is Jeffrey. He is two - and one day, whilst sitting by a fire that was heating a boiling pot of water, had it knocked over his little leg. He suffered second degree burns. Had it not been for the timing and Grace of God, that burn would have gone relatively untreated, more than likely infected and would have had to spend a life time with pain, discomfort and worst case scenario - only one leg.

However, this is not the case. Due to the skill and willingness of some of the nurses on our team, Jeffrey had his burn treated and dressed for nearly two weeks. He now has an opportunity to live a life that would not have been possible had these nurses not been there. I take two huge things from this story:

1) Nurses are truly amazing. This is no tongue in cheek comment. Having watched them work in some incredibly difficult, dirty and messy situations - I can safely say, Nurses are amazing!

2) This was a small, bite size picture of what Mercy Ships is all about. Bringing Hope and Healing to the forgotten poor of this planet. I feel even more privileged to be part of this extra-ordinary organisation and the adventures and challenges that lay ahead.

Thank you all again for your support!

A Week to remember

So the past 7 days have been 7 of the most memorable days I can remember. There is so much I could say, but if I said it all, you would be sitting reading this for the next hour....so I will endeavor to keep it succinct but informative too!!!

Friday 9th October - Went to see a band called Josh Weathers and the True endeavours. You all need to find their myspace....these guys rock!

Saturday: The Zoo and two stepping in the Electric Cowboy!

Sunday: Cowboy Church.

Monday: Started Basic Safety training, which in itself was great, but we also went to see U2 and Muse!!!!

Tuesday/Wednesday: First Aid & sea survival and firefighting theory.

Thursday: Practical Firefighting!!

Friday: Pool Practical for safety and survival at sea.

Saturday Evening: Fly to the Dominican Republic for 2 1/2 weeks to work alongside some community projects in a deprived community.

So as you can see, if I were to go into detail about all of these things, this would go on - but I feel safe to say that it has been an amazing week - and one that I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have lived.

As an overview, the Basic Safety Training (BST), is an official maritime qualification that states that a person has the basic skills, ability and knowledge to work aboard a sea baring vessel. So I can now say that I am an official mariner, which is very cool.

As part of the qualification, we needed to perform some basic firefighting skills to show that we were capable. This included putting a number of different fires out, rescuing a dummy from a smoke filled container and being able to put on all of our equipment, including oxygen masks, in 2 minutes! This was such a fun day - a highlight for everyone really!!

Going to see U2 and muse was obviously amazing, the 105, 000 seater stadium was incredible, and the entire production and stage show was mind-blowing!!

However, with all of this, it is still quite sad that our time here together in Texas has come to an end. It has been a fun, intense and busy month or so - but one that has been so so worth while in terms of preparation for going out to Africa. I have been reminded again of how much I take things for granted, and how easily I can slip into living in a safe place of ignorance - blocking out those things that go on in the world that are 'messy' or 'difficult'. I feel as though this month has been a wake up call to the reality of life for most of the world.

I feel so grateful for the opportunities that I have had an am continuing to have - but am looking forward to moving out of that place of safety and into a place where what I see isn't filtered by the BBC or Sky News - but is instead real life.

Thank you again for all your support.

Week 2 update

Hi'yall....

So two weeks have flown by! It seems like an age ago since I left wet and windy England and landed here. It's difficult to put into words all that has been going on, the atmosphere of the place, the different people i've met and the stories of hope and healing that have gone on through all that Mercy Ships has done over the past number of decades.

In short, week one was an intro to who mercy ships are, what they are all about and the things that they have done, are doing and want to do in the future. There were some incredible stories of people's lives who have been completely changed, both from receiving medical aid but also from those who help to distribute it. 

There were around 40 people here for week one, from all over the world. However, only 24 of us are staying on for Gateway - which is a 6 week training programme for all those who are going to be serving on the ship long term. It has been great fun meeting all these new people, most of who are from all over the States, but there are four of us brits here, one kiwi and one dutch girl. The group is a real good mix of personalities and we've been having a lot of fun this week.

We've also spent a lot of time in the classroom, discussing and sharing some of the Biblical principles of what we are doing and why we are doing it. It has been really interesting and eye opening to listen to different peoples experiences and life stories, and how those things have impacted their world view and outlook on life. 

Along with the 'classroom' stuff, we've also made plenty of time to play!! Spending time in the pool, going on for food, road trips and also going to some amazingly funky church's. Like today we went to a Cowboy church - which was one of the most fun, lively and enjoyable places i've ever been to! Any church that has a banjo, harmonica and 'yee-haa's' in their worship is top of the pile for me!!

Well i'd best start drawing this to a close! In short, things here are going great. The weather is Hot, the food is plentiful, the pool is refreshing, the bugs and spiders are big, lives are being changed and God is Good!

Thank you all for your continued support in this adventure, 

Love and peace - Alex 

Howdy!

Howdy all y'all....

Well as you may be able to guess, i'm now out in Texas - getting to grips with the heat, humidity and the wonderful southern states language!

I've been out here at Mercy ships headquarters for 5 days now, and it's all going pretty good! Am meeting people from all over the world who i'll be living and working with for the next few years, getting to grips with exactly what i'll be doing and on the whole having a pretty sweet time!

There's not a great deal else to say so far....but i'll do my best to keep this updated and let y'all know what i'm getting upto.