Peter's Ponderings

So, the problem with starting a blog is that people expect you to upate it, which cool because it means somebody cares about what is going on in your life (like those of you reading this - thanks).  It feels so hard to strike a balance between not blogging often enough and blogging so much that you're not really writing anything worth someone's time to read.  I've had a lot of fun with previous blogs and so much has happened since my last entry that I feel like I could write 20 entries easy.  What do you want to read about?  Do you want to read about our struggle and the challenges that we face in serving in this ministry, do you want to read about our family and how the kids are doing, do you want to read about our joys and victories, do you want to read about how what we do makes a difference, do you want to read about Mercy Ships as an organization and whey they're (we're) all about, do want to read about what God is doing in and through us, do you want to read about the area that we are currently in, do you want to read about random crazy stuff that goes through my head (like this), do you want to read about...?  How often do you want to read about any of those things?

Scattered

Just a brief update for those that don't already know, Grace is in Seattle (Snohomish), I (Peter) am in Texas, and Dara, Elijah, Malachi, and Xavier are still in South Africa.  I'm helping to instruct Basic Safety Training at the International Operations Center in Texas, which is going very well.  Tomorrow - FIRE! 

So far my time has been a busy, wonderful season of catching up with old friends, although I'm missing my family terribly.  I'm looking forward to a day and a half in the Seattle area on the 18th and 19th.  However, as much as I'm looking forward to being back with Dara and the kids, I'm dreading the 42 hours of travel to get there. 

More updates to come.  Please pray for all of us as we are scattered and away from one another. 

A Fish Out of Water



The Africa Mercy in drydock


The Africa Mercy went from wet to dry this past weekend.  The engine room is pretty gutted and filthy.  Please keep her in your prayers, especially for safety for the crew still living on board, safety for the shipyard workers, and a timely completion to the project.



One of the holes in the side where the old generators will be
taken out and the new ones put in (the one on the botton left
with the ladder sticking out)




A hole from the cargo hold on deck three going down to the
engine room that didn't exist a month ago.



Takin' a Drive

Okay, so driving here is a bit different for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, you drive in the left lane.  This takes a bit of getting used to, especially at intersections where you're turning.  Secondly, you would generally have a right-hand drive vehicle when driving in the left lane.  We still have our left-hand drive vehicles so everything is all out of sorts (higgeldy-piggeldy if you want to use a nice British coloquialism).  The third thing that makes it interesting is that, being in a very rural agricultural area, the roads are primarliy a walking path, secondarily a livestock path, and only seem to be considered for vehicles as a tertiary use.  Throw in no sidewalks, no shoulder, and lots of blind corners and it's a bit like playing some kind of video game except you don't get any do overs.  Did I mention the fog?  Yes, in Africa.  Because of our elevation we get fog quite often.  Needless to say, we only drive at night if absolutely necessary.  Here are a few photos to illustrate the situation.



Driving on the left.





People, cows, and a dog - the main users of the road.  If only
this picture had some goats it would perfect.





A typical foggy morning.