Nevis 2008 - MV Hope at Sea:

Fishing at sea:

The MV Hope is now home from a great mission.  Friday May 06, 2008 the ship returned to Port Mercy in Lake Charles, LA.  On the way, fishing was great. The catch was light but good.

Mission reports from Nevis:

What a whirlwind week it has been, and huge praises to God. It has been a great success. The entire team has been great with everyone working hard and being incredibly flexible as is always required when you don't know what is just around the corner. The ships crew has been the backbone to all that has taken place on the site. Without them, what was achieved onsite would have been impossible. As one of our medical providers explained, she felt like she was on top of a pyramid, being able to pray for & see salvations and God moving, because of the foundations of the pyramid and the layers upon layers of preparation that had taken place in advance!! That includes all the team at Port Mercy who for the past year worked to see this mission come to fruition.

Every morning of the outreach people were lined up outside the gate in order to come in and register early for the clinics that started at 9am.The helicopter and shore boat shuttled in the medical team and other personnel required for the site. The medical team quickly settled in to form a very unified group. What great attitudes they had. Close to 400 patients were seen each day. One of the biggest problems on the island medically is diabetes & hypertension. The local volunteers that we had have been very consistent and have come to help every opportunity that they could. They have been a great blessing and included 5 Peace Corps workers. While the patients waited in the large tent before being called into the Triage area, they listened to Christian music, heard testimonies, or listened to health lectures. Volunteers mingled though the crowd talking and praying with the people. Following the visit with the doctor, patients went to the dining room for a meal. The food on this mission has been incredible. Whether eating on the ship or the site it has been excellent! Some of the extra food after the meals were completed onsite was delivered to a home for the elderly.  

During the mission, there have been many reports of people deciding to follow Jesus. Many rededicated their lives to the Lord. Many felt newly encouraged. They truly felt the love of Jesus from the team.

Each day was beautiful & sunny with the occasional short burst of rain. The two golf carts we brought with us were utilized a great deal. It was so cool to see our men transporting elderly people around in them.

The children’s ministry area was kept busy. The "RAMPERS", our young apprentices, did excellent puppet shows, were clowns, gave snow cones, painted faces, manned trampolines and the bouncy castle, led games and told bible stories. Wow – the kids had a great time. Their faces showed their enjoyment. On the last day soft toys and the talking Jesus dolls were distributed.

Every night of the medical mission, an evening service was held. Each evening the numbers attending increased until there were several hundred. Some of the local people said that the meetings were amazing and they were so blessed, felt God’s presence & his voice speaking to them. The speakers that came as part of the friend Ships team were awesome- Roger Sirratt, Pastor Norman Thomas, Dr. Debbie Thomas and Hunter Lundy taught solid lessons on Christian principles. Also invited to speak was an exciting evangelist Bishop Hall, a Jamaican now based in Florida. The people of Nevis loved him. All in all – a great mission. Let's pray that the fruit remains long after the ship has left!

Sunday, May 25, 2008
The mission to Nevis is officially completed!!  Sunday, the crew took down the tents and got everything in order to reload the ship. Half of the medical team flew out in the morning with the rest leaving Monday.

 

Friday, May 23, 2008
Friday was a steady day of seeing new patients, ministering to children and providing food service. Almost 400 patients were seen. They are enjoying all the different aspects of the mission. Christian music, sharing of testimonies, and medical lectures are taking place in the waiting tent during the day. Local volunteers are a huge blessing. They help in the reception area, in the food serving area, ushering patients from place to place, with eyeglasses and much more. We are very grateful for their assistance.

Daily, we hear of people either rededicating their lives to the Lord or meeting Him for the first time ever. We are also hearing great reports from the people about the night meetings.  They have been a tremendous blessing to hundreds of people.  The evening service was packed out with hundreds of attendees and a full night of ministry. The service included a special greetings from Matt and Laurie Crouch of Trinity Broadcasting Network who told the audience how Nevis was the location of the first TBN international station and is very special to their hearts! Saturday will be the final day of the outreach.

There is a very peaceful atmosphere at the site. After so much prayer and planning over such a long length of time it is hard to believe that there is only one day of the mission left.

 

Thursday, May 22, 2008
Thursday, another 400 patients were seen.  There is a high percentage of hypertension and diabetes here and many subsequent problems as a result of not receiving treatment for these conditions. The medical team is doing an outstanding job of seeing the patients. The whole procedure from arrival at the site to leaving is flowing very well and the patients are treated as honored guests of the Lord.  At the end of the day, although tired, the Friend Ships team is still smiling. It is such a pleasure to serve God on the beautiful island of Nevis.

Our golf carts are being used frequently to transport the elderly or lame around the site. It was great to see the tenderness of one of our men driving sweet elderly people from place to place. Both enjoy the ride.

Children with multi-colored face paintings are seen enjoying themselves while learning about the love of Jesus. Two of our young Friend Ships men are fitting in with the local community even more now since they have had their hair braided.

The Thursday night tent meeting had an even greater turnout. There was exciting praise and worship, followed by Pastor Norman Thomas and Bishop Hall delivering messages.

 

Tuesday, May 20, 2008 The medical mission began well on Tuesday. An opening ceremony took place that was attended by some of the island's dignitaries. Food that was cooked by the kitchen staff was served and it was incredible. For the first day of the mission 385 patients were seen!!  The medical team quickly got into the routine and patients began flowing into the medical area. While the patients waited to be seen they were able to listen to teachings on prevention of hypertension, foot care for diabetics, and hear the gospel message.  Local volunteers and the Friend Ships staff were able to pray with many as they waited. Reports at the end of the day say that some people accepted the Lord and others rededicated their lives to Him.  The children had a great time in the children's area. With puppet shows, face painting, a clown, games, bounce castle and trampolines this was certainly the fun place to be! In the evening, following beautiful snack foods, a church service was held with a local band and our visiting guest, Roger Siratt, led praise and worship. Hunter Lundy preached a great message. We were very grateful for the help of many local volunteers that assisted us throughout the day in various areas. The people of Nevis are very welcoming and it is a pleasure to be able to be here to serve them in any way we can.

 

Monday, May 19, 2008

Today is the final day of set-up and everything is just about ready for tomorrow, the first day of the clinic.  The local TBN station and Pastors on Nevis and St. Kitts have been distributing 2500 entry tickets for patients to be seen this week.  All have been given out and there is a waiting list in case we have time to see more.  The medical teams arrived over the weekend, have had a brief time to see the island and today spent the morning touring the site and having an orientation to the systems we utilize in this outreach. The Lord has brought in a wonderful group of medical professionals and we are honored to have them working with us.

 

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Most crew continue routine tasks on the Hope as others enjoy a bit of rest in preparation for the busy week ahead.

 

Saturday, May 17, 2008

The site is almost ready now as we complete logistics for the big event to begin on Tuesday. Today most of the medical team arrived by air and got settled onto the ship as tickets continue to be distributed for patient care.  There is much excitement in the air as we gear up for a great mission!

Friday, May 16, 2008

Today was the 2nd full day of set-up and the big tents are now in place.  Excitement is growing here as patient tickets are distributed and news is broadcast throughout the island about the evening services!  The ship is now offloaded and safely at anchor as crew shuttle in and out via helicopter and shore boat.  A meeting took place at the TBN Studios to greet local volunteers who will join us in the outreach. Premier Joseph Parry of Nevis will officially launch the medical outreach at Tuesday morning's opening ceremony. Today, Friend Ships Medical Coordinator Lindsay Morris arrived and tomorrow 12 of our medical providers will fly into the Nevis airport.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

At 10 am Wednesday, MV Hope arrived at the Port of Charleston in Nevis. The ship cleared customs and immigration and the crew started to prepare for the mission immediately.  This week we will set up the facility as the plastic bracelets that we use as admission tickets to the clinic are distributed to potential patients through the Church leaders of Nevis and sister island St. Kitts.  We are able to well publicize the medical event and evening services through Trinity Broadcasting Network who has sponsored this mission and who has a television and also a radio station here on Nevis.

MV Hope has set sail on a fishing trip and medical mission to Nevis in the West Indies.  May 20-24, we are working in association with our good friends at Trinity Broadcasting Network in order to provide  to those in need top quality medical care, dental care and eye glasses as well as a delicious lunch and in the evenings wonderful ministry by Pastor Norman Thomas, Dr. Debbie Thomas, Dr. Roger Siratt and Mr. Hunter Lundy.

Relief Missions. . .Work Experience & Excellence. . . Fitness. . . Bible Study. . .Character  Development . . . WHY AM I HERE?  WHERE AM I GOING?  .  . . Disaster Relief. . .Food Distribution. . .ALL THIS AND MORE AT PORT MERCY Relief Apprenticeship Missions Program

Spirit Fishing vessels, Volunteer Mission work, Totes of Hope, Helping the community, RAMP program, SUPER Mobile Medical Clinics

HURRICANE SEASON 2008, HURRICANE RELIEF, HURRICANE RESPONSE, Hurricane Disaster Response: Friend Ships is collecting specific supplies for the Hurricane Relief efforts for next hurricane season.  Find out our and how you may help touch lives.  Currently we are accepting supplies like Non-Perishable Food, hygienic supplies (new), cleaning products and supplies etc.

You can make a financial donation to go towards disaster response to help those effected by the recent hurricanes and allow us to get supplies and equipment that will be needed.  Specify on your donation to go towards: Disaster Response or Hurricane Relief.

You can donate online, call our Port Mercy office, or mail a check/money order to our Port Mercy office.

PORT MERCY in Lake Charles, Louisiana is Friend Ships home base providing a place for our ships, to receive care and maintenance between missions, load supplies and take on crew.  Here we are building a port facility and a center for Christian outreach around the world.  This is where the ships begin their mission voyages to many nations around the world.  Volunteers with a wide range of skills are needed including skills in cooking, housekeeping, grounds keeping, office and ship repair. This facility provides support operations for in Roatán, conducts all main office functions of the organization and is a base of operations for the Friend Ships U.S. food outreach.

Keywords:  Fishing Trip, West Indies, Nevis, TBN, Haiti, Cuba, Israel, Central America, Honduras, Roatán, Medical Missions, Hurricane Relief, Disaster Relief Efforts, Relief Ships, Mercy Vessels, Missions Opportunities, You can Help