Tuesday 5th March

 Today has been a busy day. After a discussion with Sharon and Tim last night we decided it would be better to go into town and buy our souvenirs today rather than Wednesday as we had planned as the funerals of some of the 8 people who have been killed in the disputes in the last week were due to take place on Wednesday. As the funerals were going to be a big affair with a procession planned from the Grand Mosque through town on quite a long route, it was thought best that we didn't go out on Wednesday.
As Dave wasn't feeling too well with a tummy upset (mine's fine now by the way - thanks for asking!!) he decided to stay on the ship this morning near a toilet as toilets around town are few and far between and not nice! Most of the locals just stop in the street to wee and poo but Dave didn't fancy that!! So I was let loose with the money, decisions and the shopping! Uh oh! Tim took some time out to drive Sharon and I to a place called Foucou Foucou where we would hopefully be able to pick up a jimbe (an African drum) from where Sharon had bought hers as she knew they were good quality and they would give us a good price. When we got to the place there was a group of about 8-10 men sat around just playing different drums and other instruments. Sharon told me that when her and her friend had come to get their drums they had to finish off making her friends one so while they waited they had sat and played with them for a couple of hours! 
They had a few drums on the pavement, but they were too big. We had measured Sharon and Nathanael's drums to see what size would fit in our luggage to get it home. A Nathanael sized drum fitted nicely so that's what we were looking for. The man said they had some others inside so we went to look at those. 

They only had one which was the right size but it was a nice one so Sharon started the bargaining as I haven't really worked out the money here yet as they work in thousands - too many zero's for me! He started at 600,000 GNF (Guinea Francs) which is about £60 but after a bit of discussion and Sharon asking for his 'best, best price' (a phrase used a lot here) she got him down to 350,000 GNF (about £35) Bargain! This was a fair price rather than a rich Americans price that is often first quoted. If they aren't making money they won't budge on the price. Drums like this would cost between £200-£300 back home. It is good quality, carved and finished off nicely. It has been made by proper musicians who actually play them so you know they are made well and not just mass produced to make money. One of the men finished off my drum by making a little carry handle with the long piece of cord left.

We talked to the man who seemed to be in charge and he showed us the other instruments, chairs etc they had made. He was remembering back to the 1990's when the Anastasis (a previous ship of Mercy Ships) was in Guinea. It was amazing that he remembered it being here and the name of the ship. That shows the impact they have in the countries they go to. 

Then Tim drove us to another part of town where we had gone with Sharon last week and we picked up a bag for the drum for £10 and two thinking men as I couldn't decide which one to have! You have to have a statue of a thinking man as you don't see it very often in real life!! Sharon used her bargaining skills once again (she's very good at it - maybe because she's a mother?!) and she managed to get the price down to about £35 for both. I was very pleased with my shopping trip! Now to go show Dave!!

At 13.30 we met with the other people who were going to help at the Hope Centre for the afternoon. We had a quick briefing and then set off. For this trip we weren't allowed to take our own cameras, but the organiser had the Mercy Ministries camera and would be taking photos while we were there and then upload them onto the transfer drive so we could all have access to them. We went down onto the dock to wait for the ambulance shuttle from the ship to the Hope Centre so we could follow them. After waiting a while they didn't turn up so we decided to go without them. 
Whilst waiting on the dock Dave noticed a little boy waiting to go in for an out patients appointment to have his nose pads removed. His eyes caught Dave's attention so he asked whether this was the boy who had been operated on last week for the hernia and cleft lip. One of the nurses went and checked and came back to us and confirmed it was. That was our boy! We explained that it was the boy we had observed last week being operated on. We were introduced to his father via an interpreter. He was so happy and just thankful to Mercy Ships. He wanted a photo of us all standing in front of the ship. He wanted a picture of the ship so he could remember how his life was changed and to show his son as he gets older. He also said he is so happy, his son used to look like a monster, now he doesn't. He couldn't stop saying thank you. Dave had a good cry again! We were so pleased we had got to see him again and to get a photograph was brilliant. 

We made our way to the Hope Centre where we were greeted by all the patients young and old, some of whom we had met last week along with some new ones. We set the chairs out and everyone came and sat down. The organiser read a story from a big book about Psalm 23 whilst the translator translated it into French for the patients. We then split into children and adults for different activities. The children had some pictures to colour in with crayons and the adults made bead crocodiles.

The helpers split up, some to help the kids and some the adults. We went to help with the kids. I sat with a girl who was colouring. When she had finished her sheet she got another one and she asked me to do it with her. After that we played loads of games of connect 4. She didn't stop laughing the whole time. She was really pretty and very happy. Some others came and joined in too.

Halfway through the afternoon our boy arrived back at the Hope Centre with his dad having had his nose pads removed, much to our joy. He looked amazing. It is great that we have seen it full circle from start to finish and have been able to witness the transformation not only of the boys face but of his and his fathers lives. Dave was playing with him with balloons, showing him how to make noises with them etc. He even managed to blow up a balloon with his new lips, which he would never have been able to do before. How amazing is that in just 6 days. 

Just after 4pm we packed everything away and made our way back to the ship along the coast (after we'd got all the kids out of the Land rover who wanted to come with us and checked for stowaways!) 

Driving round the town here is fascinating. Seeing everything going on and the different people milling around (Africa pace - slow!), watching what people are selling, smelling the smells (some nice, others not so nice!), all the dust etc. I know this might sound silly but the sights are just like you see on the TV - total chaos, people, animals and traffic everywhere. But what you don't get from the TV is the smell of Africa. It is very distinctive. 

Tonight was African night in the dining room, so we decided to go to a restaurant to eat tonight. Last weeks African food was quite hot (Dave was pouring with sweat!) and had quite an explosive effect so we decided to give it a miss this week! We went to a nearby Chinese restaurant. 

We were trying to translate the menu with a French/English dictionary but we weren't getting very far! In the end the waitress offered to bring us a variety of dishes to share! It worked out really well in the end! Sharon and Tim made a bit of a mess of the table cloth, but what can you do?!!

While we were eating we had 2 power cuts. Makes quite interesting eating, especially with chopsticks!! 
Even when we were eating Tim had the radio communication to the ship on the table and was listening to what was going on. He also had 2 phone calls and several text messages while we were there. He never gets a break. He also had to get up in the night to sort a problem out. 

There are now 8 people dead from the violence. There are still restrictions on where we can go so many activities and trips have had to be cancelled which is a shame. It looks like we won't be able to go to the orphanage on Saturday either which we're upset about. 

When we got back to the ship there had been a big delivery of fruit in the reception. It was explained that there is a Mercy Ships ministry about 5 hours away from here where they teach people to grow fruit and vegetables naturally without using chemicals. They then deliver some to the ship.