In the summer of 2002, KNLS English Service Senior Producer Mike Osborne and his wife, Karen, traveled to Honduras to spend two weeks serving aboard the Christian hospital ship Caribbean Mercy. Below you will find the report Mike wrote concerning the experience and just a few of the photos the couple took during their stay: A Most Unusual Anniversary Cruise! My wife, Karen, chose the cruise -- but her destination of choice took me by surprise. Our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary was just around the corner. Although we'd been making celebration plans for some time, we couldn't seem to agree on the right trip. After all, a quarter century of marriage is not all that common these days and a grand gesture of some kind seemed called for. "I'd be happy to take you on a cruise," I told her. "We could sail Alaska's Inside Passage, or spend a week in the Caribbean." It was this last idea that we finally agreed upon, but our trip into warm Caribbean seas took an unexpected turn. Karen suggested that we take our cruise aboard the Christian hospital ship Caribbean Mercy. Our first contact with this unusual ministry came in the winter of 2000. The Caribbean Mercy was docked for a time in Jacksonville, Florida to restock the ship's stores, make some mechanical repairs, and provide a bit of shore leave for the crew. Karen and I spent two days on board and came away deeply impressed by the ship and her compliment. We met some truly remarkable Christian servants during that visit. Captain Fadely was kind enough to spend a few minutes with us. A nurse named Nancy Wonder explained how she and her husband managed to live happily in a cabin measuring just seven feet square. A smiling motorman named Flavius gave us a tour of the engine room, using Biblical metaphors to describe the ship's inner workings. In the months that followed, we kept up with the Caribbean Mercy's travels via the ministry website. The reports posted there concerning the ship's visit in each new country were thrilling and the stories of individual patients touched our hearts. So when it came time to make plans for our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary celebration Karen chose to spend two weeks aboard the Caribbean Mercy. The ship was scheduled to be in Honduras when our anniversary date rolled around. Not exactly the garden spot of the Caribbean, but we were looking forward to the trip anyway. Staff members in Texas and crewmembers onboard were more than helpful getting our travel plans in order. They were even able to suggest a specific flight number and time so that someone from the ship could be on hand at the local airport to greet us and provide for safe transport to the dock. When passport control saw our special letters from Mercy Ships, they gave our visa's a quick once over and waved customs all together. A Caribbean Mercy crewmember was waiting for us just past visa control and helped us out with our bags. A van waited outside and our driver told us what to expect when we arrived on board. Walking up the gangway was a real thrill for us and then we were soon caught up in a whirlwind of "embarkation" procedures. Friendly and welcoming crew members helped us into our small but more than sufficient cabin, gave us a quick shipboard safety lesson, and introduced us to the daily routine. Click the link to see the photo:
For the next two weeks Karen worked at the ship's eye clinic. Working alongside professional medical staff, she gave preliminary eye exams and took patient histories. Her favorite patient was a 78-year-old Honduran grandmother named Ramona. Karen was deeply touched by Ramona's loving spirit and unshakable optimism in spite of her failing vision. The doctor prepared a prescription for Ramona and Karen was able to find a match among the more than 14,000 pairs of donated eyeglasses on board. The experience was life changing for Karen and Ramona. A picture of the two ladies together is one of Karen's most prized remembrances of the trip. Click the link to see the photo:
My experience was very different but no less enjoyable. With a background in media I was assigned to work with the Caribbean Mercy's Director of Communications, Pauline Rick. Working for Pauline is like trying to keep up with a Texas twister. Some days Pauline had me travel into the countryside with the Caribbean Mercy's well drilling crew. I was able to document through photos and video what an amazing impact the drilling crew has on tiny villages. The sanitary water wells they dig provide safe drinking water for thousands, eliminate many hours of back breaking labor, and significantly reduce illness. Click the link to see the photo:
One of our happiest experiences was the day we traveled up into the hills above the port to spend the afternoon with the Santos family. These warm and generous people welcomed us into their humble, mud brick home and fed us a delicious meal of beans, rice, chicken and fried bananas. After lunch, they suggested we walk higher up on the mountainside behind their village for a beautiful view of the harbor. Karen and I marveled at the lush tropical plants; palms, coconuts, bananas, coffee plants and countless flowering shrubs. Click the link to see the photo: A far less enjoyable day was the Sunday morning we spent at the port garbage dump. Hundreds of desperately poor Hondurans actually live IN the dump and survive by raking through the trash as it arrives. The scene is hard to describe. Dozens of vultures wheel overhead and fight nearby over scraps of garbage. Mountains of trash stretch out of sight in the smoky haze, a haze created by fires that periodically sweep the dump. As you might imagine, the smell is simply beyond description. A local church sponsors a Sunday school for the children living at the dump. While in port the Caribbean Mercy’s crew partnered with the church to assist with the program. Each weekend they spent a few minutes telling Bible stories, singing a few songs, then providing the children a wholesome meal. They even took time to teach rudimentary lessons on health and hygiene. Our morning at the dump was difficult, but rewarding. We will never forget the warm and generous people we met there, especially the children who tugged at our heartstrings. Click the link to see the photo:
Our two weeks aboard the Caribbean Mercy seemed all too short. We’re making plans already to work on board again next summer when the ship plans to be in the Central American nation of Belize. Not your idea of a romantic anniversary cruise? Perhaps a Mercy Ship’s tour of duty isn’t for everyone, but we couldn’t imagine a better way to thank God for the many blessings He has poured out on our quarter century of marriage. Would you like to return to the top of the page, or would you like to return to the Family Journal list? THIS MATERIAL IS COPYRIGHT PROTECTED WITH ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY WORLD CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING OF THE USA. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE DISSEMINATED IN ANY FASHION WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF WORLD CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING.
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