Greetings:
Well I know it has
been a long time since I have written an update and I do apologize for
that. It is February 2003 and I have just arrived at the Texas office
for Mercy Ships after spending some time with the Caribbean Mercy. As
you may know I have shifted out of the computer department and moved
into a department called Marine Operations and I am serving the ministry
there as Project Engineer. I travel to the ships and work on
electronics types of projects such as PA system upgrades and new fire
alarm panel installations. I really enjoy this new line of work plus
the travel benefits are great, but I must say though that I really miss
being on the ship and look forward to returning there sometime in the
future. I have really discovered a new interest in the last few months;
that is an interest of the more technical side of ships, such as the
work you may encounter in the Deck department.
The
Deck department is responsible for things like, cargo, lines, safety,
navigation, standing watch, security, and training. The department
where I am now is the land based department that is responsible to
support the technical departments on the ships. I am not too excited
about Texas, but I am very excited about the work I am doing here. It
is very rewarding to know that this ministry helps over half a million
people each year, and with a new ship going on line that number will be
one million people a year and I am excited that I am a part of that
too! It takes us all working together to make it happen. I know that
this letter is going out in bulk format, and I wish I had the time to
write each and everyone of you personally, but know that as I address
the letters I will be thinking about you! I really hope to hear back
about the things that you have been doing, even if it is the same old
boring stuff!
THE YEAR END REVUE
JANUARY TO APRIL -
2002
Well I will try to
summarize this so it does not get to long and boring! Until April of
2002 I was living onboard the M/V Caribbean Mercy. During March and
April, I installed a completely new fire alarm system; this is not your
ordinary smoke detector, but a network of detectors, pull stations, and
sounders. I forget actually how many miles of wire we pulled to connect
them all up, but it was a lot. The new system will notify the emergency
teams of an exact location of the emergency and even sound pagers for
quick response. When you live on a ship floating in the ocean or docked
in a developing country, a quick response is a must for the safety of us
all!
MAY 2002 - RADIO
STATION?
In May I flew down to
Guatemala, There I have a friend that I have met through Mercy Sh
ips.
His name is Estuardo Clara Vela and he is a pastor of a local church
where his wife and children help in the ministry. I have been working
with Estuardo to start a Christian radio station in the town of Santo
Tomas de Castilla, a little city across the bay from Puerto Barrios, one
of the major Caribbean ports for Guatemala. Well I never thought I
would learn so much about radio, more than I ever thought I would, but
we did it! The station has been on the air for a little over one year!
This station has a ministry to bring unity among the pastors and some
good teachings to the people and just a good source of safe music for
the whole family to listen to. It has been a real struggle to keep the
finances going since this is a Christian Radio station and it is
Listener supported, and Guatemala has a poor economy, so if any of you
want to make a donation to help this station you may contact me
directly.
Would you believe it only takes about $2000 per
month to keep this radio station on the air and maintain the equipment!
**** PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT TO HELP IN ANY WAY. *****
JUNE 2002
In June I returned to
Texas for about 30 days to prepare for the next project, this time it
would take me to the Anastasis, Mercy Ships flagship. Mercy Ships has
been operating this ship for 25 years now and I am on my way to see it,
talk about anticipation!
JULY TO SEPTEMBER
2002
I met up with the
Anastasis in Tenerife, where we sailed to Rotterdam, by way of
Guernsey. This was my first trip to Europe, and
I
really enjoyed it. Rotterdam, Holland is where we put the M/V Anastasis
in to dry dock for technical work that needed to be done. During this
time, I coordinated a small team to replace over 100 speakers and
install 14 new amplifiers on the public address system. This system is
used to contact crew members around the ship and more importantly it is
used for announcements from the bridge that may be of a safety or
emergency nature or something like “dolphins off the port bow!” which
sends everyone to the side of the ship looking in the water. I had a
really good time of connecting with people I had only sent e-mail to
over the last few years as well as making new friends and connecting
with old friends! After the dry dock was finished we sailed to Bristol
in the U.K. where I took a bus to London and was on my way back to
Texas! I spent six weeks in Texas before I went home for Thanksgiving.
NOVEMBER TO DECEMBER
2002 – and part of January 2003
In November I went
home to spend some time with my family, and help out my sister with a
few things as she opened up her own animal hospital in Pensacola,
Florida. I really enjoyed a great time at Thanksgiving as the
family all got together for a great dinner. After thanksgiving I was
able to spend some time with a good friend, we visited some sites around town and
then we went to the annual New Orleans Workboat Show. At the Workboat
Show we represented Mercy Ships with a booth set up amongst thousands of
other booths representing every kind of product or service pertaining
to the shipping industry. After that I went to the Caribbean Mercy in
Gulfport Mississippi to work on an electrical project. After spending
Christmas and New Years on the ship (which I really enjoyed) it was time
to work again. I was able to help load the outreach supplies and fill
up the cargo holds preparing for the outreach in the Dominican
Republic.
FEBRUARY 2003
I am now back at the
Texas office and will prepare to do it all over again this year. I am
currently upgrading the software for the computers in the Marine
Operation Department and will soon start preparing for the technical
phases of the Caribbean Mercy and the Anastasis.
*** SUPPORT ***
For those of you who
support me, I am ever grateful and want you to know that together we are
making a difference in the world.
If you are interested
in supporting me and did not know that Mercy Ships is an all volunteer
Global Charity and that your gift in kind to me is Tax Deductible, well
it is and it can make a difference! I will be more than happy to talk
to you about my budget. as I am currently looking to increase my support
base. If you would like to send a monthly contribution or a onetime
gift you may do so with the information below:
Send Check to:
|
Mercy Ships –
Donor Services
PO Box 2020
Lindale, Texas
75771-2020
|
** Make checks out to Mercy Ships and attach
a separate
note stating support for Paul Tonetti **
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