Paul’s Update May 2003 Morehead City, North Carolina Greetings from the Caribbean Mercy currently in Morehead City, North Carolina. Technical Update - It takes a lot of upkeep and behind the scenes work to keep a ship ministry floating.  The month of May saw a lot a needed technical work in order to keep on top of the maintenance of the Caribbean Mercy.  As ships get older and as new regulations for shipping come into play more and more systems onboard need upgrading.  That is where I come in, as Project Engineer.  I travel to the ships and coordinate activities to make sure the upgrades and repairs happen.  I do most of the preparations for this from our Texas office, and then as the time gets close, I travel to the ship and organize things there.  Our staffing department is really been good about getting us up to speed with all the technical volunteers, such as welders, plumbers, electricians and general maintenance workers. A few of this years projects for the Caribbean Mercy include the installation of new sewage transfer tanks, a generator overhaul, 110volt system upgrades, the boat house deck repairs ( roof repairs ) and several other minor things around the ship.  After I am finished here in Morehead City, I will be going to the Texas office for a few weeks to prepare for the Anastasis dry dock in Spain this summer.  The main project I will be overseeing in Spain is the remodeling of the hospital ward.  I will coordinate the work among several departments on the ship to increase the size of the ward by 20 beds.  This will also include relocating the pharmacy, and installing some new toilets in the exiting ward.  This will allow us to increase the number of people we can provide care to each year.  My stay on the Anastasis will be for four months and take me to Spain, Holland, England and Germany.  The Anastasis will spend about three months on PR tour and then return to Africa for another 7 months of outreach.  Paul’s Update - Well that is a little update about the work I am doing in the ministry, now for some personal news.  I have really been enjoying my new Promise Keepers Devotional Bible and God has been continuing to teach me new things on a regular basis, not to mention my good friend David has the same Bible, which gives me an opportunity from time to time to discuss the scripture for the day with him. The North Carolina coast is a very nice place.  Before I came to Mercy Ships, I would travel here on a regular basis for vacations.  One of the things I have wanted to do for quite some time was to go canoeing.  My friend David had this idea that we should go while we were here in North Carolina and I agreed.  After several days of looking for a canoe rental place, I found one in a small town about an hour from the ship.  The name said it all – “Boon Docks” canoe rentals.  We spent all day last Saturday on the White Oak River in a small canoe.  There was maybe three houses the whole trip, which really allowed us to experience the nature of God’s creation.  We saw turtles, hawks, eagles, and several other wild animals.  The canoe trip was defiantly a highlight of my time here in North Carolina. I have enjoyed many pleasant evening off the ship in the mild weather that is here, but at the same time we have managed to get about six weeks worth of work into a four week window.  I am looking forward to spending a few days at home before heading back to the Texas office to prepare for my summer of projects in Europe   If you have a chance to reply to this e-mail I would love to hear from you and about what is going on in your life right now. God Bless May God bless each one of you! Paul