San Francisco Pastor and his wife to become Chaplains on Africa Mercy Ship

A San Franciscan pastor and his wife, Marty and Catherine Schwebel, are leaving the city streets for life in Africa on the decks of the world's largest non-governmental hospital ship - see previous blog

'Okay, I'll go, but only if we can get a monkey!' said one of their three boys on hearing the news that his parents wanted to transport them half-way around the world to live on a ship in Africa.

He didn't just mean a pet monkey on board, but one that he could eventually bring back to San Francisco!

It was a tricky bartering situation but much to Catherine's relief, google provided her with a simple solution: it is illegal to import monkeys!

With that minor hurdle out of the way, the family settled down to the serious business of leaving family and friends and preparing for the biggest adventure of their lives, to spend an initial two years on board the Africa Mercy.

The Africa Mercy is the flagship of the Mercy Ships fleet, equipped with six operating theatres, a 78-bed ward, and satellite communications to enable digital images, including CT and X-rays, to be transmitted and diagnosed remotely.

One of the common operations they perform is for obstetric fistula, a disabling and distressing result of prolonged labour where the baby usually dies and the woman is left incontinent. Often this leads to a wife being deserted by her husband and shunned in the community.

On the ship, though, women are healed and then presented with a new dress in a 'dress ceremony' to return home in style. Mercy Ships are also involved in community and healthcare programmes, so that Marty and Catherine will be supporting a wide scope of work through their chaplaincy care.

During the fund-raising afternoon at San Francisco airport's Aviation Museum they showed a video of the work of the Africa Mercy and answered questions.

'How are you going to get your hair done?' someone had lightheartedly asked Catherine.

'There's a hair salon on board!' she said. With a lot of short-term roles on the ship, it turned out that Marty had already recruited a hair-stylist! Pointing out that the chaplains review all work applications, he added, '...my goal is to stock the ship with all the people I know and love so I won't be homesick!'

Of course another of his aims, as a trained opera singer, is to start a choir, so no doubt patients will find themselves recuperating to the sound of heavenly singing.

Apart from hairdressing, another perk on board will be Starbucks coffee, he said. The chairman of the board of directors of Mercy Ships happens to be the CEO of the large department store chain, JC Penney, and a board member of Starbucks. So the coffee company has made a generous donation of ten years of free coffee.

'I will be a well-caffeinated chaplain!' joked Marty.

What is the childrens' biggest fear? someone asked. 'Missing their friends and our dog,' was the answer.

Shadow, their black poodle, is to live with Catherine's parents. However, Marty consoles himself with this thought: every time he thinks of Shadow, he visualizes him drinking Chardonnay by the pool! Wine-sipping pooch or not, they are comforted by the fact that he will be loved and cared for.

After Togo, they sail in August to South Africa, travelling around the Cape of Good Hope to the city of East London. Where they will spend their second year is not yet known. It could be one of several countries including Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Congo, Angola or Sierra Leone.

Another question was about security, regarding both pirates and political instability. The ships, reassured Catherine, are very safety conscious. They don't sail where pirates operate and they only enter countries where they are welcomed. Once in port, there is security on board, added Marty.

Other questions were about their finances, as all work on the ship is voluntary and they need funding as a family, and what they will do when their initial two-year stint is over. The answer about the future is that it will depend on family circumstances whether they stay on the ship or return to San Francisco.

In the meantime the family aim to keep in touch via satellite phone, email, Facebook, blogs and Twitter. Afterwards, Catherine posted on Facebook:

'I'm very blessed and touched by all our friends who came to our Mercy Ships fundraiser last night...you guys are awesome and so supportive! We'll miss you!!'

For Marty and Catherine's blog: www.schwebelfamily.org

pics show: Marty and Catherine speaking; a screen grab from the video showing a child with a cleft palate

Pastor Leaves San Francisco for Hospital Ship in Africa

A San Franciscan pastor and his wife are leaving the city streets for life in Africa on the decks of the world's largest non-governmental hospital ship.

Marty and Catherine Schwebel are to become chaplains on board the Africa Mercy, a ship nearly twice the size of a football field and on which 7,000 FREE operations a year are performed on some of the poorest people of Africa.

With them on their adventure will be their sons, 12-year-old Nathaniel, ten-year-old Ethan and six-year-old Theo.

'It's not an easy thing, to leave,' said Marty, who with Catherine has been involved in Cornerstone Church in the Mission District for 13 years, the last eight as one of their pastors.

He and Catherine were speaking yesterday afternoon at a fund-raising event for them at San Francisco airport's Aviation Museum, organized by members of the church.

In two weeks' time the family leave the city to travel to Valley Garden, Texas, until December for further training with the Mercy Ships organization. Then in January they will pack a few belongings to fill seven rolling duffel bags and a backpack each, and fly to Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, to meet up with the Africa Mercy.

On board they will begin to settle into their new life in a small three-bedroomed apartment as they sail across the Atlantic to their first port of call, the impoverished country of Togo, West Africa. There, the ship will be berthed and will provide free medical care until August.

Working overseas has been a long-held dream for the couple, who also want to give their children experience of life in another culture. And for Marty, he doesn't think that it will be very different from life in San Francisco.

'That's what Cornerstone has been about, ministering to many different nations,' Marty said.

On the ship are about 450 people from all over the world representing about 100 different denominations. All are voluntary, from the Captain and crew to the medical and support staff, alhough there is no religious prerequisite for people to receive treatment.

'They reach out to everyone,' said Marty.

He will join a team of four chaplains and Catherine will work part-time as an assistant chaplain and perhaps also teach ESL - English as a Second Language.

Both of them have lived abroad before - Catherine, who is from San Francisco, has even spent three months on board the first Mercy Ship, the Anastasis, after leaving college - and relish the prospect of living and working amongst so many different cultures.

With a love of living overseas, Catherine gained a Masters degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language and has worked in Morocco, Spain and Switzerland. Marty is a trained opera singer from Texas who has had an extensive musical education. They met while they were teaching at summer school in Switzerland.

When they eventually settled in San Francisco, they joined Cornerstone where Catherine started a moms' group and Marty, aside from his pastoral skills, used his musical talents to direct the choir and perform in Easter musicals.

Yesterday, the choir with new and former members, performed an emotional farewell. As compere, Sung, said in his introduction:

'We are giving a tribute to an amazing, beautiful, incredible couple who are going into the repair and restoration business in Africa.'

The Africa Mercy is not only about medical and dental work. Their volunteers are involved with many community programmes. More about the ship, and Marty and Catherine and their family is in the next blog...