The “surgery” being done on the ship is done in 3 parts. First, we are in the shipyard (which is still in water) preparing the ship for the removal and replacement of
painting, redoing a lot of the galley, slip protected floor surfaces in required areas etc. etc.….
Secondly, the ship moves to the “graving dock” 
where it is now in a very large hole in the ground with what looks like bleachers on either side of it being supported by hundreds of little wooden blocks
. A very large hole has been cut into the side of the ship
,
so we can take out the old Genny’s and bring in the new ones (out with the old, in with the new :)). 
Having the ship in the graving dock is one of the most expensive parts of having the M/V Africa Mercy’s generators replaced.
So, as soon as they can get the new up-to-date generators in and the hole repaired they will once again go into the shipyard (thirdly), back in the water, and finish the work from there.
Hey Lori, one of the first places I saw when we disembarked was a branch of your very own company. I guess that doesn’t surprise me now since the Durban port is the busiest in the RSA and in the top 10 in the world. (Hmmm, I guess I should’ve talked to your company for donations when coming for repairs and replacements.I guess it’s a bit late now :() One of the many challenges we foresee is getting the work done on time. For the actual generator work the shipyard workers are doing the actual replacement of our generators. Our guys are doing everything else.
You know, truthfully, I can’t actually give you the breakdown of what we’re doing and what the shipyard is doing as I don’t know the details - I just get (and understand) a little piece of information here and there. I’m just trying my best to give you an idea of what is going on. This part is what I understand the least, so please just bear with me.
Well, as you can see and imagine our pristine hospital ship is undergoing some major overhauls and will need to be scrubbed from top to bottom upon our return. (They have been trying to protect the sterilized equipment in the hospital by putting no entry tape around the perimeter – we’ll see how that worked out for them.
As of Dec. 16 the RSA goes on a National Holiday for a month – need I say more???? We are under serious time restraints; however, they say if they are not finished they will continue to work??? Every little delay costs so much money (we’re already into more than 6 million, more than I can even comprehend). Once they are done we then have the task of getting the ship into tip top shape (more than just cleaning): returning things to their proper place, setting up the hospital, hanging paintings etc., for the PR we will be doing here in Durban. The tentative dates for that are Jan. 13-18th, sail to Cape Town for 5 days and do PR there from the 24 –30th and then to Sierra Leone for our next 10 month outreach. I will talk more about this in a future blog!
Some of the challenges here that I ask you to pray for are that the spirits of the crew that are living on the ship to stay upbeat. They are working in stifling conditions without air conditioning, limited ventilation, controlled electricity, no water (outhouses on the dock), working 24/7, as well as, many of them separated from their families and all of them separated from the community (as are we). Please keep them (and us) in your prayers.
May the Spirit of the Lord be upon you!
Love and hugs,
Carol xox 
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