Well,

now that it's official--

this is the news.

The Caribbean Mercy will be laid up and inoperative for at least six months to a year, beginning in about a month. This is simply because the repairs needed before the ship can sail again would cost more than Mercy Ships has to its name right now. The organization as a whole, having been run by the grace of God (i'll call it that, since i see nothing else it possibly could be) on a see-through shoestring for twenty-six years and counting, is as broke as ever. In spite of all that continues to be done by the Anastasis in Africa as we speak, the Caribbean Mercy is being forced to bow out for now.

It has been really good to watch this crew pull together and support each other through this tough time--really, since before Christmas. For many here, this is home, and now they have to do some serious individual reexamining of what's next. In the cargo industry, taking a ship out of service for a time is not uncommon, but for this one-of-a-kind "global charity" in the midst of its growth pains, struggling to graduate from its mom-and-pop pioneering stage, it's really hard. Mercy Ships does not want to sell this ship--not least since no one wants to have to change our name to Mercy Ship, singular (even if many old hands at the IOC have still been seeing it that way all along). And the Africa Mercy, of course, is still in Newcastle, which is where all the money's been going. So laying up the Caribbean Mercy for a time seems to be the best thing to do right now. For the crew, this means everyone will need to transfer off to another Mercy Ships location, probably within about six weeks. For the ship, it means remaining in Mobile, laid up with only a small caretaker crew, until the money comes in.