Progress Update: January 30th

(Eric building A/C vent box)

• The galley now has A/C and heat! Eric installed a double junction funnel, built a vent box and added new ducting. 
• Eric built framing and an access door for the utilities service area. It has now been caulked, sanded, primed and given two coats of paint.
• Next step is putting the filter vent access panel on the front of the door. 

2018 Annual Newsletter

Using ships to reach the most remote people groups with love, mercy and relief in the name of Jesus Christ 

_______________________________________________________________ 

Dear Friends,

All of us at IMS want to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have supported us with prayers, finances and parts over the last year. We also want to provide you with an update on the substantial progress made toward our mission of supporting Christian and humanitarian missions in the South Pacific island area.

Efforts in 2018 were focused in the two main areas of refit for deployment of the m/v Far Horizons and engagement with key organizations operating in Vanuatu to ensure alignment of our goals. For those of you who have not been involved in a ship refit operation, it involves a lot of materials and effort. IMS was blessed this year to have received everything we needed in terms of financial, material and labor support.

Here is a list of the many refit projects we were able to complete this year, thanks to our supporters and volunteers:

  

• Rebuild of helm guest quarters to now sleep 3 people, including storage, heat/AC and shower facilities

• Rebuild of lower helm station and hallway including flooring, storage, wood work, ceiling, walls and lighting

• Refurbishment of lower guest quarters to now sleep 6 people, by building additional bunks and shower facilities

• Verified the operation of the single-side band radio, VHF radio and long range radar units

• Replaced curtains throughout to improve privacy and keep the interior cooler

• Rebuild of fuel injector pump, filters and starting battery of starboard generator

• Installation of new intake fans for engine room

• Refurbishment of aft water tank for storage 750 gallons of fresh water

• Brought wiring of galley stove up to code

• Replacement of main raw water pump for heat/AC supply

• Repaired steering system hydraulic leaks

• Moved Far Horizons to new dockage for more reliable power supply

Looking forward to 2019 projects:

•Refurbish galley cabinets, replace stove

•Rebuild utility / laundry room

•Rebuild stairwells

•Modernize sewage treatment system

•Refurbish hydraulic power pack and crane

•Rebuild forward potable water tank

•Donation of materials or parts are always welcome! 

We are very thankful to the Lord Jesus for His provision and blessing this year.

We humbly ask for your prayers and support to help us continue our mission, and to follow our progress on our Blog.

Sincerely, 

Eric and Mary Lamoray, 

President and 

Sec/Treasurer of IMS, Inc.

Progress Update: January 14th

(Eric installing cleats)

• The galley storage/hutch area is almost completed! 
• Still to come: Fiddles around the counter top and removable fiddles for the lockers where there will be a lot of motion in rough seas.
• The area surrounding the stove will be primed and painted with epoxy paint.

Progress Update: December 31st

 (Eric beginning galley rebuild)

• Now that the overhead has been repaired, building the cabinets is next. 
• There will be three sets of storage cabinets. One on the side of the stove and two at the back. An overhead access box will allow for fan exhaust, wiring and plumbing from the top deck.
• At this stage, two of the cabinet sets are built, sanded, caulked and ready for primer. 
• The stove outlet needed to be rewired and we had a local electrician do the job. 
• We will be modifying the AC/Heat ducting to get some good air circulation in the galley.
• We will also be relocating/rewiring the light switch for overhead galley lights.

Progress Update: December 11th

The work on the galley rebuild has begun!! This is a very large project and will be completed in stages... 

• The first thing was to replace the overhead section torn out during the termite war last year. It was taxing on Eric's shoulders which do not like overhead work, but thankfully, is now completed. An opening in the center will accommodate the vent for our future oven range hood and also a drain for the upper deck and wire run.
• Next stage is the rebuilding of the A/C area behind the stove. This will entail adding a vent to cool the galley, some re-wiring and re-plumbing, building a new wall and door with access panels.
• A couple small projects were completed during the first week of the month with help from Jared Waipouri (Thanks Jared!!) He detangled, coiled and stored in the aft lazarette some donated line as well as several large coils that had been on the aft deck. He and Eric also wired and installed our second red/safety stair light. 
• Our raw water engine room A/C pump has been rebuilt/re-wired by DEMCO (A local company).

'Why Ships' by Jared Waipouri

Just wanted to share this article written by Jared Waipouri. This is our goal, our calling to be part of the answer to this. This is what it takes to bring care and hope to remote island people! The ship that was working there has relocated to another region, we hope to help fill in the gap! 

Why Ships?
 
It seems like a simple question, with a common sense answer to those of us who’ve been involved for a while. But to paint a picture for those who may never have been out on the ocean, lets consider an outreach in the nation of Vanuatu.
Preparations begin months before each outreach, with advance workers scouting probable locations based on tips from other NGOs, government workers, and a healthy dose of prayer on the part of the leaders of Marine Reach. Scouting the locations is, in itself, no mean feat. First, we need to get to the part of the country we’re thinking about taking the ship. This often happens using domestic flights, whose schedules are far from reliable, and whose destinations rarely get us to where we need to be. That is not to say they take us elsewhere, but simply that the topography of Vanuatu’s islands limits where airports can be in relation to populations.
After landing, we’ll often hire a truck or local water taxi to take us to our intended destination. Sometimes we need both. Because fuel is shipped to the island in drums, it usually costs a lot more than other parts of the country: sometimes up to four times the normal price.
As quickly as protocol allows it, we’ll be visiting with the community chief, elders and medical personnel. With their blessing, we continue to search out the best spot to bring our ship of hope. This next stage is where things get interesting: we need to confirm that the ship can actually stop safely at the island we’re hoping to visit. So we’ll jump into a boat and trundle around, looking at the anchorages the locals recommend. We’ll be thinking about what it will be like to drop the anchor: is the water the right depth? Is there enough room for the ship to swing when the wind and tide do their thing? Is the swell going to make life uncomfortable onboard for our dentists? Is it going to be safe to get people from ship to shore, and to unload supplies if we bring them?
Next, we’ll look at the medical facilities in the area: is there a hospital, a nurse, a doctor, or only a minimally trained community health worker? If not, is there a community building suitable for us to run clinics? Last, we’ll consider the size of the nearby community: is it so big that we’ll be overwhelmed, or so small that we will run out of patients in a day? Do we need to send transport to other communities to give them access too?
If we’re comfortable that these details work together, we will recommend to the ship directors that we run an outreach there.
Once outreach locations are set, we begin the unenviable task of trying to estimate how much, and what type of supplies we will need. We also begin communicating with our partner organisations, who may wish to send construction supplies to a nearby project, or support specific aspects of the outreach.
A week before our volunteers arrive, we’ll be found at anchor in Port Vila, making sure that supplies are onboard, food and fuel has been purchased, medical registrations finalised, and last minute maintenance is done. Before we know the week has passed, our volunteers will begin arriving in the warm, sticky, often bustling Port Vila international airport. With only a few international connections, this the less costly of two places people might fly into Vanuatu.
From the airport, we bundle our volunteers into the back of our small truck, and set off on a 20 minute potholed ride to the middle of town, where we clamber into one of our small ship’s boats. Known as tenders, these small boats are the connection between ship and land; the few wharves that exist in Vanuatu are rarely where our outreaches occur, and even more rarely available for us when we need them.
As we draw near the ship, our new volunteers begin snapping photos, excited for what is to come, and probably unsure exactly what to expect. In a few hours, having introcduced them to the vessel, her safety features, her quirks, her community living challenges, and her safety obligations, we’re eating in a very full, very energetic mess hall. A few more hours and we’re heaving anchor and heading to sea.
The next morning, having been at sea for 12 hours, we are drawing near to our outreach destination. Volunteers and crew jostle around the decks to see a mountain peeking through the clouds as we round the point into our anchorage. We’ve just arrived in a location whose nearest airport is a 2 hour fast-boat ride away, and where roads take the form of rugged, rutted, muddy tracks cutting their way through dense jungle and over impossibly steep hills. The roads are not connected to the rest of the island, but provide connection within a 10 mile radius of the less mountainous parts at this end of the island. Their impact on the vehicles means that most are driven with utmost care to prevent unnecessary damage.
This is isolated.
Many people have never left their island, much less visited the capital city, Port Vila, some 150 miles away.
So why ships?
Well, the planes flying in and out of the airport, the one that is a two hour boat ride away, they’re little 20 seaters. Not the kind which equate to cheap airfares, or large quantities of baggage.
The local ships which call here are’nt designed for passengers and are painfully slow, sometimes taking days to reach the capital city or Luganville, the nation’s northern hub.
These factors, along with an incredibly limited number of medical professionals nationwide, mean that the most effective way to deliver healthcare becomes a ship. A ship carrying tools, equipment and people to provide everything in a self-contained kind of way.
Slowly, dental clinics are being established in parts of the country, reducing the need for a ship to call there, though they are rarely permanently staffed.
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Though this description draws on experiences in Vanuatu, the reality across the Pacific remains very similar: limited infrastructure, even more limited trained personnel, and frustratingly underwhelming transportation links result in a profound need for medical and community development ships. The fact is, the need for ships carrying hope and mercy in the Pacific is as acute as it has ever been.