day two on the sea

Today was day two of our sail; thankfully it turned out to be quite smooth as well. This morning work went on as usual, although I had quite a bit of difficulty making coffee while swaying back and forth. There were a couple of times when no customers were around and so I tried to sit on the stool we have behind the counter. More than once I ended up simply tipping straight over! After the third or fourth time I fell, I decided it would be best just to remain standing instead.

This evening as everyone sat at dinner, it was announced that some sort of funnel of water had been spotted near the boat. After the entire crew rushed to the windows, we saw that it was a water spout! We were so close to it that we could see the water coming up out of the ocean and forming the funnel. Some people said they think it was as close as a mere mile away.

About an hour later, the announcement came that dolphins had been spotted alongside the boat. Because I was nowhere near a window, I decided not to rush out to look. Apparently the dolphins were all gone before most people were even in a spot where they could potentially be visible. After another half hour, it was announced that killer whales had been seen! At this I decided it was well worth it to leave my work and rush to the window. I never got to see the whales come above the water, but I was able to see the water shoot from the surface as they came near the surface to breathe.

Later on in the evening we had a Christmas storytelling night. Different groups put together skits and were stationed in separate areas of the ship. The rest of the crew traveled from station to station to watch each skit. We all met back together in the International Lounge where the Academy children put on a music performance followed by Christmas carols sung by the whole crew. It was a fun evening to ring in the sail and to celebrate Christmas together. All in all I would say that Day 2 of the sail was quite a success! Great memories and zero seasickness! Now let’s pray the rest of the sail continues this smoothly!

water water everywhere...but we have plenty to drink

As I write this blog, I am sitting on the top deck of a ship as it slices through the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The sky around me is bathed in a pinkish hue as the sun sets to my left. To my right I see only endless blue water and the purple haze of sky slowly dim to a dark blue. The slow hum of the laptop’s music completes the relaxing atmosphere as Kaylee and I soak in the magnitude of the scene.

This morning at 11 o’clock, the M/V Africa Mercy left her port in Cotonou, Benin and started the week and a half long trek north to the Canary Islands. While I have been consistently amazed at how vividly I have seen God work over the past four months, I have never been in such awe as in the past twelve hours. Just four days ago, there were doubts as to whether or not the ship would actually be able to sail. Several unexplained issues arose, providing complicating puzzles for the engineers to solve. Just twenty-four hours ago, there were parts that still had not arrived on the ship. A man working for Mercy Ships in Norway flew in on the 8 o’clock flight last night in order to deliver a necessary part. Engineers spent all night replacing the piece and this morning, the ship left her harbor just as scheduled. While God could have shown His power through allowing a problem-free sail preparation, He didn’t. Instead He gave us all yet again the opportunity to trust in Him, and then gave us all the more reason to stand in awe at what He could accomplish.

Watching the ship prepare to leave this morning was quite a production. While the engineers worked all through the night last night doing final checks, the work that I personally witnessed began around 8 o’clock this morning. The fire alarm rang loudly as we practiced an at-sea fire drill. Once we were all mustered and every crew member was accounted for, we were able to pull up the gangway in order to sail. I was put on coffee for the morning, so I had the joy of watching everyone’s anticipation as the morning dragged on. Around 10:30, it was announced that we were ready to depart, so we closed down the café and snack bar and headed up to decks 7 and 8 with the rest of the crew. Leaning over the edge of the railing, we watched the tug boats attach to the front of the ship. Finally, the pilot’s boat came up alongside the ship and the pilot jumped on board to guide us out.

As we began to move with the tugs, all of the crew cheered loudly. We waved goodbye to the day workers and a few crew members staying behind as the stood on the dock. Slowly, the dock grew smaller and smaller, as we looked on to the vast expanse of blue ahead of us.

After every bit of land was completely out of sight, my friends and I headed down to the dining hall to eat lunch. At this point, I really began to feel the rocking of the ship. As I stood in line holding my plate, I swayed from side to side, hardly able to stay standing! Although most people are slightly embarrassed by the fact that they can’t stand straight, I find the teetering somewhat hilarious, and I actually enjoy it (but we’ll see what I’m saying about it ten days from now…)

After a normal afternoon of work in the Ship Shop, I realized how exhausted my body was from the rocking of the ship. I went down to my cabin to take a quick nap and ended up sleeping for over two hours! I awoke to find all five of my roommates just as tired, so I felt a bit better about sleeping through the whole afternoon of my first day of sailing.

After dinner, the bow was opened up so that we could all stand to watch the sun set. It was without a doubt the most incredible sun set I have ever seen. The sun was so huge in the sky, it seemed to envelope everything. It was so radiant, yet somehow dim enough that I could look straight at it without hurting my eyes. We all leaned over the edge and let the breeze overtake us, giving the incredible sensation of flying! Then, as we leaned carelessly over the edge, we saw flying fish begin to jump in and out of the water. With wonder and amazement, my friends and I began to discuss how incredible heaven must be. In just seven days, God created all of this amazing world. Not only that, but this is creation having been tinged by sin. Can you imagine what heaven must look like, not only being completely void of sin, but also being prepared for us for thousands of YEARS? And if heaven and earth are only the creation, how much more magnificent must the thoughtful Creator be? As I think about it, I can only laugh because it is so beyond my imagination. I absolutely cannot wait!

Now that the sun has set, I am surrounded by the pitch black night sky. The captain has chosen to keep the lights off on the top deck of the ship in order that we don’t interrupt the beauty of the night sky. My friends and I will soon lie down in order to look at the stars. I have never before seen so many stars, especially being this big and bright. Again, I can only laugh at the magnificence of the creation I am currently witnessing.

This was taken as we left the dock. Sorry it's really choppy!

Since it has been three weeks since I last blogged, I don't even know where to begin! So much has happened in the past few weeks so I will try and remember it all to relay in this blog. I'm sorry I have waited so long since my last blog, I'm going to try from now on to stay on top of things and write a blog as soon as something exciting happens so that I know longer end up in this situation with a million stories to try and compile into one blog. But for now, I guess this one will be extra long.

I believe in my last blog, I wrote about our invitation to the President's house for dinner. Well the first three times the dinner was planned, the President called last minute to cancel. But finally about two weeks ago, we actually made it to the dinner! The last hour before the drivers came to start picking us up was madness because no one actually believed the dinner was going to happen! By 4 o'clock, however, we realized that he still had not cancelled and we should probably figure out something to wear. My cabin was complete madness with eight girls frantically trying to get ready for a dinner date with the President of Benin. The evening was a long one, but it was also lots of fun. Upon arriving we were ushered into a giant room where we were served drinks and were expected to simply mingle around for about an hour. Finally around 7 o'clock we were allowed to enter the dining hall, of course by this point we were all starving! In order to enter the dining room, everyone had to go through a security checkpoint which only served to delay the process even longer. The dining hall seemed to go on forever with dozens of tables beautifully decorated in white and orange. After everyone was seated, the President presented awards to the founder of Mercy Ships as well as to a few other key people. He presented long speeches which I'm sure were full of endless compliments to us all, however they were entirely in French, and while I am trying hard to become fluent in French, my brain could not handle attempting to translate throughout the entirety of his speech. Therefore, my mind just concentrated even harder on the hunger I was feeling. FINALLY around 9 o'clock, four hours after we typically eat dinner, the President opened up the buffet lines for us to enjoy some traditional African favorites. The dinner was quite delicious, finished by a dessert of fresh fruits. While we dined, several different dance troupes from every part of the country performed for us. Because my table was near the back, we could not see much of the performances, but the performers all walked past us so we were able to admire their exquisite costumes. Around 11 o'clock the first set of people returned to the ship. My friends and I were in the final group of people to return to the ship, arriving around midnight. It was a night to remember, as I probably will never again get the chance to dine at the house of the president of a country!

Last Saturday I returned to the prison again for the final time. Because our outreach in Benin is winding down, all of our work with programs here in Benin must also come to an end. As we walked into the women's section, I was surprised not to see my friend Charlotte waiting at the door as she typically did. Chelsea and I began to wander through all of the pathways and rooms in the womens section looking for dear Charlotte, but she was nowhere to be found. When we returned to the main area, we asked some of the women where Charlotte might be. Excitedly, they all began to exclaim "Elle sortie!! Elle sortie!! Elle retourne a sa maison!!" I immediately got excited, then realized Chelsea did not know what they were saying. I turned to her and, laughing with excitement, said "Charlotte went home!" Typically the women in the prison have no idea when they will get to go home. Most have never had a trial, and even if they are given a release date, they understand that it means nothing until they are actually released. I don't think Charlotte had any idea when she would be released, at least she never gave me and hint that she did. Instead, she just continually asked us to pray for her and sing with her. It was apparent that her singing brought joy and encouragement to all of the women in the prison in the several months that she was there. To see that she was finally able to return home filled me with so much joy and encouragement, I cannot even put it into words. I have been praying endlessly for this sweet girl since I first became friends with her 2 months ago. To see those prayers answered is so exciting, and I know that I will one day see her again in Glory, where she and I can again sing together, this time in the presence of the King of Kings.

The rest of the day Saturday I spent relaxing at the beach. On Sunday Chelsea and I went to an ice cream shop in Cotonou that has free WiFi. We were able to use Skype and watch Facebook videos, which are restricted on the ship as they slow down the internet connection immensely. It was so nice to be able to watch the videos Emma Claire and Isaiah have made, as well as some from friends. Up until now I have only been able to see that they exist and longingly wish to be able to watch them!

On Monday, Chelsea began working with me in the Sales Department! It is so much fun to have her working with me now! She will be working in Sales until we sail to Togo, where she will go back to OR sterilizing. Kaylee and I took over the task of training Chelsea, a task my manager does not particular like doing herself. I'm so excited to have Chelsea work with me over the next couple of months!

Thursday, as everyone knows, was Thanksgiving Day. This week was probably the hardest week on me, as I saw all of my friends Facebook status's change to things like "Back to St Louis!" or "with family for Thanksgiving!" or "seeing high school friends!" I began to realize how much I miss home and being with friends and family for the holidays. Even more, I realized how sad it was to be in a community full of other nationalities on a major American holiday. Lots of people on the ship did not even realize that it was an important day to Americans. Because we expected the day to be a less cheerful Thanksgiving than typical, my American friends and I decided to do what we could to make it more special. On Wednesday evening Chelsea and I prepared pumpkin muffins from a box mix that my mom sent me. On Thursday morning, she and I skipped breakfast so that we could sleep in. We then ate our breakfast of pumpkin muffins in our room, realized how much we missed being able to eat breakfast in our pajamas! As we ate we reminisced on past Thanksgivings and our family traditions. We also talked about the things we are most thankful for this year. Although this was the least traditional Thanksgiving I have ever had, and in some ways the saddest, I realized that this year I was more thankful than ever before! As she and I talked we continually thought of more and more things that we were grateful for. It is amazing to see how God has blessed us since coming to the Ship.

After our relaxing breakfast, we had to head off to work which was a less than enjoyable day. It was busy and stressful and the whole time I was thinking of how I missed my family. The work day seemed to drag on forever, but eventually it was over. Thursday evening, Kaylee and Bonny Jean both had to work through dinner, then after the community meeting Chelsea and I had to work for a bit. We decided to save our dinners so that we could have a big family style Thanksgiving meal together after we all finished work. During the community meeting, Michelle and Bonny Jean decorated a meeting room so that we could have our dinner in private. At 9 o'clock we were all finally free to eat. Once we got up to the room for dinner, all of the frustrations and homesickness of the day just disappeared. There were eight people total at our "family" dinner -- 5 Americans, and 3 non-Americans who we welcomed anyways. It was so fun to include our non-American friends in our event, teaching them our holiday traditions. Our dinner lasted almost 2 hours, as we kept telling stories and laughing till our bellies ached. Even though I missed my family terribly, it was definately a Thanksgiving I will remember forever.

At midnight, we rang in the beginning of the Christmas season by blaring "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" loudly through our room, as I set up our little Christmas corner. We are doing the best we can to decorate for Christmas given our limited decoration options. As most people now, I LOVE decorating for Christmas, and I am not about to let the fact that I am on a ship in Africa diminish my decorating. So far, our room is full of paper snowflakes, paper chains, and even a 3-d Christmas tree made out of cardboard and paper! We also play plenty of Christmas music in our room, trying to get us all in the Christmas spirit. Still, the fact that it is 90 degrees outside brings down the holiday cheer several notches. I am hoping that once we set sail and the weather cools off a bit, we will be able to feel more Christmasy, but for now we are doing the best that we can.

On Friday night, Chelsea and I had swimmer watch. Because it is so close to the time of the sail, throughout the evenings there are continually people on watch to make sure no one tries to sneak on board as a stowaway. From 2-3 am, Chelsea and I were on watch in the front half of the ship. We were outfitted in bright yellow vests and given a giant flashlight and whistle. We got to roam the bridge, a section of the ship that is typically off limits to crew. While we did not get the excitement of catching any people trying to sneak on board, we felt proud that we were able to play a part in protecting the ship.

Yesterday was Blackout Saturday, the day that all of the electricity is turned off on the Ship in order to do necessary work on the engine before we set sail. Since there were no lights or air conditioning, we were stronlgy encouraged to leave the ship for the whole day. In the morning I went with my friends Emma and Bonny Jean to the CEO Boys home, a home for boys that have been rescued from trafficking in Cotonou. The ship raised money to buy paint for the home and we are now helping them to repaint all of their walls. Different groups from the ship have been going for several weeks now, but this was the first time for the three of us. We started by chipping the old paint off of the walls. Originally, the plan was just to chip off loose pieces before adding primer, but the boys in the home decided to take it a few steps further and chip of every single bit of the old paint (of which there were several layers!). Because it was so hot outside we were dripping in sweat, then as we chipped at the paint, all of the tiny pieces would stick to our skin, covering us in different colors of paint chips. After we chipped off a whole wall of paint, we began to prime the walls. In the beginning, the teams were doing good thick coats of primer, being sure that every bit of wall was covered. This time, however, the people at the boys home had watered down the paint immensely in order to make it last longer. For this reason, the paint was runny and difficult to get on well. After the primer dried, we began to add the color. Like the primer, the color was very runny and difficult to paint. For this reason, the walls looked drippy and less than beautiful. It was so hard for me to leave with them looking the way they did as I felt we could have done so much better! But the people at the home were just thrilled that we were willing to come and help. I guess the awful drip marks all over the walls did not bother them, they were more worried that they had enough paint to cover all of the walls in the building.

After we were finished painting, we had to come back to the ship to rinse off all of the paint before heading to the pool. We took quick showers, which was quite difficult in total darkness! The three of us then headed to a nearby hotel where we met up with the rest of Emma's family and spent the afternoon swimming. We ate dinner at the hotel as well. The restaurant is outside on a little terrace overlooking the lake. We sat at the table and watched the beautiful sunset while waiting for our food. It was such a nice relaxing dinner, much needed after a long, tiring day. Once we returned to the ship I was completely exhausted and went to bed extremely early.

This week is going to be extremely busy as we are all now preparing for the sail. All surgeries are finished and every patient has returned home. This week the whole ship will be securing everything for the sail. In the sales department this requires reorganizing all of our store rooms, our container, and some things in the Ship Ship and Cafe. Please pray that the five of us in our department are able to keep up our energy throughout the week as we have to do all of the things we least enjoy.

Please also pray for the safety of the Ship as we prepare to sail in just over a week. There has been some pirate activity very close to us, and while we have no reason to worry that we are in danger, please still pray that the Lord protects us from and potential dangers. Please also pray that we have a safe sail without any complications. I also ask that you pray for my health and sanity throughout the sail, as I don't yet know if I am prone to seasickness! I am beginning to realize more and more how incredibly long 10 days is, and the thought of facing ten days of sickness with no escape is quite daunting. I am praying that I am on of the few that has no issue with seasickness and that I will be able to enjoy the entire sail.

Please also pray that I will be able to enjoy the holiday season without getting homesick. The ship does so much to make the Christmas season fun, but at the same time there is nothing like being home with family for the holidays. Thankfully my friends here have become like family and I know that we will make the best of the season, as we all are missing our families together.