So we're here! We made it safetly! Sailing was defentley an adventure!
Before the sail we had been informided of the great possibility of sea sickness, due to the ship's rocking. Prepared, stuff tied down and sea sick pills at arm's reach, we set off.
The majority of the sail was actually very smooth. It was popular at the dining room to watchc people attempt to get from one side of the room to another with arms ladened with drinks and food. Working was an adventure everyday, especially when it came to the trolley. We have a heavy trolley that we use to collect the dirty dishes. I ladened up the trolley and set off. At first the ship is tilting to one direction, making pushing the thing as hard as if I were attempting to push it up a mountain. Pushing as hard as I could, the ship would then tilt, sending me flying across the room, the cart having suddenly become weightless. It's a wonder that I never hit anyone. Even though, we were relieved that the sail should be so smooth and wondered at the reasoning behind such measures as we had gone to.
The sunrises and sunsets were amazing. You would stand and watch as the golden sun turn red as it touched the water. The night sky was like I had never seen. I knew that they were millions upon millions of stars, but to look up at the sky, unhindered by the lights of a city, I was not aware that there were even that many close enough to be seen.
Even that would have been enough for me, but God chose instead to send a metor shower halfway through the journey. On the last night of the shower I slept up on deck eight. To have friends around, laughing and talking, wrapped up warm in a blanket, then to look up and see a star slide across the sky... What could be better?
About three to four days away from Tenerife, the sea began to be more rocky, caused by a far away storm. Stair went from being a challenge to an epic journey. Things in our room, unthought of things, flew across the room. Curtians swished back and forth, unhindered by our attempts till I finally jammed them into my closet door.
Work in the dinning room was the most 'exciting' of all. We had already tied down most things, but certiant items, like the trays that held the bread were simply as stable as they could be. Who ever had the idea to put grip mats under those was a genius. Silverware also, placed momentarly on the table would come to the ground. I made the mistake of putting a tray of sardines on the table while I looked for the mat. The moment I turned around, the ship tilted again and it slide off. Needless to say, that was not fun to clean.
So, now that I'm at port, did I enjoy the sail? And the answer is yes. It was an adventure, beautiful, interesting and at times messy, and I enjoyed every minute of it and am looking forward to the next sail.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Day 20 or Sailing Away
I can't believe it! It seems like it was only yesterday that I was arriving in Benin and already we're leaving! Today we officially set sail for Tenerife. Can you believe that I'm going to spend Christmas in the Canary Islands?
Today I saw my first real life flying fish! They opened the bow and every one in a while you would see a fish skip through the water, like a small stone.
It was the most amazing thing, standing at the tip, the wind pushing against, the waves down below. You look, and as far as you see, there is only blue. So beautiful, but I think I can understand how such a sight for months at a time could drive a man insane. When you look out, you feel somehow like you are the only one. It is the most peaceful and at the same time, lonely feeling, to be the only one.
So I have officially spent my first holiday away from home. Thanksgiving was great, we had a real Thanksgiving meal. It was also my first working holiday.
I enjoy it here, the work is hard, but good. One of the things I really like about the dinning room is that there are two sides to it. There is the 'Lines' as we call it, the job where you make sure there is enough food out, keep the lines clean, and greet people. It's nice because you get to see everyone, ask them how their day was and just make small talk.
There's also the dish washing, which can be done by one, two or three people, depending on how many people are eating. That's also a good job, especially when you don't feel like talking to people. So really, no matter what mood you're in, you can still enjoy work. You aren't forced to talk to everyone, nor are you kept apart.
Today I saw my first real life flying fish! They opened the bow and every one in a while you would see a fish skip through the water, like a small stone.
It was the most amazing thing, standing at the tip, the wind pushing against, the waves down below. You look, and as far as you see, there is only blue. So beautiful, but I think I can understand how such a sight for months at a time could drive a man insane. When you look out, you feel somehow like you are the only one. It is the most peaceful and at the same time, lonely feeling, to be the only one.
So I have officially spent my first holiday away from home. Thanksgiving was great, we had a real Thanksgiving meal. It was also my first working holiday.
I enjoy it here, the work is hard, but good. One of the things I really like about the dinning room is that there are two sides to it. There is the 'Lines' as we call it, the job where you make sure there is enough food out, keep the lines clean, and greet people. It's nice because you get to see everyone, ask them how their day was and just make small talk.
There's also the dish washing, which can be done by one, two or three people, depending on how many people are eating. That's also a good job, especially when you don't feel like talking to people. So really, no matter what mood you're in, you can still enjoy work. You aren't forced to talk to everyone, nor are you kept apart.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Day Four or Ahhh.... Weekends....
Today is Sunday, and I am very happy to say, my first day off. What did I do with my free day? While, first I accidently slept in and missed breakfast. (Whoops.) Then I was privilaged enough to attend Ward Church.
Ward Church is the service that they preform in the hospital ward. The room was a mixture of hospital beds and plastic seats, all filled, dispite the fact that we are packing up to leave Benin. Even though some people couldn't even leave their beds, there were still smiles all around. Directly in front of me was a nurse holding the offical last patient of Benin. The patient was a young baby girl, who could not have been a year old. A white bandage crisscrossed her lip where her cleft had been. So young, eyes so brown, she seemed to watch everything with fasination and was calmed by the rapid beats of the drum during worship. I wish I could have know her, but I know, even now, that she is a special girl.
The service was wonderful. The worship was loud and thankful, as a man sang and pounded the drum. Those who could got up and danced for the Lord. How long that lasted, I do not know, but I enjoyed every minute. A lady from the ship gave the messege. She discussed Luke 18 : 9-14, in which is the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee. The Pharisee prayed loudly in the temple, saying ''Thank you God that I am so great! And that I am not like those bad people!'' But the tax collector prayed alone, weeping and saying ''God, I am sorry. I am a sinner.''
God doesn't want us to praise ourselves, to look to ourselves. He made us and He wants us to look to him, to ask him to help us at all times.
The messege was so wonderful to hear. When the last of the words had died away, the music began again. A woman came up and said that she had a song she wished to sing. A song that expressed how she felt. She sang and danced and the rest joined in. So touched by God's amazingness, she began to weep, but continued to sing.
Ward Church is the service that they preform in the hospital ward. The room was a mixture of hospital beds and plastic seats, all filled, dispite the fact that we are packing up to leave Benin. Even though some people couldn't even leave their beds, there were still smiles all around. Directly in front of me was a nurse holding the offical last patient of Benin. The patient was a young baby girl, who could not have been a year old. A white bandage crisscrossed her lip where her cleft had been. So young, eyes so brown, she seemed to watch everything with fasination and was calmed by the rapid beats of the drum during worship. I wish I could have know her, but I know, even now, that she is a special girl.
The service was wonderful. The worship was loud and thankful, as a man sang and pounded the drum. Those who could got up and danced for the Lord. How long that lasted, I do not know, but I enjoyed every minute. A lady from the ship gave the messege. She discussed Luke 18 : 9-14, in which is the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee. The Pharisee prayed loudly in the temple, saying ''Thank you God that I am so great! And that I am not like those bad people!'' But the tax collector prayed alone, weeping and saying ''God, I am sorry. I am a sinner.''
God doesn't want us to praise ourselves, to look to ourselves. He made us and He wants us to look to him, to ask him to help us at all times.
The messege was so wonderful to hear. When the last of the words had died away, the music began again. A woman came up and said that she had a song she wished to sing. A song that expressed how she felt. She sang and danced and the rest joined in. So touched by God's amazingness, she began to weep, but continued to sing.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Day Three or The Unfortunate Rules of Dishwashing
So since working here, I have discovered that there are some interestingly unfortunate rules when it comes to dishwashing. Theses rules, while never stated, seem to be inforced time after time.
Rule One: There will always be a huge load of dishes, or a patheticly tiny. There is no such thing as a perfectly sized load. And, if you end up with the huge load of dishes, that will lead to rule number two.
Rule Two: When ever you recive a patheticaly tiny load of dishes, you will wait for quite some time for some more dishes to come. After waiting a good five minutes, you will decide to run the dishes anyways. 30 seconds after closing the door, more dishes will arrive.
Rule Three: It doesn't matter how hard you look, as soon as you say, or even think, ''Well, that's everything!'' Dishes will appear.
So those are some of the things I have discovered. I will keep you posted as I spend time in the Mercy Ships dinning room!
In other news, Catherine, Lynne and Lisa have arrived!!! They made it here saftely last night! I'm happy to report that all of their bags made it as well!
It's great to have them here!!!!!
Rule One: There will always be a huge load of dishes, or a patheticly tiny. There is no such thing as a perfectly sized load. And, if you end up with the huge load of dishes, that will lead to rule number two.
Rule Two: When ever you recive a patheticaly tiny load of dishes, you will wait for quite some time for some more dishes to come. After waiting a good five minutes, you will decide to run the dishes anyways. 30 seconds after closing the door, more dishes will arrive.
Rule Three: It doesn't matter how hard you look, as soon as you say, or even think, ''Well, that's everything!'' Dishes will appear.
So those are some of the things I have discovered. I will keep you posted as I spend time in the Mercy Ships dinning room!
In other news, Catherine, Lynne and Lisa have arrived!!! They made it here saftely last night! I'm happy to report that all of their bags made it as well!
It's great to have them here!!!!!
Friday, November 20, 2009
Day Two or Ma'am, Please Don't Inhale the Crystal Lite
So today I discovered that working in the dining room poses the ocupational hazard of accidentaly inhaling the powered drinks. The drink that I was unfortant enough to introduce to my lungs was a Crystal Lite Fruit Punch mix. From then on I wisely waited for the powder to settle before begining to mix. So just a word to the wise, never breath in your drinks.
This morning was my first morning of working breakfast. Which meant I had to get up at 5:30. Which actually wasn't as bad as I was expecting! It took a lot of work to actually get out of my bed, but once I was out, I was actually good to go!
This morning I ended up working a lot on drinks. (See above fiasco) We have those big drink things, you know, like the ones you see at the movie theaters and stuff that have the slushies in them and there is that big tube going down the middle and mixing all the time? Well, we have eight of them, four are filled with water and the other four with juice. I also discovered that when you put on the lid, it's a good idea to make sure that the lid is lined up, otherwise it will fall into the middle of the tank and you will have to fish it out. And of course, it will fall in the darkest juice on the counter.
This morning was my first morning of working breakfast. Which meant I had to get up at 5:30. Which actually wasn't as bad as I was expecting! It took a lot of work to actually get out of my bed, but once I was out, I was actually good to go!
This morning I ended up working a lot on drinks. (See above fiasco) We have those big drink things, you know, like the ones you see at the movie theaters and stuff that have the slushies in them and there is that big tube going down the middle and mixing all the time? Well, we have eight of them, four are filled with water and the other four with juice. I also discovered that when you put on the lid, it's a good idea to make sure that the lid is lined up, otherwise it will fall into the middle of the tank and you will have to fish it out. And of course, it will fall in the darkest juice on the counter.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Day One or I MADE IT!!!
Well, I made it to Africa!! Didn't get lost in the airport or lose any luggage or have anything else bad happen!
So I'm sharing a room with nine other girls! That should be interesting! So I have the top bunk in the back of the room. I like it, it's nice and comfortible! I do find it a little interesting though were the sprinkeler head is. While it is not directly over my bed, it's still close enough that you can still see it when you close the curtain. Which means, you'll all be happy to know that if there is a fire in the middle of the night, I will be the first to drown!
We started work today. I'm in the dining room, so today, starting right after lunch. Normally I'll be doing morning as well, but it is our first full day here, so they're starting us slow. I was put in charge of washing silverware and cups. First you spread the silverware across the tray and the cups, all facing down in the the next. Then you put the silverware tray on top of the cup tray. After you have finished wiping all the nasty slimy junk off your hands, you slide the trays into this strange thing that looks like it escaped from a science fiction movie, and pull down the top part. It slams into place and the machine starts. Once that is done, you pull everything out.
Rememeber how the only way to kill germs well is with HOT water? And that the metal, strangly enough, becomes HOT? That means that as you are trying to sort the things, you do a whole bunch of 'OW! OW! OW!' Hiss of pain 'OW!' till the silverware has finished cooling. Either that or you're done.
So I'm sharing a room with nine other girls! That should be interesting! So I have the top bunk in the back of the room. I like it, it's nice and comfortible! I do find it a little interesting though were the sprinkeler head is. While it is not directly over my bed, it's still close enough that you can still see it when you close the curtain. Which means, you'll all be happy to know that if there is a fire in the middle of the night, I will be the first to drown!
We started work today. I'm in the dining room, so today, starting right after lunch. Normally I'll be doing morning as well, but it is our first full day here, so they're starting us slow. I was put in charge of washing silverware and cups. First you spread the silverware across the tray and the cups, all facing down in the the next. Then you put the silverware tray on top of the cup tray. After you have finished wiping all the nasty slimy junk off your hands, you slide the trays into this strange thing that looks like it escaped from a science fiction movie, and pull down the top part. It slams into place and the machine starts. Once that is done, you pull everything out.
Rememeber how the only way to kill germs well is with HOT water? And that the metal, strangly enough, becomes HOT? That means that as you are trying to sort the things, you do a whole bunch of 'OW! OW! OW!' Hiss of pain 'OW!' till the silverware has finished cooling. Either that or you're done.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Countdown's On!
So I'm only going to be in America for another six days! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by, it seems like only yesterday that I was reasuring people that I wasn't leaving for a few months!
Thank you to everyone who has been praying for traveling companions, our prayers have been answered! Four of the people who were in Gateway with me are going to meet me in Paris.
This week has/is one of the busiest weeks of my life! I'm trying to see everyone one last time before I leave. It's so hard to say goodbye to everyone, but I'm still so excited to see all of my Gateway friends again!
Please pray for me as I prepare to leave! Packing, saying goodbyes, last minute preperations, all needs to be done before Tuesday, I'm defently starting to feel the last minute rush!
Thank you to everyone who has been praying for traveling companions, our prayers have been answered! Four of the people who were in Gateway with me are going to meet me in Paris.
This week has/is one of the busiest weeks of my life! I'm trying to see everyone one last time before I leave. It's so hard to say goodbye to everyone, but I'm still so excited to see all of my Gateway friends again!
Please pray for me as I prepare to leave! Packing, saying goodbyes, last minute preperations, all needs to be done before Tuesday, I'm defently starting to feel the last minute rush!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Peace
Today is Tuesday. Those of us who have not already done BST are in class. I'm at the Ancorage cafe. I finished my italian soda and am now writing and looking out the window at the rain. It's so beautiful and peaceful, I wish I could capture this moment and save it forever.
It's strange to think that I'm leaving for the ship soon! I'm really excited, what a wonderful adventure this will be! But I know that I'm going to miss all my friends and family. A year. How can something seem so short and so long at the same time? It's hard to imagine, and in a way, it doesn't seem real. How could I possibly be going? It should be an amazing time of growing, physically, mentally and spiritually.
I know I'm going to be tested on this journey in many ways. It's so good to remember that no matter what happens, God will not give me anything that is too hard for me. I can rest in Him and know that I trust him.
It's strange to think that I'm leaving for the ship soon! I'm really excited, what a wonderful adventure this will be! But I know that I'm going to miss all my friends and family. A year. How can something seem so short and so long at the same time? It's hard to imagine, and in a way, it doesn't seem real. How could I possibly be going? It should be an amazing time of growing, physically, mentally and spiritually.
I know I'm going to be tested on this journey in many ways. It's so good to remember that no matter what happens, God will not give me anything that is too hard for me. I can rest in Him and know that I trust him.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Gateway
Wow, it is amazing to think that I have been here for a month and a day! The first week seemed to be so slow, and I wondered how I could possibly be gone for seven weeks! But since that week the time has seemed to fly by. We've had classes about all different subjects; spiritual warfare, intersession prayer, cultural differences and safty training of all sorts. We've had such a time to grow, both spiritually and mentally.
We've also had fun; late night Walmart runs, movie marathons, games, music and dancing. This group of people that were so strange and different a month ago have become quite familiar and I am glad that I get to spend the next year on a ship with them in Africa!
We've also had fun; late night Walmart runs, movie marathons, games, music and dancing. This group of people that were so strange and different a month ago have become quite familiar and I am glad that I get to spend the next year on a ship with them in Africa!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Gateway!
I'm in Texas again! Gateway has begun!
I was very happy that this time, I only had to change planes once! I went from Boston to Dallis, then Dallis to Tyler. The flight from Dallis to Tyler I had a four hour layover. That I didn't really mind, but what annoyed me was that after spending three hours and forty-five minutes at the B4 terminal, I discovered that the plane gate had changed, so I needed to run over to gate B12!
Classes haven't started yet, so we're just hanging out. We've all got our computers out in the living room, doing various things.
I was very happy that this time, I only had to change planes once! I went from Boston to Dallis, then Dallis to Tyler. The flight from Dallis to Tyler I had a four hour layover. That I didn't really mind, but what annoyed me was that after spending three hours and forty-five minutes at the B4 terminal, I discovered that the plane gate had changed, so I needed to run over to gate B12!
Classes haven't started yet, so we're just hanging out. We've all got our computers out in the living room, doing various things.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Mr. John Mark
Today was the memorial service of Mr. John Mark. Mr. Mark was a very kind gentleman in our church. For many years he ran the tech program completely by himself. I regret to say that I didn't know him as well as I wish I did. In all my conversations with him, he was always polite and kind, and I wish I had known him better.
We don't know why God choses some people to come so soon, but that is his will. We can never truly understand, but at least we know that he is in a better place.
We don't know why God choses some people to come so soon, but that is his will. We can never truly understand, but at least we know that he is in a better place.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Church
Well, I'm back home! In the span of one week I was on six different flights! Who knew that it would take so long to get to Texas?
Today we went to the little Barnstead church. It's a very cute little church that my grandfather used to pastor when he was alive. It is very small, with maybe eight members. It is so tiny that it is only open two months out of the year. June and September. The tiny building was built in the eighteen hundeds. Unfortunatily there is no bathroom in the building, so we have to make a rest stop at the local gas station!
So if you are in Barnstead in either June or September, I would recommend checking it out!
Today we went to the little Barnstead church. It's a very cute little church that my grandfather used to pastor when he was alive. It is very small, with maybe eight members. It is so tiny that it is only open two months out of the year. June and September. The tiny building was built in the eighteen hundeds. Unfortunatily there is no bathroom in the building, so we have to make a rest stop at the local gas station!
So if you are in Barnstead in either June or September, I would recommend checking it out!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Peace and pain in Texas
I always said I was going to make a blog. Well, here it is! I'm sitting in a class room, typing theses words. I'm in Texas, so the air conditioning is humming, the weather outside is hot and there is sand in my sandels! It's been really great, (aside from the stupid ants that have an obsession with bitting me!)
Since getting here I have; discovered the real reason for air conditioning, remembered how much I hate math, and discovered the reason they are called "fire" ants. So a lot of discovering and remembering!
All kidding aside, this has been a really great time to learn, both about the ship and about God. It is so great to have such a peace about His perfect plan. We may not know, but we don't really have to.
Since getting here I have; discovered the real reason for air conditioning, remembered how much I hate math, and discovered the reason they are called "fire" ants. So a lot of discovering and remembering!
All kidding aside, this has been a really great time to learn, both about the ship and about God. It is so great to have such a peace about His perfect plan. We may not know, but we don't really have to.
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