Secure your cabin!

What does it look like to sail?  In the past it has looked like. . .peaceful mornings reading a book on the bow, playing outside while we watch the calm ocean pass by while keeping an eye out for dolphins.  Pretty much going about our normal business as if there wasn't miles of ocean on every side of us.  However, the end of the last sail and this current sail have looked a bit different for us.  We thought you might think it was interesting to hear about what it is like.

When we sailed from the Canary Islands to South Africa we got a lesson in the phrase "secure your cabin". We thought we knew what that meant but that was the first sail we have been on that included pretty rough waters.  At one point on that sail we had things flying off shelves, our dresser fell over, the trashcan spilled all over the floor and anything not secured to something flew somewhere.  Not so secure.

We were better prepared this time as we sail to Madagascar.  The seas have been rough again. We are now on day 5 of sailing and we have been rocking and rolling pretty much the entire time.  It is amazing how exhausting it can be to try and stay upright!  (side note: the kids seem to hardly notice) It's actually pretty comical watching everyone navigate the halls, eat meals and work in this constantly moving environment.  People secure their rolling chairs to their desks, we eat our dinner on top of wet napkins to keep the plates and cups from sliding off the table, we wedge Jack's high chair between tables so he doesn't go flying across the dining room, and we learn new ways to sleep so we don't roll off the beds. Sometimes we laugh at this "new normal" that has become our life lately.

Here's how things look in our cabin.  (please refer back to nice neat pictures of our cabin before sailing :) )

These bins were all over the floor on the last sail, so now they are tied down.

Our shoe rack also fell over, so here it is secured behind boxes of things that once occupied shelves.

Empty shelves.

Empty walls.

There's our dresser that fell, we just kept it down. Also behind it you see a pile of other things that we had to take down. I can't wait to have our space back and be able to pack these things away again.  But, in the mean time, we are glad to have the space to keep everything safely.

Refrigerator doors latched shut. You have to time the opening of the doors or everything flies out. Also if you grab the milk and turn your back without latching. . .food everywhere :(

Cabinet door hooks.

Pillows stuffed strategically to keep cups and things from rolling around and making you crazy at nighttime.

View out our window when it's smooth sailing. Note the water is level with the railing.

A large roll.  The largest (I've heard) that we've had has been 24 degrees. This one was more like 10- 15 probably. I'm sure someone can do the geometry to figure it out. :)

 

 

SO that's life at sea these days.  Thanks for keeping us in your prayers.  We are really looking forward to setting foot on dry land on Saturday! We will keep you updated as we can!

At last!!

Today we set sail again!! At last we are on our way to Madagascar! We are so eager to get this hospital ship working as a hospital once again.  It has been a fun several months of seeing new places but the entire crew is ready to move forward. Our nurses on board are ready to stop doing engineering or food service jobs and actually work as nurses!!  I have been amazed at the positive attitudes people have had as we have been in this prolonged period of transition. . .but it is time to move forward!

Our time in South Africa has been fun, but also really fruitful for the ministry.  We were docked right in the waterfront area of Cape Town, the most visited place in all of Africa.  We were able to really do a lot of advertising. We had many tours of our ship, including over 4,000 random people who came and saw the ship during our open public tours. Many of those people filled out cards indicating they were interested in volunteering and/or giving financially.  What a blessing!

Please pray for the ship as we sail. We will be sailing for about 9 days and it looks like we may have some rough seas for some of the days.  Please pray, too, for our arrival in Madagascar and the first few weeks as we get settled.  Our arrival is set to be a kick off for the country's "year of the volunteer".  There is going to be a huge ceremony when we arrive.  There is a lot of excitement and anticipation.  We are so thankful to be a part of the festivities and pray that Jesus' name would be heard and known in this country. We pray for God's will to be done in the work we do there.

***

Change of subject. . .I wanted to post some of the girls' school pictures.  One of the things we love the most about living on the ship is the academy.  I was finally able to get their pictures today and wanted to share them.  I think it is an amazing taste of God's kingdom to see this international Academy crew!

 

Adalynn

Cora

 

Adalynn's class is Olivia (Holland), Isabella (Canada), Amina (S. Africa), Emma (USA),  and Mirabelle (Benin-not pictured). One is with her old teacher and one with her new teacher. She will get another teacher in January that will be here until school ends in May.

 

Cora's class is Israel "Izzy" (S. Africa) and Lucas (Holland). In January Jack (if he's walking) and 2 boys from Congo will join them in the nursery class. Cora will have to hold her own as the only girl with 5 boys but she is also the oldest so she leads the group already.

 

 

 

The big group is the entire academy. Such a fun international group!! Students/Teachers from USA, Canada, Australia, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Benin, S. Africa, Holland, Liberia, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Switzerland, England and the Dominican Republic!! (I think I got them all)

 

 

 

 

Enjoying Cape Town

 We arrived in Cape Town, South Africa on September 29th and we will be here until October 18th. We stopped here on our way to Madagascar for a few reasons:

1. We needed fuel.

2. We needed to allow our advance team to have a few more weeks without us there to prepare for our field service since our plans changed so last minute.  In order for us to be able to run the hospital well, we need to have things in place ahead of time. Our amazing advance team is in Madagascar making this happen right now! Please keep them in your prayers as they work hard to get things set for the ship. Some of them have been sick and they haven't had much of a rest in several months.

3. We are able to use this time for PR in South Africa. We have been giving tours of the ship and advertising around town. These things will, Lord willing, bring in finances and possible volunteers to join us.  It has been really exciting to see these tours in action. They have set up the hospital with a  kind of virtual tour so people can really see what we do. There are videos playing for them throughout the wards and OR.  It made John and I tear up to go through the tour, so I can only imagine the impact it has on someone who isn't familiar with what God does through this amazing ship. Please pray for these tours, that Jesus would be seen in what Mercy Ships does and that hearts would be touched.

We are excited to get to Madagascar and get the hospital running again, but we are making the most of our continued time of waiting. . .and Cape Town is not a bad place to do it! The ship is docked right on the waterfront, which is the most visited place in all of Africa! We can walk from our ship to the heart of the town with shopping, parks, good food, and lots of touristy things.  It's pretty amazing. Here are some pictures of the fun we are having! (and yes, John still does have to work during the week :) )

Jack and I out on a walk while the girls were in school and John worked

In the background is Table Mountain. This is a famous landmark in Cape Town

 

From our ship looking towards the touristy section. The girls can't wait to ride the Farris wheel.

 

 

 

Friday was a ship holiday, so we took the kids to the aquarium.  It was about a 10 minute walk from the ship!! It was a really great aquarium and the girls had a ton of fun.

 

You could get underneath and stick your head in the middle of the tank full of "Nemos". It was a highlight!

 

Another highlight. . .touching the starfish!

Penguins!! 

Jack liked watching them too.

 

 

 

John and my anniversary was on one of the last, very rocky, days of the sail. We didn't really do much to celebrate on the day so our friend Heather watched our kids for an afternoon yesterday and we were able to go hiking and have dinner.  It was a really great day!

View of Table Mountain from the trail head. We hiked a mountain called Lion's head

A bit steep in parts. Note the chains.

Stunning views!!!

 

 

 

 

After we hiked a mountain, the girls wanted to  hike one too, so today we took them up the cable car to the top of Table Mountain. It was hot and VERY crowded, but we really had a good time.

 

 

Playing in an old cable car from the 1940s while daddy waits in the LONG line to buy tickets.

. . .more waiting. Washing the deck with wet wipes :).

Yay!! It's our turn, finally.

Riding the cable car

Breathtaking!! That little pointy peak is Lion's Head (the one John and I hiked)

They climbed up these rocks and were so excited that they "climbed a mountain!"

Riding the cable car back down.

Taking the bus home!