What do they do all day?

What do we do all day? We live on a hospital ship, so you know that surgeries happen, patients get healed and God shows up to change people's hearts and bodies! But we are not surgeons and we do not spend every day in the hospital.  What does a day look like for each of us this year? We wanted to give you a bit of a glimpse into a day from each of our perspectives.

Jack:

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings Jack gets to hang out with an amazing woman, Miss Elizabeth, in the nursery class. Elizabeth is from the Dominican Republic and is here serving with her husband (our Captain) and her daughter. She is a gift to this ship and especially to Jack.  He is currently the only student in his class (hopefully 2 more will join in a couple months).  He loves to play with blocks and magnets and anything that looks like or functions as a key. He can't wait to get his backpack on and head to school!  On Tuesday and Thursday mornings he gets to hang out with mommy.  On Tuesday mornings we either go for an adventure in town with his friend Elle (a 7 month old baby) or we hang out in the café and have snacks.  On Thursdays he gets to crash the mom's bible study.  Afternoons are filled with naps and playtime outside or in the cabin.  He is the most popular crew member and is loved by everyone. He might be the person on the ship whose name is known by the most people.  He loves to give "knucks" to everyone he sees.  He seems to really love life on the ship (though I realize he doesn't know anything else).

Jack with Mrs. Elizabeth

Cora:

Cora is in preschool with 3 other children: Olivia, Hannah and Lucas. Their class will add 2 more children (from Congo) in December. She goes to school every morning with her teacher, Miss Jenelle.  She really loves learning and playing. She is learning to identify and  write her letters. She is the youngest girl in her class but works hard to keep up with the older ones. Her favorite days are when she gets to be the "special helper" and lead the" days of the week "and the "months of the year" songs with her classmates. In the afternoon she is home with mommy and likes to take a nap and then play outside or in the cabin.  She also loves the chance to hang out with some of her friends on the ship in the afternoons.  She is reserved until she gets to know you and then she is spunky and hilarious.  She has been titled "cutest kid on the ship" by several different people, mostly due to her adorable 3 year old voice and overly expressive nature. She is thriving here and loves her ship!

Cora with Lucas, Olivia, Hannah and Miss Jenelle

Adalynn:

Adalynn is in Kindergarten with her best friend Emma.   Adalynn has had nothing but positive things to say about Kindergarten and Miss Katie since the first day! She goes to school all day every day except Wednesday when she has a half day. We are constantly amazed at all she is learning. She is reading easy books and loving learning about the world around her. She gets to join us in the cabin for lunch, which makes the full days bearable. She is for sure the most outgoing member of our family and has never met a stranger. She is constantly going up to people she's never met and telling them about her day or showing them her new dress. She is extremely self-confident and even though she is the youngest member of the Elementary we are constantly being told that she speaks up in front of everyone and walks in like she owns the place.  It is fun to see her personality continue to blossom here.  When she's not in school she likes to be at the ship pool ( a large shipping container) or swinging on the swings outside.

Adalynn with Emma and Miss Katie

Tracey:

In the morning Tracey tries to get up before the kiddos for a little exercise time with her friend and fellow mom, Tammy.  It is necessary in order to face the crazy day ahead J She is very happy to have a consistent role this year outside the role of motherhood. Three mornings a week she works in the Admissions tent (on the dock) seeing patients and determining if they are well before they are admitted to the ship for surgery.  She gets to work with several of the local Malagasy day crew and has really enjoyed getting to know them! She gets to see patients before they ever get onto the ship and before they know what transformation feels like.  It is an amazing opportunity to be one of the first faces of Mercy Ships.  Her favorite part is getting to pray with the patients. Healing of bodies changes lives for a short while but healing of souls is eternal! While some of the stories and ailments can be heartbreaking, mostly it is exciting as the patients anticipate a life after healing. Tuesday and Thursday mornings are filled with outings and bible study with Jack in tow.  She gets to spend good time with other moms, building relationships and both giving and receiving encouragement.  In the afternoons she is able to have some down time (most days) while Jack and Cora rest. It is in these short periods where she is able to catch up on emails and blogs (though this doesn't seem to happen as much or as well as she'd like).

Tracey with the admissions team

John:

John walks down the hall about 30 steps to his office each day after helping out to get the kids ready and eating breakfast with the family each morning.  His job on the ship covers many facets. He makes sure we have money to pay for the things that need to be bought, he makes sure our day crew get the money they've earned, he helps people understand their own personal finances, he oversees the ship shop and café, he oversees the giving-out of money to the crew and he helps the different departments create budgets for the year.  It is a busy job but after 3 years he feels like he finally knows how to operate things well.  He is on the Senior management staff of the ship so he is a part of critical meetings regarding the big decisions on the ship and the long term planning. He oversees a staff of 5-8 people (depending on how well staffed they are). He frequently makes trips in town to the local bank and has built good relationships with the people there.  One of the most favorite parts of his week is on Friday nights when he joins a group of people from the ship to play ultimate Frisbee at a local soccer field. He also plays goalie on the ship soccer ("football") team. We are so blessed that he is able to spend so much time with us as a family in spite of his busy job. 

John and his finance department (not including ship shop) from last year

As a family:

As a family we are so thankful that we get to spend most meals together. We usually eat breakfast and lunch in our cabin and then we eat dinner in the dining room with other crew.  At night we like to go on the dock and ride bikes or go down to the hospital to visit patients.  On the weekends we like to swim in the ship pool or sometimes visit a local pool.  We feel like the ship has really allowed us to have good quality time with our family even when work is busy.  We are thankful to have this opportunity to truly serve as a family.