School, Safaris, Sailing, Surgeries and Settling

So much has happened in the last several  weeks that I haven't had a moment to post about it all. Finally, life feels like it is settling back into a bit of normalcy and we can move forward with all God has in store for us this year in Madagascar!

Here's a bit of a picture timeline of the last couple months:

After returning  to Durban, South Africa on August 1 (following an amazing 5 weeks State-side visit), we found ourselves  moving back into a guest house. . .instead of the ship (like we thought), as the ship was still getting repairs done and the environment was unsafe for the kids. It wasn't what we expected but I wouldn't say we were "roughing it" too much as our accommodations were really beautiful. (see pics here) During this time Adalynn started Kindergarten. Her classes were held in one of the bedrooms of the guest house. She is really loving her class and learning so much!

She skinned her nose playing the day before. . .it's not chocolate :)

The last weekend before we moved back onto the ship our family was able to take a weekend getaway to a small safari park/reptile zoo just 30 minutes from Durban. It was a lovely weekend away and it was amazing to get to see some great wildlife! The kids loved it!

Amazing views!

Our little chalet!

The girls LOVED the park.

Ready for our safari.

Zebras!

Giraffes too!

They were so close!

Looking at the crocodiles at the reptile zoo.

The girls were so brave to hold a snake.

Adalynn also held the tarantula. . .eek!

Chillin by the pool.

Crocodile for lunch to finish off a great weekend!

On August 17 we moved back onto the ship!! Hurray! But then John had to fly off to the States for 3 weeks for his brother Tim's wedding. He also was able to spend some time visiting some good friends and the International Operations Center for Mercy Ships in Texas. 

On August 20 we set sail (without John) for Madagascar!!

Sailing away from Durban.

Unfortunately we had a few situations that slowed our progress so what was meant to be a 5 day sail turned into 10 days at sea. . .but we made the most of the time and got to see a lot of whales! 

Photo by our friend Patricia!

Cora officially started Preschool on the sail and has really been loving the time with her teacher and classmates.

This is her new friend Hannah! She also has another girl, Olivia, and a boy, Lucas, in her class.

We arrived in Madagascar on August 30.

Pulling into the dock with our matching Madagascar Tshirts!

Ever since we arrived, everyone on the ship has been working very hard to get this place up and running.  Jack also got to start his nursery program when we arrived. He is currently the only student but hopefully 2 other boys will be joining shortly.

His teacher, Mrs. Elizabeth is amazing!! She is from the Dominican Republic but has lived with her family on the ship for many years. She has my full permission to speak to Jack in Spanish only so he can maybe learn a bit! :)

The hospital was opened in record time and surgeries began on the ship on September 8th, the day that John got back home! 

Our airport reunion!

We are so happy to be a family of 5 again living in our home! John came back to a very busy office and has been working hard since his return. I have begun work in the Admissions tent and am looking forward to my time with patients. We are so glad to be a part of all that is going on and we are so excited about this year and all that we will have the privilege to see and experience.  Thank you for continuing to walk this journey with us!

Finding blessings in change

Sorry we have not had a chance before now to update you on our whereabouts. We were thrown for some unexpected loops over the last week. We've learned with Mercy Ships (and with life) that flexibility is key to making the most of things. Nothing ever seems to happen the way we want it to but we have seen time and time again that God works his best into ever situation. Here's the scoop. . .  We flew back to Durban, South Africa on July 30th after 5 wonderful weeks in the States. 

We packed our time home with many exciting things and were able to see so many of you.  It was so refreshing and encouraging to get to spend time with our family and friends in the States.  We enjoyed our time so much and yet we felt eager to get back to our ship-home and family.  

Thank you so much for welcoming us into your homes, blessing us in so many ways, flying and driving many miles to see us and encouraging us as individuals and as a family.  It was really sweet to be surrounded by so many and realize the breadth and depth of our support group!

Before we left the States we learned that the repairs that are being done on the ship here in Durban were not done and the time in the shipyard needed to be extended.  This meant 2 things for us.  The first was that we were not able to depart back to Madagascar on August 3 like we had originally planned.  The second was that we could not move back into our home on the ship.  During this phase of shipyard (when the ship is out of the water) children are not allowed on board so families have to move off of the ship (you may remember our time last summer in the Canary Islands).

So. . . for the time being we are staying with several other families at a guest house about 30 minutes from the ship.  It is a lovely group of people and a really lovely location.  We are situated in a very nice neighborhood with large houses and beautiful landscaping. We have all our meals cooked for us, rooms cleaned daily and laundry done as needed.  The guesthouse is giving us a great deal and it is a very nice place to be. 

While we are sad to not be able to be in our home and despite being surrounded by such beauty and wonderful housing it is not easy all the time. We are wanting so much to be grateful for this gifts and appreciate this time for what it is.  I am hopeful and expectant that God can and will do great things in us during this time and I don't want to miss it by complaining J We are learning more and more about finding the blessings in change.

The plan at this point is for the ship to go back in the water around the 18th of August and for us to move back on board shortly after and set sail around the 20th of August.  We would really appreciate your prayers for the ship and for us during this time.

Would you pray with us that. . .

-All the repairs that need to be done would get done well and the ship would be ready to sail

-There would not be any more complications or new issues arise

-For our advance team that is trying to plan around an unknown arrival date, that they would be able to get all things set for the ship to arrive

-For our family during this time, that we would be able to get some time to relax and refresh after a busy 5 weeks in the States.

-For grateful and thankful hearts in the midst of many changes and uncertainty.

Thanks so much for your support and prayers.  We will let you know as we know any updates on our progress back to Madagascar and to a functioning hospital! Here are some pictures of the monkeys and the sunsets at the guesthouse!! Unexpected blessings of changing plans. Seriously. . .how could we complain about this??

Every night we are blessed with an amazing African sunset!

A monkey in a tree right off our balcony!

And one on the balcony too!!

We have a pool!! Even though it's winter here and the water is freezing, the kids have enjoyed taking a (quick) dip!

Our view of the breathtaking hill country around Durban.

Sailing

We made it to Durban! We had a few mishaps at the beginning of our voyage and we are so grateful to God for his protection of people and of the ship in what could have been a very disastrous situation. The rest of our 5 day journey was pretty uneventful and we had 3 days of calm seas and sunshine which we enjoyed very much!

We will be in Durban for a week and then on June 22 we will leave for the States. We will be there until July 30. We are excited for some time home to rest and see family and friends! The kids are very excited to see everyone too!

Here are some pictures from our sail!

Bye bye Madagascar.

Sailing away!

Theme of the sail: Lovely skies!

Enjoying some sun on the bow.

 No whales or dolphins :(

They woke me up for a drill. At least I got a sucker!

Good to be prepared for any emergency. Thankful we didn't have any!!

One of the best sunrises I've ever seen.

Fist bumps all around.

Watching the sunset.

Cora wondered what the red ball was. :)

Pulling into our berth in Durban.

 

 

What a journey! We have so much to be thankful for. Thank you for all your prayers for safe and smooth sailing!

 

We would love your prayers for these next few months:

-Please pray for the time in shipyard/drydock that the repairs that need to be done on the ship would go smoothly and get repaired well.

-Please pray for the crew's safety in the port and around Durban.

-Please pray for our travels back to the States and our time there. We will be very busy seeing all the people we want to see. We are so excited and so thankful for all the people in our life but we also know that this time could be very draining. Please pray that it would be restful and refreshing.

-Please pray for some decisions that we need to make about our future. We continue to pray for God's guidance as we move forward and we ask for your prayers as well as we seek God's direction for our future.

 

Thank you for your faithful support and prayers. We hope to see many of you soon!



What is normal?

As I sat down to write this blog I realized that it's been over a month since our last post. It seems that time is flying by. Our lives have been full of really great things and we are feeling so grateful for all the opportunities we've had. Sometimes we get homesick--lately more often. Sometimes we wish we lived on land--lately more often. And sometimes we forget all the amazing blessings of living on this ship and "doing" life here. We are really looking forward to a stint home this summer to recharge but we are also continually reminded of the great things right here that are molding and shaping our lives and the lives of our children and we don't want to ever take those things for granted.

 

I've been reminded lately at how normal some of our life has become here. Some of it really is pretty "normal" but intermixed in the normal is some extraordinary opportunities.  I'd like to highlight some of our last month in pictures.

 

Normal

 

In April the girls and John went to the Daddy/Daughter dance on the ship. They had their hair, nails and make-up done by some great women and they got to dance and have dinner with Daddy. It was a highlight of this last month! I saw lots of pictures on Facebook from home of daddy/daughter dances, so this felt like a "normal" activity (though some extraordinary people here put in a lot of work to make it happen).

 

 

 

 

 

Not Normal

 

 

We have spent several nights over this last month down in the hospital visiting the VVF women. We love getting to connect with them and (hopefully) brighten their days.  The girls usually sit and color with them and Jack likes to give out stickers and shake their hands. He has gotten so comfortable with them and reaches out his hand to shake the hand of the next woman. They, of course, love it and can't get enough of his flirty smiles :).  We had our last dress ceremony this last week so now the women are all home, but we look forward to next year when we will have VVF surgeries for the entire year. Unfortunately it is a terrible problem in this country-affecting around 50,000 women. I am so thankful that Mercy Ships can begin to restore the lives of these individuals suffering from this terrible illness.  Visiting the hospital has become normal for us but when we stop and think about it we remember what an amazing privilege it is to be such an intimate part of the lives of the patients on this ship and not really so normal.

Some of the VVF woman at their dress ceremony.

 

 

One of the patients we spent time with on the wards.

 

 

Normal

 

Cora turned 3! A normal part of our lives. . .except for the fact that she has celebrated all three birthdays on this ship-a true ship kid! It was a great time with all her friends, though she wasn't too sure about being the center of attention on the ship all day long.

She got a "twirly dress" to match Adalynn's.

A fairy costume!!

It's so hard to believe that the 3 month old baby we walked onto the ship with for the first time is now a little girl. She is joyful and funny and a vital part of our family and this ship community.

 



 

Not normal

 

I (Tracey) had the opportunity to preach (not normal) at our church. I was not initially looking forward to it but it ended up being a good experience for me. I learned a lot preparing about setting up "stones of remembrance" in our lives to remember God's faithfulness to us.

Normal in a Not normal place

Last are some pictures from a really fun hotel we played at for the day this last weekend. A child's dream come true with a fountain you can play in, a pool, a bouncy slide, trampoline, swings and good food! It is so great to have some places like this near-by so that we don't get too much ship-fever. This place will be a normal part of our lives next year I think!! :)