Week 3: Communal Living

One of the most interesting aspects of the ship (in my opinion) is the communal living. You have 450 crew, plus 200 day crew, as well as patients, all living together in one place. You have people from all over the world, different cultures, different languages, different ways of worshiping God. The most obvious shared space is your room. I’m in an 8 berth cabin (which I’ve been told is fairly unusual), there are also 10 berth cabins, 6 berth (most common I believe), family cabins and couple cabins. There are also guest cabins for visiting family or media teams. Our cabin has two washrooms, but most have only one. Some cabins (on deck 2) don’t have washrooms in the rooms, only public ones for the whole floor to use. Because there are so many different people filling different functions, you have a lot of shift work, which means there is likely someone sleeping in the cabin at all times. I don’t really spend any time in my cabin except for sleeping and changing. However this also means being quiet in the hallways where there are cabins because there are often crew sleeping.

Another aspect of community living is the food. I feel like feeding that many people is quite a challenge. Meals are only served at specific times [Breakfast: 6:30am-7:30am, Lunch: 11:30am-1:00pm, Dinner: 5:00pm-6:30pm], and you have to eat what they serve. Typically a meal will be something like: Moroccan chicken, green beans and rice (in Madagascar if you haven’t eaten rice, then you haven’t eaten). There is always a salad bar and bread, ham and cheese for people who want to make sandwiches, as well as peanut butter and Nutella. I think it’s a bit of a struggle sometimes for people with allergies but they seem to make it work. Every day is different; sometimes we have African night, or burgers, or stew or pork chops (yum!). One night we had Nepalese food because we have a security team made up of Gurkhas, which are soldiers from Nepal, and they cooked for us. For the most part I have enjoyed the food, although portioning is hard (and so is getting up early enough to have breakfast)!

The main community gathering area is in midships, where there is a starbucks, lots of tables to play cards, couches, some tvs, and an internet café. We hang out there a lot and play dutch blitz or spoons or just sit and talk. You’ll see people playing board games and doing puzzles, reading, skyping home, etc. There is also a library which is a great quiet place; a crew galley where people can cook and bake their own food (we’ve made some cake and brownies for people’s birthdays); a laundry room for the crew to do laundry; a small gym (which I love because no one uses it and it has everything I need :D); and a prayer room. There is also the international lounge where we have large community gatherings. Sunday night we have a worship service, Monday morning is when they give us updates for the week (and we typically let the crew know which media teams are coming), and Thursday we have a time of prayer and updates on patient stories (and ice cream).

One new thing: It’s getting hard to pick just one new thing because every day there is something new and different. The biggest thing that comes to mind is having to take a driving ‘test’ – the cars here are land rovers that take 10 people and are all manual. The people drive wherever, there are no lines on the roads, and there are people on bicycles (pousse-pousse) and tuk tuks (little motored vehicles) everywhere. However I passed with flying colours (joking…I barely passed), but I’m blessed to have wonderful friends aboard who have gone out with me and helped me practice, so I’ve definitely gotten better. Tomorrow I pick up a media team from the airport, so that will be the real test!

One thing I observed: People are truly transformed by the work Mercy Ships is doing. To see people come onto the ship very shy and reserved, having been rejected by their families and society due to tumors, or burns, etc., and then to see them completely changed as love is poured out on to them, is amazing. After a few days, many of them are smiling and dancing and singing praises to God. Even before their operations, they are so loved by the crew that they stand taller and regain some confidence. After their operations, many of them can’t stop looking in the mirror, they can’t believe the change. They have been given a new life, have had their dignity returned to them, have been so courageous through this whole process and have been so loved. It’s amazing to see.

One thing I felt God was telling me: This is a tough one. I’ve been getting the sense that I am very selfish – that I need to work on having a servant heart. When you are surrounded all the time by people who are always thinking about others, you realize how much time you spend thinking about yourself. When you’re with the Malagasy people and you realize they have nothing, yet would give you everything they have, it’s quite an eye opener. I feel like God is really reinforcing that I am here to serve others, and to do that I need to start thinking about the needs of others (all the time) and how I can meet those needs.

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. – Acts 17:24-27

Week 2: Media Liason

Before coming here, I didn’t have a very good idea of what my job entailed. Now that I fully understand, I’m even more excited. Essentially, there are two groups of people you take care of. The first is media teams, who are coming to film commercials, news stories, print ads, etc. The second is vision trips, which is basically VIP donors. As a media liaison, I plan out their whole visit while they are here based on their needs and what they want to do. This requires (as the name suggests) a lot of liaising. 

It means talking with the assistant purser to get them visas (which requires ~20 emails to get all the flight details from them), emailing hospitality to let them know they are coming, if they are staying on the ship (which is a rare occurrence) the steward needs to find them a room, talking to nurses and doctors to find appropriate patients to film who will be on board the ship, informing the staff of their arrival, booking a tour of the bridge with the captain if needed, and the engine room with engineering, organizing a luncheon with the management team, planning a small event so they can meet the crew members who are from whichever country they are sent from, setting up several interviews with the surgeons, booking a vehicle to take them around town, etc. It’s a lot of planning but being new on the ship it’s given me the chance to meet lots of people in all kinds of different departments and to see a lot of the ship.

Once they arrive, you have to stay with them 24/7 when they are on the ship. Typically media teams stay in town, but vision trip visitors will stay on the ship. You have to make sure they aren’t filming things or people they aren’t allowed to. There are a lot of sensitivities when it comes to filming patients and I was really glad to see that they put the patients first, above anything else. However, this makes our job harder because the media teams are used to being able to film anything and everything, so we have to keep a close eye on them.

Next week, I’m helping to host my first media team, which is really exciting because it’s a 5 person team from Canada. They are part of Geometry, which is a global marketing firm, and they will be filming a couple commercials and some print ads so look forward to seeing those!

One new thing: Getting the opportunity to go over to the Logos Hope (another Christian missionary ship that is currently docked here – their mission is mainly through the large book store they have on board, but they also do a lot of work in the community).  We had a communal prayer night, which was a really neat experience. The crew from both ships gathered together and leadership from each ship went up and shared some prayer points and things that are going on right now. We then broke off into groups and prayed for these things. It was very encouraging and stretching at the same time, to pray for such a long time, ‘on demand’ in a sense, with other people who you don’t know very well, but who are brothers and sisters in Christ, so it feels like you have known each other forever.

One thing I observed: The way people from all over the world, different cultures, different languages, can come together and get along almost instantly. Somehow joking and teasing and sarcasm are almost universal. Speaking with the Malagasy people tends to become a mix of English, French and hand gestures but we always manage to communicate. Interestingly, there are people serving on the ship who do not believe in God, but simply believe in the humanitarian mission of Mercy Ships.

One thing I felt God was telling me:  I think the thing that stuck out to me the most this week was the idea of "one person at a time". When you hear the numbers and see the people it can be discouraging and overwhelming to think about all the people in need. 80% of people in Madagascar live in poverty (less than $1 USD a day). But Mercy Ships really focuses on helping one person at a time. You can see the doctors truly care and have a heart for helping people and that's what helps to keep them going. We can't change the whole world, but we can change the world for one person. We give them a chance at a normal life, in many cases, we restore their dignity and sense of worth and in the best cases, God touches their hearts and provide spiritual healing as well. You can see it in the way the nurses interact with the patients, the way every person is greeted on board - every person matters. It's truly remarkable.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. - 1 Peter 1:3-5

Week 1: Travelling

Instead of telling you how I got here, I figured I would draw you a helpful map (you can tell I’m very artistic..). But here are the details:

Step 1: 11:50pm flight from Toronto to London, England. Approximately a 7hr flight, landed at 12pm local time. Attempt to sleep in the airport = failed. Brave enough to try some food=Negative.

Step 2: 7:00pm flight from London to Nairobi, Kenya. Approximately a 9hr flight, landed at 6am local time. Attempt to sleep in airport = somewhat more successful. Brave enough to try some food=Negative.

Step 3: Flight delayed, 2:00pm departure from Nairobi to Antananarivo, Madagascar. Approximately 3:30hr flight, landed at 5:30pm local time.

Step 4: Greeted at the airport by a lovely Mercy Ship lady named Kathy who helped us through customs, and brought us to a bus where we were loaded in and driven to the hotel where we would be staying. We had our own rooms, showers and delicious food. I was able to get some sleep (finally!) and feel clean again. It was a great opportunity to get to know some of the other people who would be coming aboard Mercyship (about 20 of us).

Step 5: Spend the day in Tana (Antananarivo – which is the capital of Madagascar), walk around and explore, relax, etc.

Step 6: Get up really early the next day, and take a 9 hour shuttle ride all the way to the coastal town of Toamasina (also known as Tomatave). It was a beautiful drive through the mountains and rural areas.

Step 7: Board the Mercyship!! We had a brief orientation, some paperwork and then we were told where our rooms were. It was very exciting to see where we would be living for the next 5 months! I am in an 8 berth cabin, with 7 other lovely ladies (2 of whom arrived at the same time as me).

And that my friends, is quite a start to this adventure!

One new thing: I tried some Zebu, which is basically the Madagascar version of the cow (but it has a hump on it's back) and it tasted exactly like beef.

One thing I observed: The people are very friendly! I got a lot of greetings while walking around, Bonjour Madame, etc. It looks like my French will come in very handy here, as many people speak both Malagasy and French. 

One thing I felt God was telling me: Sometimes, things will be difficult. You will be uncomfortable, hungry and tired. You basically won't speak to another human for 40+ hours. But God is always with you. You can always trust in Him. The second I stepped off the plane I knew this was where God wanted me. It made all the travel completely worth it to come serve Him in this place. Very thankful!

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. - 1 John 3:16-18