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| 'Graduating' from FMS - 1 week down, 4 to go. |
This week was FMS – Foundations of Mercy Ships. While most
of it was things that I already knew about Mercy Ships, God really worked
through that to teach me certain things about myself. They talked to us about
the mission, vision and core values (love God, love and serve others, be people
of integrity, be people of excellence in all we say and do); taught us about
the history of Mercy Ships; talked about what it was like to live on the ship;
how to raise support, and many other things.
There were several things that stuck out to me. The first
was that the culture and values of Mercy Ships are the same on the ship as they
are here at the IOC. There is that same sense of community and passion. Another
thing that I noticed was that everything they do has a Biblical basis. All the
plans and values and ideas are based in scripture. They have thought out every
aspect of what they do, including the 5 ‘why’s’: why ships, why hospitals, why Africa,
why volunteers, why Jesus. It’s also neat to be here at the head office and
meet all the people we have been emailing with, putting faces to the names. The
last thing that has really impacted me is the level of honesty and transparency
within the organization. The leadership have done a really good job of giving
us a real sense of what this organization is about and haven’t sugarcoated the
difficulties, especially when it comes to living in a community of faith aboard
the ship.
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| The seas were starting to get stormy off the coast of Africa. |
On Tuesday, the ship sailed away from Madagascar, headed to
Durban, South Africa for some maintenance. I woke up to lots of pictures
showing the people on the dock waving them off. I know it was very hard for the
day crew who have spent 18 months or more serving with us. However, I heard
some really encouraging news on that front! Two of our crew stayed behind in
Madagascar to teach business classes and do micro finance loans. Some of my
friends have been attending the classes this week and have been really
inspired. One friend told me he wants to save money and open an orphanage and a
school so he can help teach the next generation, so that they can help change
Madagascar. I think it’s amazing that they want to continue to serve their
people and help lift their country up.
The ship will soon be landing in Durban, however the last
few nights have been really rough for the crew. Lots of videos and photos have
been posted of huge waves rocking the ship. They could use your prayers as they
go through the next few days operating on very little sleep!
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| We were invited to a lovely BBQ on Friday and some people tried out their horseshoe skills! |
One new thing: The
IOC campus where we are staying used to belong to a medical company who had to
abandon it (the workers were told not to come back to work). Mercy Ships hasn’t
changed much, which means that there are some interesting touches, such as a
conference room with a plush carpet and old school wooden paneling. There is
also a building which serves as the gym, which has a basketball court, rooms
for racquetball, and very old workout equipment everywhere. I had the
opportunity to play racquetball with one of my friends, which was funny because
I had it confused with squash (which my mom and I used to play). The room is
the same, but the rules and lines are very different. My friend beat me pretty
badly. Other than work out, we spend our free time having movie nights in the
common room, or playing Settlers of Catan, or doing some of the homework we’ve
been assigned.
One thing I observed:
The last two Sundays I’ve had the opportunity to go to two very different
churches. Last Sunday, the worship consisted of one man going up to the front
and leading the church in some hymns, with no musical accompaniment. Apparently
they believe that we are meant to worship God with our voices alone. This was
followed by tithing and then communion, both of which were very somber affairs. It
seemed to me that there was no room for the joy of the Lord. But after this,
the pastor, who was fairly young, came up and preached an amazing sermon. It
was very powerful, talking about how we are stuck in our ‘me bubble’, and he
preached most of it from one section in Jude. This Sunday was almost the
complete opposite, with a full worship band singing contemporary songs, and the
pastor preaching a message that pulled on many Bible passages and talked about
the men of the church being alert and standing firm, along with needing to humble
ourselves before the Lord. It’s neat to see people worship God in all different
ways, and see the thread of community that runs through them all. The ‘church’
is not about the order of business or style of worship or message, but rather
the people who are there, growing in Christ together.
One thing I felt God
was telling me: This should really be ten things God has been telling me….but
I’ll try to stick to one! One of the speakers shared a devotional with us this
week and I felt like he was talking directly to me. He talked about how we are
so busy thinking about what’s next, that we miss out on all the little moments
of joy right now. I’ve been so busy thinking about the next thing – getting to
the ship, getting to Benin, leaving the ship – that I haven’t been focusing on
what God wants of me right now. He has me here in this place because He is
teaching me things and preparing me for whatever He has planned next. So I need to focus on
right now and see what it is that He wants me to do and learn. I need to give
my everything to Him, today. My prayer is that I would be able to give Him all
of me today, while still patiently waiting for tomorrow.
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. - Philippians 4:12-13
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| Some of the ladies went for a walk and took some silly pictures - these are some of the amazing ladies who make up my onboarding family! (Thank goodness other people take pictures otherwise I would have nothing to show you). |
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