Arrival Ceremony, Airport Runs and Screening

Our Managing Director, Robin MacAlpine, talking with the
First Lady of Benin, Madame Claudine Talon.

Last week we sailed into the beautiful country of Benin. Since our arrival, it has been a whirlwind of excitement. On Thursday we were privileged to host the First Lady of Benin, along with many other dignitaries and media, to celebrate our arrival to Benin. There was a beautiful ceremony outside where speeches were exchanged, all looking forward to the exchange of information and skills that will take place, and will help the people of Benin. Tiffany and I were tasked with identifying the media, distributing press packs to them, and ensuring that only a select few media were allowed to come onboard for the after ceremony reception. Overall, I think everything went well, but it was definitely a new experience, having protocol officers and security guards everywhere; having local performers; handling the local press while attempting to not be in the way of our internal team or National Geographic; and doing all of this while all the crew looked on from deck 7. I was grateful that we were so well represented – our leadership did an amazing job. One of our crew members, Emmanuel, is from Benin and has been serving with Mercy Ships since we last came to Benin in 2009. He was chosen to carry down the flag of Benin and hand it over to the First Lady – it was a very special moment. 

Emmanuel Essah carries down the flag,
into his home country, followed by Jessica
carrying flowers for the First Lady.

On the weekend we had our first opportunity to go out and explore our new home! We spent one night just wandering around for a few hours. I love that the city is still awake and thriving at night, which is very different from Madagascar. We felt very safe as we walked around, and we seemed to draw less attention than expected. There were people selling things on the street, and we stumbled across a large crowd of men watching a football game on TV (English Premier League of course). There is a great sense of community. We were also approached quite a few times, by people asking us for details about screening and where it will take place. My French has proved to be really helpful. We’ve found some good places to eat and they all seem very happy to see us (I’m sure they will see quite a boost from having us around for 10 months). 

I also had some adventures doing airport runs. Because the international airport is about 10 minutes away, we no longer have the long bus rides that we had in Madagascar. But that does mean we need people constantly going to the airport to pick people up. And last weekend we had around 30 new arrivals. And so, my first time driving in Benin was marked by driving a giant van that I had never driven before, to a place that I had not yet been. However, I made it in one piece, was assisted in reversing the van into a parking place (who knew the airport would be so busy?!), and managed to get all the arrivals back safely. Each time I’ve been to the airport so far has been an adventure – once they wouldn’t let Tiffany inside; another time they didn’t let any of us inside; once we waited 3 hours for someone and they never showed; one time I struck up a conversation with someone and he told me he was a Quaker from Germany, attending some sort of monastery in Togo for a week (I think that’s what he said…); one time an older gentleman proposed to me and I just laughed (which is what I do in awkward situations) and I could tell he was a bit offended so I remembered our cultural training and told him that my father would not be happy, which he seemed to understand. I may have to rethink my eagerness of doing airport runs (but not really…I love meeting all the new people as they step into a whole new world).

And so, as Monday came around, we headed to screening. Screening typically means leaving at 5am (the security team leaves even earlier…) because they start letting patients in at around 6:30-7:00ish and we wanted to be sure to get some good shots of the lines. I was the only one from our team to attend screening every day this week, with my main job being to take care of any local media that appeared so that the screening team could focus on their jobs. Over the week, we had two local media teams come, including one from the national broadcaster of Benin (ORTB). It was fairly simple to host them. I explained what we were doing here, allowed them to film wide shots of the patients in line for pre-screening, set them up for an interview with our screening team leader (who is amazing), and took their information for follow up.

Patients lined up for pre-screening.

Outside of that, Tiffany and I helped out with National Geographic, interfacing between them and the crew and making sure they drank lots of water! I have to say, my favourite thing about screening was going together as the whole Comms team and being able to serve them as they took photos and captured footage. It’s very rare that the whole team works on one project – we are often split up doing very different tasks. It was a lot of fun to carry their stuff, be their bodyguard as they wandered the lines, drive them around, encourage them, translate for them and just generally find ways to help them. It’s taken me a while to figure out how to make myself useful when I don’t have a specific task, but I think I’ve finally got the hang of it. Often the most helpful thing is just knowing what is going on and letting them know so they can decide what they want to shoot. 

I have to say, screening was far harder emotionally than I expected. Seeing thousands of people lined up waiting to get in, and knowing that we are unable to help the majority of them. Many people slept outside for days, hoping to be let in. Some days, it was too rowdy for us to go outside, so the police corralled people and we let in 10 people at a time into the compound. We climbed up on a roof at one point, and were overwhelmed by the giant crowd/line that lay before us. As we wandered down the line, the tension in the air was palpable. People asked us what was happening, what we treated. They tried to push their children in front of us once they saw us taking pictures. We tried to make it clear that us taking pictures didn’t improve the chances of them getting surgery – we aren’t doctors. The need was overwhelming.

Twin girls with bowed legs.

There were twins girls with bowed legs, who didn’t get in that day. I haven’t seen them since then. Another set of twin girls with bowed legs were seen later in the week and they were skipping and dancing when they got their patient cards. There was a young man who didn’t have use of his legs, so he pulled himself along on his hands. As soon as I saw him, I knew we would be unable to help him. It was heart breaking. There was a little baby with a facial tumour who was struggling to breathe. She was brought over to the palliative care unit because the tumour was malignant and there wasn’t anything we could do to help. I saw one of our day crew carry a patient through the entire line because the patient couldn’t walk and didn’t have a caretaker. I saw day crew who were guarding the door thinking about how we could do it better, make the process more fair. A policeman remarked to me how amazed he was at all these sick people – he said he had never seen anything like these tumours and other illnesses, he told me we were doing a really good thing. I saw our crew respectfully refer to older patients as ‘mama’ and ‘papa’, and assist them when they needed it. I witnessed our chaplaincy team spend long amounts of time with patients, explaining their situation and why we couldn’t help and yet still leaving them with a sense of hope. I saw a mom holding her baby, walking towards the exit and heard a nurse remark, that baby won’t make it another 6 months. I saw our screening team members give interviews with National Geographic and break down in tears. I met a 62 year old man named René, with a facial tumour that he had lived with for 30 years. I saw policemen shout at people to get them into a line, walking with their batons in hand and praying they wouldn’t use them (they didn’t). I saw a member of the National Geographic team so affected by what he saw, that he started tearing up as he talked about it. I witnessed crew volunteering to get up at 4:00am to come and help with security, being assigned to smile and gently lead the ‘no’s’ to the exit. This is what it is to be human. Powerful moments of connection, hope, despair, sadness, joy, love, peace, heartbreak. Screening encompasses all of these things. 

God is the ultimate healer. He is the only one who can truly bring peace to all of these people. Screening has made me grateful that we can help, even if it’s only a few. But it’s also made me yearn for Jesus to come and make all things right. I think that maybe that’s a good place to be. Seeking to live for Him right now, walking the path He has set, but also looking for Him to come and restore this broken world.

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. ~ Philippians 3:20-21

The ship sailing into Benin!

And We're Off to Benin!

Blessed to work with such amazingly talented people!
Timmy, the photographer who took this picture, is currently
doing double duty, also serving as a mechanic fitter.

I’m honestly a little baffled about where to start. Being back on the ship has been wonderful, overwhelming, stretching and lovely all at once. Things seem to come in waves. There are periods of time where you can be searching for something to do and other times when you are running around doing 10 things at once. I think I’ve really been learning how to lean on God in both of those times. When things are slower paced, it’s looking to Him and trusting that what you’re doing has meaning and purpose and that you are here for a reason. It’s understanding that you need to spend this time being more intentional about things – building relationships, sharing stories, keeping fit, spending time in his presence, gathering as a community, stretching your mind and skills, playing games and laughing. When things get crazy and fast paced, it’s looking to Him for strength and relying completely on Him. It’s understanding that we are walking to path He has set before us and that He would not give us a task that He has not equipped us for. It’s knowing that He has brought us here for such a time as this. God always knows what we need and I love seeing His plans come together before our very eyes.

Last week, I felt God nudging me to be intentional about sitting and having conversations with people. I’m someone who always like to be doing something, but this place is very much about just being with others. And it’s been such a blessing to me. All week I’ve had the most amazing conversations with others and heard beautiful stories, of heartbreak and redemption, the sharing of dreams and fears. It really fills my spirit with joy to sit and have these conversations and I’m so grateful that God gave me that reminder. It does make it a bit harder to share the ways he’s been speaking to me and working because they involve others and those are not my stories to tell. In brief, He’s shown me that some challenges do need to be met head on, that I can speak life and mentorship into the lives of others, and that I should never be anxious about anything because He’s got it all covered. It actually makes me laugh, some of the ways He has worked things out – His ideas are far better than mine. I’ve been trying really hard to focus on right now and doing this role with excellence, and not be stuck in the ‘what’s next’ mindset, and I feel very at peace about that, especially because in the last few days I’ve seen Him working out some different things. I just sit back sometimes and think, ‘interesting, very interesting.’

Arrival day started with helping put our videographer Kat on
the pilot boat so that she could film the ship coming in.

Monday we left Cape Town and started our sail to Benin. I really love sailing! This sail was a lot smoother (not quite as much fun), so sometimes you forgot we were sailing, until you looked outside and saw the endless ocean. Workwise, we were planning for the field service, and meeting with lots of key people. Fun wise, there were lots of activities planned such as open mic nights, sock golf, scavenger hunts, trivia nights etc. We had a celebration of the new onboarding team (us) and that was really special to have everyone come around us to pray for us and lift us up. On Sunday we had worship on the bow (how many times are you going to get to do that?!) and prayed for the countries that we were sailing by.

This week, things became more intense. As information trickled in, we realized Comms plays a fairly large part in our arrival to Benin and in the screening process. None of us have ever been with the ship when it arrived in a country so that made things interesting. I was also asked to help translate some government level documents from English to French, which was definitely stretching. The voice in my head tells me: your French isn’t that good, Canadian French isn’t the same a France French, you don’t know any medical or government terms in French. The Holy Spirit tells me: I will help you with this, you have support on the ship, I wouldn’t give you a task you couldn’t do, I am preparing you for something bigger. Thankfully I’m at a place in my life where I (mostly) listen to the Holy Spirit, rather than that voice in my ear telling me I’m not enough. 

I started reading a book called Daring Greatly by Brené Brown, which is all about vulnerability (I would strongly recommend it) and she says a lot of things that really hit home for me. She asks, What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? She says that mindset is a big part of being vulnerable. She talks about how many of us have a shame based fear of being ordinary.  Fear of never feeling extraordinary enough to be noticed, to be lovable, to belong or to cultivate a sense of purpose. Vulnerability is about uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure. In our culture we’ve confused feeling with failing. Growing up, I know I associated emotion with weakness. But she reminds us that vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Vulnerability is the key to whole hearted living. Whole hearted living is about engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness. It means cultivating courage, compassion and connection. God tells us that we are worthy, simply because he created us and we are His children. I am enough. What we know matters, but who we are matters more. Being rather than knowing, requires showing up and letting ourselves be seen. I’ve only read half of the book so far and it’s already touched me deeply.

I can’t help but remark at how special this place is. A place where we lay hands on each other; where we gather for worship; for prayer; where we start our day with God’s word; where people feel comfortable being vulnerable. It’s also a place filled with willing servants who take on whatever role is needed, and who love to bless others. We’ve had nurses working as housekeepers, maintenance staff washing dishes, communications helping clean the dining room, and many more that I am probably unaware of. We're led by Godly leaders, by those who teach us to stand in the gap and intercede for the people of Benin, to lift them up to God. We’re guided spiritually by those who are aware of the negative spiritual forces in Benin, and who lead us in praying for a shield of protection around this ship and the crew, that this would be a place filled with God’s Spirit.

National Geographic gathered to film our arrival.

I wrote this right after we arrived in Benin, during a lull in the excitement, as we prepared to hold our official arrival ceremony, which meant being privileged to host dignitaries and media. I will write more later on the ceremony itself and the coming days which will involve touring the offsite locations; airport runs; meeting all our new day crew; the start of screening (5am wake up!); navigating having our creative team, local media and National Geographic all in place; and many other adventures that I am sure will come our way. I am so thankful for all the blessings that God has provided, all those things that we don’t even think to thank Him for – for safe passage, good company, plenty of food, a warm bed and a clear path. I pray that we would be a light to the people of Benin, bringing His healing spirit, His joy and His grace to this place.

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. ~ Hebrews 13:20-21

The crew gathered on the bow to worship together.

Adventures in Cape Town

The view from our berth in the port!

I have been so focused on preparing for Benin that I barely gave any thought to the four days we would get to spend in Cape Town. When the head of our South African office came onboard and told us that this was the most beautiful place in the world, she wasn’t kidding! Mountains, beaches, oceans, forests, this place has everything. I thought we were going to be busy hosting tours all weekend, but they decided to bless the crew by hosting private tours only. For the Comms team, this meant we were only needed one morning, to help host a group of 50 very excited nursing students. Other than that, we were free to explore!

We made it! We're in the clouds, at the top of Table mountain.

On Saturday, we climbed Table mountain, which was INTENSE. It was definitely harder than I thought it would be. We started out on one side in the botanical gardens, hiked up through the rainforest, up a waterfall and came out on top, which looked like a scene straight out of Lord of the Rings. We then walked all the way across the top to the other side, where we descended a very steep rock staircase down the other side. It took us about 6 hours in total, with me bringing up the rear – we had some people who basically skipped up the mountain. However, it was well worth the amazing view from the top! Once we got back, I got to babysit three adorable kids so their parents could go out and celebrate their anniversary. There was such a sense of normalcy to it, it was great. After that, Windsor and I had stowaway watch until midnight. I was glad she was there to keep me awake after such a long day – no stowaways on our watch!

Sunday was one of those unexpected days, where in the morning I would have never guessed where I ended up by the end of the day. We first went to church at a Hillsong church, which was interesting. After that, we had a driver take us to the Cape of Good Hope. We discovered it isn’t actually where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet (that’s Cape Agulhas), but it is where a very warm current and a very cold current meet, so apparently there’s an interesting mix of marine life. The drive there was beyond beautiful. Along the way, we stopped and took a boat ride out to seal island, a small collection of rocks where tons of seals hang out. After the Cape, we headed to Boulders beach, which is home to tons of African penguins. They dig holes/nests under the bushes, which was so strange to me. We also saw baboons when we were at the cape, so it was a day of strange animal sightings. For those who love breath-taking views, I would definitely recommend Cape Town, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything quite like it.

Someone recommended to me that I read through Proverbs again and I’ve been amazed at the little things that God has shown me. Solomon instructs us to ask for wisdom and understanding, so I’ve been trying to do that. Indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 2:3-6). God has been pointing out moments where I was too hard on someone, or didn’t think about what that person needed. Times where someone was loving on me but I didn’t get it (I’m not a touchy person but I’m learning that hugs are a special thing). I listened to a particular person share their heart and understanding of God, for maybe the 10^th time, and I finally understood. God is a good father and is always teaching us new things. My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in (Proverbs 3:11-12). I am so thankful for that. The pastor at Hillsong shared a useful analogy. He said his friend has been reading Men’s Health magazines for 6 months and was frustrated that he hadn't gotten in better shape yet. He asked him if he had tried applying any of the principles they talked about. The friend said no… It’s the same thing with the Bible. Unless we read it and apply the principles to our lives, we won’t see any change.

Let all the earth fear the Lord;

let all the people of the world revere him.

For He spoke, and it came to be;

He commanded, and it stood firm.

The Lord foils the plans of the nations;

He thwarts the purposes of the peoples.

But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,

the purposes of his heart through all generations.

~Psalm 33:8-11

The view from the top of Table mountain.

Endless Oceans, Whales and Analogies

I'm pretty sure that there are more selfies taken during at sea
muster drills than any other time.

What a blessing it is to be back on this ship, amongst such beautiful people! Last week, we capped off our field service by attending a white South African Methodist church; praying over the community and those who are doing God’s work here; completing a few final jobs; and receiving our field practice evaluations. One of my biggest takeaways from the field practice was better understanding the concept of one body, many parts. 1 Corinthians tells us that believers are one body made up of many parts, and that every part is absolutely necessary. We shouldn’t discount our contribution to the Kingdom just because it’s not the most visible or exciting. “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (12:27). During the field practice I saw many different parts of the body at work – dieticians, labourers, artists, prayer warriors, teachers, nurses, etc. And every part was so necessary to do the work that God had set before us. I think I sometimes have a tendency to think that someone isn’t ‘pulling their weight’ or doing their share, but I saw people who were obedient to God to the point of sitting in a room and waiting on His timing. And they were in the exact right place to pray at specific moments, to stand in the gap for others, to make a difference through prayer and encouragement. They were in precisely the right place for God to use them in that moment. I was really blown away by that.

I was also blessed to hear a few analogies from Stephan that really got me thinking. At one point he told me I was like an elephant storming through a conversation, making people tremble. I really had to stop and consider that. It’s never my intention to be that way, but that is how I come across. How can I change that? Whenever my loudness or boldness is brought up, I always struggle with my response. Do I try and actively talk less? I’ve tried many times, I don’t often succeed and that leads to frustration. But during my evaluation, Stephan gave me another analogy that really shed a lot of light on this for me. He said that I’m like a wild horse, and God is the jockey who is teaching me when to go and when to wait. It’s not that I have to change who I am – I’m not called to be a mouse. I just need to learn to have discernment about when God wants me to use my passionate fire and when He wants me to wait. Often I use it in the wrong moments and I burn those around me. God made me this way for a reason, I just need to listen to the Holy Spirit to know when to use it for His glory. Definitely a work in progress!

As we're about to sail out of the port, the captain announces:
We are about to enter the break water, prepare for it to
get much rougher (or something along those lines).

Arriving on the ship was amazing. Getting to see everyone, see the ship again, get settled in. It’s been fun to watch my fellow onboarders experience the ship for the first time.  It’s a little strange not seeing certain people, people that I am so used to seeing on the ship, but there are lots of new friends to be made. On Sunday, some of us went to a white Pentecostal style church in Durban and it was amazing. I forgot what country I was in – it could have been anywhere. It’s so neat to see that people worship in different, and similar ways, all over the world. We are all united by our love for Him. Sunday evening we also decided to organize our own small service and gathered to sing, read His word and pray. We even had a mini sermon from one of our own.

Tiff and I getting ready to host our
first media team together.

It was neat to get to explore Durban a little before sailing. On Saturday, we went to the beach in the afternoon, walked around a bit and ate on the beachfront. There is something about skyscrapers next to beaches that blows me away. It’s so cool to see mankind’s creation looking out at God’s creation. And then, yesterday, we set sail! It’s been SO FUN. I absolutely love it. The ship is rocking back and forth, the view is ocean for days, and this morning I saw whales! What a moment – standing on the top deck, watching the whales, heart bubbling with joy and praising God for His goodness. We have a few more days of this beauty until we get to Cape Town. I think I could sail forever (tonight/tomorrow is supposed to be much rougher, so we’ll see how I feel after that).

We went straight to work, with lots of meetings and discussions about the upcoming field service. Tiffany and I already got to host a member of the media on Friday in Durban. We managed to arrange a last minute visit for an online journalist, which was neat because it gave Tiffany a more hands on idea of what we do. And I was happy to be back at it, after spending so much time learning. The lady brought a girl in high school who was doing a work experience day and she was amazed by everything we do. She said she would tell everyone at her school about it. Those are my favourite reactions. I feel so blessed to have this job – I get to spend my days telling people about how amazing this ship and the people on it are! I’m also really excited to see the Comms team in action once we get to Benin. Our team leader, Michele, has set a very encouraging and positive tone for our team, one of embracing our mistakes, leaning on each other and focusing on Jesus.

I’ve been chugging through books lately and I recently finished a book written by a former Israeli Ambassador. I wanted to share a few of the things she said because they really resonated with how I feel:

Immersion heightens sensitivity and allows understanding, which enables action.

Feeling comfortable everywhere means never being fully at home anywhere.

It is a blessing to feel good in all places, sad to leave a small piece of you in each, a challenge to remain just you.

Blessed to have Caitlyn back to serve the whole field service!

That last one really put into words something that I’ve been feeling for a long time. I think God has blessed me with the ability to feel good in all places, but that doesn’t mean it’s not sad to leave, or that I’m not changed by each place I go to. On the plane ride to London, I was overwhelmed with this sense that I wouldn’t be going home for a long time. That was really hard, but God also gave me a sense of peace about it. Last Sunday, when we were praying with some YWAMers, one of them spoke words of knowledge over me, which affirmed that feeling that I’d had. He said he could see me stepping out in boldness, traveling and blazing a path for others. He said that I’ve already done crazy things for God and will continue to do so. I’ve heard variations of this from many people and it was very encouraging to hear it from someone who knew nothing about me, who was sharing what God had shown Him. I just pray that I can continue to humbly walk this path with God, getting my strength from Him and trusting that His ways are good! 

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

~ Hebrews 1:3

A view of the beautiful Durban beachfront.