Back to the Ship

I think I got to see this beauty every day I was home; I can't
wait until we are back living in the same city.

It’s hard to believe that I’ve already been back on the Ship for two weeks! My last few days at home were a whirlwind of adventures: skiing with the cousins; archery tag and a creepy escape room with my sister; one last family dinner/surprise birthday party for my mom which consisted of pizza, beer and watching hockey (World Juniors!); and a slightly stressful last day where I couldn’t find my yellow fever car (it ended up being in my dad’s truck on the other side of town) and having my flights cancelled/rearranged due to the crazy weather. It all worked out because I got to spend my last few hours in Canada watching our Canadian boys bring home Gold! 

Ruben and I in front of the MS exhibit
in the Port of Antwerp.

Living on the Africa Mercy means making friends who live all over the world so before returning to the Ship I took a short detour to go visit Ruben in the Netherlands. I got to spend a day touring Utrecht (with the best tour guide), attempting to remember how to ride a bicycle, having delicious local beer and a homemade butter chicken meal. The next day was spent wandering Antwerp, Belgium as they took down all their Christmas decorations, and visiting the Mercy Ships Belgium office. It was a lovely end to my break and I am so thankful for kind people who are willing to lend you clothes when your luggage doesn’t come! 

A gift from a princess in Canada to a princess
in Cameroon!

Being back on the Ship has been wonderful – I feel very rested and ready for the second half of the field service! My passion for this place and for hosting visitors is back and I was excited to be able to host some day guests in my first days back. I was blessed to have absolutely lovely guests who were an encouragement to the crew and I remembered why I love my job so much. My first community meeting back was one to remember – not only was I so moved to be back worshiping with this amazing group of people, but we got to hear from Gavin Calver, who is the head of Spring Harvest church in the UK. His passion and enthusiasm for Jesus and the gospel was incredible and his message was a reminder to go and be all in for Jesus. 

Undeniably, one of the reasons I feel so at ease and happy is because I have made my decision about what’s next. I’ve decided that I will leave the Ship after the Cameroon field service and go home. I’m not saying it’s goodbye for good, but I do feel like God is calling me home for a period of time. I’ve committed to staying on and sailing to Senegal for our PR visit in June, and then on to Las Palmas, before leaving. I would love to remain involved with Mercy Ships in both the near and far future, and continue to look for opportunities to do so. In the meantime, I’ve applied for a Master’s program at home (more on that if I get accepted!). Making this decision wasn’t easy because I knew that from a worldly perspective I was walking away from many opportunities on the Ship but as soon as I made it, I was sure it was the right decision. I feel so at peace about my decision. I think deep down, I’ve known all along what God wanted me to do and I was just resisting. I look forward to throwing myself into the remaining 5 months onboard and being all in!

The Senegalese delegation.

Last week, I got to be part of a team that hosted a Senegalese delegation onboard, including the Minister of Health and some Senegalese media. After the field service in Guinea, the Africa Mercy will be going to Senegal for our first field service there in over 25 years. The guests were very engaged and lovely – from all I heard, I think the crew will enjoy their visit to Senegal! The evening after the first day, we gathered in the Managing Director’s office to debrief and prepare for the next day. I couldn’t help but think of West Wing when the whole team would gather in the Oval office to discuss something. I appreciated being able to work with a team, and was so thankful for all the amazing, dedicated people we have onboard. 

Our driver was very proud of his 1995 car and how much he
could fit in it - including lots of sugar cane.

My last story comes from an adventure I had yesterday. Myself and two Day Crew made the 17 hour round trip to Edith and Valerie’s village to see how Edith was healing. I told Christiane that she was in charge of our mission and she did an awesome job of getting us there and back in one day. This meant leaving the Ship at 5am, taking a 4 hour bus ride to Yaounde, a 1 hour taxi to the place where you catch bush taxis, a 1.5 hour bush taxi ride with 8 people and lots of stuff before we arrived at Edith’s school and got to see her beautiful smile! After visiting with Edith, we headed to the village and said hello to Valerie and her family, where she was so surprised and came running out shouting RENEEEE. She eagerly asked for news of the other members of the Comms team, the Ship, Dr.Gary, other patients. It wasn’t long before we needed to start our journey back. Along the way I got to try some raw sugar cane, got out to push the taxi up the hill several times, had some marriage proposals and an offer to bring me avocados, along with lots of laughter. So thankful for Kate who not only took me to the bus station at 5am but also picked up a very exhausted Renee at 10pm!! 

I am thankful for the time I had to rest at home and for the way God has restored my passion and excitement. I love this place, and I especially love all the ways I get to see him work every day. He uses humble, broken people to do absolutely amazing things. 

Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. ~ Matthew 6:10-11

11 

It was so nice to be back in the hot weather of Cameroon and experience an unplanned weekend spent in Limbe with friends.