Our "5 Things" to Share in April

1. We are nearing the end of our service on board.

It is a bit surreal to be leaving the ship so soon, but it is a transition we have been preparing for during the past few of months, and we are both looking forward to this next chapter!

Many goodbyes, and now it's almost our turn!

In terms of leaving the ship community, I can say that I have been on board long enough to have seen many long-term friends leave the ship before me. I can honestly say I do not feel like I am losing a community when I leave the ship, but just joining another part of it, the part that lives all over the world! I have several Mercy Ships friends who even live in Minnesota!

After a period of resettling in Minnesota, I will also be starting a new (remote and non-volunteer) job with the Mercy Ships US office, as a Recruitment Coordinator. I'm looking forward to using my experience on the ship to help other people as they prepare to serve on board!

2. Kate will be home in May, Jay-B will come later.

We could use prayers for logistic details to fall into place in God's perfect timing, including scheduling key appointments, transitioning to new insurance, finding the right apartment at the right time, wedding preparations, and for Kate starting her new job in 1-2 months.

Kate doing a shadow shift in one of the
wards in preparation for her upcoming role!

3. Our wedding is coming up, but the visa process makes planning difficult. For that reason, we'd usually prefer to talk about something else instead.

Easter Morning on the GLM

The visa process is country- and visa-specific, very complex, and quite a mouthful to describe. We appreciate that questions and advice are always well-intentioned, but the kindest thing most people can do is be one less person bringing our minds and conversation back to the topic of visas. Our ask would be to please wait for us to share updates ourselves!

That being said, we are both feeling optimistic and like to look on the bright side. Making an international transition sometimes requires flexibility, but this is nothing we haven't tackled before. These are "light and momentary troubles", and a year from now, the visa process will be behind us. We will be enjoying married life, putting down roots, making new connections and enjoying time with old friends--and we can't wait.

If you do bump into Kate back in Minnesota, here are some great questions to ask instead of asking about the visa process!

• What was a highlight of the past field service for you?

I recently had the opportunity to spend
a couple of mornings helping a local
women's clinic with an archiving project
with other ship volunteers!

• What makes Sierra Leone unique out of all of the countries where you have worked?

With fellow crew on a recent visit to the Sierra
Leone Peace Museum.

In the archive room where they store testimonies
from Sierra Leone's civil war.

• What did you learn in your role as Sales Manager?

The Sales Team serving in the Cafe on Easter morning!

• What are you up to now that you're home?

Friends visiting our "neighborhood" (Kate's term) on the ship
during a recent "open cabin" event.

4. If you would like to continue supporting Mercy Ships by supporting their volunteers, we know two!

 Jay-B is still on board and will continue his volunteer service with the Staff Development department on the Global Mercy until the visa process is complete, at which point he will also relocate to the US. He is still fundraising, and his donation page is here.

Celebrating Kate's birthday last month!

A friend of Jay-B's, Raymon, with whom he worked on the Rehab team when the Africa Mercy was in Benin, is also preparing to re-join the organization and is seeking financial supporters! It was a joy to hear about his desire to rejoin, and we would like to share about his journey with our network. You can read a bit more about Raymon here.

Our friends Raymon and Dean when they were
working together on the AFM Rehab team

As mentioned earlier, Kate is concluding her volunteer service with Mercy Ships. If you have a recurring donation set up through Mercy Ships, please contact Mercy Ships Donor Services to redirect or stop your donation. They can be reached at 903-939-7080 or donor.svc.manager@mercyships.org.

5. We are incredibly grateful for your support!

No blog post is long enough to say "thank you" for your support for both of us, whether through prayer, words of encouragement, and financial support. We have been consistently blown away by the thoughtfulness and good will of our "village", and do not know where we would be without you. God always provides, but the fact that he chose you to support us in this calling is a big deal to us, and we are truly grateful to have partners in mission like you. Thank you.

With our worship team on Deck 11 before a 
recent outdoor service.

One Last Go-Round

 

Lakka Beach, Freetown, Sierra Leone, as viewed from Lakka Beach Island Resort.

It's been the better part of a year since I wrote a blog post, which wasn't intentional on my part. My best guess is that, after coming out of the pandemic through successive seasons like nothing I had ever encountered before, and two and a half years of novel experiences on the GLM, now that the ship has been in the same country for two successive field service, maybe I forgot how to write an update during a season when we stay in one spot! But of course there is always more to share about our work here in Sierra Leone, and I have a life update to share as well, so here are some of the highlights!

With the OR team after delivering a morning devo.

Did you know that Sierra Leone's First Lady, Fatima Maada Bio, is studying for her masters degree in public health through UCLA? She attended the ceremony marking the GLM's second arrival in Freetown back in September. In her speech, she made it very clear that she and her husband, President Julius Maada Bio, were very happy with all that Mercy Ships was doing in Sierra Leone. She also zeroed in on the fact that our surgical numbers from last field service indicate that some patients had undergone more than one surgery in the course of their care with Mercy Ships. This is not abnormal for us, but her remark still struck me: 

"To have surgery once, you are lucky. To have more than one surgery, you are one of the luckiest people in the world."

Photo credit: Tirsa Tapia

Undergoing multiple surgeries is conceivable when you have systems like medical insurance in place. In countries where the majority of citizens foot the bill for every single procedure they undergo, it's easy to see how seeking even necessary care could quickly become an impossible goal. Even when Mercy Ships covers all costs associated with care, patients still face challenges.

For everything that volunteers sacrifice in order to work on the ship, oftentimes, it is the patients who sacrifice even more. They leave their families and their jobs (paid leave is not common here) for an undetermined amount of time in order to receive the care they seek. Our Hospital Chaplaincy team has sometimes been called to step in and provide practical support when a patient is feeling concerned for their loved ones at home, who may struggle to buy food for themselves while the main breadwinner is away.

Out in town you'd be hard-pressed to find a time of day when certain streets are not bustling--bursting, really--with activity. As long as people are out running errands, socializing, or commuting--by motorcycle, bus (Freetown just introduced a new and improved bus system last year), keke, or on foot--well, there is money to be made, and income is often dedicated to immediate needs. Sellers carrying pastries, toothpaste, beverages, tea towels, and all other manner of small wares on their heads, or seated by the roadside, often carry a megaphone in their hand, set to repeat a recorded advertisement of their offerings (the most ubiquitous is for cellular credit: "top-up, top-up!"). In the deepest parts of the market, surrounded by these recordings on top of hundreds of voices, the cacophony is truly incredible. It's all I can do to focus on where I'm placing my feet to avoid treading on merchandise, a mysterious puddle, or another foot. I am rarely comfortable taking my phone out in a market, but I found a video on YouTube of a typical market street.

The photo to the right is another typical sight in Freetown--

squishy sandals galore! Although it looks chaotic, this carefully arranged tower is also designed to attract shoppers by presenting all of the options at once. Sellers jump to their feet when you approach, and can usually pick out what you're looking for in no time!

We have been in "Sweet Salone" for almost two field services, and Mercy Ships has now committed for a third, for 2025-2026. Not only is there still much that can be done in partnership with the government of Sierra Leone, but Mercy Ships is also still carefully laying the groundwork for the next field service location--a task not to be rushed through, and so to be welcomed with open arms to return to Freetown is a win-win.

What has left the biggest impression on me is the openness and hospitality of the people of Freetown. As we know well from our time on board, building relationships across cultures can be challenging, but Sierra Leonians have shown themselves ready to meet any challenge, even getting us westerners to loosen up! ;)

A fellow crew member from Sierra Leone invited us to his wedding recently!

A photo from a recent community night in the Cafe.
Photo credit: Merel Visser-Piet

As many of you are already aware, I am not planning to be on the ship for our third arrival. Instead, I'm preparing to conclude my service on board the Ships. I've expected for a long time that this would be a daunting and emotional transition. But now that I'm practically standing on the threshold, I'm also filled with excitement--in a few short months, I get to marry my best friend!

If you have not already met Jay-B, let me introduce you! Jay-B is from Benin, and his name is short for Jean-Baptiste. We both started serving as crew in 2017, and have been very nearly inseparable since 2022, so last summer, he asked me if I'd like to stay forever, and I said yes! Although the wedding date is still about 3 months away, I know the days and weeks will pass faster than we can say "K-1 fiance visa!" (but hopefully not faster than we can obtain said visa--amen!) 

Together we are already walking the tightrope between "here" and "there"--

Between being present in the moment and with the people around us...

...and anticipating and preparing for life after the ship.

Some newly trained volunteers in the Cafe! Before the end of training,
we always grab a random prop from the Cafe to take a selfie.

Between reflecting on all the past years have meant to us...

...and reflecting on the major life changes to come.

Playing cards during a weekend away from the ship.

Between gratitude for all that we have seen God do during our time on board...

...and excitement for everything the years ahead hold!

A recent dance part of deck 9 with the Food Services team for the Chief Steward's birthday!

What is to come is a transition back to life in the US for me, and a transition to living in another foreign country for Jay-B. Our wedding, moving into a new place, starting a new job, and staying on top of all of the paperwork that stands between where we are and where we want to go in the future have been the focus of many late nights in the past months, not to mention still soaking in ship life, the worship team that we lead (there are 4 different teams on board, and we all lead the worship for the crew service once a month), and all of the things that make life here so sweet.

A scene from planning music for one of the worship services.
The objects below the guitar are hand chimes for Christmas!

Most of the time, we're handling the pressure pretty well, rooted in trust in the One who holds our future. Then there are days when that pressure and emotion need to be "released", and there are some tears. In those moments I sure feel lucky to have access to the amazing support network we have through Mercy ships, not to mention my incredible fiance, who always knows exactly how to encourage me. May they continue to be tears of gratitude, and not anxiety!

Jay-B at Loro Parque in Tenerife--
those aquariums were amazing!

A few prayer requests for the months ahead:

Breakfast on deck 8 is a favorite weekend ritual.

• For favor through the remaining steps in Jay-B's visa process.
• Plans for re-entry and life after the ship--we are looking for an apartment in the Bloomington/Richfield/S Minneapolis area that we can rent for about 6 months from June 2025-January 2026.
• Prayers for winding down our service well, handover with our replacements that needs to take place, and for smooth transitions for our teams who will carry on without us.
• At a high level, Mercy Ships is looking for a new CEO. Do you know anyone??

Recently we took a trip to visit the village of one of the Sierra Leonian crew. Ishaka (pictured above) and his brother are investing in planting a palm tree farm that can provide jobs and income for their community!

The Mercy Supply Chain

The Sales team (including Chief Steward Paul, right; and
Assistant Steward Mendy, left) in the Cafe

"God has placed each part in the body just as he wanted it to be. If all the parts were the same, how could there be a body? As it is, there are many parts. But there is only one body."

-1 Corinthians 12:18-20

Serving up smiles in the Cafe! 

Now with about 5 months as Global Mercy Sales Manager in the books, I am loving this new role. The title might be a bit of a misnomer, as the Ship Shop, Cafe, and Post Office on board are not revenue-making operations. They are there as a way to bless the crew and provide an oasis in the midst of work. Our little team made of me and three staff has seen some routine turnover, and it's been wonderful to see new team members blossom and get excited about serving the crew and making them smile--We're getting a lot of mileage out of a 3-D printed smiley stencil one of the families made!

An "African Fabric Fashion Show" is an annual tradition
on the ships, and is one of the Crew and Day Crew's
favorite activities to do all together! I wish you could hear
the cheers of encouragement as friends and coworkers go
down the "catwalk"!

An especially fun aspect of the role is helping to coordinate community activities, and when you have such a large and diverse community all bringing their interests and ideas forward, it can amount to some very lively and colorful life outside of the office! On any given night of the week, you could pop into Bible studies, dance lessons, worship evenings, a film festival, the crafting group, the sewing enthusiasts, a presentation, a Brazilian Ju-Jitsu class, or a national holiday observance... the list goes on! (I've included more photos of community life at the end of this post)

On April 27 (in addition to being the Dutch holiday known as "Kings Day"), Sierra Leone celebrated 63 years as an independent nation. The best word I can think of to describe Sierra Leonians is "Courageous". Anyone here who has been alive since 1990 has lived through civil war (1991-2002), the Ebola virus epidemic (2014-2015), and finally (like the rest of the world) the COVID-19 pandemic. Literal volumes have been written to record and analyze everything Sierra Leonians has overcome (I recently listened to the audio version of Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds by Paul Farmer, which focuses on the context and aftermath of the Ebola epidemic). Many are raising their families in neighborhoods where intermittent electricity and running water is a fact of life, and the streets are so narrow and steep that there is no margin for error, let alone space for intrepid toddlers to run free.

Visiting Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary

Out in town, signs of need are almost everywhere you look, and it can leave the mind feeling drained. I'm intentionally sparing much detail on this, because "signs of need" are not what defines Sierra Leone.

What does define Sierra Leone? In short, the people. If you ask one of the many Sierra Leonian crew on board (as of last month, there were 22!), that is most often their response, and what makes this the nation they are proud to call "Mama Salone".

A photo from a patient Naserry's homecoming.
(Photo credit: Tirsa Tapia)

This is not Mercy Ships' first visit to Sierra Leone. A walk through one of the main hospitals, Connaught, introduced us to many dedicated doctors and nurses who have received training from Mercy Ships at some point in their careers. And to be sure, you need to be dedicated to work in the medical industry here, making sure the community has reasonable access to medical care in an unforgiving professional ecosystem.

An anesthesia training course participant honing her skills in
the GLM simulation center. (photo credit: Elizabeth Brumley) 

I am constantly reminded that Mercy Ships cannot fill every need that might be held out in front of us. In a nation that is striving for healthcare, electricity, access to water, and jobs, the need to stay focused on the piece that God has given Mercy Ships to manage is very important. Within the GLM, each department then manages an even smaller piece of this, in what one chaplain named Jim recently referred to as the "Mercy supply chain". I absolutely loved this image! It highlights that we cannot do what we do without each one contributing to the full in their area of calling, and it serves as a small snapshot of what it means to live and serve in God's Kingdom, wherever we may be. In this way, we bring the Kingdom to earth in a bigger and more wonderful way than any of us could have done on our own.

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully."

-Romans 12:3-8

Patient Marie before her goiter removal surgery on board (Photo credit: Abigail Beinetti)

Patient Marie after her goiter removal
surgery (Photo credit: Tirsa Tapia)

A gospel song I heard in a local church that we visited recently has stuck with me. It is written by S.O.J Macauley in the Krio language, making it uniquely Sierra Leonian. Most recently I heard one of our Dining Room Day Crew singing it while she emptied the dish carts.

The chorus translates to:

"When you work for God,

there will be no losses;

He is the Master Businessman,

who knows how to pay you."

May the Master Businessman help you to flourish this week. As Chaplain Jim said, "Go give 'em heaven!"

Friends putting on a live music night in the Cafe

Showing off our African Fashion!

A goodnye dinner for a Sales Staff.

Experiencing a Passover seder dinner during Holy Week

A group of ladies that play football on the dock every week.

Day off at Lakka Beach--we can recommend
the $15 lobster at Paul's Beach Bar!

We are one of four teams that take turns leading musical
worship on Sunday evenings.

Enjoying late night snacks with teammates after a worship night

I have been giving guitar lessons to two other crew
members. One has just switched ships and will
need to find a new teacher on the Africa Mercy!

Sierra Leone has a train museum

Testing out a restored hand cart at the train museum
with our two guides (it actually moved!).

A beautiful Freetown sunset over the port.