Home Sweet Shipyard

We've been living on board the Africa Mercy for more than a week already. On our arrival from the airport we tumbled out of the Land Rovers and walked up the gangway for the first time, some of us gasping like fan girls, others gawking over the railing to see that our floating home was in fact sitting in actual water... and then there was me, let's be honest, doing both.

They led us up through the reception area of the Africa Mercy and into the dining room, where there was some last-minute paperwork waiting for us. I kept looking up from the table to the window and and back again, distracted by the sight of the world outside slowly bobbing up and down. Although I'm getting better at finding my way around the ship, I still haven't gotten used to that sight. So far I barely feel the movement, but we're told that will change once we leave port and start sailing for Cameroon near the end of this week. In the meantime we're content exploring our island home while we're here. Coming from the beach back to the shipyard, it's hard to believe the two are only a 30-minute walk from each other!

Playing around at Playa de las Canteras

The view from Deck 7

Like I mentioned in my previous post, a highlight of our training back in Texas was hearing stories from ISC staff and from other trainees who have worked on the ship before--stories from recent years on the Africa Mercy, as well as stories from the early years of Mercy Ships. I wanted to share one story that stuck with me.

In 2014, the Africa Mercy was scheduled to sail to Guinea, on the west coast of Africa. However, at that time the Ebola outbreak was picking up and making headlines. The Africa Mercy, while it is a floating hospital, is not designed or equipped for medical relief of that scale, and so the decision was made to change course and spend the year in Cotonou, Benin.

Then in August 2014, Ebola spread (although briefly) to Nigeria, Benin's neighboring country. Not knowing how the outbreak would progress from there, Mercy Ships feared that the presence of a well-known hospital ship in Benin might draw Ebola victims to Cotonou in search of treatment. The Africa Mercy would not actually be able to help any more than it could in Guinea, and it would have potentially caused more damage by starting a new outbreak where there otherwise might not be. For this reason, and through a crazy turn of events, the ship changed course for a second time and sailed all the way down and around to Madagascar, where it stayed until mid-2016.

It's humbling to think that the health and safety of a country might have been drastically changed by the course of one ship, and even more humbling to know that I flew into Cotonou, totally unaware of it.

In the summer of 2014, I was getting ready to work in Cotonou for 10 months with Wycliffe Bible Translators, starting that September. I had been following the news of the outbreak, and knew of the cases reported in Nigeria. I was feeling afraid, and my fear, left unchecked, caused me to turn inward. Preoccupied with fear, I barely thought to pray, and when I did, they were selfish prayers centered around my safety and desire to "just go already!" Looking back this sounds to me like a chapter of The Screwtape Letters. I wanted healing to come to West Africa, but was this prayer ever really separate from my personal desire to follow through with the plans I had been working on all summer, to go on my adventure in West Africa and come back in one piece? You know, the plans I had written out in a letter and sent to friends and family, explaining my intent to leave the country for a year and asking for resources? 

Side note: Here is a blog post written by my amazing friend Emilie about not being paralyzed by fear. I wish I could have read it back in 2014. Even if you don't read it, check out the Francis Chan video that she links! (also at the bottom of this post)

It was in this season that God reminded me:

"Perfect love casts out fear."
1 John 4:18

"Be still, and know that I am God."
Psalm 46:10

There were many more "worthy" prayers for West Africa and the victims of Ebola. I kind of wish God ignored mine and listened to those instead, but I think He heard them all.

"Search me, oh God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts."
Psalm 139:23

Why so much anxiety, Kate? I was never alone. I believe in a God who knows what he's doing, and furthermore, I was surrounded by the prayers of many other believers. The same prayers that surrounded me then go with me now. I've been so blessed by my supporters. I don't take it for granted that many of them have chosen for the second time to invest their resources, time, and prayers in my attempts to participate in what God is doing around the world.

If you have any insight and wisdom on this, I encourage you to share your perspective on it. This has brought up new questions for me about God's character and the nature of prayer, and I feel like I've only scratched the surface.

Peanut Butter and Nautical Puns

Rodeos are a real thing. Who knew, right??

The plane dipped below the clouds, revealing the unfamiliar landscape below. Peering out the window, I expected to see a desert. But I was surprised to see green as far as the eye could see. When the plane landed, I noticed that the terminal was big enough for only two small air crafts at a time.

15 minutes later, as I hauled my bags off of the conveyor belt and wheeled them out of the nearly empty airport, the air outside gave me what could only be described as a sloppy wet kiss. I began sweating, immediately. What is this place?

But then my dad's reassuring words came back to me, "You may have some difficulty with the strange culture, but once you get out of Texas, everything will be fine." So I took a deep breath--*gulp*--and walked out of the Tyler airport.

The locals here have warmly welcomed us. They are friendly and hospitable, and are even teaching us to speak their mother tongue--essential phrases like, "I'm fixin' to head to Walmart. Are y'all coming?" and "The rodeo's in town!!" have been life-savers. Most importantly, they provide us with gallons and gallons of peanut butter.

Yeah, we haven't left the States yet, but in some ways Texas feels like its own country.

Discovering the wildlife of Texas

We've been at the International Support Center (ISC) for five weeks already. There are around 40 of us in our training group, and each week has focused on a different topic--a brief history and foundations of Mercy Ships, God and his character, personal and interpersonal development, and Mercy Ships' world view and approach to intercultural missions.

Early on they gave us a tour of the ISC and all of the departments that keep this whole shebang "afloat", and there are so many interesting things to learn about the organizational side of Mercy Ships, including:

• Mercy Ships staff might be in a country for up to two years before the ship actually arrives, working with the hosting government to tailor each field service to that country's needs.
• This team talks to the local health ministry to find our what parts of the country's health care system are working well, so that the ship can offer appropriate programs without stepping on the toes of local practitioners. During the Madagascar field service two years back, the ship even put a stop to its own eye program (it stopped offering cataract surgeries) when it was found that they were creating competition for a Malagasi eye doctor who was able to provide the same services.
• Because the AFM provides training for local specialists, when it leaves it will purposefully refer its patients to its former trainees for follow-up care. This helps to encourage trust in local health care providers and avoid dependency.
• The AFM has been to many countries along the West African coast, but this will be the first time a Mercy Ship goes to Cameroon, which is very exciting!
• A person's status and seniority on a team is decided in part by the quality and frequency of  his or her nautical puns. I'm still practicing.

On Monday evenings, ISC staff get together to play indoor soccer, and they invited On-Boarding participants to play, too. The main area of the gym is not air conditioned, so an hour of soccer has the same effect as sitting in a sauna fully clothed, but who cares, we're having fun!

Sounds like basketball, plays like soccer, at the speed of hockey

We head to the Canary Islands (via Madrid, via Chicago) on Wednesday! I'm hoping to post once more before then. There is one more story that I heard at On-Boarding that I want to share.

In the meantime, this video made us all laugh out loud when we watched it in class. Enjoy!