Hope and Healing and Plumbing Supplies

When asked how things are going in Dakar, I'll often say, "We're definitely not bored!" Here is a snapshot of what we've been up to since I arrived in October.

A Wolof lesson on the roof.
Our teacher is a Christian woman named Fatou.

It's less than five weeks until the Africa Mercy returns to Dakar. On the ship, there is palpable excitement at each mention of arrival day. The crew have been waiting for so long to get to Africa, and for many of them it will be their first time on the continent!

Chelsea and Becky working from the living room.
Always another email or phone call!

But if you mention the countdown to arrival day to the Advance team, we'll probably say, "SSH! Not yet!" There are A LOT of details involved in getting the ship back to Senegal. So much has already been accomplished, but we are still far from done! 

Chelsea and Jay-B, AKA the HR team, have interviewed and offered jobs to hundreds of Day Crew candidates who will be trained in January. Processes are being put in place to ensure the crew meet Senegal's immigration and health requirements, and that our supplies and equipment can be cleared by customs. 

Teaching a group of future Day Crew about
vehicle safety checks before their driving test.

As Port Liaison, I've been working with the Harbor Master and my talented coworker, Val, to make sure the ship will have fresh produce, water, and waste removal services. We've contacted several partners to source materials that our technical departments might need while the ship is in Dakar, like ball bearings and plumbing supplies. I also met with another local mission group that we have worked with in the past. Their welders are going to make around 100 meters of fencing for our dock space. Crew arriving by plane will be required to quarantine for two nights. To prepare, we met with a number of hotels and taxi companies to find the ones that will be the right fit for this process during the field service.

In between all these tasks, I've been able to do one of my favorite things: scouring the local markets to help find fabrics for various purposes. Soon some of it will be turned into privacy curtains for the dockside tents, and some will be what our team wears for arrival day!

On the hunt for ball bearings
in Marché Sandaga.

As we work to re-establish contact with our partners from the previous field service, and introduce Mercy Ships to some new potential partners, I've found myself face-to-face with hotel directors, travel agents, mechanics, organic farmers, and dear friends at a local craft market.

But it's one thing to be able to schedule meetings, gather info, and confirm the logistics with these potential partners. We could check off all of the details surrounding the ship's return and still miss the mark, if we are not also sharing our Why.

Why does Mercy Ships go to all this trouble to visit a country? Because God has an epic plan to heal the world.

Surrounded by toilets, sharing about
hope and healing!

I didn't want to get lost in the details and forget to share the Why, so I gave myself this challenge: Assume everyone you meet is waiting to hear about hope and healing. 

And that's how I ended up sitting in the back of a plumbing store, completely surrounded by toilets, sharing a video about Ousseynou and Assane, two Senegalese orthopedic patients, with a Commercial Manager I had just met.

Can't say I could have predicted that one.

Not in my wildest dreams.

This visit could have been a three-minute stop. But that woman and many others were touched to hear the twins' story. Suddenly, our conversation was no longer about plumbing equipment. It was about shared humanity and how love makes lives go from broken to healed.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

-Ephesians 3:20

Out to lunch after the Day Crew driving tests.
(Daniel, Linda, Jay-B, me, Chelsea)

As I thanked her for her time, the woman I was meeting with expressed sincere appreciation for the work Mercy Ships is doing in Senegal, and then I got to thank her for the way their business had already supported our mission of hope and healing during our previous field service!

I hope you enjoyed a little taste of what we've been up to here in Dakar in the last few weeks. Thank you for your prayers and support. God has heard, and he has been our helper. Doors are opening and mountains are moving.

For the last two weeks of the year, we have all been enjoying a break from our preparatory tasks to celebrate Christmas and New Years. I just returned from a week on the Africa Mercy, where I had the opportunity to visit with many friends who I haven't seen in person since I left the ship a year and a half ago. Together we celebrated Jesus' birth with storytelling, reflective videos, and worship. It still felt like home there, which was a encouragement and a blessing for me.

Happy new year!

One more team photo in Dakar before we parted ways for the holidays!
(Jay-B, Linda, Daniel, Chelsea,
me, Val, and Becky)