One Monthaversary

I can't believe it's already been a whole month since I left to come here. Boy does time fly! I was told that the "honeymoon phase" of being here wears off after 2 weeks, but I am still in awe and so thankful I am here. I feel so much joy and peace in serving onboard and I have absolutely loved every moment. Our days are filled with laughter, and I really enjoy daily life here. I survived my first weekend being on duty by myself which consisted of welcoming 20 or so new crew members, getting their rooms ready, delivering cookies for newcomers and birthdays, and giving tours. It went more smoothly than I could have imagined. (It also helps that I have a wonderful supervisor). I have also loved taking part in mercy ministries, going back to the baby center, the school for the deaf, and the Jesus Films.

  

 The other day we went to school for the deaf and came during one of their class periods to teach an art class. I wasn't sure what to expect since it was my first time going to a deaf school but I really enjoyed it. They all waved and smiled as we walked in and gasped and giggled as on of the guys walked in. He's 6'7 so they were a bit excited about it. We passed out all the materials and each of us found a seat with the kids. A person may not be able to hear or speak, but you can't stop laughter. I sat next to a young girl and she giggled as I came to sit with her. I wish she could hear how sweet and pretty her laugh is. We did a warm up exercise (the macarena) before we started the lesson and afterward everyone put them up on the walls so we could see what the class created. Luckily they use American sign language so I was able to sign my name and meet a few of the girls. such a fun day.

                    

                                     


 A few nights ago I went to help with the Jesus film. We drove out to a fisherman's village and put a projector in the back of the land rover, added some poles, white screen material, some chairs and voila, movie night! We turned the music up loud and people began to gather and sit. The video that was shown went briefly through creation of the world and the old testament, and the majority was on Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. They show this video, and the following times they come there are discipleship videos that are tailored to the african culture. They come to each village at least 3 times to play all the videos and a local pastor hosted it/spoke. I watched the movie with two little girls from the village in my lap. maybe 3 and 5 years old. The littlest one curled up and fell asleep and the older one watched the movie closely for quite a while. As they played the movie, I love that the crowd hooped and hollered and applauded as Jesus performed all of the miracles, and many came to the front to accept Christ after watching this movie. I'm so thankful we can use this technology to spread the story of Christ. Another sweet moment was with one of the little girls sitting in my lap. This will sound funny to most I am sure, but at one point the little girl looked at me and then looked up in awe and pointed toward the sky and I looked up and saw she was looking straight at the moon, and then she just waved at the moon and then put her head back down on me again. Something my sweet mom has always said is no matter where we are we're not too far away from each other because we both are looking at the same moon. In that moment I felt so comforted and felt close to my loved ones. I also think about Jesus' love and how it's universal. How the same Son saves us all if we accept him. We may have our own cultural things, but when it comes down to it, God's love can come into any heart no matter where you are or where you come from and unifies us to each other. It's just like my home here. All of us are from everywhere and Jesus brings us together into one place and desire for service because he draw us all closer to His heart. I love God's love.

This past week has included quite a bit of fun and relaxation. After work a new friend took me out to dinner on his motorcycle, and the place we went to looked just like my favorite restaurant back home. I was just telling my roommate earlier that day how much I missed my favorite hole-in-the-wall place in Texas. Even though I've been off the ship several times, going that evening felt like the first time I was just out with a friend living a normal life. It's funny the things that comfort me and remind me of home while I am here. We also celebrated Valentine's here mildly on the ship. Me and the hospitality girls had a V-day/goodbye party for one of our fellow hostesses who was leaving. We made valentine's cards for all my roomies and coworkers, and I made heart cookies for us to decorate while we watched a movie. [We also made a valentine for the Gurkas(Nepalese Guards here) and gave them our heart cookies. Everyone here loves the gurkas. Tonight I was throwing a football out on the dock with one of my guy friends and I taught one of the guards how to throw a spiral. haha. They are so friendly and somehow remember all of our names.] We have also been watching the Olympics here on board! It puts a whole new spin on things when you're watching with an audience from all over the world. This week we have 33 different nationalities on board.

 Before I came here I asked God if he'd send me someone who would sort of be a mentor/mother and take me in while I was here. I felt kid of silly asking but I already knew I'd miss seeing my mother everyday and also would really miss my friend/mentor Abbie while I was here. So God answered that prayer in the Paris airport on my way to the ship with a sweet soul named Marlene. Her husband was an anesthesiologist here on the ship for a month and she would serve as a hostess with me. When I first met her she was so kind, and let me know what to expect (she's been 5 times before) when I got there, and I ended up getting put next to her on the plane ride there. She continued to be kind, loving and patient with me throughout the month she was here, helped me practice my tours, answered all my questions, laughed with me when I'd joking call her Mama Marlene, and always encouraged us girls. I really feel so loved and held by God, one reason being the people he has placed in my life. God really gave me a gift my first month here by letting our paths collide. Although it was only a month, I am glad I stopped to realize how blessed I was while she was here. Life and relationships are a gift, and the seasons in which He brings those relationships are a blessing and a joy. Some people here may not want to get close to people because they know they will leave eventually, but I've decided just the gift of knowing them and loving freely is worth it, even if the goodbyes are really as painful as last night's was. It's a much greater loss to put walls up and never have the pleasure of knowing them at all.

photocred katie:  Saying bye to sweet Marlene 

  

 

Baby crèche

Mercy ships has a program called mercy ministries where they come alongside other ministries during their field service in each country. Every week you can sign up to go and serve at each of these ministries in your free time. One of the ministries they have come alongside of is called baby crèche. This is a center for babies who have been abandoned, parents can't take care of them, or their mother is in jail. After driving for a ways we arrived and walked in. There are other ministries in this same place so when we walked in, there we a ton of women in beautifully bright colored Africa dresses all dancing in the open middle courtyard type area and all cheered "hheeeeyyy!!" (Or sounded like it) with excitement as we walked in. We walked along the side and into a small room where 11 or so babies were. I think they were from newborn to 1.5 or 2 years old. As soon as I walked in I locked eyes with one little one and he immediately came running up with just a smile and a diaper on and his arms out ready to be held. This one came running, but many of the babies there were not able to walk. It was hard but a blessing to get to hold them and play with them. I absolutely love hugs by my family and friends and lately I've missed being hugged since I've been here. Then I thought about these sweet little ones and how much they desire (and are worthy of) love and just want and need to be held. My first hug here was from the sweet baby who ran up to me. It was a wonderful experience and a difficult one. They are behind in their development, many malnourished, unable to walk yet with weak legs and little back strength. Two of them were probably a year old and hadn't been named yet. I was holding one little girl and could feel her weakness and her inability to hold her back straight. She just stared up at as I held her and sang yes Jesus loves me with Marlene who held a 19 month old who looks like an infant weighing ten pounds. I wish I could just end their troubles, give them all a forever home, and a secure future. I'm not sure what to think about it all and I may not be able to fix everything that's wrong in the world, but I can love as best as I can and hold one baby (or two) at a time that needs love. I am thankful this center exists and the baby's have been put on a feeding program, gaining weight and are getting stronger. I am praying for their future, that they will come to know Jesus' love and will grow stronger and healthier. I ask that you please pray for the children here. I've posted a couple pictures that someone took while we were there. 

Love

Hannah

Hellos and goodbyes

Disclaimer: My entries are going to be a bit scattered from now on because there are too many things to say. 

Something that I may never get used to here is having people leave as quickly as they come in. We are saying goodbye to my roommate Giselle (future doctor from Argentina) this week and also to my coworker Wolke (Actress from Germany). [These are just two. Tomorrow there are at least 9 leaving and 15 or so coming in on Sunday.] I will miss Giselle's sweet smile and Wolke's laughter and demonstrations on how to exercise on our hospitality desk haha. I've got one roommate leaving and two more have just come in in the last two days. Our cabin has one spot left and will be full for a few months. Everyone is basically new here so everyone makes friends quickly. This last weekend some of us went to the beach to celebrate Giselle's time here  and it was my first time to really get off the ship and go out into town. (The only other time I went off before that was to see all the fish that the fishermen next to us brought in..huuuuggee fish, stingrays, eels and jumbo shrimp. ) Saturday night we jumped in the land rovers and drove to the beach and had a bonfire and danced and sang and some of the guys brought guitars and a djembe drumb and sang worship songs in English and French?..I'm not quite sure haha. The locals would stop by every so often and hang around to see what we were doing. It was a great way to worship, say goodbye to Giselle and pray over her next season of life back home. So much fun. I was helping Giselle pack last night and her luggage had to be less than 24 kilos for the airline and was slightly over so she was weeding things out. She handed me a skirt, and also some medicine saying in her Spanish accent, "here you can think of me when you get the diarrhea." Oh how I will miss her. 

On Sundays we can go to local churches in the mornings, the ward service, or an informal service Sunday evenings depending on when you're available. I went to the ward service this past Sunday and was able to worship with all of the surgery patients on board. I went down to the hospital and was able to sit among the patients with their casts, tubes, and bandages and hear a message both in English and French and listen to wonderful music all in French. They may be in bandages but boy can they really get with it and dance! It was so great to see the life in that small room packed with people. It was more of a traditional African, loud, wonderful service full of dancing, clapping, and singing their hearts out to our great God. There are so many beautiful small moments on this ship that I just want to really take in and keep in my memory forever. That was one of them. They know the reason mercy ships is here is because of Jesus' love and I believe that's the most important thing. 

When we embark new crew and give them a tour we take them all over the ship including the hospital down below. My favorite part of the tour is this simple bench that sits next to the Operating room entrance. 

This bench is an old bench from one of the previous ships called the Anastasis. This is my favorite place on the ship because every patient sits here and is prayed over before they go into their surgery. Most of these patients haven't been to the doctor's office, hospital, or a ship like this. Some have never seen a white person. They have to walk up over 40 steps to come onto the ship and then through reception to come back down more stairs to get into the hospital before going to their hospital room.The whole experience can be a bit overwhelming and a lot to take in all at once. This bench, to me, brings comfort, and being prayed over let's them know of God's love and protection over their lives as they go into surgery and is a reminder why mercy ships does what it does, and all the wonderful work/restoration/healing that's come through here. 

On a completely different note, part of my job is baking for the new crew and guests. We have a whole book of recipes and the ones I've tried and tweaked so far have turned out great. I tried out a new recipe called Congo bars someone before me left in the book. I went with two of my roomates to the kitchen we were storing it in, pulled it out and cut the bars up to taste test them to see if they were edible for the business meeting coming up. I wasn't sure what they were supposd to be like since I've never made them and there was no picture. One of the guys from the galley came in to see what we were doing and I asked him to try it for me. He started eating it and held his throat and looked like he really needed some water to choke it down. I was laughing so hard I was in pain. I've never had someone reacting to my baking in that way before. He then proceeded to tell us it was like eating really great tasting sand. The oven I used is much hotter than the ones I'm used to using so maybe next time I won't cook it as long. We decided they would be really great with coffee and we don't waste food here...So we renamed them Congo biscotti.