We have arrived safely in Tamatave, Madagascar and are absolutely THRILLED to be here! But before I talk about Madagascar I must talk about our journey to get here...
We left Cape Town on the 17th and after 8 days of some of the roughest waters this ship has ever seen, we made it safely! The Cape of Good Hope (where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet) is notorious for big swells but we were just behind a storm as well which made the waves even more interesting. A roll is when the ship rocks from side to side and a pitch is when it rocks from front to back. I use those terms because we got to experience both motions extensively! For the first few days we were heading into the waves and so we bounced on them. The best way I can describe that is to imagine about three days of heavy airplane turbulence. Then Captain Tim had to adjust our course so that the waves were hitting us broadside and for three days we enjoyed 10--20 degree rolls fairly steadily all day and all night. I chose to not write about the sail until it was over in the hopes that I would be able to look back with some sort of fondness but I guess that fondness hasn’t hit yet. All I will say about those three days is a description of trying to shower. Have you ever stood on the fulcrum of a teeter-totter (see-saw) and tried to balance … it was being used? Imagine trying to shower at the same time. Two minutes of shower time was no problem during the sail; I was in and out of there as fast as hygienically possible.
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| Land in sight!! |
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| Jordan and Brandon (fellow carpenter) are on the side party; they let down the gangway whenever we arrive at a new dock space--which has been quite a few times recently. |
But now we are here and all is well. Part of the trickiness of the sail was that we had to get here by Saturday, October 25th. Before Mercy Ships even made the decision to come to Madagascar, the government here had decided to name 2015 the Year of the Volunteer as a way to honor and promote volunteer service and the whole year was going to kick off on October 25th and a big part of the show would be the arrival of the Africa Mercy. We were docked up by 9:00 and as soon as immigration cleared the deck hands to go off the ship, they were on the dock cleaning and doing touch-up painting in preparation for the festivities. Inside the ship, my team and I were transforming the ship from looking like a battleground (things tend to not stay put when subjected to a 28 degree roll, which was our highest!) into something fit for a Head of State! Meanwhile there was a party being set up on the dock as well. Two big tents with seating for dignitaries was set up and the red carpet was literally rolled out. While we waited for the president to arrive, we got to watch some really cool street performers do their thing! It was quite the experience and I was overcome with excitement to be in this country and see what God is going to do! It’s so obvious that he has worked out our timing perfectly--albeit in a roundabout way!
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| Our entertainment while we waited for Mr. President to arrive. |
Side story here but I just had to share this picture. Our Managing Director, Roland Decorvet, is Swiss and his wife is Malagasy. They have four beautiful daughters. Whenever we arrive at a new country, we have an arrival ceremony and one of the Academy kids presents the welcoming dignitary with the nation’s flag. Whenever a President comes on board, one of the Academy kids presents him with flowers and typically present him with some sort of gift later. Yesterday we we were arriving AND hosting a President so the Decorvet girls got to present the President with the flag, gifts, and flowers with their parents behind them to meet the President. It was so fun to watch and I think the whole ship was smitten. :)
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| The Decorvets. |
The communications department on board (to whom I owe the marvelous photos in this post!) created what we have begun to call “the hospital experience” while we were in Cape Town and opened the ship up for tours. It takes the tourist through the hospital and allows you to experience the miracles that happen there even when there are no patients to physically see. Nurses tell stories of patients that have overcome incredible odds and you can walk into an OR room that Lucrech received his life-changing surgery in and watch a video of his story (click here to see it). The coolest part though is that you are given a before picture of a patient with their name, age, and condition at the very beginning of the tour. At the end, there is a wall with all the after photos and you have to match your before photo to the after photo.
The President, Prime Minister, and a party of other dignitaries boarded the ship and were able to experience the hospital experience, thanks to the hospital staff who quickly set it up after the sail. Then he and his party made their way to Midships where they were able to watch the Congo field service overview video (watch it here) and chat with the Managing Director and Dr. Gary Parker while my team and I served them refreshments. Then back to the dock they went went to continue speeches to start off the Year of the Volunteer!
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| Roland shaking hands with Hery Rajaonarimampianina, or as I like to call him, the President. |
We were so honored to be a part of it and I thoroughly enjoyed the day. I have to say that setting up and serving for a Head of State after being crashed around at sea for 8 days was not something I ever expected to do. As soon as it was over I unpacked my cabin--never to be packed up again for 8 more months, when we sail again!
And today is our first full day in Madagascar. We actually haven’t been off ship yet as Jordan is on duty and deck department is busy today. I honestly don’t mind yet though, I’m just happy to be sitting still. There will be more to come soon but we just wanted to let you guys know that WE MADE IT and we are EXCITED! There is something in my spirit that I just can’t describe; God is at work and I love being a part of it!
Until next time then. :)
