Getting a on Jet Plane

I’ve started out this entry about 10 different times now and I just can’t seem to find an appropriate sentence to begin:

“Here we are at the end of our time in Texas...” 

“Monday was the last day of classes!” 

“Time to pack our bags--our flight for the Congo leaves TOMORROW!” 

“Feeling bittersweet today... excited to leave but dreading goodbyes.” 

None of those are brilliant or capture your attention. And I’m sure I would have points docked off for beginning an essay that way if I was being graded. But SO much has happened during our time here that I'm not quite sure where to start. 

I don’t want to bore you. So I’m going to go ahead and post a lot of pictures [days of fast internet are winding down, after all] and relate some stories and if you get bored, you just hit that little red x, go on your merry way, and I will be none the wiser. 

But just so you know, where we're off to next is at the very end of this post. :) 

We’ve had 5 solid weeks of class plus 4 extra days--3 Saturdays, half of a Sunday, and half of this past Monday. So we have definitely gotten our fill of sitting in classrooms. Both of us have really enjoyed it all though. During the first week, we learned about the organization itself in a week-long class called “Foundations of Mercy Ships”. Everything you could think about learning about this organization, we learned about. Obviously we already knew enough to want to serve with MS but it was still a very helpful class. 

Mercy Ships has 4 core values: 

1. To Love God
2. To Love and Serve Others
3. To be People of Integrity
4. To be People of Excellance

So for the rest of our classes, we spent a week focusing on each core value.

The first week--to Love and Serve God. What our some of our preconceived notions about God that we might not even know we have? What does God say about himself? How is that backed up in Scripture? How does God’s character impact me and my relationship with him? 

The second week--to Love and Serve Others. Before we arrived, we took the DISC personality test [you can take it here]. We took a day looking at our own personalities and seeing what tendencies our personalities give us. We looked at strengths and weaknesses and talked about how to embrace the personality God gave each of us without overlooking our weaknesses. Then we talked about how certain personalities can clash with each other--when it comes right down to it, a conflict is usually not because one person is a jerk, it’s because the two personalities are literally like two different languages trying to communicate: it doesn’t work. We talked about conflict resolution and how to live as peacefully as possible on a ship with not only 450 different personalities on board, but also 35 other nationalities! 

The third week--to be People of Integrity. We heard from an amazing woman--Camille Bishop--who spent this week talking to us about how to effectively serve other cultures. In order to do that, it’s important to learn how to even enter a new culture and how to interact with people of that culture before you can begin to serve. 

The fourth week--to be People of Excellence. This week was known as Basic Safety Training [BST]. Maritime Law requires that anyone working on a ship take a BST course. On Monday and Tuesday we learned about fire hazards and fire fighting, specifically on board a ship. On Wednesday we took a CPR/AED/First Aid Class. On Thursday we learned Personal Survival Techniques [i.e. how to respond to an emergency, what safety tools are on board a ship, and how to use those tools to survive at sea]. On Tuesday we had to do a fire practical so from 7 to 10 am we practiced putting out fires! On Friday we had to take a pool practical so we practiced with life jackets, life rafts, and immersion suits. 

That was an incredibly quick summary of our time--we learned SO much. In fact, while Brian and Sandy were visiting last weekend, we were going through some of our notes with them and time after time I saw something and said, "Oh I forgot we did that!" We're bringing our notebook to the ship because I know we will need to refresh! 

The most pictures I have are from BST because it’s the most active class--who really wants to see pictures of us sitting taking notes? :) 

So now follows a bunch of pictures!

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We had to use SCBAs--very nice ones but I would be fine with not ever putting another one on my face.

On Monday we picked out our fire gear and got it all ready for the next day. 

The whole group! 

Buck--160 pounds of dead weight that we had to drag out of a smoke-filled container. Also something I don't care to do again.

Getting ready to go rescue Buck!

Practicing working as a team.

First aid day.

Our pool practical! These immersion suits were very strange! 

Our fantastic group!! :) Love all these people! 

Brian and Sandy came to visit--we went to the Fort Worth Stockyards and wandered around all day. The boots in this store were EXPENSIVE--$2000-$5000!

Rodeo time!

We've also had a great time with my family! I kind of feel like we WERE back in college: class all week and family and home-cooked food on the weekends! 

One night we went bowling. :)

Jordan came up with the names. :) 

Our yearly family photo. :)

And... goodbye until the other side. :) We are meeting in our dorm lounge at 5:00 tomorrow morning to make sure everyone is ready to go. Then we'll load up in the vans and head out for Dallas at 5:30. We flight to Dulles, then Frankfurt, then Libreville [Gabon], and then Pointe Noire! We'll get picked up and taken to our field service. Every onboarding class does 5 weeks of class and 2 weeks of field service. Field service is working on a project in the country. We will be working around an orphanage--painting, fixing, cleaning, building. We'll be staying in a nearby "hotel", and I put that in quotations because hotels in Africa are rather different. Namely, ours does not have running water. :) I'm really looking forward to the field service. It will be great to be back in Africa and I'm excited to do some hands on work with the people in our class. And I'm sure the kids will be adorable! :) We will not have internet or phone contact while we are doing field service though; our families will be called when we arrive. We'll board the ship November 8!!

Each step in this whole thing has felt so big. Prayer-->Applying-->Acceptance-->Support raising-->Selling-->Packing-->Moving Out-->Traveling-->Class ... and here we are. Thank you--everyone--so much for following our journey! We'll keep you updated. :) 

Nothing Important (Part 1)

I have a bit of a confession.

I love social media. Love it. I love posts and pictures and updates and hashtags and notifications and feeds and tags and all things social media. 

[If you haven't figured out by now, this is Katie.] 

I know it can be used wrongly. That quote could be changed to say "Better to not post at all and be thought a fool than to use Facebook as your diary and remove all doubt". [Abraham Lincoln] Except that makes the quote longer and it loses its effectiveness. 

But speaking for myself, I love it (when used appropriately). 

A few reasons I LOVE social media and technology: 

We got to watch Luke's baptism via FaceTime last night!! 

How cool is that?? 

Athena is super sweet and sends me pictures of Radar. :) 

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All that to say, I will probably write a lot of blog posts. Consider yourself fairly warned. 

In this case, I just feel like posting some pictures of life down here. :) 

 The whole dorm surprised me with breakfast on my birthday morning! It was fantastic! I'm still note sure how and when they planned it all ... they had bacon, eggs, sausage, toast, oatmeal, juice, coffee... Perfect way to start the day. :) 

Last Sunday, Matthew led a worship night at his church. Him and his friends did a really great job! We had had a full week and weekend of classes and it was so nice to be able to drive over there for the evening. 

On Wednesday night, we went for a picnic and Jordan did some fishing. 

And this is just what we see twice a day when we go up to the Oasis for lunch and dinner. Every day I stop and say how pretty it is. :) 

There’s lots to do after class--fishing, frisbee, racquetball, working out in the gym, a coffee shop, swimming ... oh and homework. :) 

So you could say we’re having a great time. I hope you’re saying the same wherever you’re at. :) 

A Picture Tour!

We've settled into our routine and our room is feeling like our own space. It's not decorated or anything but it sure is nice to have a chair to sit and unwind in after 8 hours of class--something neither of us are used to! 

So I thought I would take you on a picture tour of the campus that we will call for the next month. 

Here's our room! Actually, every room is sort of a suite--so we actually have another little connecting room with a bunk bed and a single bed in it. 

This is the building we are staying in. In the front are the dorms--there are 12 of us living here. On the second story are offices and in the very back of the building is our classroom. 

Looking out from our dorm--it's a really gorgeous campus! I guess I've been stereotypical in my view of Texas; I had no idea we would see this much GREEN! 

 Inside the dorm--the living room, where we hang out to to eat breakfast, do homework, computer stuff, watch TV, have worship, etc. 

Dorm kitchen:

We eat breakfast in our dorm but have lunch in dinner in a cafeteria. The food has been great! 

Cafeteria:

And here's our classroom--the international lounge. We spend a lot of time sitting in here. But we are learning a lot! :) How Mercy Ships was started, its vision, its core values, what its like to live on board, etc. The speakers have been fantastic and are always available for questions. 

BUT... as excited as we are to be a part of the Mercy Ships crew in the near future, we are WAAAY more excited to call ourselves UNCLE JORDAN AND AUNT KATIE!!! :) Congratulations Josh and Jenni!!!!!! 

Texas!

We are safely in Texas!! 

Just a quick update on what our last week was like and what we're up to now. Our last week in Ohio was a whirlwind. 

In one week: 

We sold our car;

Radar went to his new home;

Katie had her wisdom teeth taken out;

We packed our entire house and garage into boxes;

Everything was moved into storage;

We packed our new life into 4 duffel bags; and

We did an interview for our local TV! 

A lot of that has to do with packing and there is no way we could have done it without help. We spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday packing up boxes and on Thursday afternoon and evening, a ton of people came over to help me clean the house and help Jordan move all of the boxes and furniture into storage. So THANK YOU: Dad and Mom, Uncle Ray and Aunt Kathy, Mary, Daniel, Brad and Crystal (and Lillia), Josh and Jenni, Neil and Mandalyn (and Hugo), Luke, Sara, Brad and Kris (and Lyssa), Nick and Mareena (and Fenner), Tyrel, and Levi!! 

Also, MANY thanks to Sandy for letting us eat at her house all week so I didn't have to cook!  :) 

The hardest part of the week was saying goodbye to a lot of special people. We really enjoyed spending time with friends and family but we tried our best not to think about the goodbyes that were coming. 

Sunday morning at Vineyard was definitely a highlight of the week; we did not expect to receive that much encouragement! The prayers that were said at the beginning of the service So many of you made a point of waiting to talk to us, giving a hug, or promising us your prayers. Jordan mentioned this at church but we have talked about it so much amongst ourselves that I really want to say it again: We of course knew when we started all this that we would not be doing it alone; that's not the body of Christ that we know! That being said, we have been overwhelmed by how much love and encouragement has been shown us. Every person at Vineyard has said/done something and you can't imagine the support we feel knowing that our entire church body is praying for us. It really is a crazy thing to wrap our minds around and we wish you could all see it from our point of view! It seems like a very small way to give back but all we can say is:

THANK YOU. 

On Monday morning, we packed up the Camry and said goodbye to our family. I have to admit that we (somewhat seriously) joked about leaving early in the morning before anyone woke up just to avoid all those goodbyes. :(

 At least for this picture none of us look like we're crying too bad. :) 

And then... we drove.

Bye bye Ohio! 

We decided to make the trip in two days so that we could stop over in Kansas City to see my best friend, Jessica. :) It worked out really well because then we felt like we didn't have to rush the trip and it was very nice to have a fun HELLO to look forward to in the midst of all the sad goodbyes. We were definitely ready to be out of the car though! 

And now, we are safely in Longview, TX, at my parents' house. We'll hang out here today and tomorrow and head to the IOC (International Operations Center) in Lindale early Friday afternoon. It's great to see my family and to NOT be packing!! 

On Saturday, we will have registration at the IOC and we'll get settled into our dorm. And on Monday, classes start! 

One last thing: I am working on our email list for those of you who said that you'd like to receive email updates from us. If you didn't give me your email address yet and would like to receive updates, just send an email to: kaitlyn.stull09@gmail.com. 

One Month?

According to my calendar, it's already August 14?? We've had a super busy summer but it's mostly been busy because we've seen a lot of people and gone a lot of places--a good busy!

But now we are down to a month left until we leave for Texas for our training. Training (otherwise known as Onboarding) starts Saturday, August 14, and we will be in our dorm the day before to get settled in. Onboarding will last around 8 weeks. There are only 3 Onboarding classes each year and any crew members who are serving for 10+ months are required to take the class. I think this is great from a practical standpoint, but I also like the idea of spending 2 months training with and getting to know some of the people that we will be starting this new phase of life with.

During the first 6 weeks, we will be at Mercy Ships headquarters in Lindale, TX. The training will cover a lot of different areas, including:

Learning more about the Mercy Ships organization;

Discussing why we do missions from a Biblical perspective;

Examining our own spiritual lives and studying the Word with our classmates;

Recognizing our own personalities and how to successfully live/interact/work with 480 other personalities;

Study how best to serve the poor (i.e. not "hurting by helping"); and

Undergoing Basic Safety Training (first aid, CPR, sea survival, firefighting and fire prevention, blood borne pathogens).

After those 6 weeks, we will fly to the Congo! Our tickets are for October 22. The entire team will fly out together and we will spend 10-14 days completing some sort of project (painting a school, adding a room to an orphanage, stuff like that) on the ground before we board the ship. This is another way that Mercy Ships gets involved with a host country from a non-medical standpoint. It also is a great way for us to get to know the Congolese--whom we will be serving the next 10 months!

Knowing that this is all just a month away definitely produces mixed emotions. On the one hand, we are so excited that this is all we can think about. On the other hand, we know there are going to be a lot of goodbyes up ahead and so we try not to think about that part too much. And on the other hand (or foot I guess) we have so much to do in the next month that we can think about it too much and end up stressing!

So when all is said and done, we need to come to God in prayer. 

Please join us in praying that we do not lose sight of what God has called us to--we are definitely excited and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are going where God wants us. But in the midst of stressing about packing and saying goodbyes, it's easy to wonder if we're doing the right thing.

Please do pray for those goodbyes! Honestly, goodbyes are what occupy most of my thoughts right now and I know there will be many teary days ahead (to be perfectly honest, I'm tearing up writing this). We are so blessed by our family and friends here and I'm always reminded by this quote when my thoughts go this way: "How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." I love this quote because it's a reminder to look on the bright side. But those goodbyes are definitely hard and we're not looking forward to them.

Please pray as we get packing. We have a lot of sorting to do--what gets thrown away, what is given away or sold, what to find a temporary home for, what goes into storage, what comes with us when we fly, and what will be shipped to us later--you get the picture. Pray that we use our time efficiently and that we use our space even MORE efficiently! :)

However, despite writing all that, packing is NOT our focus for this month. We want this month to be all about PEOPLE. So PLEASE, if you want to hang out, shoot Jordan or me a text, write an email, or leave a comment. :) We want this last month to be full of fun memories of our friends and family!