Sailing

We are about halfway through our sail from Pointe Noire, Congo to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. Let me tell you, it is one of the weirdest and disconcerting things I’ve ever done. Nothing has changed in our cabin--except that everything is off the shelves and glass items are packed away carefully so it looks like we’re in the middle of moving. My office is still 30 seconds away and there is still work to do but my route to get there is a little comical; everybody I meet is ricocheting off the walls and walking down stairs is a little bit dangerous if you’re not careful! Inside this big metal box that we’ve come to call home is exactly the same but outside there is absolutely zero to see except deep, blue sea. It’s truly beautiful and also scary; you realize just how big this wide world is and how much of it is purely under God’s will--namely, all of it. 

I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before but the  Africa Mercy used to be the Dronning Ingrid, which means “Queen Ingrid” in Danish. It is one of a set of triplet ships that ferried passenger trains across channels in Denmark. Because it wasn’t built primarily for the open seas, its bottom is flat, as a that makes it much more stable wehn docked, which was the majority of the time in its former and present lives. That’s not to say that it won’t do fine in the open seas, it just makes for a bit rougher of a ride than a v-shaped hull would make. A flat-bottomed boat rides on top of the waves where as a v-shaped boat rides through the waves. Jordan says to just picture a shoebox floating on on waves and you’ve pretty much got an idea of what it does. Every wave around us has an impact. 

[FYI, I got all that from Jordan and the next best thing: Wikipedia. *gasp*] 

Needless to say, I have been dreading the sail. I can’t even swing on swing set without feeling a little queasy so I figured I would be in trouble once we got out of the harbor and I was right. :( I spent the first 5 days of the sail in bed and on Thursday I finally got an injection that took away the nausea and that combined with several other medicines has gotten me back to normal. Now I’m not minding the sail too much but I will be very grateful to see some land.

Jordan has been loving the sail as it’s given him the chance to do some new things. Just before we left, a huge storm came in and sent some pretty massive waves crashing along the coast--so badly that even in the harbor the water got really rough and several of our mooring lines snapped. The entire deck department was out on the mooring decks all Friday afternoon and it was pretty stressful for them but thankfully it all got under control. 

It’s weird to have everything around you stay the same but look outside the window and it’s different. Since we’re sailing north, the weather is changing too--below the equator, where we were, the rainy season was pretty much over. Now we’re above the equator and we’re getting a lot of rainy/cloudy days. It’s also staying light longer into the evenings. 

Anyways, that’s about it but I thought I would post some pictures. :)

See the tail lights poking out from that container? All of the cars got loaded up to deck 8 for the sail. 

Last but not least: the gangway was loaded up (that's Jordan in the blue).

Every port has pilots that guides each ship in and out of the harbor. When it's time
for them to leave, they hop from one boat to the other!

Goodbye to our dock space--look at that lovely water!

The bow is only open during the sail but it gets plenty of use when it is!


This sail introduced me to flying fish--so cool! They've got little wings
and will pop out to fly for a few seconds before they go under the water again.


Today we finally saw dolphins--just a few and not for very long but it was
long enough for me to see why they are a favorite animal for many people. They were beautiful!!

And the water is that blue all the time too--breathtaking.

The Good, the Bad--But Hopefully Nothing Ugly

Well, here we are again. :) 

First of all, I have to say a big THANK YOU to Vineyard Fellowship for sending us that video of greetings. You will never know how much that meant to us! Branton, thanks for acting on an idea and doing it so professionally! We get these moments of “OK we know we’re supposed to be here” and watching that video was definitely one of those moments. 

This post will be a little bit all over the place--some pieces of news and some updates on Mercy Ships life and our own lives. It’s been trickier than I thought it would be to write a well-balanced view of life--not all rosy, but definitely not all bad: just real. I hope that this post reflects real life to you. That’s the reason for the title: The Good and the Bad, but hopefully you don’t find it ugly. :) 

We just finished our time with Brian, Sandy [Mom and Dad:)], Luke, and Sara. I don’t think we realized ahead of time just how much that visit would mean to us. It was incredibly surreal to see them walking around the ship! There were lots of highlights but I think the coolest thing for all of us was them getting to see our life with their own eyes. I am ever so grateful for internet and phone lines but there is just nothing quite like seeing something for yourself, is there? It was fun to introduce them to our friends and people really opened up to get to know them--the friendliness of crew who say hellos and goodbyes daily will never cease to amaze me! I felt like they got a good mix of what life is like--they helped us around the ship (Jordan more than me as my department is a bit slow this month with lots of people leaving), visited one of the Mercy Ministries (handicapped tailors), observed surgeries, participated in a fire drill, went to the beach one day, attended a community meeting, watched ships come in and out of the port, and sat in the dining room chatting waaaay after dinner was done each evening. Oh, and I should probably mention: sweated buckets! 

The flip side (hearing about their lives) was just as important. A lot has happened in eight months and it’s way easier to relay news when you have 9 days to do so. :) As fun as it is to get to know people of different cultures and backgrounds, it was refreshing to be in familiar company. We laughed a lot. :) 

Even more than that, it was a huge encouragement on a personal level to have them here. Another facet of real life: we have days where we don’t feel good enough and we compare ourselves to those around us. This still doesn’t quite make sense to me, but for some reason having them around helped me to put things in perspective--why we’re here and why we do what we do. Sorry if that sounds ambiguous because I know it does, but it was just really cool to have people that we respect and whose opinions we value affirm us. 

It was wonderful and went way too quickly but to be fair, we knew it would. :) 

Next: I assume that most of you have heard that we are no longer going to Guinea for the 2014-2015 field service. I’m sorry for not posting anything about that on my own but that announcement touched very close to home and I didn’t want to just say anything without thinking it through. In March, we received news of an Ebola outbreak in the southern region of Guinea--very close to Hope Clinic. We followed the situation, assuming it would clear up soon but also aware of the fact that even though the ship itself wouldn’t arrive in Conakry until August, there were other preparations that had to be considered--probably the two most important being that containers carrying supplies needed to be sent ahead and also the Advance team of about 10 people that would be living in Conakry from May to August to prepare for the ship’s arrival--arranging for visa waivers, negotiating with government and port authorities, finding a screening site for the first mass screening day, setting up the Hope Center, as well as finding sites for the dental and eye clinics, among lots more. There is more to this mission than just a floating hospital and I am constantly becoming more and more aware of that. The time came closer and closer for the Advance team to fly out and there was no word that the situation was completely contained. Finally about a month ago, the Managing Director for Mercy Ships sent out out the following email:

The Mercy Ships International Management Team has closely followed the Ebola outbreak in Guinea and Liberia since it came to light in March. The IMT has consulted with a broad range of outside experts and internal stakeholders. While the international response to the outbreak has been strong and decisive, and we believe it will be effectively extinguished in due course, the uncertainty it poses at this time compromises our ability to plan and execute the anticipated Guinea field service. Our operational requirements to function include supply and personnel logistics that do not give us the ability to further wait on prospective outcomes of the Ebola situation over the coming weeks and months. As such, we have chosen to postpone going to Guinea and will instead return to Cotonou, Benin, where the Africa Mercy last served in 2009. We remain committed to a long term relationship with the nation of Guinea, and look forward to a successful field service to the people of Benin. 

I want to preface this next part by saying that I do not in any way want this to come across as selfish. And I also realize that in the grand scheme of things, it is really not a big deal.  But needless to say, that email hit like a blow. I am honestly excited about going to Benin but to think that we would be going to Guinea when we didn’t expect to go there in the first place (since the ship just completed a field service in Guinea) seemed like a cruel trick. I hadn’t even realized all of the little things that I was excited for in Guinea until I found out we wouldn’t be going. Going to Guinea just seemed perfect on so many levels, both personally and professionally. I kept saying that it was such a God thing, especially since Mom, Dad, and Hannah would be living in Conakry for the first time and that’s where the ship would be docked! I haven’t lived in the same city as my parents for more than two months since I was 15. My new job will involve working with local day crew and it just seemed perfect that I could work with a culture and languages that I grew up in. Trust me, I was excited and it seemed like God’s plan was a pretty perfect one. :) 

Picking up the phone to tell my parents and sister was not fun at all. The first words that both my parents told me were: “We have to trust that God has a plan in this.” I thought about that for several days and sort of came to two conclusions (neither of which are very deep but hey, they’re still conclusions):

First of all, I don’t think I have ever been more grateful for parents that live out the faith they teach. I’ve gained more respect for the hard things my parents have done while we’ve been on this journey: saying goodbye to their own parents and siblings and convenience (not very spiritual but still true), being away for the hard stuff (Pat Kaufman’s death and funeral), and good stuff (not being around for Ari’s introduction into the family). To already have all of that rolling around in my mind and then to give them news that I didn’t have any control over but would hurt regardless and hear them trust first and hurt later really meant the world to me. 

[And let’s not forget that they’ve put up with slow internet for a really long time. Insert funny story here: I have a kindle and that thing is truly wonderful, especially for long trips and having access to the Troy public library all the way out here. But last night it took me 45 minutes to download a book. 45 minutes. I found it ironic that I didn’t even want to use the internet to “face chat” or “snap flap” as Jordan refers to social media--I JUST WANTED TO READ A BOOK!!] 

Back to seriousness. Second of all, it forced me to come to the conclusion that just because the first plan seemed perfect, the plan to go to Benin must be even more perfect, despite it not lining up with my ideal. I have to trust that God has a reason for this, and to take that even further, He even has a reason for letting me think we’d be going to Guinea. 

And I guess I’ll wrap up with what’s going on right now on the ship. We are getting ready to leave Pointe Noire--it’s so strange to think that the field service is nearly over. We weren’t here for the whole thing but it still feels like a long time! I think Pointe Noire will always be a special place for us, since it’s where we started with Mercy Ships. It’s bizarre to think that we’ll be living in the exact same place and a totally different place at the same time. 

From here we sail to Las Palmas, which is in the Canary Islands, and the ship will go into a maintenance period until mid August. We’ve heard that the islands are beautiful so we’re looking forward to doing some exploring there. We’ll both be working hard too--Jordan is involved in a lot of the maintenance and I will be busy getting ready for the new field service in my new position, which will involve a lot of changing procedures (maybe more on that another time). 

It will be fun to have a change of scenery and also to SAIL! We’ll be sailing through 0’0’ (the intersection of the Prime Meridian and the Equator) which I think is pretty cool! Apparently when any sailor sails through the 0’0’ intersection they become known as an emerald shellback. We’re not sure what advantage becoming emerald shellbacks is going to be for us but I guess we’ll find out.

Time to bring this post to a close. I don’t think there is a better group of supporters anywhere--you guys are fantastic! We receive emails, letters and packages, pictures, etc so often from you and each one is so special! We will definitely be watching that video of greetings over and over again as well. :) 

Nothing important but lots of stories. :)

Remember that Nothing Important Part 1 post waaaaaay back in October? Here’s part 2. Just a bunch of random stories, some maybe a little bit important than others but mostly just what’s been going on with us, with some "life in Africa" bits mixed in. :) 

{I hope you don’t feel too let down that I haven’t written since February (gasp) because I do post a lot of pictures on Facebook and Instagram so none of this should be too new.}

What can I say? We absolutely love it here. I never expected our experience to be like this. I remember one of my first posts after we boarded the ship about how excited I was to not feel any fear, just this incredible peace and satisfaction in being totally where God has called us. That “feeling” still hasn’t left. :) 

I do tend to write better with pictures so here goes. 

Pretty much from November through March, my department (Hospitality) was incredibly busy. For the beginning of that period, I was new to the ship and just figuring out my way around the department. In mid-December, I took the Head Hostess position and was busy figuring out how to be a manager. January, February, and March were crazy busy for the team; we seemed to have events every week plus a lot of guests. There are four different types of guests that typically stay on board: personal guests, Mercy Ships staff from other locations, business guests, and Vision Teams. Vision Teams are groups that are interested in seeing what Mercy Ships is doing. We set up and greet/embark guests but for Vision Teams, we typically also set up and serve them a luncheon while they meet with our senior management team. Believe it or not, a luncheon can pretty much take up the whole day! Plus we also had the President of Congo visit. I was incredibly nervous about it, since I’d never been a part of a presidential visit before. The Hospitality team is responsible for decorating and preparing the “hang out” area for the President and his entourage, and then serving hors d’oeuvres to the entourage when they arrive. A lot of hours go into that one sentence but (I've said it before and I’ll say it again) I was so proud of my team! Hard work is really all about the attitude you put into it and they were joyful right down to their closed-toed black flats. :) 

But the last two weeks have been a bit slow for us--we typically have a changeover rate of about 4 crew members a day, which equates to around 30 beds to make up and 30 new crew members to embark and 30 current crew members to check out each week. The last two weeks though have been super slow--one week we only had 7 new people arrive! So since work has been slow, we decided to take a morning off and visit one of the ministries that Mercy Ships has been a part of. These are called Mercy Ministries; they are local organizations that we come along-side with for the ten months that we’re here. I think there are at least 9--four orphanages, including a baby orphanage; a senior center; handy-capped tailors; deaf school; Jesus film (shown twice a week in different locations around town); and a ministry that teaches young women how to sew to support themselves. We went to the baby orphanage for the morning. It’s one of the favorites for new people to sign up for--all that is “planned” is to hold and love on babies for two hours. But everyone I've talked to about it has come away affected. These babies have either been orphaned or abandoned and brought to the Baby Creche (literally: Baby Manger) to be taken care of. They are all malnourished. Of course the women of the center care for them but it’s a lot of work for babies that don’t have a lot of energy because of how underdeveloped they are. And when one of them gets sick, they all get sick. Most of the time when we go, they are laying on the floor because it’s cooler. 

It’s really heartbreaking and it’s even more heartbreaking to leave--you can pretty much guarantee that they will all start crying when we head for the door. It’s really a perfect example of how hard it is to help sometimes: if you can’t give it all, how beneficial is it to give just a little? I'm not trying to be a downer; just writing down the question I wrestle with every afternoon after visiting these precious ones.

One of the other ministries is to a boys’ orphanage. Jordan was asked to coordinate showing the Lion King for them one Saturday evening on the big screen. (Jordan helps out with the Jesus film showing every Friday night so he knew how to set up the screen.) It’s really pretty neat what somebody (I don’t know who) came up with to show films on a projector in the middle of nowhere. Anyways, Jordan set up for the Lion King and then we got to enjoy! It was super fun and I was surprised how many of the boys had seen it before. I also noticed (again) how different culture is in unexpected ways. We were watching the movie in French but with English subtitles. Of course all of the crew members had seen it before so even though we were listening in another language, we laughed at all our favorite parts--which turned out to be totally different from when the Congolese would laugh. Not once we did we laugh at the same part. 

Watching the Lion King--it never gets old! 

Another weekend I went on a riverboat “adventure” with some ladies to be the French speaker for the group. We left the ship around 8:45 and walked the mile to the port gate and then past that to get a taxi. Our taxi had an extra row of seats so we crammed in and were on our way.  

There was a sort of flyer for this activity on the ship and it said that up to 8 people were allowed to come. I had called the guide on Friday and told him we would be a party of 6. On Saturday night, two girls asked if they could join and since the maximum group size was 8 people we said sure. We got to the river and as we all start piling out of the taxi our guide just watched and counted us ... and then his face started falling. He said, "You have eight people." I said, "Yes! That's how many we're allowed!" "But you told me six," he says. When we got down to the river I saw his predicament: he has three boats to take these trips on--two of them are big and one of them was small. 

He had gotten the small one ready for us complete with chairs and everything. We apologized profusely and told him we would do whatever since it was our fault but he said (and I kid you not): "Well let's just all get in really carefully and see how low the boat gets." So we all got in super slowly and gingerly sat down and him and his brother (our other guide) perched on two pieces of wood in the back of the boat and declared that we were safe. Then they popped a beer each, and we were on our way. I later found out that the small boat we were on was the only one with a motor--the other two were rowed by hand so I think they had a bit of motivation to get us all seated in there. We were really low so he told us we would go slower than normal. About 5 minutes into our "sail" he stopped the boat and explained to me that the motor was too low in the water and he needed to raise it. It was just definitely one of those African moments. I was sitting in the back of the boat so I tried to get a picture of him adjusting our motor and his beer all in one but I only succeeded in snapping a photo of his back end. Bummer. (No pun intended.)

Me and Heather, a fellow hostess. :)

We sailed up the river to a big lake, where our guide pointed out the Angolan border (we are very close and often reminded not to wander too close as the border police don't like that too much) and Pointe Noire in the distance. Then he pointed out a big baobab tree over on the shore and said it was 150 years old and we were going to see it. Around the tree is a fishing village. I think it must have been only men in this village because as soon as 8 white girls rowed up about 20 strapping young men popped into view. 

Sailing into the village.

We took pictures around the tree and then he led us through the village where a young boy had climbed a grapefruit tree to pick grapefruits for us. It was so random that we all looked at each other and said, "I hope this isn't some sort of marriage agreement ritual". But it wasn't so we all took our grapefruits and got back in our boat and downriver we went. The river truly was beautiful--green all around, perfectly serene, and ducks and egrets flying and floating beside us. 

Typically the group goes to his farm which is quite impressive and his wife makes a meal. But on this day, there were some other family events going on so he took us to a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant instead where we ate "lunch". 

The bread was good, the salad was good, the drinks were good … the meal though required some more bravery than we had to offer. 

 

It was good to see our home at the end of a hot day. :) I expected my bag to get lighter as I drank all my water but adding a grapefruit to the mix didn't help with the weight!

Meanwhile, Jordan had taken the day to go visit a friend in town and was treated to a delicacy: ngoo moko, otherwise known as bush hog boiled with bananas. 

Next story. I enjoyed this food a little bit more: my friend KJ and I both got promotions so we went out for dessert to celebrate! 

KJ will be going on the Advance team to Guinea--a team of about 8 people that leaves months in advance for country next and does most of the groundwork for the ship’s arrival (a BIG job!). She will also be the sales manager next year in Guinea--I’m super proud of her and know that she will do a great job!! 

I will be the Crew and Guest Services Manager starting July 1. Right now I am the manager for the hospitality team; next year I will be managing hospitality, hospital housekeeping, regular housekeeping, as well as being responsible for the hair salon, social activities, and library. I've actually enjoyed the managing side a lot more than I thought I would so I’m pretty excited about next year! The Crew & Guest Services Manger position is a new one and part of it will be starting to combine hospital housekeeping and regular housekeeping, which up until this point have been separate. It will be a lot of groundwork and new things to figure out but I am looking forward and would appreciate your prayers!

Next story. :) Last weekend we took a train to Dolisie, a town about 4 hours northeast. The train ride was by far one of my favorite experiences so far and incredibly surreal. Inside we sat in a very nice train, only about 4 years old with air conditioning and a food car and everything! Outside was lush JUNGLE for 4 straight hours. 

We went with Derek (who Jordan works with) and Elisabeth, a nurse who happens to be dating Derek. :) It was a super fun day; most of it was spent in a train or a bus but that was just fine as we loved every bit of scenery! I like Pointe Noire but as everyone knows, port cities aren't just famous for their beauty so it was super fun to get out of the city and see some of the country. 

The party of four. 

Our bus for the ride home (the train continued on to Brazzaville, 

the capital, so we had to find alternate transportation!) 

And that about brings us up to this past weekend! The whole of last week was full of Easter activities. The International Lounge was completely stripped of chairs and transformed into the Garden of Gethsemane where crew could come and pray all night on Friday. On Sunday we woke up early to go to the sunrise service on deck 8, the top deck. We started singing in the dark and just as we were finishing up the service, the sun burst through the clouds! It was really beautiful. After the sunrise service, we met in the Starbucks cafe, where the dining room crew had laid out all some snacks to tide us over until brunch. I got to experience a hot cross bun for the first time and it was delicious! :) At 8:30 we had our Easter service and afterwards there was a big brunch in the dining room. The galley and dining room crews really outdid themselves this weekend; some of them were up at 3:00 to start cooking! I couldn't believe their level of service! 

Jordan and I went to the beach with some other families that afternoon and enjoyed a peaceful afternoon chatting, reading, napping, and playing in the waves. :) It was a gorgeous beach away from town so super peaceful and basically just perfect.

It's not every day that I watch the sunrise AND the sunset. :) 

And that is just a fraction of the stuff that happened last week to celebrate Easter. I love that there has been such an emphasis on Easter--it IS so much more than just a Friday night and Sunday morning! The Chaplaincy really outdid themselves in providing an environment for Jesus’ sacrifice to be remembered. I can definitely say this has been a favorite year! 

Last night we finished out the holiday weekend with an open cabin night. We made cinnamon rolls and (attempted to make) Red Lobster biscuits (you know, the real reason people go to Red Lobster), Chai, and iced tea. I love open cabin; you just open up your door and lots of people come by to chat and hang out! It was a perfect end to a perfect weekend. :)

In a little less than three weeks, we are getting some visitors!! Brian, Sandy, Luke, and Sara are coming to see us! We can barely contain our excitement--actually, we can't!! I don't think a day goes by that we don't mention it. :) So tag along if you'd like! We would love to host you all! :) 

A Tour: Decks 5 & 6

Happy Sunday peeps! 

I thought I would post some pictures of what the ship looks like from the inside! One of Hospitality’s main jobs is to make sure that everyone who has not been on board in the last twelve months receives a tour of the ship. This is maritime law and it’s to ensure that new crew know how to get out and off in case of an emergency. But since the Africa Mercy is really a unique ship, it’s also a cool opportunity for crew to see what all is available to them! 

May I be your tour guide? :) 

{Beware: Lots to follow!} 

Today I’m just going to show you decks 5 and 6 since they have most of the public areas of the ship on them. These decks definitely take the longest on the tour. Obviously you have to get on the ship before you can start the tour--climb up the gangway! 

When you walk up the gangway, the first thing you see is a guard! Our guards are all Gurkas, out of Nepal. You can read about them here; suffice it to say, they are perfectly capable of protecting us! They are the nicest guys you’ll ever meet though and know everyone’s names. They always have a friendly hello and hug to give. This is Tek; he has a family in Nepal--as do the others! They are here for 9 months and then go home for a 3 month vacation; the day they leave, another arrives to take their place. I can’t imagine how hard that must be for them and I’m so grateful that they come to serve! 

Once you walk in the doors, you’ll see reception (which I don’t have a picture of and I’m not sure why). Reception has all the embarkation paperwork for new crew and we work with them to embark new crew. 

Turn to the right and you’ll head straight into the dining room, where we eat all of our meals. The kitchen crew prepares the meals and the dining room crew puts it all out and makes sure the dining room is well stocked and cleaned. I am constantly amazed at how hard both of these teams work--cooking and serving for 450+ people is no easy feat! 

Back to reception. If you had turned left instead of right, you would find yourself at the area known as the cafe. Obviously it’s called that because Starbucks is right there but there is a lot more that goes on than just drinking coffee. On Monday mornings the cafe serves crepes and on Fridays they serve waffles. (This has successfully made Mondays one of my favorite days of the week.) There is also a big open staircase in the cafe which leads up to deck six, known as Midships. That whole section is kind of a big hang out section. Downstairs there is Starbucks and the Ship Shop, where you can buy cooking/baking supplies, phone cards to call home, T-shirts, mugs, toiletries, cleaning supplies, laundry soap, magnets, etc. There’s also a table with lots and lots of binders full of things to sign up for and lots of little round tables to meet a friend at for a coffee date. Upstairs there are three TVs which have come in handy for the winter Olympics! There’s also an internet cafe. 

{Lots of pictures of the Cafe & Midships to follow.}

Bottom is the Cafe; Top is Midships.

Ibrahim making me a double shot hazelnut latte. :) 

The Cafe recently acquired a popcorn maker! What's so fun
about the cafe is that anyone can volunteer to serve in it.
One of these days I am going to learn how to make coffee. In
the background is Mary, from our gateway, and one of the Academy
students volunteering to make popcorn for the night. On Friday night
the whole cafe was run by Academy students! It was so cool!
 Beautiful Serenety is currently pricing my butter for French toast in the morning. :) 

CREPES!

The Ship Shop

The information table--lots of opportunities to sign up: help
out with the dental or eye screenings, be a blood donor, observe
a surgery, befriend a patient on the ward, or serve at any of the Mercy
Ministries (boys' orphanages, deaf school, baby orphanage, etc.}

Olympics time has been fun with so many different nationalities
on board--33 different nations represented this week! 

Watching a movie in Midships. I was pretty
ecstatic that my crochet got here on the container. :)

Internet cafe

Because midships and the cafe are pretty big open spaces, they are home to a lot of events--most notably, Thursday night ice cream. We have a community gathering every Thursday and afterwards, each department takes turn serving ice cream to the crew. Last week it was deck’s turn so most of them showed up in their coveralls. :) 

The library is on deck 5 too! It’s full of books that people have bought in airports or brought from home and left behind. There’s actually quite a few good ones to be found and it’s quite a cozy spot. 

Crew can also volunteer to read to kids every Tuesday at 4:00, which is what my good friend KJ is doing. :) 

Also on deck 5 is the Hospitality office. That will change next year but for this year, it’s where we all meet at during the day. Here’s one side: 

.... and my desk.... 

The other side of the room is used mainly for storage but we do also use it to prepare for events. Here’s Cecily getting napkins ready for a luncheon. :)

{Side note: I’m fairly certain I have the best team on the ship. These women are amazing--each with a servant heart, content to be where they can be of the most use! They make me smile and laugh every day and I love how they affirm and encourage each other. It hit me on Friday that we must all really like each other because technically only two of us were working and the other two had the day off--but they came and hung out in the office with us anyway! :) Almost every evening when Jordan and I compare notes about our days I always have good things to say about my day--and these ladies are most of the reason!} 

And now to finish up deck 6: the laundry room and the crew galley--two pretty important places. :) The crew galley is stocked with pots and pans, two blenders, two Kitchenaids, a panini press, a microwave, toasters, ovens, and lots more. It’s all there for crew to use, provided it’s taken care of. :) The kitchen picture I have is actually one of Jordan!! He learned how to make spicy popcorn with a bunch of other guys. 

And it pays to be in the kitchen while the Gurkhas are cooking Nepalese food or making Chai--they’re bound to offer you some! :) 

The laundry room is last. :) Obviously with so many people on board, the laundry room has to have pretty set rules to make sure that chaos doesn’t ensue (or at least, not too often). Hence, the Laundry Room Bible: 

The Not-So-Holy Land of Laundry: 

It’s really not all that hard. There are ten sets of washers and dryers.. Each washer gets a page in the book for the week--Sunday through Saturday. Each person on board gets one laundry slot per week. You sign up for which hour you want the washer and that automatically gives you the next hour for the dryer. That means there’s a constant cycle of washing going on--the person that signed up before me is drying their clothes while I’m washing mine and the person after me is washing their clothes while I’m drying mine. So timeliness is VERY important. If you are more than ten minutes late, your slot is fair game to anyone who is in the room. If you are late but no one has taken your washer, you have to be careful what cycle you use to make sure that the washer is empty again in time for the next slot. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little tour! Other posts about areas on the ship probably won’t be as long but there’s still a lot left! I didn’t even cover everything on these two decks--there’s also a hair salon, prayer room, the Academy (school), and International Lounge (where have our community gatherings)! 

Sorry for the huge long gap in posts. But thank YOU for continuing to write even when we don’t get to it! We still get such encouraging notes with email or Facebook and we’re STILL getting pictures in the mail! It’s truly a joy to hear from you and know that you care! We love you guys--wish we could be giving you a tour in person! :)