Monday, August 31, 2009

Manicures

I was able to visit a patient in the ward today through the "Adopt a Patient" ministry. I was a little nervous at first because of the language barrier. (I can speak about enough French to say hi, how are you, what is your name, and I don't speak French!) When I met my five-year-old little girl, I learned a very important lesson: There is no language barrier that a bottle of pink nail polish can't cross! Don't you love my manicure?

I painted her nails first, and then she said, "Yovo," and pointed to my nails. "Yovo" means "white person."

"You want to paint my nails?" I asked. She grinned.

Thankfully, there is also no manicure that a bottle of nail polish remover can't fix. :)

A Day in Ship Life

Warning: This post will probably be extremely boring to everyone except my parents, extended family, a possibly a few very close friends (assuming most people don't care what I eat for breakfast or what I do at night). However, because several members of the aforementioned groups have been asking these questions, I might as well answer them for everyone.

What's it like living on the ship?
Honestly, it's not that much different from living at home. Sometimes I forget I'm even on a ship...or across the world for that matter. Think co-ed college dorm with an age span of infants to eighty-year-olds. Ok, I guess that means it is a little different from home.

Do you get seasick?
No, but we aren't sailing right now. The boat does sway slightly as it's docked though. When I'm sitting at my desk in my classroom, I can feel it move forward and back. At night in my bed, I feel it from side to side. At least now I have an excuse for my clumsiness!

Are you able to get off the ship?
Yes, every Saturday my friends and I have spent a few hours off-ship exploring the city. We've seen a beach, a public pool, and a swamp. I still want to see the market, and we're planning to go camping sometime soon. We can also go to the local churches on Sunday, but I haven't done that yet because I've attended services on the ship instead.

What do you do when you're not teaching?
There is always something to do with so many people around. I've gotten into a fairly steady routine recently. I'm taking French lessons, doing a small group Bible study, and playing with children in the hospital ward a few nights a week. We also have community meetings and other scheduled worship services with the entire crew. Friday is typically movie night with friends, and we usually find something fun to do off-ship on Saturdays.

How's the food?
Really good actually! My favorite food night is Tuesday because it's Africa night...I've discovered that I love fried plantains! We also have fresh pineapple and mangos several times a week and a salad bar with every meal. The only staple item that I don't like is the milk. It's so pasteurized that it's completely fine sitting at room temperature...enough said. Obviously cereal is out. I thought I was going to be eating peanut butter toast every morning for the next year, until I discovered that I could mix bananas and brown sugar in oatmeal for a better-than-Quaker hot breakfast. I'm now a happy camper in the mornings as well.

How hard is it to keep in touch with people from home?
Easier than you might think. We have wireless access in several locations on the ship, so I can use email and instant messaging software to communicate with family and friends online. Also, our satellite system is located in Florida, so phone calls are free for anyone in the US (and free for me to receive them as well). The only major complication is the time zone difference. I'm available when most people are at work, and by the time they are home, I'm already asleep. Thankfully, most of my closest friends are either stay-at-home moms or are able to chat occasionally from work, so it works out fairly well. And if nothing else, there's always email!

Will you be able to come home for Christmas?
Yes! I'll be home for 2 1/2 weeks...December 23-January 9th. Such a blessing!

Well, that's ship life in a nutshell. Hope I didn't bore you too much!

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Passing Along a Good One

I really appreciated my friends Elliot and Julle's blog today. I think you might too. Click here to read it.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Psalm 37:4

"Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4


I thought I had a pretty good understanding of this verse even in high school. I remember being very proud of myself (self-righteous) that I didn't think this verse meant that if you loved God, He would give you everything you wanted. Oh no, being the spiritual person that I was, I could clearly explain that it meant if you seek Him, He will change your desires to match His. Although I believe it's true that He will transform our desires as we surrender our lives to Him, I realized today that this verse could also have much deeper meaning.


What if it's not about changing our desires at all? If we truly delight ourselves in God, what is our biggest desire? Our desire is what we delight in, so therefore our desire is Him. What if this verse means, if we delight ourselves in God, He will give us more of Himself?

Friday, August 28, 2009

God of This City

I apologize in advance if this blog post is a little scattered. I haven't written much lately because I honestly haven't felt like I've had anything important to say. For some reason, since I'm in Africa, I feel like everything I post needs to sound super-spiritual somehow. The problem is that hasn't been my experience here so far. (Doesn't that sound exactly like what I said He had taught me at Gateway?) I think He is trying to drill several things into my heart these days: (1) His timing is perfect, (2) His plan is better than mine, (3) everywhere is a mission field, and (4) experiencing His presence in my life is dependent on how much I am seeking Him, not on my circumstances or physical location.

Since it's fairly clear how He has been teaching me points one and two, I'd like to camp out on point three for a moment. From my first day on the ship, I jumped right into my responsibilities as 4th and 5th grade teacher. For the first two weeks, I spent so much time trying to catch up on lesson plans that I barely ventured outside of my classroom except to eat and sleep. A friend of mine asked me, "Do you feel like you're where you are supposed to be?" He was a little surprised when I hesitated (especially considering the question was posed just two days after I had posted the "Dayenu" entry). "Feel" was the wrong word to use in that question. At that moment, I didn't "feel" much anything...at least not much anything other than busy.

My days here are very much like my days in Birmingham. I wake up, teach, work on lessons or grading after school, eat, spend some time with friends, sleep, etc. I know that just a few flights of stairs below me, people are having debilitating tumors removed, children are having cleft palates corrected and are able to eat normally for the first time, and women who have been incontinent for years from a traumatic childbirth are receiving their lives back. But I am not there to see this. I am teaching multiplication facts and the parts of a sentence. I am grading papers. I am planning for the next day.

The first time I really felt like I was even in another country was our community meeting last Thursday. (Thursday nights are my favorite night on the ship because everyone gathers for worship and a message, and then we have an ice cream fellowship afterwards.) At the end of last Thursday's meeting, the band played Chris Tomlin's "God of This City." We were encouraged to open the curtains and look out over the ocean and the city lights, praying for the people and for God to use us in our last three months in Cotonou. As we prayed, I thought of a little boy that I had seen struggling to walk down the dock because of the deformity of his legs. I know that he has the hope of a normal life because of what God is doing through Mercy Ships. I know that my teaching here is a small part of that. At the same time though, I was also reminded of home.

On the day when I thought for certain I was staying in Birmingham, I distinctly remember "God of This City" playing from my iPod as I was driving around the curve of the exit from I-459 to 280. At the time, it was a comfort that God had placed me there for a purpose. And here in Benin, it was exactly the same message.

One of the things I've questioned myself on since my arrival is the way in which I spend my weekends. Being completely new to the area, it's exciting to see everything about the city--the beaches, the markets, the camping spots. etc. There is always someone arranging a group to do something. It's nice to get off the ship for a while, and everything here is very inexpensive, so there's no reason not to go. Except that I've felt guilty that relaxing by a pool on Saturday afternoon isn't a very "missionary" thing to do. Shouldn't I be visiting the residents in the psychiatric center instead of reading a book under a palm tree? Shouldn't I be showing the Jesus film with the group in the community instead of watching a comedy with friends on Friday night? Yes and no.

I don't think there's anything wrong with taking a break and spending time with friends. I shouldn't feel guilty for sitting by a pool in Benin any more than I would feel guilty sitting by a pool in Birmingham. However, the problem begins when I spend all of my time on my own entertainment and think nothing of ministering to others. My conviction is not that I am doing this here; my conviction is that I did this in Birmingham.

Why do I live like Cotonou is a mission field and Birmingham is not? Wherever I am, He has me there for a purpose. My every day teaching responsibilities here are a ministry, even when I don't feel like it. They were a ministry in Birmingham too. While I'm here, I want to learn the joy of serving others in my free time so that when I go home, serving will sound better than sitting by the pool.

"God of This City" by Chris Tomlin

You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are

You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this city
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

Thursday, August 20, 2009

A Week in Pictures

I don't have too many pictures yet, but I wanted to go ahead and post the ones I have taken so far. I don't have any of my cabin because my bedding hasn't arrived yet (I shipped it from Texas), so I'm waiting until I can make it cute before I take any pictures. Also, we have to be really cautious about taking pictures of the local people around town. (Would I want someone driving through my hometown and snapping photos of me without my permission?) So, I'll try to post some pictures of the city eventually, but it may be little while before I have those.





Jamie, Kelly, and I in front of the ship


The cafeteria (The food is really good here, and surprisingly, I probably eat more fruits and veggies than I did at home!)


My favorite sign...located just outside of the community bathroom where I shower every morning.


We got off of the ship for about three hours last weekend to see El Dorado Beach. There was a side for paying visitors and a side for locals. It only cost $3 to get in the "beach club" side, but you could definitely tell the difference.


Most smaller boats look just like this.


Local fishermen


The non-paying side...notice the trash?


And there's the pile! The water smelled really bad. I'm guessing it was polluted from all the garbage. Don't worry, Mom, I didn't swim. :)

That's all for now...more to come soon!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Dayenu

Well, I'm here! I arrived last Sunday night at 10:45 p.m. Benin time...just 9 hours before welcoming my new students on the first day of school. To say that the past two weeks have been a whirlwind would be an understatement. Just two weeks ago today, God provided a renter for my condo the day after I had resigned from my position on the ship. After contacting Mercy Ships with the good news, I frantically began making preparations to fly out that weekend. The lease was signed the next day (Wednesday), a couple good friends came over that night to help me pack boxes at the condo, more friends helped me move everything out on Thursday, and I handed the keys over on Friday. Saturday afternoon my parents drove me to Atlanta, and by Sunday evening I was in Benin. Between 15 hours on an airplane and 5 hours in the Paris airport, I planned my first day's lessons. Crazy!

Needless to say, I haven't had much time for blogging. Sorry!!! Before I even go into any details about life onboard the Africa Mercy, I know I still need to share the story of how God proved His sovereignty over my decisions. So, here goes...

Right after I resigned from my position with Mercy Ships two weeks ago, I began considering all employment options in Birmingham. One of the first things I did was call my principal from HTMS to tell her that I was officially staying and to ask that she keep me in mind for anything that may become available at the last minute, knowing that my old position had been filled months ago. She was very gracious to say that she would call me first if anything opened up, but I knew it was highly unlikely that anyone would resign from a position the week before school started. Nevertheless, she immediately contacted the board of education to request that she be called if any positions opened up in any of the other schools within our system. Meanwhile, new teacher orientation was underway at the board. After hanging up the phone with my principal, the lady at the board overheard one of the new teachers talking with the superintendent about needing to find an apartment within the city limits so that her child could be enrolled in the school system. My condo was mentioned, she was interested, the school contacted me, she looked at my condo that night and immediately agreed to rent it for 12 months.

Did you catch that? It was my call to my principal to say that I was staying that led to having a renter that afternoon! How's that for timing?

What amazed me so much about my story is not only the way that the rental situation just perfectly fell into place at the last second, although that was amazing. Rather, it's the way that God showed me grace in using my decision to stay as the means by which the renter was provided. You see, I have no doubt that had I boarded that plane on July 26th without anyone to rent my condo, He still could have somehow provided the very same renter on the very same day. However, once I cancelled the airline ticket, had He provided the renter through any other means, I would have always felt guilty for not leaving on July 26th.

My Father knows me. He knows that my faith is far from perfect, and He knows that I often question my own ability to hear Him. He knows that during the entire time I was home, I was questioning myself on everything that I thought had been an answer to prayer. Worse yet--I was questioning Him! If everything that I thought had pointed me to Mercy Ships was really not an answer to prayer, then where were the answers to my prayers? Where was God in all of this? Had He heard me? Was He even listening? Why was He ignoring me??? It is hard to describe the relief that I felt in knowing that I really had heard Him correctly, and realizing that my peace in going really was from Him. All I know is that I felt loved and known and desired by Him in a way that I had never experienced before--not so much because I was going, but because I knew He had heard me, and because He had shown me grace in my own weakness and insecurity. I don't want to ever forget that.

As for me, I used to say that I was never sure of a decision until hindsight. Now I can say that He is teaching me to walk by faith and not by hindsight. :) (my own personal twist on 2 Corinthians 5:7)

As for God, this situation reminds me of one of my favorite Hebrew Passover traditions: the song "Dayenu." At Passover Seders, Jews around the world celebrate God's blessings by singing a song about God's blessings during the Exodus. The title of the song is "Dayenu," which means "it would have been enough." I don't remember the words to the song as it relates to the Passover, but I can certainly apply the principle to my own life:

If He had brought me to South Africa last summer to change a little piece of my view of Him, but left me without any thoughts of Mercy Ships...Dayenu--it would have been enough.

If He had led me to Mercy Ships for the purpose of learning about an amazing organization, but never offered me the position to serve...Dayenu--it would have been enough.

If He had offered me a position with Mercy Ships to allow me to meet extraodinary people and learn more about Him through Gateway in Texas, but sent me back home to love Him in Birmingham...Dayenu--it would have been enough.

If He had provided a renter for me to go, but allowed me to wrestle with questioning my own decisions...Dayenu--it would have been enough.

I prayed for guidance, and He led me. I prayed that when I didn't know what to do, He would be sovereign over my decisions, and He proved that He always has been. I prayed for mercy, and He showed me a love and grace so personal that I cannot doubt His heart or my place within His plan. I am so grateful that He is more than enough.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Just Kidding...I'm Going to Africa!!!

I am so excited to say that just four hours after posting that I was not going to be able to serve with Mercy Ships, I spoke for the first time with the lady who will be renting my condo for the next year! My bags are still packed, and my new flight leaves on Saturday night. I will arrive in Benin on Sunday night, just in time for the first day of school bright and early the next morning! I cannot wait to share the story of how God orchestrated all of the events to prove He was sovereign over my every step, even my decision to stay in Birmingham. I would love to share more now, but the past 24 hours have been such a whirlwind that I am exhausted. I certainly don’t want to write quickly and leave out something important! So, until I can share the whole story, just know that I’m going after all!!!

Monday, August 3, 2009

I am staying.

This was by far one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made in my life. After talking with my principal at Mercy Ships, I made a very difficult decision to stay, knowing that going without a renter was not only a risk for me, but it would also be unfair to the students if I were to go and then leave just two weeks after school had started. (The end of August was my deadline for when I would require a renter or other provision for my condo in order to stay.) Right now, I don't really have the words to explain everything, but I know that people have been praying with me through this, and I wanted to let you know that a decision has been made. I will write more later about the Scriptures, counsel, and circumstances that led me to remain in Birmingham. For now, please pray that I will continue trusting that God's plan is bigger than I could've imagined or created, that I will stop second-guessing myself and move forward, and that He will direct my steps to the employment/ministry He has for me here. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and encouragement. I am truly blessed with amazing, godly friends and family. I love you!