Be Still And Know...

The past few days have been relatively uneventful here on the Mercy Ship. But what I have been thinking about is my future. 2009 is looming large on the horizon. It struck me how close it really is this past week when I confirmed my flight home. I fly out of Monrovia on Monday, 8th December, arriving in beautiful Cape Town the next day. Thinking about it now I am extremely sad. I don't want to leave this ship. She has come to be my home. Cape Town is my home town, yes, but this ship is also my home. I would love to come back at some point, and have plans in mind. But whether these plans are God's plans for my life is another question. So we'll see. At the moment I'm just hoping and trusting in God. Hence the title of this entry.

I've also realised that I have four months left here. And I have wasted some of my time here. So now is the time to make up for that by getting involved and showing God's light shining through.

This past Saturday I went to the construction site of the new God's Children's Home. It was pouring with rain, and we had to traverse some pretty sticky off-road sections (first time I've been driving a Land Rover through such terrain!), but it was such an awesome experience. I've always loved Habitat For Humanity builds and this brought back many memories. We painted doors and wooden beams. It is just so great to be involved with this sort of project. It is wonderful to see the progression from nothing but foundations to a solid building which will serve to house little children. I have a feeling I will be spending a lot of my Saturdays from now until the end of my time here out at the new site for God's Children's Home.

I have also (on work assignments) recently been able to visit several hospitals and clinics with which Mercy Ships are involved. It is great to see what our dental and eye teams do off-ship. I also visited Royesville, where Mercy Ships' Community Development Services (CDS) are involved with teaching correct agricultural practices. This is an aspect of the Mercy Ships ministry that is often overlooked. We do so much more than just healthcare. It is wonderful to see exactly what is happening out in the field, so to speak.

Unfortunately because of the pouring rain I did not get a chance to take any photos at the God's Children's Home site. In fact I left my camera on the ship. So some of the photos I put here are of last week when I had the opportunity of going in one of our MOB (Man Over-Board) boats and went for a tour around the harbour. I went to get some photos of the M/V Torm Alexandra, a semi-container ship that capsized in the Freeport in July 2001. I am writing a story on the history of this vessel. It has been a constant presence throughout the past four Field Services that Mercy Ships has had in Liberia. The other photo is of me doing another act of service: that of donating blood. This was ten or so days ago. I am also writing a story on the ship's Blood Donor Programme.

And with that being said I bid you a very fond farewell, until the next time. God bless!