Goodbye...

Well, the time has come to say goodbye. This will be my final post from the M/V Africa Mercy for this season of life. This time here has been the most amazing five-plus years of my life, and I wouldn't change it for anything. I have so many good memories and much personal growth to take forward into the future. I am so thankful and have been so blessed.

Candace and I depart today and fly through Europe on our travels to South Africa, and will be landing in Cape Town on the 7th December. I will be blogging from Cape Town and keeping you all posted on what's next for Candace and I. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we seek what adventure God has in store for us next. *Photo here from our Reception farewell dinner last week.

Thanks for walking this walk with us. Stay tuned for more!

My Bible Study group out to dinner one final time. I'll miss these guys!

 So, do you have what it takes to break out the Murray pose?

Phil and Ali.

Hannah and Ben.

Mel and Michel.

Ryan and Jeff.

 Marty.

Some of our good friends. We'll miss you all! God bless!

Sunset Club...

Candace and I watched one last sunset from Deck 8 this past Sunday. (25th November 2012.) Sunset over the ocean always attract a large number of crew members, and thus has become known as Sunset Club. I also enjoyed watching all the ship traffic in the harbour. I'm going to miss Deck 8 sunsets and watching ships coming and going in West African ports!

 The clouds looked amazing!

 The sun sets over the islands.

 Port activity at sunset.

 Trucks all waiting to be loaded.

The sun disappears behind one of the islands.

 I'll miss views like this.

 A small ship arrives in the harbour...

... And is moored behind our vessel.

Gurkha Farewell Lunch...

Gurkhas are the highly-trained Nepalese soldiers who protect the ship day and night. Along with the Ship Security Officer, they form the Security Team of the Africa Mercy. And yet despite being former soldiers, they are the most amazing, gentle-spirited people you could ever hope to meet. Our Gurkhas are also wonderful cooks and serve the crew Nepalese food usually once every sail. This past weekend they blessed Candace and I by giving us a lovely farewell lunch. It was delicious - thank you Gurkhas!

Tek manning the Gangway.

 Krishna dishes up one of our plates.

Hmmm, delicious!

 Curried eggs and chicken!

Sign of a good meal - empty plate and a content Murray!

Candace was very excited about Gurkha food too!

Pagerless, keyless, and phoneless...

Candace and I have a little more than two days before we jet off into the next stage of our life together. By Thursday last week both of us had fully trained our replacements and handed over our pagers, keys, and in my case a cell phone too. It's a strange place to be knowing that the day of our departure is fast-approaching, and yet we have time to relax while we pack. We are in two worlds really. We're still here on the ship, and yet with our primary responsibilities gone, we can look to the future too. It may be strange, but it's a good place to be.

The photos here were taken by our good friend Ali last Wednesday, as we had a photo shoot up by the funnel. Enjoy!

 Candace and I in front of the funnel.

The obligatory shot with the Africa Mercy life ring. :-)

Candace's Blood Donation...

Just a few short days after I donated blood, Candace had the opportunity to give a unit of her blood too. I went down to capture a few photos from her donation. She was really excited to donate blood for a patient on the ship!

 Candace's blood is gently rocked back and forth by this machine that weighs the unit.

Candace with her blood. :-)

To Bean or Not to Bean...

Candace and I played one of our final games of Beans last weekend. (18th November 2012.) We were introduced to Beans here on the ship, and have had many fun memories playing this game with close friends over the last year. We'll miss it - but look forward to teaching friends and family back home how to play!

 My Bean fields.

Phil and I.

One final trip to Roume...

Our good friends Phil and Ali, along with their three-month-old baby Zoe, invited us to join them on an outing to Roume Island last weekend. (17th November 2012.) It was their first time visiting the island and our third time, and it was certainly worth it. We played frisbee, swam, relaxed on the beach, and enjoyed a delicious lunch. And what meal in West Africa isn't complete without ice-cold Coca-Cola out of glass bottles - much better than cans! It was a great day spent with some pretty amazing people.

 With Phil and Ali.

 Sea birds on the breakwater.

 The signal light at the end of Conakry's breakwater.

 Fishing net.

 The lovely restaurant by the beach.

 Ali and Zoe.

 Phil with Zoe.

 Hmmm, fresh bread!

 Delicious chicken!

 Amazing calamari!

 View towards the restaurant from the beach.

 Pretty hibiscus flower.

 Another lovely flower.

 Heading back to our boat...

 And sailing away from Roume.

 Local fishermen in a traditional canoe.

 Canoe with homemade sail.

 Our big floating home.

 Don't really need a caption here.

 There she is!