Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Banana Island

Hello all,
This has been a fairly interesting week. Not because there is anything truly new going on, on the Africa Mercy. I am still living in a family cabin (cabin sitting) with Becca. Probably the biggest change on board, for me anyways, is the arrival of a good friend who is back on board and once again our reception team is full. One of the highschoolers was good enough to work here during her summer breaks.

So what I did these past few weeks: the Wednesday before last, we went Salsa dancing again. It was one of my friend's birthday, and as he is one of those who has gone salsa dancing every week, we did that and added a dinner and a cake into the mix. Very tasty and fun.

More to the point was this weekend. A small group of us stayed over night on an island. As I got ready for it, I found out from my friend that she didn't have a clue about the accomadations. I had visions of sleeping on the sand covered beach, with little protection from mosquitoes and small small food. While it was rough with no electricity and we didn't receive food until nine pm, we did have beds, mosquito nets, and coverings from the rain. We didn't do much (kinda the point when one leaves the ship) except lie on the beach, read, watch the sunset, talk, and play the dutch game - jungle speed. It was nice to sit together and get to know eachother a little bit better. I didn't get eaten by bugs too much and I didn't go to bed on a hard ground. I call that a win!

God bless,
Heather

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Dancing + Dress Shopping + Worship = A good week

“People are going to think you’re an extrovert.” That’s the laughing response I got when I told someone I had gotten off the ship yet again. So, I haven’t left the ship every day this week but a good amount.

Wednesday night was the most eventful in that respect. For the past I don’t know how long, a group of people have been going salsa dancing. I joined this past Wednesday. So, I’m still not the greatest dancer – little coordination, but oh it was so fun. I twirled. I floated. I stumbled. I had a blast. What made the evening more memorable was the atmosphere. The dance lessons were held at this fairly large restaurant in front of the ocean with the beach and the crashing waves. What is more: it rained. From the distance we could hear the thunder rolling and see the lightning flash. Awesome.

Thursday, I went dress shopping with a friend who is planning on having her wedding here. Well, that was interesting. I think the Africans like a little flair to their weddings. They like the big poufy dresses, the large hats, the numerous colors. My friend – not so much. We went into three different shops. The first were wedding planners. We shall see on them. The next was a shop where the ladies told my friend all she would need for a good wedding (the big hats, the gloves, and the poufy dresses). They also led us to a dress shop with a few good dresses in it (come all the way from David’s Bridal) but were too expensive. Strangely, because of all the NGO’s the land of Sierra Leone is not all that cheep. We shall see what actually happens on my friend’s wedding.

The third time I went out is not a big deal, so I will keep you from being bored over that. But on Tuesday, a group of us, went up to deck eight and had worship. We watched the sun set and the lightning come in. I could definitely feel God’s presence. Isn’t it good to be in the presence of the Lord?

Anyways, this week has been more than good. It’s been…well great.

God bless,
Heather

PS: I'll download pictures later