Blessings of God.

It's funny how, as humans, we tend to pile up on things. If things are going bad, we see all the bad and never the good so the bad seems to pile. In the same way, when things are going well, we don't see the bad quite as much. I like the last bit best.
I was having a bad time. One of the reasons was simply that I had not been able to get off the ship in about a month, so cabin fever had set in and I was grouchy which makes me even more grouchy because I don't like being grouchy and people don't like grouchy me. You can see the cycle right there.
Thankfully I have a great friend, Becca, who let me stay at her house (team house), over the night so I could take a much needed vacation. The ship also had a dance party on Saturday night which was a load of fun, though I'll be the first to admit that I make ordinary white people look like good dancers. The next day was church where the sermon was good and wasn't on the ship (I like Africa Mercy services, but sometimes one needs to have a break from that crowd), and then we had a pool party of five people. I showed off how unsportsy I am, but again who cares; I was with friends and I was having fun.
God and I later went to the eighth deck (usually reserved for couples, but there were none last night) and had a good chat. He didn't tell me anything, but he did give me a sense of peace over a few things and I felt his presence.
See the rains don't always last (I like real rain but that isn't the point).
God bless,
Heather

Lightning

Yesterday I woke up in a bad mood. Just a depression resting on my soul. Thankfully God is good. I was able to be around several friends, and there was a lightning storm. I use this storm in this blog, because I give a good bet you have never seen a storm like this in your life and I may not even know you! Lightning was everywhere and continuous. Every minute there was a streak of lighting brightening up the sky, but even between those there were flashes surrounding us the whole time. I stood on the eigth deck, the rain having stopped at that point and watched the wonder of God before me for an hour. It was amazing.
God's like that. Just when your getting down, he does something amazing to remind you that he is there. He never leaves and he's all powerful.
God bless you all,
Heather

The picture was taken by Lourens Lessing

Routine

It is funny how though one is on a grand adventure they can still be in the routine of things. People are embarked, others disembarked. Emails go in and out, and we receptionist do our shifts.
Actually, I'm not complaining, just pointing out irony. Life is ironic that way. One can go across the globe and find that they are in a routine. Even bushmen have routines I'm guessing.
Its also a good thing because that means things are working smoothly. We have patients, our screenings are going well, people are still volunteering, and life goes on.
There are a few non routine things to mention. Somewhere close to the dock is a river where people tend to throw their trash. That trash comes to us and blocks our in-tack valves. Though not dangerous, as far as I know, it is annoying because it means divers have to go down every day to unblock them. Apparently its only going to get worse. Without the intake valves, the engines aren't cooled and air-conditioning is limited. Its not bad at the moment. I still have air-conditioning in my room, but sometimes the main parts of the ship is turned off. The most important thing is keeping the hospitals cool. There are a lot of expensive equipment down their that need to stay below a certain temperature to work properly.
So, anyone out there who has a license in diving, come on board!
God bless all,
Heather