Cultural Kids

Although we spend 10 months (usually) in each nation that we serve, we do not live ashore and so do not always have opportunity to experience all of the daily aspects of life in the cultures we interact with.  The Elementary students recently got to participate in a cultural experience field trip in which they got to do just that.  They spent the day doing daily chores and activities.  It was a long, hot day but they had a great time.

Braiding Hair

Cooking

Drawing Well Water

Carrying Water

Making Bracelets

Playing Djembe (drums)

Washing Laundry

Academic Update

The Communications Department onboard recently took school pictures for the Academy.  They did an amazing job!  Here are some of the photos along with some info about the end of this school year and the plans for next year.

9th and 10th Grade with their Mentor Teacher, Miss Dunn

All of the High School students and their teachers

6th graders and their Mentor Teacher, Miss Kelly

4th and 5th grades with their teacher, Miss Remy

The Preschool class with his teacher, Miss Dara :)

Grace has finals just around the bend.  She has done very well in her first year of high school.  She will be turning sixteen in October and is ready to spread her wings.  She is still pursuing spending her 10th grade year in France.  She was accepted to her program and will head to the US this summer to interview for her student visa, which we learned must be obtained in your nation of residence. 

Grace also just learned that she was awarded a $500 scholarship for her year in France.  The scholarship covers 5% of the program cost.  There is still plenty of opportunity assist her financially if you would like!  You can see her blog to find out how. 

Elijah is finishing up 6th grade, which is the first year of junior high in the Academy.  He has done a great job adjusting to the increased workload and expectations.  He also has finals coming up.  It's not his first time because he was in 6th grade math last year, but it is the first year that he will have finals in each subject.  Eli loves science and math but these courses had to be done online this year because the Academy was short of teachers.  It was a bit disappointing to him and he's looking forward to having a 'proper' science class next year.

Elijah turns 13 this summer and will be going to the US with Dara to celebrate this huge 'coming of age' year, just as Peter brought Grace to the US for her 13th birthday.  He is looking forward to the opportunity to see family and experience many of the comforts and opportunities that are not available in the developing nations of West Africa.

Malachi is finishing 4th grade.  He continues to be a 'happy go lucky' kind of guy and takes pretty much everything in stride.  Like many boys, his favorite subjects are the 'specials': PE, music, art, etc. (not to mention break!).  Malachi loves to be active!  Finding activities for he (and Elijah) as he grows is an increasing challenge.  Please pray that we can find some ways to engage him physically with the limitations of living on a ship with a busy dock and a steel weather-deck for 'playgrounds'.

Malachi will be staying onboard over the summer with Peter while Dara, Elijah, and Grace are in the US.  The ship will be in Gran Canaria, which we are less familiar with but hope to be able to do some bike rides and trips to the park (and perhaps some other fun activities 'on the cheap').

Xavier is finishing preschool.  Dara has been homeschooling him this year since he was the only preschooler.  They have had a great time and Dara has done a phenomenal job.  He can read beginner books, write his letters, and count past 100.

He will be moving on to Kindergarten.  The shift in schedule will take some getting used to - for him and for us! He will be moving from half-day to full day. 

Xavier loves life and is holding his own with his older siblings.  He loves to run, play, and swim.  He will also be staying onboard this summer with Peter and Malachi, finding ways to take advantage of the time in the Canary Islands.  The ship will be in the shipyard, which is an industrial area so prayers for a nearby park would be appreciated.



We have had a full year with joys and challenges.  Thank you for journeying with us!  We appreciate and value your friendship and support.

Accepted!

Grace has been accepted by CIEE (Counsel for International Education Exchange) to study in France next year.  She has worked incredibly hard to get to this point and we are proud of her.  She has been placed with a host family that seems wonderful and meets many of the 'wants' that Grace had: they have three girls younger than her (she wanted little sisters), a dog (golden retriever), and they live in a cold region of France (near Calais in the north).  The picture that they sent was of the three girls and the dog in several inches of snow! 

However, she is far from finished.  She still has to obtain a visa, which is proving to be a significant challenge.  We are 'out of the box' in that we are US citizens living abroad on a ship. 

Also there is a still a significant financial commitment involved.  If you would like to contribute to this amazing opportunity for Grace, please give through our family donation page and just leave a note saying 'For Grace'. 

A Different Kind of Normal

A few weekends ago, just before I left for two weeks in Texas, we took a family overnight trip to Mamadou, a rural region about two hours from the ship. 

We had a bit of a time of just getting on the road.  The driver that had agreed to take us inland delegated the job to a 'friend' of his who argued about the price that had already been agreed on.  At any rate, we finally got underway and arrived just before lunch on a Saturday.

We stayed in a round 'hut' with two rooms that were fairly well appointed by local standards.  Each room had two beds, a flushing toilet (the girls found a frog in theirs), and a ceiling fan. 

We mostly just hung out.  We played tag, threw rocks in the stream, and walked about a bit.  We also had dinner on Saturday night and breakfast Sunday morning at the 'restaurant' on the premises.  It was actually quite nice; chicken and fries for dinner and omelets with baguettes for breakfast.

On Saturday evening we had a campfire and Smores (thanks to Dara for her logistical prowess which included packing graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars).  It was awesome to sit by the fire and look up at a night sky filled with brilliant stars, especially since there was no moon and no city lights.

At one point Saturday afternoon Elijah, Malachi, and I were sitting on a large rock with our legs hanging over the stream, whittling sticks.  I took note of our environment and realized that this had become 'normal' for us.  I said to them, "do you guys realize that for most kids from the US what we are doing now would be considered a huge adventure?  We are whittling sticks on the side of a stream surrounded by an African jungle".  They both just shrugged.  This is the normal they know.

Amazing Race - Africa Mercy Style

Hi, this is Eli.

Last Saturday 15 teams of 3 people each participated in the Amazing Race.  They had to make it to certain destinations that had different challenges such as: drinking two cups of a nasty blended concoction with sardines, hot sauce, peanut butter, etc. (some people barfed); score three goals against three local kids in soccer; pound and eat their own fufu (a west African dish of boiled yams and plantains pounded together with water to make a dough-like paste); make a fire that got hot enough to burn through a rope that was over it; make up their own rap song; paddle a local canoe to a lighthouse and back (some people had to run the muddy beach instead when the tide was too high); find a certain person at a large local market who was walking around; and catch two roosters.  There were ten stations in total, spread out across downtown Conakry. 

The teams had to either walk, run, or take taxis but they only had a small amount of local money so they had to use it wisely.  We ran the rooster station.  We got to explain the rules when they arrived and then let the roosters out in a courtyard (which was at the site of our shore-based dental clinic).  The teams had to catch the two roosters while wearing a rubber glove on their heads and yellow dishwashing gloves on their hands.  It was fun and funny to watch them.  Some teams were more experienced with animals than other teams so they caught them faster.

It got a bit boring sometimes waiting for the next team to come.  The first team came at about 9:10 in the morning and the last team just after 2:00 in the afternoon.  Afterward, all the teams and the organizers went to a local hotel with a pool.  There were some kittens there that I liked to play with and hold.  It was a really fun day.

The end.

Alya

Soriba sits on a stool at the end of an empty hospital bed with his arms folded across his green and blue striped shirt. His eyes are fixed on the door. He is waiting for news of Alya, his son, who has been in surgery for nearly three hours to remove a tumor from his small neck.

Across the narrow hallway of the hospital ship, Alya’s skilled volunteer surgeon, Dr. Neil, works diligently with OR nurses to finish up a successful surgery. “Incredible,” he says of Alya’s tumor, which had grown around his windpipe. “He was a few months away from suffocating from this.”

In his six short years, the tumor Alya has had on his neck since birth grew from the size of a quarter to the size of a potato. But today, because of Mercy Ships, there remains only a crescent-shaped scar, made up of a couple dozen stiches, where that tumor used to be.

Before surgery, Alya was teased by his friends for the
lump on his neck.  He as also out of breath and tired.

Now there is just a small incision
where the tumor used to be.

There is a sacred moment in the hospital wards of the Africa Mercy when a nurse tells a patient’s family member that the surgery was successful. Delivering this news is more than just giving an update – it is telling someone that their loved one’s life is forever changed. Mercy Ships ward nurse Rachel Greenland smiles as she approaches Alya’s father. “The surgery went very well,” she says. Soriba’s eyes flutter between Rachel and the translator as the message is relayed in his language, Susu.

“Everything went well. He hasn’t woken up yet, but he will soon,” Rachel says.

Sitting up a little straighter now, Soriba looks around the room. He smiles and in Susu announces to the ward, “My mind is free, my heart is happy!”

Another patient chimes in from a bed nearby, lifting his head to get a better view, as he says, “Let God bring these kinds of people every year in this country!”

“Amen!” says Soriba.

What had been hushed mumbles quickly turns to chatter from the surrounding patients and caregivers. “May God help them to bring healing for other illnesses we have here,” says a woman in the bed behind Soriba.

Soriba turns and holds up his hands, adding, “Amen. May there be healing for all.”

Four days later, a squirmy Alya sits on his knees at the end of his hospital bed, pulling on his father’s shirt. He is no longer the little boy who can’t catch his breath. He is no longer exhausted from his hindered breathing.

Alya proudly wears a red star sticker on the middle of his forehead and a huge smile on his face. Next to him, his father eyes the door – this time for a different reason.  Today, Alya finally gets to go home, and they are anxious to leave.

“Without this opportunity, we don’t have the means for surgery,” Soriba says. “Now I am happy; may you come every year.”

Written by Catherine Murphy

Edited by Nancy Predaina

Photos by Paul Millgate and Bright Effowe

Peter's Ponderings

I should probably post some kind of family update after over a month hiatus from blogging.  There certainly has been no shortage of events, happening, fun times, frustrations, school stuff, and work woes to blog about.  Life is very busy.  Good, but busy.  We (individually, as a family, as a crew, as an organization, and as the body of Christ) have achieved some amazing things through His power and grace, and we continue to do so.

However this post is, as the title says, a pondering.  What is a pondering?  It is a musing, an 'I wonder', a rumination, a 'huh?', a consideration...well, you get the idea.

So, here it is: how do you handle generational cultures in the workplace?  Do leaders have a responsibility to understand generational dynamics and adapt their approach and expectations in regard to them?  Do followers (subordinates) have a responsibility to do the same?

We seem to make (or at least intend to make) allowances for cultural differences in regard to race and culture in the nationality or ethnicity sense, but what about generationally?  There is incredible variance in how a Silent, a Boomer, an X-er, and a Millennial see the world around them, interpret things, approach work and goals, etc.  They are vastly different worldviews.  Is it majority wins - whichever generation is most represented in a workforce gets to set the tone and everyone else is expected to conform?  Is there an approach that would be amenable to even, say, two different generations working together?

Thoughts...?