Tropical Vacation?

Most of you have heard that we are heading to Madagascar for our next field service.  We plan to arrive there towards the end of October after a couple week stop over in Cape Town, South Africa.  Some of you may wonder if a place like Madagascar really needs a big white hospital ship.  There is no denying the natural splendor of the country.  By all accounts it is a truly magnificent gem of flora and fauna.

However, there is also no denying that the nation is ranked 155th out of 187 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index (with lower numbers representing higher levels of development).  Like many countries that we have been - and perhaps even more so - the natural beauty stands in stark contrast to the poverty of the people.  Hollywood has
romanticized the landscape but the reality is that most people live in dire conditions.  It is a place where we can truly make a difference by bringing hope and healing.  Here is some more info on the country:

Off Africa's southeast coast in the Indian Ocean, Madagascar is the world's fourth largest island after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo. A stunning diversity of plant and animal species found nowhere else evolved after the island broke away from the African continent 165 million years ago. It has a mountainous central plateau and coastal plains. The first settlers were of African and Asian origin, and 18 separate ethnic groups emerged, derived from an African and Malayo-Indonesian mixture. Asian features are most predominant in the central highlands people, and coastal people tend to show features of African origin. Most of the population depend on subsistence farming, based on rice and cattle, with coffee, vanilla, and seafood being important exports.

French colonial rule began in 1896; independence came in 1960. In 1990, after almost 20 years of Marxism, Madagascar lifted a ban on opposition parties, and a new president was elected in 1993. Elections in 2001 resulted in a period of civil unrest, lasting for several months, until Marc Ravalomanana was declared winner of the presidential election. Environmental degradation is a major concern as damaging agricultural practices cause deforestation, soil erosion, and desertification. The island is heavily exposed to tropical cyclones, which brought destructive floods in 2004. (http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/madagascar-facts/)

We are excited for this new adventure and ask that you join us in prayer as we face many challenges ahead (short time frame, poor roads, rainy season, and the possibility of cyclones to name a few) and especially for the people of Madagascar.  

Canarian Countryside

Gran Canaria has some beautiful areas.  Two weeks ago Elijah and I went out with a group for a 4 hour hike and last week Malachi decided to join Eli and I on a 3 hour hike with some guys from the ship.  Both hikes were organized by my friend, the amazing Robert Brugler.

The first hike was largely down hill from the ridge line down the valley to a town called San Mateo.  I picked a prickly pear along the way as I'd never tried one before.  For those who have never done so, I advise against it.  I was picking tiny cactus slivers out of my fingers for some time.

The second hike was to a natural rock monument called Roque Nublo.  Not as challenging as the first hike, this one was definitely more beautiful and we had a great time with the guys.

Picking prickly pears is a bad idea...

Elijah tuckered out on the bus ride back from the first hike.

This is the starting point for the first hike.  We hiked to the bottom of the valley.

Malachi at the end of the second hike.  Roque Nublo is behind me as I take the photo.

Roque Nublo in the distance to the left of the picture.  This is taken close to where we started the hike.

Blessed

Okay, it's been a while.  There was far too much over this summer to put into a post so I'll hit the most important part - our gratitude for all who blessed our lives this summer.  We received so much hospitality and generosity from family and friends that we can't possibly say thank you enough.  If I start listing people I'll leave someone out because there are simply so many. 

It was such an amazing summer.  We got to travel to Yellowstone, spend some time with some fellow Mercy Shippers, catch up with old friends, and hang out with family.  We truly are blessed.

We're royal diamond shellbacks since we've crossed the Equator at the Prime Meridian at sea.  We thought we'd add another 'line crossing' to the list.

No, it doesn't

I was leaning on the railing of deck 8 yesterday looking down at the dock.   A crowd of Mercy Shippers had gathered to say goodbye to a departing crew member; hugs all around and arms waving until the land cruiser was no longer in sight (probably a fair number of leaky eyes as well but I was too far away to be certain).  A crew member leaning on the railing just a few feet down stirred me from my reverie.  He had arrived a couple of weeks ago he said and asked how long I had been on the ship for. 

“Seven years”, I replied. 

“Does it get any easier”, he inquired, “saying goodbye to people?”

“No.  No, it doesn’t”, was my immediate and definitive reply.

Xavier ran up at that moment, "Daaaaaad, you said you'd take me inside" - so I did.  Had our conversation continued I’m sure I would have told the new guy about how it is still worth it to develop relationships and touched on a number of the joys of living in this community, and those things are true.  But the conversation didn’t continue and I’ve been mulling over my knee-jerk, unfiltered response to him: “No.  No it doesn’t”. 

Saying goodbye becomes familiar.  You learn to accept it.  Perhaps to a degree you even become calloused to it.  Some simply stop doing it all together, avoiding goodbye parties and send-offs on the dock.  Others regrettably choose to not build relationships because it hurts less to say goodbye to those you don’t really know.

But it doesn’t get any easier.  Not even a little bit. 

Already in the past few weeks some friends and good acquaintances have left.  In the coming days and weeks some best friends are leaving.  And my heart hurts.  If I think about it too much my throat gets tight and my eyes get shiny.  I’m not angry.  I don’t feel abandoned or not cared about.  I rejoice in their decisions to follow God’s call for the next season of their lives.  They will go with my blessing and love, and with Dara’s as well. 

I write these words as a means of expressing how much they mean to me – to us – and also to strip the candy-coating off of saying goodbye.  It sucks.  That doesn’t mean that it’s bad, or that we should avoid it, or that relationships aren’t worth it.  But it still sucks.  And no, it doesn’t get any easier.

Taking Out The Trash

We see some interesting things living on a ship.  I took this video from the aft end of the Africa Mercy the other day.  A whole new perspective on taking out the trash.  My boys would LOVE it if they were allowed to do this!

Humbled

I got an unexpected and humbling piece of mail a few days ago.  I was debating whether or not to blog it as it could come across as prideful. I decided, though, that it gives me the opportunity to both celebrate God's power in my life and to thank those of you who have been supporting me through my academic endeavors these past two years - especially my incredible wife and children who put up with me being unavailable often working on homework and writing papers.  Thanks, too, to all who have been supporting my studies through finances and prayer.  One year left to go...

Ketchup

Time to ketchup (catch up) again:

We celebrated Malachi's birthday with a viewing of 'Cloudy With a Chance of Meathballs 2', cake, pizza and presents.

New age, same vintage joyful smile

It would seem that I haven't lost the knack for good homeade pizza

Elijah recently participated in the work experience program onboard.  He got to take three days off from school to work in the Deck Department as a deck hand.  All of the Junior High and High School students applied for positions in departments onboard and got to work in them.  It is a great program, which Dara organizes, and a highlight of the year for a lot of the kids. 

Eli decked out (pretty punny, huh?) in his deck hand work clothes

This one was just a fun picture of Dara and the boys on the couch together.  Man, they're getting BIG!