Helicopters and Jets

There was very cool opportunity that presented itself last weekend...so of course I jumped at the chance and now have a cool story to share. As most of you know, living on ship means that we are docked in the port. Well, this port is very active; ships are always coming and going. 

Right now, there is an Italian Aircraft Carrier that is docked in port across from us on a humanitarian mission. One day a question was posed...if it could be arranged, would anyone be interested in touring their ship. Lots of people were interested, over 200 people wanted to go on this tour. 

The aircraft carrier across is docked in port across from us

Saturday evening this tour happened. They had it set up so that 30-50 of us were in a group and then we were escorted around. We got to see the bridge, tower control, hospital, and walk out onto the flight deck next to the helicopters and jets. It was very cool, and the best part...they didn't care if we brought cameras and took pictures. 

Still in the bridge, our guide is explaining the compasses and rudders

Looking out on the flight deck from the control tower

There is the runway

Now we are out on the flight deck! 

Helicopter!!

It's a jet!

And finally, the picture of me in front of one helicopter. 

 All in all, it was a really cool experience, and over the last couple of days they have been coming to tour our ship in slightly smaller groups. One really cool thing that I want to mention, as I said before they are on a humanitarian mission and so they have offered to help us out by donating their time and some supplies!!! How amazing is that?  

February!

I know it's been awhile since I've last updated my blog. A lot happens and yet it has become normal life here. Eat, sleep, work, laundry and some socialization with lots of hello's and goodbye's. Constant change has become a normal part of life...I'd be lying if I said it was easy. 

Although, there are fun times involved with all the change. One day, we had a picnic with nurses and day crew from D-Ward, for those who wanted to attend. We packed up a bunch of stuff and drove the beach. 

After getting the fire lit with some assistance from the local people (apparently we weren't so great at starting an open fire on the windy beach) , we got the chicken over the coals and the BBQ began.

It took several hours to cook all the meat that was prepared and so the cooks took turns...these were the first 2 happy volunteers while the rest of us visited, and watched the sunset. 

Finally, after the sun set and it was dark out we finished cooking the last of the meat! It was a whole process, but it was fun.

The Sunset

Grilling chicken with headlamps for light :) 

It's hard to believe that January has come and gone...and now we are half way through February. Time seems to be passing by...soon I'll only have 3 months left, March, April, and May. Then, I'll eventually need to figure out what is next in my life...and that seems overwhelming! There are so many possibilities, that I need to slow down, not stress about the future and trust God to show me his direction. 

New Year...New Update

Happy New Year! (okay, I know I'm a few days late). As I was thinking about the new year and the new year resolutions, I have a few thoughts I would like to share. 

How many times do we make new year resolutions and expect to fail. If it lasts a week or a month then that's great. Maybe I'm only talking about myself, but the last couple of years I didn't even have any resolutions because then I didn't have to make an effort or fail. It can seem impossibly hard to break bad habits and make positive changes. 

As the new year was approaching I  realized that I have to work on breaking those bad habits. Some of you know me well enough to know how much I love sweets, cookies, candy, cakes. Well, as the ship was celebrating Christmas for the month of December there was an ample supply of such yummy treats. I don't even want to admit this, but soon I found that is all I would eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

At first I was fine, then I didn't have any energy and felt so slow and groggy all day. Finally, I came to the conclusion this was bad for me in so many ways. When I was struggling a couple months ago I was eating poorly and making bad choices like staying in the dark because it took to much energy to go outside. I finally started making it out side, and since then I have been out for at least 30 minutes almost every day since. That has helped a lot, but that didn't address my poor eating habits. 

Around Christmas time when I'm sure that I was sick from all the sugar I was eating I made a choice. A choice to start eating better on the ship, making sure that I have protein in at least one meal, and not just eating carbohydrates. Also, I don't have to have multiple pieces of cinnamon-sugar toast at every meal, or buy M&M's to eat as a snack every night because I need chocolate. 

As I'm writing this, I cringe to even think about it. I know better but didn't have or want to have the strength to resist. Yes you could say my new years resolution is to start eating better. It's not an easy change to make, but I have been making an effort. Last week I experimented with making granola in the crew kitchen and it was actually really good. I keep grabbing handfuls and snacking on that. It's a much healthier snack than M&M's. 

The temptation is great, but as I was reading through Hebrews I came across these verses. 

"Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight the paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed." Hebrew 12: 12-13 (ESV)

Lets just say that when I read that verse it left a very deep impression. It's been weeks ago that I read it, but still have not forgotten it. It has encouraged me to keep working at making those positive changes. I knew that I had to be the one that wanted those changes, but this verse inspired me to actually do the work required.

Those M&M's still temp me everyday, and I walk by them multiple times during the course of a single day. I can't say that I've been perfect every day, or that my goal is to eliminate all sugar from my diet. My goal is to make healthier choices with everything in moderation. I'm taking one day at a time, that seems a lot more manageable and realistic than having to think about it for the whole year. The days add up to weeks, then months,and months turn into years.  

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Merry Christmas from Congo!!! Just wanted to quickly share a few holiday adventures. 

Yesterday, I was able to go to a beach with some friends, just to hang out there for the day. We left the ship at 8:45 in the morning!!! Then made our way to the port gate to find a taxi. After negotiating our price we all climbed in and head out. It wasn't until we were on the road for 30-45 minutes that we realized our taxi driver wasn't going the direction that we wanted, in fact he was going the opposite way. 

After explaining, we turned around came back into the city, and went out on the south side of town. Luckily, a few people had been there before and so they were able to give directions and we finally found the place we wanted, Molanda Lodge. It's a nice resort on the ocean with an outdoor bar and restaurant. 

The first thing I did was lay out my towel and take a nap! After spending 2 hours in a hot taxi on not enough sleep...the nap was essential. I'm sleeping peacefully away and then suddenly I wake up because something hurt. I figured out, there was a little crab that pinched my arm which is what woke me up...seriously, did he not know how important my nap was?

My sandy bed, or the beach

I tried going back to sleep, but that didn't work out so I started walking along the beach taking pictures before heading back to the bar with some of the group for a drink. 

It's so relaxing to listen to the waves rolling into shore.

The Beach!!!

There were some nice waves, I didn't actually go into the water but I was told they were pretty strong by those who did brave the waves.

After walking on the beach for a little while, I headed up to the bar with some people who were also ready to take a break from the sun and get something cold to drink. I think that was one of the best cold cokes I've had in a while!!The bar area is actually a really nice place to sit and hang out. Someone brought cards and so we started playing card games. 

At 4 our taxi was suppose to be back at the lodge to pick us up. Once 4 passed, we started walking out the lane to the main road to wait or maybe even catch another taxi. 

Our taxi did come back for us and brought us safely back to the port gate. We made the trek from the port gate back to the ship, where we found a special dinner being served. Our Gurkha's, from Nepal, made dinner for everyone on-board. So it was yummy Nepalese curry's for dinner. Followed by Christmas Eve service and then a movie with friends.   

At 1 a.m. Christmas morning I finally went to bed, and was up by 8 without my alarm clock...very random for me. Because I was awake, I made it to the cafe to have a caramel latte.  

According to the Dutch tradition, every put shoes outside their door and so on Christmas morning you open your door to find the halls lined with shoes and presents. 

At 11, I meet my ship 'family' for Christmas brunch...which consisted of breakfast foods, omelets and fried potatoes, a lunch menu of mashed potatoes, turkey, ham, green bean casserole with lots of cookies, desserts, fruits, cheeses and all sorts of good food. 

There have been people playing and singing Christmas music...the air feels joyous and festive!!! As I wrap up this blog, I will repeat my opening statement. 

Merry Christmas!!!  

Adventures in Brazzaville

I was able to get a few days off with a couple of really cool girls, Charissa and Becky, and the three of us decided to fly to the capital city of Brazzaville. I had to work Sunday morning and got off work around 3:30, at 4 that same afternoon we were headed to the airport. The flight itself was only 45 minutes long, but I still felt like it was a long day and was ready for bed at an earlier than usual hour. 

Hotel Bravo and one of the 4 wheel drive vehicles. 

Melissa is another guest who was there, then there is the couple who manages the house, her sister, and Roga. This picture was taken in the kitchen of the house, right before we started making our dinner Sunday night. 

Monday:

Two of us slept in a little bit on Monday morning before we started the days adventure. That day we were hoping to rent a vehicle and driver to visit Loufoulakari Falls. The driver at the Hotel Bravo was busy that day, but would be able to take us Tuesday. 

Instead we went to see the sights is Brazzaville that we wanted to check out. Now, Becky knows some French, but Roga came with us to help translate and show around. Roga was on of the translators for Mercy Ships, but he left to attend school in Brazzaville, but was kind enough to spend the day with us.

Our first stop Monday morning was to see the rapids on the Congo River right outside the city.

Charissa, Becky and I

Roga and I are watching the rapids and looking across the river and Kinshasa. 

 After spending some time at Les Rapides we were hoping to find a place where we would be able to rent a boat...how cool would it be to have a boat ride on the Congo River?!! Well, there also happens to be a restaurant that has boats and drivers you can rent. Off we go to the other side of town in search of this place. 

Well, we got a taxi and everything was going just fine...until traffic came to a complete stop. It was going nowhere, and so we sat.   

People finally started getting out of the cars and standing in the shade!!

Now, you may be thinking okay, normal traffic jam. There were five people packed into the car in the middle of the day. The sun was hot and not a breeze to be had...if I was made of wax I would no longer be in existence. Finally, traffic started moving again and we eventually made it to our destination. At this point we are so thirsty, so we stop at the lounge area of the restaurant for a nice cold drink of Coca Cola. It tasted so good!!!  

I had a moment where I started playing with my camera...there were lizards around that area sunbathing...this one was right by us, just chilling in the sun

 After we finished our drinks, we climbed into our boat...another dugout canoe with a motor on the back. 

Roga standing at the front of the boat.

We were required to wear these lovely bright orange, one size fits all life jackets...I guess it was for our safety. We stayed in the boat and out of the water.

At one point, our driver slowed down and stopped at an island. On this island in the middle of the river we found a village, the driver told us that we could walk around and so we did. It was actually lots of fun, because we started to play with the kids. 

                              Standing in the Kiterielle village square.

Becky and the kids.

This little girl started walking beside me and so I reached out my hand and she grabbed it, so we walked hand in hand.

Many of the older kids were very curious about us, but were to scared to get close. It was the first time they had ever seen a white person. They would want to get close and touch you, but at the same time they were scared. It was fun just to interact with them. Later we found out that it was our boat drivers village. 

We left the village and headed back to the restaurant. The scenery along the river was beautiful! 

Trees, grass, it was all so green.

A view of Kinshasa (capital of DRC) from our river trip.

After we got back to the restaurant we got into yet another taxi, and went up to the Basilique St. Anne. It's a beautiful church, with amazing architecture.

Basilique St. Anne

We finished walking about here, we walked through the streets and up to a painting school. The paintings were really good, high quality. Of course, we couldn't take pictures but it was really nice to walk around and enjoy the different techniques and textures of the paintings.

By the time we finished with that, we decided it was time to eat dinner. Off we went to a very popular local cafe. Dinner was good, and since it was also a French bakery we got dessert to go and croissants for breakfast the next morning. 

That night, we ate dessert back at the hotel and played skip-bo on the patio until going to bed. It was a good first day.

It was such an intense several games....

Tuesday:

The next morning it was an early start to the day. At 7 a.m. we were on the road to Loufoulakari Falls. It was 100 kilometers round trip, but we were driving on dirt roads for the most of it. 

We passed many houses and people, this was a small market that we drove passed.

Then there were areas that all you saw was the road and lush green landscape. 

After a 2 hour car ride we finally made it to Loufoulakari Falls where we stayed for 2 hours, then had another 2 hour drive back to Hotel Bravo. 

Loufoulakari Falls:
all I can say is how awesome is God and his creation!

At the top of the falls

Being just a little goofy...we were trying to get a group photo just prior to this picture and the branch kept getting in the way.

Sitting and watching the falls

The falls are 'U' shaped and this lone tree on a rock was at the very edge of the falls.

We are standing in the mist from the falls and ended up getting wet

We hiked down to the base of the falls and this is a view of the river from there.

At the top of the falls, it was breathtaking!! 

After going back to the hotel we showered and changed before going out to have a nice dinner and watch the sunset. 

Walking through the craft market on the way to dinner.

The Brazzaville Monument.

The sunset!

Totally Excited!!

There has been some amazing healing on D-Ward! LC is doing so much better that he was able to be discharged from the hospital. God is so amazing!! 

That was probably the most exciting news I have to share, but I'm also excited about a little trip I have coming up. Sunday evening I'm headed to the capital city of Brazzaville for a couple days with 2 other girls. We are just going to check it out, and do some exploring in other parts of Congo. 

I'm out of exciting news now...life on the ship is pretty much the same. Although, there have been some changes, the Christmas decorations are up. There are lots of activities leading up to Christmas. There is a door decorating contest, and all sorts of other Christmas activities. It should be lots of fun, so that is also exciting.