It is Time

Well, after a lot of preparation, it is time for me to fly to the U.S. I will leave late tonight (or early tomorrow). I will miss all of you who live on the ship, especially my family and my good friend Iona. Today I took Xavier to Mc Donald's and the park so we could spend some time together before I left. Out of all my brothers, Xavier is taking my coming departure the hardest, probably since he is not old enough to understand how long a year is or when he will see me again.

Xavier and I

Xavier playing on the toys by Mc Donald's

Please pray that my mom, my brother, and I will have safe travels and experience God's traveling mercies. Please pray that we will all have a wonderful summer, and that I will have a good time in France. Thank you all for reading my blog and being supportive!

Land Ho!

On Thursday night we arrived in Gran Canaria. We were very excited to see a developed country after ten months in West Africa and about five days at sea. The first thing my family did when we got off ship was go to Mc Donald's. For the past few days we have been walking in town, going to parks, and shopping. The Canary Islands are a great place for the crew to rest and refuel in preparation for the next field service.



The view of Gran Canaria as we pulled in

A Mercy Ships family waving Spanish flags

Eli and Malachi enjoying Mc Donald's

Malachi being silly

Us kids standing on a balcony at the mall

Xavier playing at a park

Two events that have impacted our stay in Gran Canaria are the dangerous shipyard and the other ship tied alongside us. As you can see in the picture, the dock is not a safe place. There are a lot of machines that work there. Because of this, children are not allowed to walk through the shipyard. We have to drive out of the port in a land rover and then walk once we are outside the gates. This makes going off ship a little more complicated for families. Also, and old ship has been moored alongside the Africa Mercy. This has not mattered to me so far, but it made extra work for the captain and deck crew.



Our dock

The ship that is alongside us





These slight challenges have not lessened my gladness -almost awe- at being in a first-world country again. There are crosswalks, public trash cans, clean streets, beautiful fountains and flowerbeds, and many other small things that many people take for granted, but I know are amazing luxuries that make life more enjoyable and safe. Next time you take a walk or go for a drive, remember to thank God for all the little blessings you see on the way!

Sailing

The Africa Mercy has left Guinea! We are sailing to the Canary islands. We have had a good field service, but I am excited to be going to the U.S soon so I can see my grandparents and cousins. Here are some pictures of what I have been doing recently.

The view of  the port as we left Guinea

My brother Eli, my friend Jessica, and I watching our ship pull away from the dock

 

 

 

 

A worship service on the bow (front of the ship)

Xavier resting on my dad's shoulder during worship

Eli and Malachi on the bow

The view off the side of the ship

Summer Plans

School has been out for a few days now, so my family and I have gotten started on our summer plans. My brother Eli is working in the galley for his summer project until he goes to the U.S with my mom. He helps out by washing dishes, peeling and cutting veggies, and cooking. I have been babysitting my brother Xavier as well as Stephen, a busy little one and a half year old. I am also helping Malachi with his summer project by teaching him his U.S states and capitals. Another thing Malachi is working on is his typing skills. My dad is working his job and filling in for his boss at the same time. My mom is, well, being a mom.

In June I will fly to North Carolina to stay with my friend Bethany for a week and a half. Then I will go to Washington State to visit my grandma and cousins. My mom and Eli will be in Washington as well. In July my mom and I will go to Texas so I can get my visa to France. Then we will go back to Washington. My mom and brother will return to the ship in mid July. I will stay in the U.S until mid August when I will go to France.

One activity I will be doing in Washington is visiting a monastery on Shaw island for two weeks. I will stay in a guest house and help the nuns on the farm. I might repair fences, feed animals, clean stalls, or even learn to make cheese!

This summer includes a lot of moving around, but I know it will be all the more fun because of all the different places and people I will visit.

Youth Group!

Last weekend we had a fun and different youth group night. We played various games involving food. First we played "Chubby Chihuahuas." Each of us had a large handful of jalapeno pepper slices. The youth leaders played a song called Roxanne. Each time we heard the word Roxanne in the song we had to put a jalapeno slice in our mouth. If you spit out your mouthful of peppers or swallowed them, you were out. Whoever was left at the end won. It turned out, there were actually three tied winners: me, Nathan, and Ethan.

Us putting the peppers in our mouths

Next we went upstairs. The youth group leaders laid on the ground below and we made their faces into ice cream sundaes by dropping ice cream, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and sprinkles down onto them.



The youth group leaders getting sprinkles poured on them

Allison, one of the youth leaders, with sauce and sprinkles on her

 

We found partners for the third game. We spread peanut butter all over our faces and our partner had to throw sprinkles at us.



Another game we played included bowls of pudding with wrapped chocolate coins in the bottom. We had to lay down with our hands behind our backs and eat all the pudding. When only the coins were left, we had to unwrap them with our mouths and eat them!

Me trying to unwrap the coin with my mouth

There was a lot of cleanup to do after the games. Then we went home to shower. Finally, we split into boys and girls and had separate movie nights. I think that it was the most interesting and fun youth night yet!

All the youth and leaders that participated

Note: The pictures in this post were not taken by me, but by another person in the youth group.

Scholarship

I got an e-mail recently saying that I have received a small scholarship from CIEE. It is not as substantial as I was hoping, but every little bit counts! I only have two more weeks of selling cookies before school gets out and the ship sails. I know that God is -and will continue- providing for me. I am getting excited for France next year. Please keep praying!

Sweet Sixteen???

Last week my parents said that we were having a 'family night' this Friday. They would not tell my brothers and I what we were going to do, because they wanted it to be a surprise. When Friday the 19th came, my mom told my three brothers and I to go down to the dock and get into a car because we were going out. This happened just after dinner. We were all excited because my parents rarely take us places off ship unless it is a weekend. In the car, my mom gave us a hint. She told us to "think about the date it is today." None of us knew what significance April 19 had.

Before long we arrived at the Riviera hotel. Then my mom explained everything. She said we were going to have desert at the Riviera because it was my 15 and a half birthday! Since I am going to be in France for my sixteenth birthday, she thought our family should celebrate together on my half-birthday before I left!

While we were waiting for our deserts to come, we played with the kittens that live at the Riviera. Since we are not allowed pets on the ship, it is exciting when we get to see animals.




Xavier holding a cat

 



Malachi holding a cat


When the deserts arrived, there were four different dishes that we passed around so that each person got some of each desert. One desert was a cake filled with chocolate sauce. The second desert was a small apple pie. The third was a chocolate mousse with orange flavor. The last desert was a bar that had fudge, cake, and nuts in layers.



The chocolate filled cake



The apple pie

 







 

The chocolate mousse



 



The fudge/cake bar



At the end of the evening, my mom surprised me with a gift. She gave me two necklaces, one with a heart and one with a key.



The two necklaces

The necklaces were kind of cheesy, but I really appreciated that my family was thinking of me. I had fun at my 'party.' I am going to miss them when I'm in France.




My brother Eli and I at the Riviera