School Events

I realized recently that it I don't often share the fun things we do in Mercy Ships Academy! Each day is an adventure and a lesson in flexibility....but this allows for some very exciting and memorable events!

Pictures often tell the stories better so I'll highlight a few.


Spirit Day - Under the Sea! (Mercy Ships Academy Teachers)



Spirit Day - Twin Day ...the question everyone was asking "WHY and HOW do you have these outfits in your wardrobe to begin with?!"


The cutest twins by far....


We had an open house for all crew to come visit the Academy. My Grade 4 class performed a play they wrote called 'Herk'! They did a wonderful job!!


Our first field trip in South Africa! We watched a shark dissection!!

The kids here sacrifice alot of 'normal' things at home to be here...but it is so cool that they get to be blessed by all of these fun activities and experiences!

Water?

It has nearly been 2 months since we arrived in South Africa and moved off-ship to a land base almost 2 hours from Durban. We have just completed our first quarter of school and are (unofficially) on the countdown to Christmas!

We are currently living in a place called Appelsbosch which is Afrikaans for ‘Apple Bush’. That may give you a small hint as to our current living conditions! There have definitely been some adjustments we have had to make now that our home is no longer floating! Sometimes the only thing there is to do is…laugh!

One of the common conversations heard around the base is about water.
“Did you have water in your shower this morning?” “No, but floor 2 had just enough though it was nearly a drip when I was done” or “How many buckets of water did you need to use for your load of laundry?” Or, when there is water but only that which has been stored in the hot water heaters, strategies for showering start spreading!

Strategy 1 – Crouch on the bottom of the shower so that the water will cool from its boiling temperature before it hits your scalp.

Strategy 2 – Stand in the corner of the shower, hold out your hands to catch the water, and splash it onto yourself.

Strategy 3 – Use your hand as a sprinkler system to chop the water in many directions so that there is little direct contact between scalding water and your skin.

Strategy 4 - Don’t shower that day. Although if you choose this strategy, please use one of the above tomorrow.

The people in this area say that there has been a drought here for many years, which explains the shortage of water. If you watch the movie ‘Faith Like Potatoes’ (VERY highly recommended), you will see the area where we live right now! The story took place only 30 minutes from here!! It seems as though drought is a common difficulty the people in this area have dealt with for years.

Please pray for rain as we move into the heat of the summer months (Southern Hemisphere :0)!

Here are some pictures of where we are currently staying in South Africa.

To do...

Here is my 'To Do' list for September 2, 2010.
1. Pack up all personal belongings
2. Pack up classroom and all needed school supplies
3. Pack up anything else you or the nearest 150 people around you will need for the next few months.
4. Put all of the above into a moving truck at the bottom of the gangway.
5. Drive to your new home
6. Unpack all personal belongings, school, work, etc. from truck and carry it into your new home.
7. Settle in and call this new place 'home'.

Yes I definitely had major doubts that this could happen in one day when they first told us we were moving off-ship for a few months. I had absolutely no idea that when that group of 150 people joined forces, the impossible could be achieved...and with everyone still smiling by the end of the day! Yes our bones, muscles, joints and hands were fatigued....but we did it! For the next few months, we will be based on land in South Africa! The ship is needing some major repairs in order to increase the number of operating rooms that can be used for surgery. Our home (the ship) will be going into 'dry-dock' as it is taken out of the water for some serious surgery (how the roles of turned!)

Our new home in South Africa is beautiful. We have the most glorious sunrises and sunsets and an incredible landscape to wake up to each day. Our campus is located in a Zulu community so we are looking forward to building some great relationships with the people here! God has provided us a place where the ship-kids can finally run and play, climb trees, pet animals and really...just be kids! It is very exciting to see them adjusting to their new home.

Our task for the next week will be to get our school set up and in motion! Please pray for this process as there is alot of work to be done! This was an abandoned teacher's college from many years ago so as with any abandoned place, there are always glitches in trying to get it up and running again! We really are just thanking God for bringing us to this place as it is perfect accomodation for the crew while we are land based!

Thanks for your prayers!!!

Counting my blessings...

I had another one of 'those' moments yesterday. I was standing on an outside deck thinking...How did I get to be the one spending my birthday watching whales on the beautiful Indian Ocean, on a ship in Africa...right after my classroom has been completely TP'd (toilet papered) by my best international friend. Is this real life?

Just Keep Sailing

After having ‘been in’ Benin, being ‘gone’ to Ghana and getting ‘to go’ to Togo, we are now making the voyage to South Africa! The journey through the Atlantic has been exciting! The first few days of the sail were beautiful! I forgot how much I enjoyed sailing! We then spent a few days holding onto the constantly-moving environment and strapping ourselves into bed at night as the seas became quite rough! The seas have calmed again allowing for some beautiful days on the bow of the ship – watching for whales, dolphins, seals, sharks and yes….even penguins!
Contrary to what many would expect, being confined to a 500 foot ship surrounded only be water on all sides….is actually quite fun! Thanks to some very creative and fun crew members, there have been a lot of great activities!

1. A massive game of ‘gotcha’ proved to be nerve-wracking as we all watched our backs in the dining room and hallways, avoiding the crew member who had your name. I sacrificed my life (in the game of gotcha) to this dolphin…just when I turned to admire the dolphin….Squirt. GOTCHA!
2.The IMAX theatre really wouldn’t do Titanic justice as much as being ON a ship, hearing waves crash and feeling the cold breeze as Jack slips away into the cold abyss of an ocean while Rose passionately blows her whistle to alert the attention of the lifeboat that would come to her rescue. Never let go. Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” has never sounded so beautiful.

3. Hob Nob Olympics. Hob Nobs are cookies that are very effective for seasickness. Teams of 4 competed intensely at different events to win the Hob Nob box trophy. Here is our team…the Peptos. Another possible remedy for seasickness although I haven’t tested out this theory yet.
4.My list of teaching vocabulary has been extended…or maybe just ‘modified’.
a. “Hands to yourself” has become “two feet on deck!”
b. “Sit down in your chair” has become “try to hold your book down as you work
on the floor since your desks and chairs have toppled over”
c. “You feel sick? We’ll call your mom” has become “You feel sick? Watch the
horizon.”
d.“Recess!” has become “Whale watching time!”

5.‘Under/Over the Sea’ Day was our most recent spirit day. We had the entire cast of Spongebob join us as well as sailors, sea animals, ships, and seaweed.


6.Camping took on a whole new meaning when we had a girl’s sleepover on deck 8!

Just to name a few! Now we can see the beautiful coastline of South Africa! Land ho!

"She would have been trafficked...."

My family started sponsoring children when I was young. I was fascinated by the fact that we could write letters and be a part of someone's life who lived so far away! I really enjoyed writing to the children and sending family pictures! Each time I would write a letter I would imagine what it would be like to go and visit one of these children in their village. Well, this dream came true for me on Saturday!



We received a letter from one of the children (Catherine) while I was visiting home this summer. She wrote about her village and mentioned the name of it. Google maps brought me to realize that she was literally 2 hours away from where the ship is located right now in Togo! Catherine lives in a small village in the Volta Region of Ghana which is a bordering country to Togo. After a few emails back and forth with the organization, a meeting time was set and we were on our way!!

3 friends came along (Christina, Stephan, and Friedhelm) on the journey. We were picked up at the Togo/Ghana border early in the morning and made our way to the village. We were greeted by some people from the village and were taken to Catherine's house. We sat and talked (through translation) with Catherine, her 6 siblings, her mother, grandmother, uncle, the village Chief and 2 of the village elders.



They took us on a walk around her village, showing us the small lake where they wash their clothing, the well that provides the whole village with clean drinking water, and the school where Catherine goes (along with her 54 classmates and 500 other students from surrounding villages!). The government has agreed to put electricity in the village so there were some hydro poles (without wires still) around the village as well.





Catherine's village is one of the villages where an Ewe cultural practice called Trokosi is common. In this practice, young virgin girls are sent into fetish shrines to atone for the sins committed by their family members. These girls serve as sexual or domestic slaves for the fettish priests and never receive a payment. The Ghanaian government outlawed this practice in 1998 so IN Network has participated heavily in liberating these girls from the shrines. They have a rehabilitation center where the women learn new skills so they can start their own businesses in their villages. We were also able to tour this facility and meet some of the girls at the center.

It was so amazing to see the work that IN Network has been able to do in this community alone. God has used this organization powerfully to affect so many lives. The words are still ringing in my ears when I was told "If Catherine was not sponsored, she most likely would have been trafficked into Trokosi". It just breaks my heart to think of how many more young girls there are in the world where the reality of trafficking is the only future that exists for them right now. When will this reality end?

Back to School!

Tomorrow marks the first day back to school for the kids on the Africa Mercy!
I am honoured to teach Grade 4 this year. We had an Open House event for the kids and families on board to check out the new classrooms and meet the new teachers! Our Grade 4/5 class this year is 'detective' themed! Here are some pictures!

From one home to another...

Ahoy matees! I arrived back on board on Sunday evening after 25 hours of flying, driving, and of course, lots of walking! It is good to be back on the ship. We've swung right into work mode with school starting up on Monday! I will be teaching Grade 4 this year in a brand new (much bigger) classroom! :) I am very excited for this new challenge!

Having been surrounded by close friends and family at home the last few weeks, I really have come away feeling refreshed and ready to tackle another year on board the Africa Mercy. I have been so encouraged by everyone and have realized why exactly I was so excited to come home! One of the questions I was asked a lot when I was home was ‘are you culture shocked?!’ The quick answer to this was ‘yep, definitely’.

There were times where I would stand in shock thinking….”I must have lived the past year of my life in another reality altogether.” It really feels like such a different world. I think the most culture shock I have experienced during my time at home, has been the reality that two VERY different worlds can co-exist on the same earth.

On my first flight, I sat beside a young boy with the newest clothing, fully equipped with an Ipod touch, a gaming system and a brand new VERY NICE cell phone. We looked through a plane magazine that tried to convince us that we needed a self cleaning cat litter box, a small robot, video taping sunglasses and an indoor turf box for the puppy…..duty free!

Did I really just spend a few hours in a metal flying object that placed me back in a world where food is only a mere possibility for someone? A world where the contaminated water someone will drink will contribute to the rapid flesh eating disease they are experiencing? Or the tumour that is increasing in size daily on their face?

Its hard to fathom that these worlds really do exist simultaneously- that our primary concern CAN be ‘how can I get the cat litter box to clean itself?’

Shocking?… yep, definitely.

When the lame walk....

Sometimes pictures really do say more than 1000 words ever could.

This is Abel...

Held...In her Father's arms

Words seem so hard to find. Anicette was taken into her Father's arms on Monday morning (http://alirae.net/blog/archives/371-speak.html) . Heaven rejoices to have such a precious little girl join them. Her family left to grieve and return to their village, empty and broken. We can only pray that they too, would be held in the arms of the Father.

Held (Natalie Grant)
Two months is too little
They let him go
They had no sudden healing
To think that providence
Would take a child from his mother
While she prays, is appalling
Who told us we'd be rescued
What has changed and
Why should we be saved from nightmares
We're asking why this happens to us
Who have died to live, it's unfair

This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held

This hand is bitterness
We want to taste it and
Let the hatred numb our sorrows
The wise hand opens slowly
To lilies of the valley and tomorrow

This is what it means to be held
How it feels, when the sacred is torn from your life
And you survive
This is what it is to be loved and to know
That the promise was when everything fell
We'd be held

Hold them Father. Please, just hold them.

Anicette

I mentioned this little baby in a previous blog. Here is an update...please pray for the beautiful baby girl, Anicette.




This is taken from my friend Ali's blog...
http://alirae.net/blog/archives/370-baby-ani.html

Jehovah Jireh...my provider.

"You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus." (Philippians 4:19, The Message)

It was only my second day on the ship when the principal of the Academy, Nikki, told us about her dream to take the teaching staff to a Christian Education conference in Kenya over the Easter break. The conference would give us the opportunity to network with many other missionary schools around Africa, attend MANY workshops about effectively teaching "third-culture kids" in a Christian environment and just a chance to get away as a staff and grow professionally, spiritually and as a team.

For a couple of months, we would hear of groups of people who were considering full support for us to go. It often seemed as though we were on a roller coaster of 'Yes, we are going! Oh wait...maybe not". As a teaching staff of 12 supported missionaries, paying for this conference individually was just not going to be possible. Yet we continued to pray that if God wanted us to go, He would provide the way.

With only about 4 weeks before the conference, we realized that a final decision was necessary. We brainstormed ways to try to fundraise the money we needed to go to this conference. This brainstorming session lead to, among other ideas, an Auction of Dreams, with each teacher providing a service that other crew members could 'buy' with the money going towards the conference/travel costs. Here are some pictures of the event.


Ben, our PE teacher and auctioneer for the evening!


Estelle (Kindergarten teacher) and I decided to perform a little "whistle while you work" song and dance for our 'Maid For A Day' service.


Kim (English High School Teacher) showing the homemade bagels (made by husband of the Grade 1 teacher-Shelly)


Haley (Grade 4/5 teacher), offering a weekend breakfast and lunch service.

In total, there were 24 items/services auctioned off. We thank God SO much for those who participated in our auction! He has, through many servant-hearted people, provided in full. We are going to Kenya!!

French

My family will attest to the fact that I have never been a fan of French. I guess I understand why it is taught in school as Canada is officially a 'bilingual' country. However, my childish eyes were never able to see the value in learning French, as I always imaginined myself remaining in Ontario, a predominantly English province.

My oldest brother has always been passionate for the language. I gave him alot of grief about the hours he would spend repeating French phrases from the computer in his room, adjoined to my room by a thin, non-soundproof wall. I now wish that I had listened harder.

I remember the general phrases to 'get by'.
Bonjour. Je m'appelle Danae. Comment t'appelle tu? Au revoir.
But by saying these, people get excited that you know French...and continue in French conversations. Problem.
"Je ne parle pas français" is not a fun response to the excitement.

I still find it quite humourous that God placed me in Benin and Togo, where the national language is French. I think God wanted to teach me a lesson about those who are stubborn. Or maybe a lesson about humility (Danae pre-Mercy Ships: "I can get by with English JUST fine!")

This said, I have a prayer request.
I have approached our Staff Development department and have joined the team of people learning French via Rosetta Stone- a wonderful computer program for those wanting to learn a new language! I've been quite consistent in my lessons and so far, have been learning quite a bit! In fact, I was very encouraged today when I went to church and could translate certain words in my head before the translator would say them aloud.

But I have a long way to go. I really desire to be able to know enough French to at least understand those I interact with here. I would LOVE to be able to have conversations with the Togolese children I am tutoring in a local village.

I never thought I would say this (and Calvin, if you are reading this, I apologize from deep in my heart for not listening to your wise advice about learning French)but I would LOVE to speak French!

Serve.

I will admit, my first few months on the ship in Benin were a huge time of adjustment: adjusting to ship life, meeting new people, and above all, wrapping my head around how to apply what I had spent the last 4 years learning in school and actually teach a classroom of children. On top of this task, the Academy is going through an accreditation process with ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International) which requires more paperwork, meetings and well….just time.

Honestly, my expectations of working on the Africa Mercy were wonderful…but a little unrealistic. I imagined myself teaching during the day and then having the opportunity to go out and serve the people of West Africa in my free time. I wanted to get involved with every ministry and visit the hospital patients daily. I wanted to build relationships with the local people and really begin to understand a day in the life of someone from Benin (and now Togo). Like I said, wonderful expectations! After spending countless hours on weekends and evenings in my classroom, frustrated that I wasn’t getting the opportunity to SERVE as much as I had wanted to, God began to show me what it really means to serve. He really began to teach me what it means to be a part of the ‘Body of Christ’.

In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.
Romans 12:4-6, The Message


I realized that my first and foremost purpose in being on board the Africa Mercy, was to teach. I began to have a peace that by ‘being what I was made to be’ and doing what I was called to do, that I really WAS serving the poor of West Africa. God wasn’t expecting me to do my ‘job’ and THEN start serving after hours…but instead He was expecting me to serve Him by doing by best at what He called me to do.

The beautiful thing about this realization was that it somehow gave me greater purpose. And in feeling a deeper purpose, I began to have more passion and energy. God has begun to open up opportunities to actually use the additional passion and energy to get involved with the local people and join land-based ministries. He is showing me how to have balance to do both now.

With his strength. In His timing. With the passion He places in my heart.

Up and Running!

The Togo outreach is now in full swing! This week marked the first surgeries on board with hundreds more to follow! Screening days have been taking place throughout various parts of Togo and surgery dates are being set for many people who have been without hope of healing for many years.

It has been very exciting to explore the new country and compare its similarities and differences with Benin. I've enjoyed arriving in a new country and not experiencing extreme culture shock! In the near future, I will be tutoring some local children in French (please pray!) and some English. I am very excited to build relationships with these kids and just be a part of the community here!

This morning, a group of us went to a church in a fishing village close-by. This church was planted in 1995, when the Anastasis Mercy Ship was here in Togo. We were honoured to attend this service with the crew member who planted the church! The vibrant worship, welcoming people and faith-filled leaders made me begin to feel like this may just become my 'home-church' while here in Togo. Thankfully, they are willing to teach this white-girl to dance like no-one is watching :D! God is really working in this church and the surrounding village!

Please continue to keep the outreach in prayer! The Togo elections have now been postponed to March 4 so please pray for a fair and peaceful election process! Also, please keep the screening process in prayer...that those who are hidden away or have been cast out of their society would hear and come!

Tel em tenki, tel em. Tel Papa God tenki!!!

On January 31st, we left Tenerife for our sail to Togo, West Africa. The sail started out on some very rough seas…which didn’t sit well with my tummy! This time around, we were teaching in our classrooms during the sail. It made for some very interesting lessons when we would be mid-topic and all of the sudden, the desks would be clear of any books, pencils, markers, scissors, Kleenex boxes etc. that had previously been there! One morning I woke up to find my ‘secured’ classroom in absolutely disarray!

I’ve always heard that ‘flexibility’ is an important trait to have in the teaching profession…teaching on a sailing ship really brings this to light! When the speaker system sounds and we hear “dolphins on port side”, we can’t help but run (or walk quickly) from wherever we are to spot the dolphins!

On February 3, we arrived in Togo!! We were greeted by a crowd of singing, dancing and cheering Togolese people!! What a beautiful welcoming! I had chills as we all sang the familiar songs they played that we had missed so much during our time away from Africa! Our first night here, a group of us went on a walk on the solid ground of Togo. It took a lot of concentration to switch back to French as we’ve been speaking Spanish for the last month! Our Gracias’ become Merci’s and our Hola’s become Bonjours! The people here seem lovely and very friendly. Thankfully the port has been incredible accommodating and has given us a section of the port blocked off from zooming traffic and cranes with swinging containers! It has already been taken advantage of by the crew, doing sports and jogs and a lot of other fun activities.



Please keep this outreach in prayer as we begin surgeries in the coming week! Also, on February 28, there will be a presidential election in Togo. Please pray that this will be a calm and peaceful election and that everyone will be kept safe during this time. How cool is it that God would bring in 400 extra Christians to pray (and to have teams of people praying behind them all over the world!) during a time like this!

Terrific Times in Tenerife

It seems redundant to begin again with “Its been so long since my last blog!” and “Wow time flies!” but in all honesty, that’s exactly how I feel! Ever since we sailed away from Benin in December to dock in Tenerife, Canary Islands for a month, time has raced ahead and left me trying eagerly to keep up!

The Africa Mercy was blessed to be able to dock in the Canary Islands while it was cleaned up, stocked up, fixed up and prepped up for the beginning of a new outreach!
During our sail from Benin to Tenerife, I was able to co-direct the Christmas Play for the Mercy Ships Academy! The kids did an OUTSTANDING job!!! Dancing on a swaying ship added an extra challenge for the students but they handled it like stars! I couldn’t believe how much talent these kids have! If we were a cruise ship, there would be stellar entertainment potential haha! The sail was incredible. We saw loads of dolphins, whales, and flying fish! We also had the opportunity to watch a meteor shower in perfectly clear skies, in the middle of the ocean, with zero light pollution. I will never forget that night. God became more real than ever to me as I watched the millions of stars shoot across the massive sky.
Wow God. Wow.

Our time in Tenerife was lovely! The scenery we were blessed with and the lovely cooler temperatures (ok…in the 20s likely doesn’t sound all THAT cool to you guys right now…but it felt wonderful to us!) made our time there relaxing and rejuvenating! Christina’s dad came for our two weeks of vacation from the school and took us on adventures all around the islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria! It was unforgettable! The pictures can’t even do justice for the beauty and splendour we experienced while we were there.


Here is the ship docked in Tenerife!



Incredible views from the tops of mountains!




Thank you God for giving us this time in Tenerife to be recharged for the next outreach!!