Terra Firma

In June we left the ship to return to North Carolina. We said goodbye to our friends who have become family to us and headed for the airport. It was a tearful time for all of us and it was pretty hard to watch our children say very difficult goodbyes to their friends. We will be living in western North Carolina and offering assistance to John’s parents as needed, as they face challenging aging issues. We’re very excited to be of service to our family and just to be able to spend time with them, as they are also transitioning to the same area.

Even though our time on the ship is over for now, Jenny will still be volunteering with Mercy Ships by assisting the Programs Department with Hospital Standards, Policies and Procedures. The details of her involvement are still under construction, but we believe that it is going to be possible for her to collaborate remotely to help move this project forward. She is very excited to remain involved with the hospital on the Africa Mercy which also gives those who graciously support us financially the opportunity to also stay involved.

So, now we are facing the next chapter in the life of our family. We are in the midst of a major transition, trying to get our lives back together here in the U.S. Our three kids are enrolled in schools in western North Carolina, but we are still looking for a place to live there. We have one car now and we have cell phones for communication. We are making pretty slow progress, but I hope in a few months I will be well on my way toward generating an income and that Jenny can have a supplemental part-time or occasional work at a local surgical hospital scrubbing and circulating (that's what she really loves and she needs to maintain her practical O.R. skills).

Before we left Sierra Leone it was business as usual on the ship for us with Jenny working as O.R. manager and me doing photography. Business as usual except for challenges with very dense traffic, water shortages on the ship and in the community, daily blocked air conditioning intakes due to the huge volume of plastic trash in the water (that required our ship's divers to daily remove trash from the intakes), and a few other not so usual kinds of challenges. Sierra Leone has been an exceptionally challenging field service for the crew of the Africa Mercy. The country had its big 50th independence day celebration while we were there and I had an opportunity to get to know some of the members of the Sierra Leone Single Leg Amputee Soccer Club, a very inspiring group of positive-thinking guys, most of whom lost legs to violent men during the recent civil war, who get together and play soccer on Saturday mornings.
We had an interesting trip home too. The trip to the airport was a real adventure. We rode in a convoy of ship vehicles to the Government Wharf, transferred to the ferry (with all of our bags containing what we could bring home of our clothes and household items, etc. - ugh!), transferred from the ferry to our ride (organized by the ship) on the other shore, and then finally through security and the check-in counters at Lungi Airport. Actually I was quite amazed at how well the whole process went, we were blessed to have a lot of honest guys help with bags and such. It could have so easily been a fiasco, but it wasn't that bad.

Eventually we arrived in Brussels for our 6 hour layover after a 2 hour stay on the tarmac in Banjul, The Gambia (a man had to be evacuated from the plane there due to a medical emergency). Our plan for our layover was to meet the O'Briens, friends that we know from our time in the military in Italy . Before we met them, David had complained of abdominal pain and fainted twice, once in the airplane as we were disembarking in Brussels and once in the floor in the airport terminal. We had seen the crew physician on the ship just the day before and knew he had some abdominal issues of some sort, but had been assured it was okay to travel. Our connecting flight to Washington, D.C. had been delayed 8 hours because of heavy turbulence on its previous flight. I was not comfortable with pushing David any more after having flown all night so I just asked if we could reschedule our flight for the next day, same time. No problem. What a blessing that delay was for us! The O'Briens invited us to overnight at their house and that afforded us a great opportunity to really reconnect with them. We had already been regretting the fact that we hadn't remembered that they were living in Belgium until after we had purchased our airline tickets. Our kids really enjoyed hanging out with their kids as well and we adults even got to visit the Neuhaus Belgian Chocolate outlet! What a wonderful visit we had!!!

David seemed better the next morning. We boarded the train for the 45 minute ride back to the airport. David had to visit the toilet and passed out again in the bathroom, and then again after we returned to our seats on the train. Bethany was very concerned about all of this and I must admit it was a bit unsettling to us adults too. When we arrived at the airport I was thinking of leaving David with Jenny in Belgium with our friends til David could see a doctor. At about that time we passed right by the airport clinic! We walked in and in 5 minutes David had been examined by the physician, given a prescription for some gas pills and we had been reassured for the second time that he would be okay to travel home. How good God had been to us to provide a free extended layover, a great 24 hours to rest with great friends, and a physician to see David at a moment's notice. We didn't plan any of it and yet He provided it all so beautifully.

The rest of the trip went well. Bethany had a bit of fear as we boarded our small plane from Washington to Greensboro. None of us had seats together on that flight and because I had not checked in at the gate right away, I almost got bumped. A kind lady had offered to switch seats with Bethany, so I had the window seat and Bethany was next to me in the isle seat. She was very nervous on take-off and wanted me to close the window. I delayed just a moment and there appeared a brilliant rainbow in the clouds out our window. I was able to reassure her through that that God did care about her just as He did mankind when He promised that He would not destroy them again as he had done with the flood. How nice to see that symbol of hope and love in the sky at just that time when Bethany was afraid.

When we arrived in Greensboro, Jenny's parents picked us up in a stretch Hummer limousine. Pop, Jenny's dad, works some in his retirement for the Black Tie Transportation company. We were not expecting that kind of treatment, but it was really nice, if not a bit surreal after our time in Africa. I know many would shudder, but we had to park the stretch Hummer at McDonald's for a burger. The things you miss, huh?!

For the past three years, whether in our work, school or community, we have been challenged to “serve wholeheartedly, as if (we) were serving the Lord, not men” (Eph. 6:7). There have been joyful days and stressful days, but we have grown in faith and love with our international family on the Africa Mercy. It still amazes us that such a ministry can function with people from so many different cultures coming together to live and work. It's success is evidence that the Lord has built the house. We give Him all the glory!

John