Potty Talk and a Tour

Is there anything that you do on a routine basis that you just dread doing? For some time,I have been wanting to share with you what it is that now fills me with anxiety each time I must do it. And it is something as every-day as going to the bathroom! In fact, it IS the very necessity of sitting on the commode that I have begun to dread! No longer will I risk "meditating" on the throne while reading the latest "Guidepost" or Oswald Chambers' daily inspiration from My Utmost for His Highest. The reason being...our toilet seems to be alive! It very often, VERY OFTEN, has indigestion! I discovered this fact soon after we moved into our cabin on the Africa Mercy. It didn't take long for me to understand that at any given moment, the toilet could belch and splash up onto my backside! Can you imagine???!!!

One day last week the commode became clogged. The ship uses a vacuum system to draw the waste water out of the toilets. So, that means you can't plunge it like you normally would. We tried to flush several times, but to no avail. Our next plan was to avoid it for awhile. We would go forward on the ship or down a couple of decks to the public restrooms. After we had left the toilet alone for about a day, John and I were in the bed and heard the loudest belch-gurgle-spew and then FLUSSHHH! The potty lived happily ever after....that night!

I have yet to ask the plumber what causes this phenomenon, but we suspect the sewage gases just need to vent!? I HAVE asked our friends if their toilets offend in this way, but no one admits that they do. Maybe they're just protecting their potties' reputations! Or is ours the only one with "potty-mouth"?

And now, on with a tour of our cabin....These images were obtained using John's wide angle lens. As you enter the cabin, the bathroom is on the right and both kid-rooms are to the left. (David has been caught exiting the WC and appears to have just washed his hands. Good boy!)

The kitchen is straight in through the entry-way and the living-room/dining room/parents' room is through the kitchen. The computer sits on a pull out shelf in the kitchen area.

The offending commode looking very subdued...

The kids' rooms have bunk beds mounted on the walls. Bethany has flipped up the upper bunk to allow more head space while on her bed and more light for her stuffed animals & projects.The couch transforms into John and Jenny's bed.

We are beginning to feel like we are home. The people in our small village on board are becoming familiar as we work and play with each other. This past weekend we had a grand cookout and lots of games on the dock as we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the birth of Mercy Ships. We were blessed to hear testimony of the Lord's faithfulness through the years to all who have had a part in the ministry. And tribute was paid to all the beautiful vessels that have carried thousands of crew members to be hope and healing to the poor in Jesus' name.

Jenny