Oops... did I do that.

I found out today that old celery, lettuce, and black olives are not items that should be flushed down the toilet here on the Africa Mercy. I think I temporally lost my mind for about 2 minutes today. Those 2 minutes of temporary insanity caused an hrs worth of work for the plumber to reverse. I told them I had no excuses I just wasn't thinking. I guess I figured that since the toilets make such loud suction noises every time you flush them that meant that they would also make great garbage disposals. WRONG!

Bodily Waste and Toilet Paper ONLY!
Sorry!

Docked !?!

We are docked! The picture above is of our dock. In order for us to get to shore we have to jump from post to post and hope we don't lose our balance and fall into the water. Port officials told us they would get it fixed by the end of the month which means in African time by the end of the field service. Only in West Africa is this acceptable.......good thing I have been practicing my Tae Bo on the sail and have built up fairly good balancing skills. I tell you what!

HAHAHAH Only Kidding. Well about the picture of the dock that is.

It is true that we are docked in Cotonou, Benin. However I have not stepped foot on ground yet. We were not cleared with immigrations and health inspectors until 8:00 this evening. By that time is was dark and made no sense to wonder out into an unknown country just for the sake of wondering. So on the ship I continue to sit. I hope tomorrow I will get time to get off and explore this intriguing new city. Not much else to report at this time.

So close...yet so far.

Those lights you see in the horizon, that would be Benin. Due to engine problems that have not been fixed yet we are currently at anchor just off the coast of Cotonou. The faults were discovered right before we set in for our approach to the port. Although we will spend another night at sea..... I am thankful the problems were discovered before we attempted to dock. Maybe tomorrow I will set my feet on solid ground and then again maybe not. At least we are safe.... and we can see our new city in the distance.

The Calm before the Storm. Arrival Day 9am

As I sit here in my office trying to do work I find my mind other places. Places that are unknown, unfamiliar, unaware, new, different, challenging, exciting, scary, and so much more. I can't help but feel like this very moment is the calm before the storm. In just an hour or so we will begin our approach into Cotonou, Benin. Once there we will dock and an hour and a half later we will find ourselves in the middle of a welcoming ceremony that is suggested to last up to 4 hours. After that the crazy storm will begin. The next few weeks will be filled with unpacking, setting up, and settling in.

This morning I was sitting on my bed reading my Bible and drinking a cup of coffee trying to gather and sort through my thoughts, emotions, nerves, and excitement for this upcoming day.

In the next room my roommate Carmen was doing the same. I heard her call my name and as I went in to see what she wanted she smiled and said read this, it is my devotional reading for the day Mark 6:53-56:

53When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. 55They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.

Amazed, I returned to my room and finished reading my devotion for the day Isaiah 40, which I have read many times before, but today it comforted me in a way I had never experienced before:

28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

I find God so complex yet so simple at times and I love to be surprised each new day with how it is He chooses to reveal himself to us.

Pray that the people of Benin see Jesus through us and pray that our strength will not be dependant on our own strength but on the strength of the only one who is everlasting. The only one who NEVER grow tired or weary.

First Glimpse

We are arriving tomorrow in BENIN...Praise Jesus! 9 days at sea is too much for me.

I thought I would let you all get a first glimpse at our new dental clinic. These pictures were emailed to me from the advanced team who has been stationed in Benin since November working all the details for the field service out. Wednesday the dental team hopes to drive out to our clinic so we can visually see how things are going to work. Thursday and Friday we hope to start set up. :)

More to come after we ARRIVE tomorrow!

Sailing Update:

We are getting closer. We are now in Ghanaian Territory.

If you look at the map you will notice we have Ghana-Togo- then BENIN....... Monday is coming.

Top left corner...Canary Islands is where we started over a week ago and Benin is were we are ending Monday.

Killer Whales

This morning we were cruising along the waters of Ivory Coast and Shamu was spotted really close to the ship.