Unexpected, and pleasantly so :)

Ok - So I had this whole plan to post a blog about the month of May and all the great people we've met  and cool places we've been, but I just can't even type any of that right now. 

I'm currently sitting across from Patrick as he reads off name after name from our donor site of all the people who have chosen to support our Mercy Ships journey. I am so incredibly stunned right now. Like I literally can't stop smiling and crying here at our friendly neighborhood Starbucks... lol, I think I'm freaking people out. The list is long, and surprising! Made up of both close friends and family, and people we haven't seen in years. People we didn't even think to ask and people much more financially tight than we are. All of these beautiful people saying in one strong voice that they believe in what we're doing enough to give what they have to send us out. It's insanely humbling. 

The crazy part is that we are already halfway to our need being met, in less than a month! We had hoped for this kind of outflowing, but never did we anticipate where it would come from. Just when I think I know how things are going to come about, God has a way of taking my expectations and flipping them on their head. So instead of trying to guess the how, I think I ought to focus on expressing my thanks as best I can. Some gifts can feel too great; I often feel that by putting words to my thanks, the gift is somehow diminished. But there is freedom in calling a gift what it is, and not being ashamed to receive when a cause is just. That by naming it, by thanking the giver, the need is actually dignified, the receiver is free from indebtedness, and the giver in turn is blessed by the acknowledgement that the gift cannot be repaid. Nor should it, if I dare say so - which frees us to pass it on! Ok, enough of my ramblings on this for now, though I can't promise there won't be more in the future :)

So about that month of May!

We've had our heads down, working away like busy bees (on opposite shifts, might I add). But we've managed to sneak in a few fun excursions around Maryland. And to my surprise, I think I really like this state! It's incredibly green and lush in the interior, but also has these vast sandy beaches - NOT what I expected to find. Below are some snapshots of our last few weeks of adventures, enjoy!

First major league baseball game together!

Camden yard is awesome, let's go O's!

One of the special finds of my time at Johns Hopkins has been a gal named Jessica. She and her husband and two lovely puppy dogs treated us to a hike, east coast style!

The backseat crew on our way to Harper's Ferry

Along the Appalachian trail!

Our fearless leaders, Jessica and Ruddy!

She needed a dunk in a big way, panting girl!

Our latest adventure was a post-Labor day trip to the coast. This entailed a three hour drive from Baltimore over the Chesapeake Bay and to the very edge of this land. The weather was amazing, and the beach incredible! Our only regret is not packing the sunscreen, lol

Road trip to Ocean City!

Giddy kite-flyer :))

Strange wall of crazy

Our kite!

Soakin' up the Atlantic sun!

Next up: The much-anticipated west coast jaunt for the sister's wedding, I can hardly contain my excitement!!

The Mercy Ships journey to come

As I type this it's past 2:00 am and I'm sitting alone in our apartment's wifi lounge listening to my Hans Zimmer pandora channel. My husband is at work, my dog passed out hours ago: such is the life of a night shifter. I will tell you, working nights is one of the more isolating but also liberating experiences I've had. There is this abundance of alone time, which can feel quite suffocating. But on the other hand, you're able to fill that time with all the right stuff, if you have the willpower. And one of the biggest thoughts filling my time right now is Mercy Ships.

Mercy Ships...once this far off thing that could maybe happen someday is now this fast-approaching reality that we will join in just four short months. I've been looking forward to this for years, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't freaking out a little bit, lol. I had promised more details about this endeavor, and I believe now is that time. 

Back in nursing school days, I heard one of the gals from Whitworth mention an organization called Mercy Ships. She said it was a global charity that provided free healthcare to the poor in places like Africa via cruise ships turned hospitals. They performed surgeries, mended congenital deformities and the wounds inflicted by war. And everyone onboard these ships, from doctors to janitors, not only does their job for free, they actually PAY to be there.

What?? 

I had never heard of anything like this. At the time, I knew that I had picked nursing for more than just a future paycheck. I wanted to do something meaningful, to touch people's lives. And I had already been bitten by the travel bug. So I was fascinated by these extraordinary people who would give their time and money to be part of such a worthy cause so very far from home. "Someday," I told myself, "I will do that..."

Flash forward some six years. Since graduating from college I have moved more than half a dozen times, worked in four excellent hospitals, and married the husband I never thought I would, to my great delight!! And through all these changes, Mercy Ships has never been far from my thoughts. But it wasn't until Pat came along that it felt like a tangible dream. Here was the person I had been waiting for, the someone who could come alongside me and do this adventure with me! What a beautiful gift.

And now it comes to it. The plane tickets are purchased. In four months, we will actually go. What a strange feeling; to be on the brink of something you've only imagined for so long. And with this shift from imagined to realized comes the real life preparation - the vaccines, the insurance, the goodbyes you know you'll say, albeit hopefully just temporarily. And the finances - Lord knows this in itself is a sizable mental adjustment. Saying you'll do your job for free for three months and actually doing it are two very different things. 

So after much thought and prayer, Patrick and I are doing something we never do (writing letters) to ask our family and friends for something we never ask for (money). It may sound silly, but this is one of the most intimidating things I've ever done. I'm a grown adult. I pride myself on being self-sufficient. So it takes a significant amount of humility for me to ask others for help, no matter how awesome the cause.

I've never been one for fear. I find it to be an unreliable emotion; quick to betray you, make you imagine the worst. But if I'm honest, I'm afraid that we will come up short here. That somehow this will all fall thru and we won't be able to go after all. But, a dear friend of mine once told me that fear is just unbelief. Do I believe that we are meant to do this? Do I believe that God will take care of us? The answer must be yes. And if that's the case, then there's really nothing to be afraid of at all. He's already got it covered :)

-Emily

PS: If you'd like to come alongside us, please visit our donor website!

http://mercyships-us.donorpages.com/crewmates/mchenryp/