Despite the frequent pinching of my arm and rubbing of my eyes, I am writing this blog from the fifth deck of the African Mercy. A small troop of girls and I are typing away on our respective laptops in this air conditioned lounge, and to my left are two large portholes overlooking the guard post keeping a watchful eye...is this real life??
After two days and three flights, we were welcomed at the Conakry airport by a dozen smiling Mercy Ships crew members with Land Rovers, ready to deliver us to the ship. We rode through the city at night, taking in as much as we could in the dark. Traffic was as I remember African traffic to be - a fluid chaos free of street lamps or stop signs, full of potholes and puddles, and always good for an adrenaline check. Thankfully we arrived at the docks in one piece and walked the gangplank to the place that will serve as our home for the next four months.
So far we've been onboard a grand total of 24 hours and, without sounding like I'm jumping the gun, I already love it here. Truly. Everyone greets you with a smile, some introduce themselves spontaneously, probably knowing what it feels like to be new to this working family. And a large family it is - as of now there are nearly 330 crew living here, with another +20 to be added next weekend. They seem to have this community down to a science, and have filled this week with various orientations and trainings to show us the ropes (pun intended a little, hehe).
We spent today getting settled into our cabin, setting up logistics onboard (finances & internet), and learning the lay of the land. This ship is pretty amazing. There are eight floors/decks, several staircases, and even more ways to get turned around. Apparently blue staircases and red staircases differentiate the bow from aft (yep, learning some ship lingo too), but I still have to double take down certain hallways. There is a large dining hall, a meeting lounge, a "town square" in the center of the ship and a variety of unexpected excitements - a small library, a hair dresser, and even a coffee shop (bet you can't guess what it is). What I've been most impressed with is the way community is so valued and encouraged. They literally fling opportunities at you to get involved as ship life gets rolling. And the all-crew meeting tonight ended with worship in both English and Guinean-French, which put the biggest smile on my face.
Sorry this is short, but I really need to attempt sleep. It's past 11pm local time, I am currently wide awake, and they want us up at 7am...this may be a process :) But we are so thankful to be here, sleep or not. It's been a long time coming.
AWESOME!!
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