Some Fun…Then A Whole Lot Of Hard Work

Two days ago I was able to go to the pool at a nearby hotel…and by nearby I mean a good thirty/forty minute walk. I ended up going with four other girls, three from the dining hall and one from the galley. The pool was actually very nice & relaxing, but the walk to and from the pool was rather stressful because we had to constantly jump out of the way in order to avoid being hit by a moving vehicle or a lady with a giant basket on top of her head.

When we arrived back at the ship we all enjoyed a nice dinner, then went to the Thursday night community devotion. This week they did not have a speaker (I don’t know what a real Community Devotion looks like), so it turned into a worship service instead. I was surprised to find that I knew the majority of the songs…and they were all in English thank goodness. All in all, the worship was amazing and heartfelt. You could tell that Jesus was shining all around the room & (OK this is going to sound super girly but…) I almost started to cry because it was just so comforting and uplifting. Anyways, afterwards, they had ice cream and brownies for us on deck five. What a fun surprise and a great way to end the day!

The past two days have been filled with work work work. On the weekdays I work from 6-9:30, 11-2:30, then 4-7:30. Sometimes we finish early and other times we finish later…it all kinda depends on who you are working with and how messy the meal was. But last night I was able to get off the ship with some new friends and enjoy a night in Benin:

My roommate/workmate Bonny Jean and I met these two guys who have been working on the ship for 3 years! They are super cool and both from Ghana. So as new friends but experienced Mercy Ship men, they took us out to a place called “O-Grill” about five minutes away. Apparently it’s the hang out spot for Mercy Ship workers, so Bonny Jean and I both relaxed a bit when we realized that we were around some more familiar faces. Once the ice was broken, the four of us talked for hours…learning about one another, talking about the difference in cultures & hearing amazing God stories from both sides. They ended up paying for our ice cream (fanmilk ice cream in Benin is delicious!) and then we all walked back to the ship around 10:00.

And today…I have been working working working, and cleaning TONS of dishes (For some odd reason I volunteered myself to be the dishwasher, and today I was the only one washing dishes…usually there are at least three people!). So it’s a lot of hard work when it’s a working day, but I know it’s going to be worth it in the end : )