Where's Jenny? ~July/August edition~

Where's Jenny? ~July/August edition~

What a journey it's been since leaving the Africa Mercy in Benin almost 4 months ago! I could write a book on all that's happened since then, but I'll keep it to some short bullet points (and pictures, of course!)... I started my journey with a 2 week adventure/debrief/recovery time in AUSTRALIA! This is not a country that was really on my radar before coming to the ship but with all the Aussies I've met and the chance to catch up with some old friends, I knew this was an opportunity I could not pass on. It was a whirlwind 2 weeks between Melbourne and Sydney - and a time I will NEVER forget. Just what I needed before heading into a busy summer in the US! Next stop was home to Florida for some time with family, friends and supporters. Thank you to all those who came out to hear about my time with Mercy Ships. It's such a blessing to update you all, and I felt so loved and encouraged to continue doing this work God has called me to. Of course, no trip to the US is complete without seeing my favorite human being - my niece Lora! A quick visit to North Carolina, full of quality time, exploring, play and laughter was just what my heart needed. It was great to find that even though we've only spent about 4 weeks of her life together, we could quickly get reacquainted and have a wonderful time! I've written a blog post previously about my time in Texas at the Mercy Ships headquarters for training (you can find it here: http://shinebrightmercy.blogspot.com/2017/07/howdy-from-texas.html) so I won't go into it too much. This is my whole group who did training together and will now spend the next 1-2+ years together on the ship! It's been so nice to have a new extended 'ship family'. From Texas, 35 adults and children from my group all traveled together to Las Palmas in the island of Gran Canaria, Spain (which is a small island just off the coast of Morocco in North Africa) to meet the Africa Mercy where it was just finishing it's maintenance and drydock period. We missed the drydock time - which I'm happy about because there is a lot of construction happening on the ship and no AC! But it's also interesting because it's the one chance to see the ship completely out of water. Pretty crazy! About 2 weeks after I arrived, it was time for the ship to set sail (not that we actually have 'sails' anymore, haha) for a 13 day voyage to Douala, Cameroon! This is my second time sailing with the Africa Mercy and it's one of my favorite parts. After living on the ship for 2 years without it moving very much, I love to see her out in the open ocean. It really is such a picture of the vastness of God's creation when you look out in every direction and only see water as far as the eye can see. Plus, we usually have some incredible sunsets that are just breath-taking! (bonus: sailing also means we're one step closer to a new field service and the work we are really made to do!) Prayer Points: Praise God for a safe, smooth sail from Las Palmas to Cameroon! The ship arrived in port on Wednesday, August 16. Ongoing setup and preparations in the hospital and off-ship sites (HOPE center, dental and eye clinic, screening...) Safe and efficient transportation of almost 200 patients from all over Cameroon to the port city for the first week of screenings Travel protection for the over 100 new crew member who will arrive in the next 2 weeks Continued good relationships between Mercy Ships and the Cameroonian government as we partner together to work in this country