my Father's name

what is in a name? depending on who you ask, much or little. however, even if you said little, your name spoken to a family member/a friend/an enemy will bring you to mind--your face, your actions. so there is much in a name.

my Father has so many names...one or several are not enough to reveal Him to His creation. He has names He has given Himself and names people attribute to Him based on His revelation of Himself to them. because He is God, He has a name for every time of your life, something you can praise Him for, something you can hold on to (per nick, a God for all seasons of life). some of my all time favorite names...Jehovah Jireh (provider), Immanuel (God with us), Redeemer, Hope, Creator, Holy, Righteous, Portion

lately, it has been 'new' names He has pressed upon my heart...
El Roi or Lahairoi--the God who sees me
the God who hears me
Jehovah Machsi--Lord my Refuge
Rescuer
Quickener

what is it about these names. i know many of you who read this will think i am in a time of distress because He is pressing these names on my heart. but i don't feel distressed or worried. but there is something about knowing that the Creator of the whole universe sees me and hears me. and deep within all of us (well at least women) is a desire to be rescued. as far as my Refuge--i don't know why this one is impressed in my heart right now but how lovely that He is my place to run to when i need to run. and Quickener--because there are times when i need quickening, prodding or else i will grow stagnant.

and a few i ran across as i was studying His name this week because of His teaching me of His names...
the Amen--He is the completion to our prayers. amen means "it is so" or "so be it" or "truly"
consolation--at first this one threw me a bit...i read it in the meaning of "consolation prize" and i wondered how you could say this about Him, as if He is the prize given to the ones who lose just because everyone deserves a prize. but after studying the meaning of this word, i see it means more that He is our solace, our comfort.

how beautiful are His names...what are some of your faves and why?

"why are you on a big ship?"

last night i talked to my nephew connor and oldest niece alyssa. connor said, "aunt nai, are you living on a big ship? but why? why are you living on a big ship?" alyssa just asked if i was on a ship yet. how do you explain to an almost 5 year old and almost 3 year old why you have moved half way across the world to live on a big ship? why you can't be there for their birthday and Christmas and why you didn't answer the phone when they called to talk to you earlier in the week?

but as to why i'm here...because Jesus led me here. it is that simple. and that difficult as well.

let me tell you about work here. for those of you at home who know what it is like to be a nurse, forget all that. yes, i give medications and take vital signs and draw blood and start iv's but beyond that, it is so different. the pace is so much slower. the focus is different. the focus isn't on getting tasks done but about building relationships with the patients and throwing the tasks in somewhere in all that. we start and end our shifts with prayer. if we take a patient to the operating room, we sit down and pray with the patient and o.r. team before they go back to surgery. a morning shift consists of early morning cares followed by morning devotionals led by our translators and counselors. it is not at all unusual for the patients/translators/counselors and us staff to sing and dance during devotionals! (i have learned some great african praise songs) then we play a Bible movie. afternoon shift starts with those who are able going out on the dock or deck 7 port side to enjoy fresh air. then we may do a craft or another movie followed by dinner and evening cares. night shift is even more slow b/c the patients are usually just recovering so not a lot of tasks to do in the middle of the night.

i cannot express well how much the atmosphere of prayer and the praise in the middle of my shift thrills me. so different from home. and i wonder how we get along at home without it.

more introductions from gateway...almost done

on the right is frankie and the pic on the left has her husband don on the far left. frankie will be serving as crew nurse on the ship and as you can see from the pic...her spirit is as lovely as her smile! don will work a bit with engineering and in medical equipment and storage area. they are both delightful and they were a balm to a bit of a sore spirit when they arrived on ship this week.


you've already met annette on the left but now meet judy on the right. she is always making faces at the camera but here is one without a funny expression. she is also a nurse and just moved in next door on the ship. she is so kind and concerned about everyone.


above are sarah and michael. they met on ship and then recently got married and headed back to the ship for long term. michael is quiet, and fierce at play and insightful if you can get him still enough to have a conversation. sarah is such a delight. she has a great sense of humor and a very loving spirit and am glad to be working with her in the ward at times.


and this is elizabeth. she is on ship in the academy teaching. she gave us lots of insight to prepare us for ship life as we went thru the gateway.

i think i have missed some so will look thru photos and list to see who is missing. for sure am missing those who work on the base but i don't seem to have any photos. maybe one more intro post.

our family on ship gets a little bigger each day as more gatewayers arrive. but still missing half our hearts. come soon friends!

welcome home...

above is the sunken ship just on the other side of our dock. then is the view from my favorite spot to sit on deck 7. and next is my favorite spot...deck 7 forward, starboard side

these photos are the midships lounge (computers and sitting area with tvs) then the only starbucks in west africa! and the cafe area just outside starbucks.

welcome to my cabin...room 4338. when you walk into the cabin, it is a hall with the two sleeping berths and sitting area and bath area coming off it. the first two pics are the two sides of my sleeping berth. the hall photo. my door and nametag and the sitting area.

and this is the M/V Africa Mercy. it is my home for the foreseeable future. from bow to stern is about 200 jogging paces. photos in order are view coming down the port road, then the stern, midship, gangway and bow.

so, welcome to my new home

first impressions

i won't be able to share photos yet as i haven't got any, but here are my first impressions of liberia after driving to the airline office the other day to find out about my luggage....

Streets: streets were at times a river—of cars, of people walking beside and between the cars, of water from rainy season pouring down the sides. There were yawning potholes waiting to swallow tires, to jar the body. Streets broken by rain, broken by war, broken by time. UN tanks still sit in certain areas.
Buildings: All along the buildings was a rainbow of umbrellas, some to shield those walking in the rain, some to shield those sitting at carts alongside the streets. The buildings themselves looked a bit hodgepodge as you drive past. Some seem to be standing only because the building next to it holds it up. Many are pierced by bullets, many are crumbled completely from the war. The buildings are ‘sad’ just as those filling them are. Their paint is peeling or burned away or covered with rust or mold. Those with windows have bars across. Many have windows without glass. Barbed wire runs along the tops of buildings and fences to bar intruders. Colorful lines of clothes hang about the homes.
People: a sea of faces. Many smiling. Many with such sad eyes. Their dress ranged from African with bright color and traditional cut/style of the clothing to “western” clothes. Many walked carrying large loads of things bundled on their heads (I surely couldn’t manage this one). Many pushed wheelbarrows full of items throughout the streets. Many carried goods to sell to the cars passing by. Many just wanted a handout.
Traffic: driving (or really even crossing the streets as a pedestrian) seemed to be a constant risk of life. I think I may have seen two traffic lights in all of the area we drove through. The rest seemed to be just who got into the intersection the first or who honked the loudest. Parking was a nightmare…it truly required those standing on the streets to help, for a price of course.

It is life. It is beautiful. It is heartbreaking.

martha vs mary and how to live on a ship

so, the Father really wanted me to learn something from luke 10:38-42 this morning...it was in my quiet time reading as well as the community meeting this morning.

"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

reflections...

--martha OPENED her home to Him...she wanted Him to come in, she actively sought Him initially

--martha was ATTEMPTING TO SERVE but got so caught up in the attempt that she forgot to actually serve

--martha sought Jesus' attention "please notice what I am doing, Jesus" forgetting that service is to be done in spite of notice or applause

--martha didn't seek her sister's attention who she had the issue with. we should always settle with one another if possible

--Jesus' response was not "you chose wrong" but "mary CHOSE BETTER". it was a conscious decision on mary's part, a choice, for better, not just good.

instructions on preparing to live on a ship...

--invite 50 people from your church and 50 people each from 3-4 other churches to hang out in your home for the weekend.

--sleep on a camping cot in your closet

--live out of a large suitcase for a month

--run your vacuum continuously in the room next to your bedroom

--replace all your doors with curtains and ask your neighbors to pop in at any time without notice

and ship showers--their own special category

step into shower, turn water on long enough to just wet you, turn water off, apply soap and shampoo, turn water on and rinse off, turn water off. you have 2 minutes!

and now, you're a bit better prepared for ship living :)

i've arrived

in liberia, to the m/v africa mercy, my new home for the next year. what didn't arrive was my luggage :( i found out last night it happened to two of my gateway classmates as well and it has been about 5 days for them to get theirs. hopefully, mine will make it as well.
i am finally excited! the anticipation grew as i knew we were getting close to the ship and when i saw my new home, i was overwhelmed and excited. we had a tour this morning and it is not as scary to find my way around as i expected. i've run into friends from a few years ago and friends from a few weeks ago so it is starting to feel like home already.
that's it for now, just a quick update.
pray for my luggage!

excited?

"are you excited?"

i can't tell you how many times i've been asked this especially in the last week. and the surprising answer is no! i am so tired, physically. i am tired emotionally from saying goodbyes. i am tired of doing errands and packing. and i'm tired of waiting (i've been working towards this for years). so i am excited but not about what you would think...i am excited about my 19 hour plane ride! excited that i can't run errands, whatever is going to be packed is packed at that point, no more goodbyes and sleep! wonderful sleep. if i could sleep all 19 hours, i might feel almost caught up at that point.

ask me in a week if i'm excited. i'm sure my answer will be much different :)

"mairwidge, mairwidge is what bwings us togetha today"

"and love, twue love"

so, this past weekend i got to be part of emily and mike's wedding. another one of those beautiful frustrations. (in delaying until the july gateway, i got to be in the country for this!) we got in on thursday and started running right then (i can't imagine how much em and her mom have been running before).

thurs night was the bachelorrette and bachelor parties. later, we all joined back up at the b&b to have fun together. the girls went to eat at p.f. changs and then on to fox and hound.

friday was full from start to finish as well. the bridesmaids (matrons) went to a bridal brunch and then on to mani/pedicures. after this, some last minute shopping and then the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. once dinner was over, all the women slipped away for emily's lingerie shower...oh my! afterwards, we joined back up with everyone and chatted and danced until late.

saturday morning, another full day. attendants were up early to help with some of the set up and then get ready. then we headed over to get our hair/makeup done. em's hair was absolutely gorgeous...looked just like a magazine! then, girls' pics were at 3:30, boys' pics at 4:30, and wedding at 5:30. it was an outdoor wedding, absolutely gorgeous. emily was a beautiful bride. the reception was after a few more pics and setup and we ate yummy mexican food (new mexico style) and danced the night away. mike and em were in for a bit of a surprise when they finally made it into their bridal suite for the night...a bit of strategically placed saran wrap made it a bit more difficult to get into bed! several of us enjoyed the slide show we missed playing during the reception (oops) and then to bed.

sunday morning back home, utterly exhausted and to my dad's to just relax.

ps #1. being in the bridal party, i don't have pics of the wedding itself

ps #2. more classmates to be introduced still, check back later this week.