Greetings from Tenerife...
We just celebrated our first Christmas on the ship and it was really special. The ship comes alive with activities and different cultural celebrations of the holiday season. We missed being with our extended family, but it is beginning to feel like home here and we enjoyed celebrating with our ship family.
Right before Christmas, we said goodbye to a few families and friends. Some ended their time and made their way home; others began their travels to the new ship, the Global Mercy, currently docked in Antwerp, Belgium. This was the first of what will be many goodbyes during our time with Mercy Ships, and it was very hard.
New Cabin...
One bright spot in all the goodbyes was the availability of a new cabin. We have been living in cabin 7217, which was a six berth family cabin that had spectacular views. The only downside to 7217, was that our living room doubled as Jeff's and my bedroom. Yes, you read that right, we had a murphy bed in the living room that we pulled down each evening and put away each morning. There are very few six berth cabins on board that have a separate bedroom for the parents, so when one opened up, we were pretty excited. We have been living here in cabin 6430 for a few weeks now, and it really feels like a little home. I’ll include some photos so you can see what family life on the Africa Mercy looks like.
Same Mission: Senegal...
As we head into the new year, we are now only four weeks from our sail to Senegal. The Africa Mercy left Senegal in the middle of a field service in March of 2020 as the world shut down from COVID. There were many patients who were scheduled for surgeries who have been forced to wait almost two years now. We have teams in Senegal now doing patient screenings and getting the Hope Center (our pre-surgical waiting area) ready. The Senegalese have reiterated to those on the ground how grateful they are that Mercy Ships kept their promise to return and finish the work that was started.
We are now serving alongside many people who remember the sadness and grief of leaving those patients behind. We are so excited to be a part of the team returning in 2022. Check out the video below to see all that Mercy Ships accomplished in 2021.
Prayer Requests...
COVID is a big concern here, as it is everywhere. Please pray that the ship will remain free of COVID before, during, and after the sail. Also, please pray for wisdom for those in leadership roles here as they decide how to best protect the crew, workers, and patients from COVID.
As I mentioned, we will be sailing in about four weeks. Please pray for calm seas and safe travels.
Support us...
As always, if you’d like to support our mission financially, please use the donation link below.
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| Christmas Eve...no white Christmas in Tenerife. |
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| Celebrating the Dutch Tradition with a visit from Sinterklaas and his helper "piets". |
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| Elementary choir performing at Sunday service. |
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Family trip to Los Piscantes Naturales
(the natural tide pools in a nearby town). |
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| Caleb enjoying a cocoa at one of the many fun nights in the cafe. |
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| Cafe photo booth night with Rosie and Amayah. |
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| The Elementary choir performing at Christmas Open Mic Night. |
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| The Jingle Bell Jog on the dock. |
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| Another family adventure hiking to a nearby town. |
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| Santa Lucia, a Swedish Christmas tradition. |
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| Christmas cookie night! |
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| Making wreaths from African fabric. |
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| Performing hand bells at the Community Gathering. |
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| One of the beautiful doors decorated for the door decorating competition. |
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Rosie having breakfast with her good friend, Jonathan,
before he and his family head to the Global Mercy. |
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Saying the hard goodbyes to two of their
favorite teachers as they head to the GLM. |
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One of the hardest goodbyes of all...Ms. Beth, our friend from the
beginning of this journey, is heading to the Global Mercy. |
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| One of many fun Christmas movie nights in the International lounge. |
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| Gingerbread house decorating. |
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| The finished product. |
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Ship tradition of putting shoes out on Christmas Eve
for everyone to fill with gifts and treats. |
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| Christmas morning in our new cabin! |
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| Caleb playing with his new monster truck on Christmas morning. |
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Christmas morning worship service on Deck 8.
Ava and her friends sang silent night in Spanish and English. |
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| The galley staff blessed us big time with an incredible Christmas lunch. |
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| Ava enjoying Christmas lunch. We haven't had strawberries in months! |
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| The day after Christmas enjoying the beach with friends. |
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| Christmas Eve scuba dive. |
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| Our new home, cabin 6430. |
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| Feels like a real home. |
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| Very excited about our new bedroom and the beautiful views! |
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Caleb's new room. He graduated to a big boy bed.
The girls have a similar room with bunk beds. |
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