The Journey Begins

I'm in Cameroon. I moved into a four-berth cabin aboard the Africa Mercy. I'm doing my best to overcome the brutal jet-lag typical of a transatlantic flight. I'm on the greatest journey I've ever undertaken. I'm processing the gravity of most of this as I write it. 

Two months ago I accepted an offer to join the Mercy Ships' Communications Team as a Videographer living and working aboard the Africa Mercy during its ten month field service in Cameroon. 

After a two week stay in eastern Texas training at Mercy Ships' International Support Center (HQ), a bunch of fantastic tacos courtesy of my new friends Mike, Shayla, and Sarah, four flights, and unspeakable amounts of coffee, I arrived in Douala, Cameroon. I've never been to this continent before and I don't speak much French (besides Je suis un pomme). So, I'm a bit of a Minnesota fish out of water here. 

The past few days have been a lot of adjusting and learning ropes, so many ropes. Living on a ship is distinctly different from living on land (imagine that). So, I've been practicing my ship-speak. You know; port, starboard, the bow, aft, all that. I've also got a pager because it's not just a ship, the Africa Mercy is a full blown hospital. So, I'm also learning what max-fax, ortho, and plastics mean. All that to say, I'm learning a lot and I've got a ways to go before I feel remotely competent here. 

I'm not alone, though. I've got an incredible team around me consisting of two British writers; George and Rose, a pair of excellent photographers; Saul and Shawn, our media liaisons; Kate (a fellow Minnesotan) and Reneé (a Canadian, so basically a third Minnesotan), and our fearless leaders; Michelle and Tammy. Our group is a phenomenal mixture of go-getters and creatives, plus, the sense of humor is generally en pointe. 

Overall, I'm really excited for what God has in store for me, the comms team, and everyone aboard the ship as we work together to provide a couple thousand free surgeries to the people of Cameroon. 

I wouldn't be here if it weren't for the loving generosity of my supporters. I really can't say thank you enough. I'm humbled and empowered by a community of incredible people and that's going to make a huge difference as I begin this next chapter. I know I'm going to come up against some serious challenges and my faith is going to be stretched and tested, but having you and the love of Christ on my side are enough to finish this race. I've developed a little refrain I'll be repeating over and over again while I'm here:

I'm supposed to be here.

I'm here to serve

with tough skin 

and a tender heart. 

Thank you. God bless!