February 2020

So what happened to January? As I sit here and write this I cant believe that it is the 2nd day of February. Somewhere along the way I blinked and January has passed by. It was a busy month. I was reminded daily of how the crew needs someone here to care for them. It was a month full of sickness and injuries, and hearts that needed comfort. It has ranged from GI bugs to head lice, sinus infections to broken wrists, feet full of sea urchins and the beginning of flu season. Broken bodies and a few broken spirits. And for some reason the Lord has chosen me to be a part of it all. He has allowed me to be here to help figure out what ails the crew and the bring comfort and care to them. In doing so, I have been part of them returning the the jobs on the ship and continuing to do what God has called them to do. For some that means feeding the crew,  for some it means being back in the Operating room changing the lives of the patients, and for some being back in the engine room keeping the lights on. Everyone of the 400+ crew members has a role here. Each one is important and dependent on the others around them. It amazes me to watch how it all works, how it shouldn't work-with so many different languages, cultures and personal preferences here. And yet it does. It works and it works well. Hundreds of patients and caregivers pass through the doors, pass from brokenness into a state of healing. For some it is immediate, for others it a long slow process that takes months. However healing does take place. You see it in their eyes, and in their smiles. Mostly you see it in the tearing down of walls. Walls that have been built over years of suffering. One brick at a time, one insult at a time, one wound at time. They arrive not looking people in the eye, not smiling, a hardness about them. A hardness the world they live in has caused. But here, on this ship, through the body of Christ, change happens. The walls that divide come tumbling down. One smile at a time, one touch, one kind word. Each act of love removes a brick from the wall. Each person in their own way. Maybe it is handing someone a bowl of food, or perhaps mopping the floor around their bed, or carrying them up a flight of stairs, each act of love, allows a little more light into the darkness. Everyday the truth of the gospel lived out and revealed by those around me. And I pray in me.

I love being even a small piece of this puzzle. I love helping my fellow crew help others. Because of what I do, they can continue to do what they do. So I have decided to continue in this venture for a while longer. I have extended my commitment for another 2 years. I do so in faith trusting that God will take care of the details. I can not thank you all enough for journeying with me in this. It has been nothing short of amazing. I pray you will continue to walk along this road with me a little longer. That we can continue to sharpen one another. encourage one another and press on toward the goal. Please do let me know how I can be praying for you.