Africa Mercy Psalm

For the end of Mada 1 - based on Psalm 136

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good...

His love endures forever.

He opened up an entire new region of Africa unexpectedly...
His love endures forever.

To Him who equipped us for the task…

His love endures forever.

Who brought us through the mist of the unknown and rough seas...
His love endures forever.

And kept us safe in our precarious berth…

 His love endures forever.

To Him who kept us safe from tropical storms…

His love endures forever.

Who provided all of our water...
His love endures forever.

His faithfulness confirmed His promise in ways seen and unseen...
His love endures forever.

Who connected our paths with the right patients…
His love endures forever.

He saw us through every surgery...

His love endures forever.

To him who heals bodies even when surgery or medicines fail..
His love endures forever.

He healed every wound…

His love endures forever.

Who restores movement to contracted joints...
His love endures forever.

Whose presence filled our Hospital causing infections to vanish, new skin to grow and left hearts overflowing with hope...

His love endures forever.

During stress filled times, He answered my every page...

His love endures forever.

To Him who provided our largest HOPE center ever!

His love endures forever.

He saved lives through training! 

His love endures forever.

Who provided a way for us to minister to orphans, the elderly, prisoners, the deaf & disabled...
His love endures forever.

To the ONE who created the colourful richness of harmony in the music of Madagascar and blessed us with a day crew that sings praises while they work..
His love endures forever.

And opened the floodgates of the internet!
His love endures forever.

For the everlasting supplies of fruit & veg…
His love endures forever.

For the day when the cheese came…
His love endures forever.

To Him alone who created all the lemurs…
His love endures forever.

Who provided a close friend at just the right time…

 His love endures forever.

He kept us safe in 3 different countries...

His love endures forever.

To him who alone does great wonders...

His love endures forever.

Let us give thanks to the God of heaven.

His love endures forever.

Beautiful Dancing Girls

The Africa Mercy Ballet Troupe performed for our community last Friday evening...and by "performed" we mean "led us in worship."  We're so thankful to be a part of a community that invests in our children...and we're grateful to be in a place where our girls have the chance to dance....and, even more so, a place where our girls are taught to dance unto the Lord as an act of worship.   

Many, many thanks to Kalinda and Amy for investing so much time, energy, teaching and love into our girls week after week.  It's amazing that so many of the people who come to volunteer on this floating hospital ship end up volunteering even more in their spare time.

From Mrs. Gretchen and Miss Suzanne and Miss Moriah the past 2 years to Miss Kalinda and Miss Amy this year, God has been gracious to provide ladies with a passion for dancing and a willingness to share their skills with our community.  We're praying that God will send a few more dancing queens our way to continue the lessons and the loveliness.

Surely there will be more to come.

Christmas Blessings

Merry Christmas...to all of our friends and family, near and far!  

God continues to wow us as we celebrate the fact that He sent His Son to us....He didn't leave us to figure things out on our own....He didn't just stand back and save us from a distance...He came to earth - moved into the neighborhood - put on flesh and CHOSE to endure humanity, so that we can know Him and His love. 

   

Jesus is Christmas.

May you truly know Him and His love as you enjoy the celebration and festivities of your Christmas Day - and the days to come...wherever you are....

Surely there will be more to come!

Room With a View

...with Table Mountain just outside of our windows, this psalm has been making its home in our hearts this past week.  

Psalm 121- The New International Version (NIV) A song of ascents.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Table Mountain

Psalm 121 Amplified Bible (AMP) A Song of Ascents.

I will lift up my eyes to the hills [around Jerusalem, to sacred Mount Zion and Mount Moriah]—From whence shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip or to be moved; He Who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand [the side not carrying a shield]. The sun shall not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; He will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

A mountain on the way to Simon's Town

Psalm 121 The Message (MSG) A Pilgrim Song

I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains? No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains. He won’t let you stumble, your Guardian God won’t fall asleep. Not on your life! Israel’s Guardian will never doze or sleep. God’s your Guardian, right at your side to protect you—Shielding you from sunstroke, sheltering you from moonstroke. God guards you from every evil, he guards your very life. He guards you when you leave and when you return, he guards you now, he guards you always

Surely there will be more to come.

because...Love Is.

because this blog is a spot for sharing our life and the goings on of this ship are a huge part of our life...

because this is one of the most powerful, beautiful videos Mercy Ships has ever produced...

because it's worth 116 seconds of your time to see what "Love Is" (click the words to see an incredible video)

What does love look like to you? 

surely there will be more to come.  

Joining with the Waves...

There's something significant about worshipping on the bow of a ship somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.

There's something significant about worshipping on the bow of the Africa Mercy on the way to Congo.

There's something significant about crewmates coming together to join in with the waves to worship the One who is Worthy.

Worship on the Bow is easily one of our favorite parts of life here on the Africa Mercy.  It only happens during the sail and, thanks to this particularly long sail, we've had multiple opportunities to worship on the bow lately.

Many thanks to Debra Bell for capturing these sacred moments with her camera, an instrument of worship.

The song below is a favorite of the crew.  The first time we ever heard it was last year on the bow on the way to Guinea.  It's called "Jabulani Africa!"  Jabulani means "joy" in Zulu (a language of South Africa).  So the song is a call for Africa to rejoice - and a prayer for the Joy of the Lord to reign in Africa.  There's also a dance that goes along with it (or maybe it would be more appropriate to call it a stomp).  Maybe you'll come to the ship one day and sing it with us....



Surely there will be more to come.