A language of thankfulness.

There are many things that I am thankful for. One of the downfalls that I have is that I barely ever voice them. When looking at a glass of water I'm the person that says how much is missing rather than saying how much is there. Thanksgiving has come and gone on the ship now. The turkey was carved, the pie has vanished and most people have gone to bed. But I still want to take the opportunity to share with you some of the things that I am thankful for.

• I'm thankful for a God that loves me unconditionally and gives me grace on an constant basis.

• I'm thankful for the opportunity to serve the crew here on the Africa Mercy.

• I'm thankful for people that support me financially so that I can fully focus on my job.

• I'm thankful for a team of 4 people that work together in Sales. All from different countries, all speaking different languages, all here to serve Christ and bless others serving on the ship.

• I'm thankful that I get to work on a ship that changes peoples lives daily.

• I'm thankful that the work we do is so exciting that media teams want to come and document what we do so that they can share it with others.

• I'm thankful that when I wake get ready for work I travel up one flight of stairs and walk about 200 feet before I'm AT work!

• I'm thankful that I get to meet new people everyday and learn a little about them, their country and what makes them, them.

• I'm thankful that many of the people that I meet I get to call friend.

• I'm thankful that I have friends that are my ship family.

• I'm thankful that I have been able to travel to meet some of those countries, friends & family.

• I'm thankful for a God that supplies all of my needs! and even my wants!

• I'm thankful for a God that lets me see the beauty in his creation.

• I'm thankful for a God that has gifted me with many talents

• I'm thankful that I can use my talents to glorify God.

• I'm thankful for food.

• I'm thankful that I can share my love of cooking with my friends.

• I'm thankful that I can capture small pieces of beauty in a picture.

• I'm thankful for a place that I can rest my head at when the day is over.

• I'm thankful that God that gives me lots of energy on little rest.

• I'm thankful for a God that has tremendously blessed me with good health.

• I'm thankful for people that encourage me on a daily basis.

• I'm thankful for technology that makes my family only a click or phone call away.

• I'm thankful that God had a plan for me.

• I'm thankful that God has a plan for my future.

• I'm thankful for a God that is equipping me for things that I don't even know yet.

• I'm thankful for a boss that continues to mentor me even when he's away from the ship.

• I'm thankful for the children that live on the ship and show me God in a tangible way.

• I'm thankful for families onboard that show amazing ways to raise children in light of plans God has for them.

• I'm thankful for you.

• I'm thankful that you have chosen to follow what I do to serve Christ while serving with Mercy Ships.

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Update

The thing about blogging is that when I get away from it I never know where to start again.

I see that the last time that I posted was the end of October. Now I'm wondering how I managed to post at all in October. You see, the thing is in September and October the Sales Team was short one person. I ended up filling in the position and working a bit to much. It wasn't harmful, but I did get a little overloaded with being at work so much.

For now I have a few random things to share to give you a glimpse of what's going on.

Now that the Sales Team is full, all 5 of us come from different countries. Ib from Sierra Leone, Ed from Cameroon, Giselle from Argentina and Serenity from Chine. It still amazes me the multiple nationalities that serve here on the ship. Often I look around a group of people that I'm with and find that the American are the vast minority.

It has been a full year since I started serving in the Sales Manager position. I enjoy my job very much and look forward to continuing to improve the Ship Shop and Cafe so that we can better serve the crew onboard.

Two weeks ago I bought 288 yards of fabric at the local market; 24 yards of 12 different patterns. Two ladies helped me pick it out and then assisted in cutting and organizing the sets. You see, normally fabric is bought in 6 yard pieces. If you want an assortment of fabrics you have to buy a LOT of fabric. With buying in bulk and cutting the fabric down to half yard pieces people were able to get 12 different half size pieces for an affordable price.

I've become addicted to LOST, thanks to a DVD sharing program onboard I have been able to watch the first four seasons in the last two months.

Earlier this month there was a second screening in Brazzaville, the capital city of the Republic of Congo. Five hundred and twenty-two people attended the even. The turn out was much smaller because people were pre-screened thro local physicians making the job much easier for the crew that traveled to the screening. Two hundred and ninty-four of them were scheduled for surgeon screening and surgery here in Pointe Noire.
94 - general
112 - maxillofacial
45 - plastics
38 - women's health
5 - orthopaedics

Rainy season has arrived. Much different that West Africa, it means that the weather is getting hotter now. Most of the rain has come in the night or early in the morning. It doesn't effect me much, but the Day Crew do have some troubles getting to the ship on days that it is raining.

A good group of my friends found a nice beach to go to about an hour away from the ship. I've been there twice now. It' always nice when I get the chance to get away from the ship. This country boy can only handle living in this big metal box if i can get out to some open spaces every once in a while. And driving to and from is pretty enjoyable too.

That is all for now. If you could keep my parents in your prayers, they are planning on visiting in January and are in the critical stage of determining flights and plans. Also, I've come across the opportunity of a special project this spring. Keep me in your prayers as I look to see what God's plan is.

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