Dear Friends, It’s time to catch up again. The past few months have truly flown by, and I’d love to share a few highlights from this season. ONBOARDING TEXAS After the holiday season, I flew to Texas for a few weeks of training. During the first week we completed Basic Training, a requirement for all crew members serving on a ship. From crowd control, firefighting, and first aid to water survival skills, we covered it all. After that we began the Gateway Program, which includ

Dear everyone, Wow, it’s already December!! Time is going unbelievably fast, and the end of field service is now getting very close. That means a lot of wrapping up, finishing things, planning, packing, and saying goodbye! The past few weeks here on board have been filled with many different things, exactly what I love ; ) !! “Bubbles” was a theme that came back often! On Sundays I often teach at a local church. We start with a small group of kids in a building next to the ch

Dear everyone, First of all, I want to thank you for your involvement over the past months! I have received so many kind messages, cards, and phone calls, which have made me feel incredibly supported and loved. It is almost impossible to write down everything I experience, go through, and see here, but I will try to share a little bit anyway! : ) The school year is in full swing and extremely busy! Even though the classes are small, there is still more than enough to do. We a

Dear everyone, Here we go, time for an update from my first weeks on board… After a long weekend of travel, the moment finally arrived: on Sunday, August 3rd, I arrived on the African Mercy . What an enormous ship, it’s really unbelievable!! The first week was overwhelming, a bit tiring but also really fun : ) I got lost about 784 times, learned (and already forgot) about 645 new names, and attended endless orientation sessions. During that first week, it became clear that I