Goodbyes

I have been told that this new season I am entering is one full of goodbyes. They started over a month ago as I said goodbye to friends and family in Australia. Today they continued again.

It’s amazing how quickly relationships can form when you are all there for the same reason, with our faith as a foundation. From the original 26 classmates (plus spouses and children) to the complete 68 (plus children and facilitators), we all became like a giant extended family. The sad thing is, some are heading to Tenerife to join the Global Mercy, some are staying here in Texas working for the ISC (International Support Centre), some are returning home to different parts of the US working remotely for the ISC and some will be coming with me to the Africa Mercy.

Thank goodness for social media and the internet which allows us to stay connected with each other all around the world. I know now that when we all finish our time on the ships I will have friends to visit in many places such as the US, Canada, Germany, Norway, Netherlands, New Zealand and throughout Australia.

So to my Mercy Ships family, thank you. Thank you for the love and support these past few weeks. Thank you for the fun and laughter. Thank you for praying with and for me. Thank you for the lessons learnt. Know that you are loved and prayed for.

I have now finished all of my training here in Texas. It has been a very full-on month, but I have loved it all.

This past week has been full of great classes and fun. We enjoyed the waterpark, Splash Kingdom, on Tuesday night, despite a day of rain. Wednesday night was a fun Academy family Trivia Night. Thursday night was a last minute Walmart trip to buy all the things we needed before we left. And each day was full of learning, laughter and love.

Tomorrow we will head to the airport to fly to Madagascar. Please pray as we travel.