The time finally came for us to wrap up our family onboarding at the Mercy Ships International Support Center in Lindale, Texas. We did two weeks of spiritual and cultural teaching during which God revealed himself in new ways to all of us. We were treated to a lot of insights into the history of Mercy Ships, and the theology behind Kingdom Principles, and spent a lot of the day in our discussion groups learning from each other. Dan and Rachel were also assigned small groups to further discuss and build relationships. The kids all participated in an onboarding geared towards a wide range of ages, using creative activities to explore the emotions and challenges of travelling to a new culture for so long.
Unfortunately, we experienced illness during our last week at the ISC, with many participants coming down with COVID the weeks before travel. Dan missed a couple of days during the last week of onboarding due to illness. However, Rachel and Cal came down ill during our travel days, which made the experience uncomfortable for both. Dara, Cal and Rachel all showed incredible grit and powered through despite exhaustion, nausea, and stomach aches, and made the best of it. Our flights were fairly smooth and comfortable, although the 13 hours from Toronto to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) was a marathon. We had a scary moment with Cal on the 4-hour flight from Ethiopia to Madagascar, when he was not responsive and dehydrated. The flight crew were amazing and helped us get him hydrated, constantly checking in on his health and going above and beyond to find food for him to try eating. He was a champ despite clearly feeling very unwell.
Before travelling, we enjoyed a short layover in Fergus at Rachel’s parent’s house where friend and family came to celebrate an early birthday for Cal. He wasn’t feeling great, but picked up just in time to enjoy all of the fun and games. It was a real treat to see family one last time before our long trip to Madagascar.
Once we arrived in Madagascar, we didn’t have much difficulty getting our documents checked and entering the country. Mercy Ships had a driver, a Malagasy day crew and a staffer who met us at the airport in Antananarivo who assisted us in getting to the hotel. We spend a relaxing time sleeping and recovering, eating, and soaking in the Malagasy capital city’s culture and experience. The whole family slept a long time, and Cal and Rachel picked up enough to eat and drink.
The next day, we took a Madagascar Airlines flight to our final destination of Tamatave (Toamasina), which stopped first on the Isle of Sainte Marie, north of our destination. The flight lasted about 90 minutes, 60 minutes to Sainte Marie and then 30 minutes to Tamatave, giving us great views of the Madagascar coast, villages, and even whales along the way.
We arrived on the ship in the evening, where Rachel tested positive for COVID-19 and was isolated in our room with Cal. Unfortunately, they spent the first few days of our time on the Africa Mercy locked in the room, while Dan, Ivan, and Dara were able to exit while masked up. By Friday both Rachel and Cal tested negative and were released into the ship for the first time, free to explore. The rest of the family is still required to wear masks.
Our first week on the ship was spent attending the final programs of our onboarding and getting used to life onboard the Africa Mercy. The ship feels much bigger in person and takes a few days to figure out how to get from here to there. The people on board are very friendly and helpful, embracing us into the community on the ship. They set up a surprise birthday party for Cal outside our cabin door, baking a cake, decorating the hallway, and bringing him a bunch of cards. Dara and Ivan have quickly acquainted themselves with other teens on board and are making regular use of the youth room. Cal is enjoying making friends and exploring the ship.
As part of our onboarding Rachel and Dan sat in what’s called a cross-culture panel. A panel of crew from several African countries and North Americans discussed the practical differences in culture between the two. Topics included simple greetings to relationships, working with each other, and everything in between. It was incredibly insightful and interesting to hear the cultural perspectives of people in Cameroon, Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria. Dan has met and hung out with members of the IT team on board, already getting included in discussions and emails with vendors in Madagascar and Texas. His basic French is going to get stretched!
We have enjoyed getting out into Tamatave for ice cream at a local shop favoured by people on the ship, and are beginning to explore getting into the city. We are slowly getting adjusted to the time and routines of the ship, including early mornings to get breakfast before 7:45 am, short 2-minute showers, and other ship-life things!
Continue to pray for the mission of Mercy Ships in Madagascar, favour with the government, that God would speak to volunteers and call them to the Africa Mercy to assist. As we leave our final onboarding and begin working full-time in our positions, we ask for peace, patience, grace, wisdom, and God’s guidance in our jobs. Thank you again for supporting us on this journey.
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