Lots of people are feeling a bit low. But also most people are really excited to be going home. I am too, of course, but they are excited to be leaving the ship. I’m not.
I am really looking forward to being back in Larnaka, seeing family again, and so on. And I have so many things which I want to do. I want to learn to cook, for instance. If I come back to Doulos, then I want to be able to cook myself some pasta or calzonies or something occasionally. There are pantries which anyone can use scattered about the ship (I think we have 4 or so…).
Part of my feeling depressed though is not to do with leaving, or with missing other people, because generally I’m quite good about that. Because I have been on the Doulos twice before, it’s not a"never see Doulos again" thing, either, which some of the people have (the ones living in the USA) a bit. And as I want to come back again anyway, I hopefully will see quite a lot of the other people again anyway.
I think part of why I am feeling depressed is because I feel like I have not really acomplished anything much. I have had so many wonderful experiences, these last 2 months, and met so many amazing people, and seen such fantastic things (I’m running out of adjectives here), and yet feel as if I have actually contributed very little.
Our STEP-mum says that that is quite normal to feel a bit like that, but not to worry, as (a) she is quite happy with me, and (b) *when* I come back for 2 years, I will have much more chance to be envolved with the Drama Group, music, and so on, as well as more chance to contribute in other ways too… But yeah.
Rebekah is still recovering from malaria, she is fully better, but is still weak, and she lost a lotof weight, and flying is never the most stressless experiences anyway.
The farewell thing tonight has a program of the following:
Parade of Nations (AV-People) - everyone prepares 30 sec of talk - carrying T.A.N.Z.A.N.I.A. S.T.E.P. letters
Slideshow (raffi) Sing a song (nanana - goodbye)
Thank You & read a verse (Jenny)
21:00 End in prayer- STEP-mum
So, yeah. The “Parade of Nations” is a I-night item, where they put on this extremely annoying repetative dramatic music, and all the people envolved go forward wearing their national dress, and get announced by someone far too enthusiastically and everyone claps.
That is the cynical “I’m still depressed and everyone ought to blooming well know about it” version.
Sorry.
I was on watch when they did the meeting about this, and arranged it all, so I have about as much idea about the rest of it as you do. I shall just turn up and do whatever they ask me to. This totally typifies our group though. Some people not at the planning meeting, a few people will not be at the farewell (they missed work and so are not allowed to miss it again tonight), a few people not even sure what’s happening, and 1 person already left. As they say on board: Wunderbar.
I’m feeling more than slightly depressed. It is expected, I know. Less than ten days until I leave.
We have our Farewell evening tonight. The other STEPPERs have organized it. It sounds cheesy and terrible. I hope it isn’t.
The last of the previous STEP is leaving in an hour. He has been in the same cabin as I the whole time, is completely crazy, English, and a wonderful brother. I am really going to miss him.
Last night was my last watch, and I was able to arrange to get myself doing the first FireRound of the night (11pm), which is the one in which you find most of the curfew breakers. So many people have been ignoring curfew lately that my cabinmate (Andrew) who is leaving decided to do a last “goodbye” to the Doulos, and in his small way, to help to remedy the situation.
He bought a water pistol (Super-soakery type of thing. Huge great jets of water.) a few weeks ago. Fireround last night was really fun. There were about 30 people breaking curfew. They got wet.
Anyway. I’m pretty depressed.
Most of the other STEPPERs are leaving on the 21st, My flight is on the 23rd, though. A lot of them are going to fly down to Cape Town, for a weeks holiday or something like that. The STEPPERs with SP are going to stay on until september some time, because their SPs are finishing their commitment on board then, and so they will fly home togeather (and in one case at least, get married! :-) ).
[If coming back for a longer stint in future] I know now that 5 pairs of shoes is absurd. I think that I would take 2 or 3 less shirts and shorts, and more trousers and another fleece or hoodie. Oh, and 20kg as an on-ship requirement is not so vital. Only airplane limits really would apply. The limit is (I think) just to discourage people bringing like 80kg or stuff.
I am thinking, if God is calling me back for 2 years, then perhaps it would be better to get a Greenline Buffet clarinet, rather than wood. I will need to try a whole bunch and find a good one, but if I am working on board a ship, and perhaps afterwards going out missionarying, then a wooden clarinet is slightly impractical. I don’t really know.
Anyway.
The youth thing last night was OK. Not really very approp, though, I think. It was a quite large (300+ seater) pentecostal church (Tabernacle), with wooden pews, a raised procenium type stage, and so on. There were about 40 youth, maximum, from 4 or so different congregations.
We arrived at the end of the church’s music group practice, and they were staying on to do some music for us, a “time of worship”. So we all sat down, and they launched into a whole load of very upbeat loud songs I’d never heard before (no lyric sheets), during which time I noticed that (a) what a terrible P.A. system they had. I could barely understand a word said, or spoken, (b) the worship leader was speaking in Christianese, and seemed to be having a hard time connecting with the assembled teens, (c) having an eight piece worship band singing and playing with their eyes closed, waving their hands around, etc, doesn’t really feel very helpful to connecting.
Even the worship leader had her eyes closed, and I saw her at one point waving furiously for the band to make it louder, and bigger, and she asked questions, during the quiet bits between songs, asking why we all were not really joyful, and things.
Anyway. Not really terribly useful, IMHO. Then for our bit. We certainly demonstrated to the youth that not all Christians are up on a stage, off on some other planet.
It was very disorganised.
The STEPPER who was M.C.ing our bit, introduced each item something like “Um, and thankyou for that, and, yes, next we have, um, Daniel, and he will do a, a drama.”
Yeah, preach it, brother! Woo!
About my drama… well, they had put this pulpit/lecturn thingy out in the middle of the floor in front of the stage, and that was where I wanted to act. So I, dressed in my nice black acting shirt, and white Doulos mime-gloves, walked out accross the stage, picked up the lecturn, and walked it off stage, until I heard a crash, and looking down, discovered that it had had a rather nice glass of water in it, which I had just dropped, and smashed to shards, all over the floor.
Found out yesterday that tonight us STEPPERs are going on a ministry trip to visit a youthgroup, and tell them how great missions are, and encourage them to do them, or something like that. Anyway, John, who is in charge of it (the one who got mugged) told me that I am going to be doing a drama. The “offering drama”. I’d never seen this, or ever even heard of it.
He said “well go find out from the creative ministries people”. Ok. So I did, they told me in about 2 minutes. It’s a 1 person drama/mime. Very cool story, actually. They gave me a pair of white gloves too. I wish I had brought my black tousers with me.
Oh well. Maybe I’ll do it at some point in Larnaka.
So I had then to find a way to get out of being on watch tonight. I SHOULD have been given time off already. About a month ago our STEP-mum sent an email (she said) to each of the deparment heads saying that STEPPERs need to be given time off on Friday nights, and other STEP times.
But last Friday was Sabbath Week, and so no STEP ministry time. The Friday before that, we were on overnight, and so no STEP ministry. And the Friday before that, we were voyaging, I believe. Or if not voyaging, then something else happened, or else I wasn’t on watch, or something. I don’t remember.
Anyway, so this is the FIRST time that the situation has acutally arisen, and so they had forgotten about this, and so I had to personally this afternoon find another deckie, and them willing, to swap watches with me for next week. Happily, I could find someone, and so that’s OK. But it will mean that now I have to do an extra watch next week for one day. :-(
Oh well.
Met more home-educators today. 8-til-12 really lets you meet more people.
I’m thinking about renaming my blog “oh well”. What do you think? heh…
One of the previous STEPPERs, the one who left, lost his badge. Yesterday, while we were cleaning up our cabin to allow the other new STEPPERs to move in, we found it. Then one of the other cabin mates took the badge, and pinned it on the notice board with this note:
“Attention Ship’s Ladies!
Want a piece of the hunk that is
(name) ? His name-badge is going on
auction with a starting bid of 10 Rand,
please contact cabin (number).”
Then this morning, someone stole the badge from the board! This shocking problem caused my cabin mate to put a new notice on the board:
“Lost! One name badge belonging to (name).
Could whoever has stolen it please return
it to cabin (number). I know he is handsome,
but stealing is wrong!”
Then this afternoon, I saw his badge up on another cabin’s door. I told my friend, and he went and got the badge. Now he is going to put a new notice on the board, saying something like
Still deck work to do, but not for watch keepers. I get the whole afternoon free, which is very cool. I hope to go out tomorrow. I bought some more at the book-ex today. A study bible (slightly ‘damaged’, it got wet or something while sailing), NIV, basically the same as my old one, for aprox. 2 CYP (equiv.), a new bible-cover, and a book of knots and rope work. I am wondering if I perhaps will run out of space to take things, or luggage allowance. I was under when I came out, right? And I will be leaving some shoes behind. So…
Strange life. Random happenings, on watch. A man walked through the gates, wandered around the quay for a while, went to our book-ex packing equipment, and started pulling a loading-trolley, and heading back towards the gate again. Not a port worker, just a random person. So I went up to him and told him “Please don’t take our trolleys”, took it from him, and put it back. He wandered around a bit more, and then left.
I met a family of home-schoolers today. They arrived an hour early of opening time, and so I chatted to them for a while. Christians. Very nice people. We talked about schooling, and from there into evolution vs. creationism, and from there into end-times, and he then told me that, by the way, the AntiChrist is alive and well, is English (sorry), 51, grey-haired, and just got married recently (again).
When I looked puzzled, he then told me the name of the AntiChrist, which adds up to 666 when the letters are counted, or something like that, in both English and in Hebrew. He is decended from royalty, and one day will be King of England, if his mother leaves the post. Hmm. I hadn’t concidered him before… hmm.
Oh well. I have a hard time taking seriously all this eschatology stuff, I’m afraid. It’s a major failing, I know, but… well… what happens happens, and I don’t think we can know exactly who will do (or be) what, and when it will happen. One day, perhaps, I will learn to take it seriously. Perhaps. Maybe I will end up knowing who the AntiChrist (if there is _one_) will be. Perhaps I will write books and hold seminars decrying the evil hidden deeds of whoever I know for certain the evil incarnate is… Perhaps not.
Anyway.
This guy also gave me a CDROM of some pastor doing some teaching about evolution, I think. I also met a teacher of an A.C.E school here, which is being forced by the government to switch to using it’s curriculum, which she is upset about because it is so secular humanist, evolution and all, but she says is OK, because they will screen all the stuff before they teach it.
The volunteers all speak English here, which is cool, and are all quite sociable, so I have got to know some of them, and talk about stuff with them. Also SO many South Africans on board have family coming to visit and stay, and I got to chat with one family, so friendly, and talk about much.
Doulos opened in Durban today. I am on gangway watch 8 til 12, so any time in the afternoon I am available to give tours. Today was the official opening in the morning, and then we opened to the public at 2pm. It is now 2.30, and I will go and see what’s happening once I’ve finished the email.
One of the STEPPERs is leaving in half an hour, to go home. He is finishing early to go to back to seminary, he arranged this from before, so apparently STEP dates are really not so set in stone. It feels very odd to see him leaving.
Today just as I was finishing up my watch, at mid-day, a group of 3 people came and wanted to see the ship. We were not yet open, and so I phoned the tour people, and line-up, and others, but no-one was free, because of the offical opening.
So once my relief came, I took them on a tour, showing them the ship, and then when we went up to the book-ex, found it was open, a group of pastors had arranged a special trip, and the book-ex staff allowed my tour to go and buy a load of CDs and books and things.
My tourists (ha) were very happy, and impressed (I think), and said they will try to come back sometime, but live quite a way away. They were Christians, I think, they bought some worship CDs, anyway. “The 20 Worst of ’90s Worship: 100% pure cheese” or something like that (that was a bit harsh, though)… there is SO much Christian pop-worship on this ship, it is unbelievable.
Sarah, who works in the kiosk was listening to some classical the other day, Beethoven, I think, and it was such a nice change to hear! If I come back to the ship, I think I will remember to bring a CD player, or something, so I can listen to all kinds of music.
(Again on the computer with the weird spacebar).
Today is the last day of SabbathWeek, man, has it been tiring. Every morning doing the kids work. There are about 30 or so kids, ranging from ages of about 1 to 14, which is quite a large range. It means though that the range is too great for doing more formal games, I tried doing a few of the more basic drama games, but they just collapsed, as some kids just wandered off, others joined in enthusiastically, and then tried to help some of the younger ones, but then by helping the younger ones, got distracted from what they were doing. Oh well.
Today all of us were so tried, (I meant to type tired, but the typo seems to fit as well) that Jordan just didn’t bother with a speaky bit (we are “doing” the fruit of the Spirit, LoveJoyPeacePatienceKindnessEtc), but just put on the tv, with some cartoons. Rubbish.
Absolute garbage.
I think it was roadrunner, or something like that, where one random overly cheerful character blows up, maims, and generally smashes another random overly cheerful character for 15 minutes, and then the whole thing starts all over again. Thankyou, mum, for keeping me away from too much TV when younger. Blah.
Anyway, as predictable, the kids started getting irritable, crying, “I can’t see, you’re in my way, I can’t see” and so on, and so we took them outside for a while longer to just play on the fundeck (one of the lower decks (the poop deck officially) which is separate from the rest ofthe ship, and netted all around and has rubber floor, toys, swings, and so on).
We have been doing loads of crafts with them, Rachel has been in charge of the 5/6 years old group, and me helping for crafts. Anyway, it’s over now, the kids seemed to enjoy it, and the parents are happy, so thats good. I have 8-til-12 watch next week, so I can relax. *phew*.
I had watch 2 times this week too. The information desk is closed after 5 during sabbath week, so that means all international calls come through to the gangwayman. SO many. My goodness. About 1 every 5 minutes. Then as the gangwayman has no way of paging the ship for the person to forward the call to, you have to do a complex redialing procedure to route the call through to their cabin, or if they are not answering there, then to dining room, or other places they might be.
One funny story, after my watch 3 days ago (4-til-8), one of my fellow STEPPERs was also on watch. He is from South Korea, and his English is good, but basic. The phone is dead hard to understand anything on any way (international lines), and the re-directing system on the ship is quite complex too. Anyway. So I handed over to him. Yesterday, I was on watch, and one of the other sisters on board came and said she was expecting a call. Her mum had phoned 2 days ago in the evening (the day I was on watch, but later, during this other guy’s watch), and had been told this:
More photos! Dan sent this selection saying there will be higher-quality pictures when he returns. Also he can move them to the relevant blog posts.
This one is back from the first ’e-day’, when he was helping to dig a reservoir hole for a family of missionaries.
Another group photo, I presume of the church he stayed with last weekend. This time Dan’s in the front row, wearing a blue hoodie.
Apparently this is the pastor with Dan.
Dan is in the light-blue coveralls, the other guy is sitting on the ‘bosun’s chair’. They’re doing repairs or maintenance to the funnel. I’m glad I didn’t know about this until after the event!
Another view of the funnel.
Saturday 6th August
This week is “Sabbath Week”. This happens once a year, and is a week of (comparative) rest and restoration and all of those sorts of things. Just good fortune for us STEPPERs to be here for it this time!
The book-ex is closed totally, and all workers from there are spread out about the ship, and all duties of all departments are cut down, so this means that (say in the deck department), we only have to do 8 hours each in the whole week, plus one day of being on duty (hardly any work, but cannot leave the ship for 24 hours), and one day of doing the garbage for 1 hour in the afternoon, and then done. So pretty light duties.
Every morning there are devotions/teaching/whatever from a special speaker, who this time turned out to be Dale Rhoton (one of the co-founders of O.M). Very cool. The STEPPERs, though, are running the childrens programme every morning, so we have not actually been to any of the devotions. Very good kids, all of them younger than 12, and seem to be very happy with the programme, organized by Jordan.
Yesterday was the ship outing to a waterpark and ocean-world, which I decided not to go on, as I had not had an off-day in 12 days, and my next off-day is on the 15th! So I needed an introvert day, and so stayed on board. There were only about 25 people on board, in all, which is about minimum to keep the ship going, plus a few extras (like me). Good day.
One of the STEPPERs from another of the overnight teams has malaria… she started getting ill during the overnight, so I guess must have picked it up a few weeks ago. She had to be brought back to the ship, and yesterday was taken to the hospital. Apparently she is doing much better though, now. My Big Brother bounced back from malaria after about a week, in total, before being back at work. But he is like that. Rebekah is not so hardy. It would be nice if folk could pray for her, as it is most difficult for her, only being here a few months, and yet getting malaria!
Also the day before yesterday some of the people went out to the city, one group was John (a Malaysian STEPPER) and a group of 5 girls. They were stopped on the road somewhere in the city by a whole group of men, who grabbed John, put a knife to his throat, and forced him to give them his camera, they also tried to get at his wallet, and sliced up his trowsers.
We are all very thankful that they did not hurt him at all physically, although of course he is rather shaken emotionlly. There really was nothing he could do, other than give them what he had. Apparently, from what the South Africans have told us, this is quite a rough area of Durban, and there is quite a lot of crime, and John being the only man in a group of girls was also more likely to get picked on.
The Doulos is now in Durban (South Africa) with an ADSL connection, so Dan’s managed to send some photos, to give an idea of what he was doing on his weekend away from the ship (see posts below:)
This is a group photo, I presume of the Doulos team who visited the church, plus the pastor and his family. Dan is in the back row near the right of the photo, the tallest and fairest - not very clear of him.
This is inside the church, I’m not sure if this was before, after or even during the service!
And this one was simply entitled ’the loo’. Lovely.
