So... what does it look like to live/sleep/work/eat on a hospital ship in Africa?
While the answer to the question will be different for the over 500 people onboard, here is a brief look at what a weekday for me (Jaclyn) looks like!
07:00-Wake up me and the kids. Jeff is already gone, usually at a bible study or prayer meeting. Mornings are harder for me to do those things, but it works great for Jeffs schedule! Kids and I get dressed, go to the dining room for breakfast, brush teeth and normal getting ready for the day things.
07:55-Kids leave for school. One of the many benefits of being here is there is no long line of cars I need to wait in, the kids just give me a hug and go upstairs. We live on Deck 8 and the Mercy Ships Academy is on Deck 10. Byeeeee kids!
Here is where is really depends on the day. Sometimes I go downstairs to Rehab in the hospital if they need me, sometimes I am doing laundry, cleaning the cabin, having coffee with others, it really depends on the day! Let's say it's a "Work in Rehab" kind of day....
08:00- Go down to Deck 3, change into scrubs, go to Deck 4 Rehab Gym. See some patients, talk with the team there, etc. Unfortunately I can't take pictures in the hospital for patient privacy reasons, so use your imagination! :)
11:45- Say bye to Rehab and meet the kids in the dining room on Deck 7. I love being able to have lunch with my kids everyday! After lunch we usually have time to relax in the room for 15 minutes before they head back to school.
12:45 With the kids back in school until 15:05 (yep, 24 hour clock here!) I either head back to Rehab or start the other chores around the cabin. Since rehab isn't too busy, most of the time I am back home. I vacuum the cabin (it goes fast when it's so small), pick up shoes left on the floor (mom life!) and/or do some laundry. The afternoon goes fast and before I know it kids are back!!
15:05 After school homework time, kids run down to the dining room for a snack (they love "toasties" aka grilled cheese!), and after school clubs/activities. Tuesdays Lauren has theater club and youth group, while Sam has drum lessons. Wednesday is running club (like cross country) for Sam and Sadie, you get the idea. The best part is not having to DRIVE them to any activities like I used to, they just go! Amazing!
17:30 Dinner! Dinner menu is always posted beforehand and has rice, a meat, veggies, a salad bar and maybe 3 times a week dessert. A few times a week we have a family meal where just the 5 of us sit together but the rest of the meals we try to find friends and live in community.
19:00-After dinner each member of the family runs different ways. Lauren tends to go to the youth lounge (Grades 6-12 only). Sam will go to a friends cabin to hang out or build legos. Sadie will go up to Deck 11 to play outside on the trampoline or swings and Jeff and I will follow her there to chat with other parents.
20:30-Sam and Sadie are in bed and Lauren is reading/drawing in her room. Jeff and I are drinking tea, going to work out in the gym, and catching up on our days.
As you can see, a lot has stayed the same in our lives but a lot has changed too. We are thankful to be in this amazing community and be a part of something BIG happening in Africa.
What else do you want to know about our lives here? Let us know!!