Now with Mercy Ships

Friends and Family,
We made it to Liberia! We are now on the Mercy Ship in Monrovia, Liberia and slowly learning our way around the ship. We arrived Saturday and since then have been getting to know the ship and unpack. Jeremy is currently getting some orientation to the galley (food services) and Kristin has been observing some surgeries and is beginning orientation to the ward.
We were sad to leave Kenya, but are excited to be here as well. In Kenya we did so many fun things and made so many wonderful friends. our last week there. It was hard to say good bye to the other missionaries and Mission Cor volunteers. We really did get to see a lot in Kenya. We went to Masai Mara game reserve, many markets for souvenirs, a glass shop, a beads shop, a Masai weavers shop, a local orphanage, Kabira (the second largest slum in Africa), an elephant orphanage, a safari walk (it is like a zoo in the US) and even visited a giraffe center and got kisses from a giraffe. And we got pictures to prove it! If possible we will be posting more pictures on flicker. (the link is on our blog).
Traveling here was a bit too eventful for us.... first we had to pay for extra luggage and then check those bags we had intended on carrying on. In the hurry and busyness of it all, we forgot to realize that our visa documents for Liberia were in them... We didn't know what to do, we just kept praying that they would find our bag and that we would get the needed papers. Fortunately they were able to retrieve our bag prior to departure and we got the documents we needed. Then we only prayed our fragile things would not break because we had placed them in those same bags... But nothing was broken. We quickly got our visa and passed through customs without searching. Praise the Lord, we made it and all of our bags!
We are so excited to be here! Its an amazing community here!. We didn't realize it, but when we arrived it was the 30th Anniversary of Mercy Ships and there was a day of games, BBQ and service in the evening. It was great to learn more about the history of the Mercy Ships and then to join and be a part of it all.
The ship we are on has about 450 crew members, 30 countries represented, 6 surgical rooms and 7 decks. It used to be a cargo ferry (of some sort) and they completely had to build the inside of it because it just held those large crates you see on trains. (we thought it was a retired military ship.. we lied... i think that was another one of their ships..) It took them 8 years to renovate this ship and turn it into a hospital and its an amazing ship!
Slowly, we are meeting people here and feeling more comfortable here. For the first few days, every time we went to our room we would get lost. Its huge and is taking some time to learn where everything is. Our room is on the second deck, so its near the bottom and its about 10 by 12 feet (that may be generous).. but its enough for us and we get the real sailor experience with bunk beds. :)
We hope to get out a bit and experience a few different things. The ship has a book where you can sign up for different things like the Jesus Film, different church services on Sunday, orphanage visits, trips to the beach and such. So we'll see how full we can pack our schedule :)
Thank you for your prayers and support. We know that God has continued to cover us with his protection and shower us with his favor. Its unbelievable that we haven't lost any luggage along the way or been in some sort of car accident. We know some who have been robbed, in accidents, lost personal things and shoes stolen right from under them.

In Him,
Jeremy and Kristin