Goodnight Moon....

So, it had to happen sooner or later I guess.  Well - I guess that's true of alot of things.  First I guess we're having to come to grips with all the winding down of our mission here in Togo and of all the saying good byes.  And the other thing that has been a long time in the waiting is for one of us to get sick.  Yup - I got a bug of some sort.  :(  Sadly - it sort of came on as we were out for a lovely evening with our good friends, Simon and Tina.  I was glad we could get back to the ship prior to me really feeling bad but I had a rough night on Sunday.  Monday I don't remember much at all as I think I slept the entire day and now today on Tuesday Peter says I look like I've been drugged.  He's a nice guy.  I guess it could be worse.  In fact, one of the things I thanked the good Lord for was the fact that during my infirmity our toilet was not one of the over half on our side of the ship that was non-functional for three full days!  So - in all these things there is still plenty to be thankful for. 

Which leads to my other train of though the last few weeks.  Not only are there alot of things here that we are thankful for and many that we will miss in the 10 short days we have left on the boat.  But there is also - as you can imagine - a lengthy list of things we'll not be at all nostalgic for once we head on outta here. 

Not surprisingly, many of the items on the "not gonna miss this" list had to do with water.  This is common on a ship - since water is at a premium.  Not only do we have to take quicky, two minute showers but we often are aware of the status of the plumbing with frequent and often constant moans, groans, gurgles and other hard to describe noises.  These noises are actually a welcome reminder that the plumbing is working since as I mentioned earlier - it often does not.  There's been a couple of times when we've had complete water shortages and we go without laundry service but thankfully there's not been a time of no showers on board like they had in Sierra Leone!  That would have taken our experience to a whole 'nother level, I'm guessing. 

And fortunately since we have been able to shower each day we've gotten to really enjoy the friendships we've made on the boat these past five months.  So - the exodus of folks leaving these past several weeks has been getting harder and harder to deal with as people are starting to leave by the dozens on Monday and Thursday nights and there have been many tears.  I call it the twice a week "kiss and cry". 



And as I've been reflecting on the list of "will miss" and "ain't gonna miss" I've had the rhymes of that childhood favorite bedtime story book - Good Night Moon stuck in my head.  So, with my apologies to the author Margaret Wise Brown, here is my version of  "Good Night Ship".

Good Night Ship

Good night ship leaving soon your slip

Good night ship, our home away for a bit

Bye we say to new family made here

Bye we say to friends we’ll long hold dear

So long rocking, rolling home

So long grunting, groaning gangway stroll

Not much longer tents for exams

Not much longer ears plugged like dams

Already missing African smiles

Already wondering if thru the miles

We’ll maintain friends and new found relations

We’ll maintain good habits and new found occupations

Like no more nightly TV marathons

And no more daily you tube goings on  

Au revoir groaning moaning ship at night

Sayonara motor bikes running traffic lights

To anti-malarials we say “take a hike”

And welcome back to the stuff we like

So good night noisy neighbors burping

Good night intermittent plumbing chirping

Adios to Tuesday African Night

And Adios to red, yellow and off white Crystal Light.

While Starbucks prices could not be beat

And Monday Crepes and mid-week Waffles were a welcome treat

Our sense of humor for Thursday fire drills in retreat.

Time to peek at shoulders and knees

And maybe even streaming videos we’d like to see

How about a long, hot, steamy shower

Or maybe soak in a tub for an hour?

So as the waning moon grows dim

We’ll wax poetic to our kith and kin

‘Bout screening days and on-call nights

Of feeling useful and basking in our Lord’s bright light

Our sense of mission not nearly complete

But a sense of peace due to our obedient feet

So good bye ship this June we say

But not to earthly missionary days

We hope that the genuine heart of our stay

Will ever be in the Lord’s service we pray

 

Thank you Jesus – Thank you Mercy Ships.