Termite wings beat frantically against my window, a constant flutter in the background of my head. I’m the insect hunter in my room…two mosquitoes, a large spider and one termite later I headed out to the shower...only to find that another active termite was sharing the shower with me today. I’m thankful for my childhood in Indonesia that introduced me to bugs and sweat as a part of everyday life, for shower flip-flops, for the sweet sleep that comes even knowing exactly what live animals have joined me in the room.
This is the luxury in my days: the hot 2-minute shower and maybe a cup of hot chocolate with a friend; a breath of relaxation. We’ve been diligently and thoroughly cleaning, every area of the ship that we can reach. 499 feet long and 8 decks high seems small after a week at sea but right now each foot stretches out longer as we scrub. It’s tiring but incredibly satisfying to watch our ship go from muddy and dusty to bright and shining again. Yesterday we cleaned even the parts of the ship we couldn’t reach. Siah and I suited up in safety harnesses and went up on scaffolding to wipe down the ceilings midships in the lounge. In the bits we couldn’t reach with tables, that is. We definitely had a blast, so much so that Ruth was inspired to join us without a harness. I’m telling you, Mercy Ships must have the most versatile medical personnel ever.
We’re still living at Appelsbosch, with clouds and cool rain and an Internet café that was damaged in the last thunderstorm (the reason for the late blog posts ;-), with a rollercoaster commute of mountains and ocean and startled pedestrians in the fog. Waiting, praying that the generator tests will go well so we can all move back on board and prepare to sail.
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