Off to Matoto

Yesterday was my day off, so my friend Jenny and I decided to adventure. And boy, was it an adventure. She had heard about the market in Matoto, which happens to be near where my uncle lived as a missionary during my childhood. The two of us hopped on the bus for 3,000 guinea francs each (about 40 cents) to Matoto, which took about an hour and a half. At first the bus was comfortable, but with every stop the smell got fouler as more and more people piled in. We stood almost the whole way there. Two different people talked to us in English as we attempted the bit of French/Susu/Pullar we knew.

We stepped off the bus at the market, and dove into the madness. It was exciting and terrifying time to be in a completely strange place. We ended up buying lots of fabric, place mats, and some bread and cheese for the bus ride home. I love adventuring because it makes me generally less afraid of speaking the language and diving into normal life here. The lady that we bought the placemats from happened to be wearing a North Carolina t-shirt and I just had to get a picture with her. She and her co-worker absolutely loved getting their picture taken. On our way out of the market, a day worker from the eye team recognized my Mercy Ships t-shirt and took us directly to a bus back to the port, helped us by our tickets, and found us an actual seat on the bus. Such a blessing, and such a fun day.


The galley has been a bustling place. We've lost a few people (people come and go all the time), and I feel like I'm feeling more like a major part of the team. Starting next week, I will be the cold side team leader, or the crew member in charge of the salad bar and cold foods. It will be challenging, but good experience. Hopefully I will be an asset as I will be here until the end of the outreach. That's another piece of news: I've decided to stay until the ship leaves Guinea on June 2nd. The Lord completely changed my heart and view on that idea and I know it's His will. It's already been confirmed that I'll be staying and I have been blessed with enough funds to stay on the ship until then.

Hopefully most of you were able to watch the Mercy Ships segment on 60 minutes last week! We were able to watch some clips a few days afterwards. Everyone crammed into the International Lounge (or chapel) and listened intently and cheered loudly when they saw someone they knew. Some of the reporter's questions and responses also made us giggle about living in such close proximity. But the majority of everyone here was proud of the way the organization came off as a whole, and we appreciated their thoughtful questions and how they included and even probed about our faith and motivation.

Here are a few pictures of the trip to Matoto. Have a blessed week!