Almost 1 month down!

November 5, 2009

It’s been almost 4 full weeks onboard and I still wonder everyday if I’ve made a huge mistake. I’m not sure why I feel that way. I really like my job 85% of the time and I’ve been in 9 different ports of call since my start date. I’ve taken amazing pictures, been on beautiful beaches, and have been on the scene of the best shopping in the world. Still, I’m lonely and can’t help thinking about and missing the family and friends I left behind. Does anything else really matter? I bid my family farewell for 6 months of beaches and shopping…am I that shallow? Maybe a boring job in the States is what would make me happy. When I’m home I want to be traveling, but as soon as I leave I want to be home.

I went to what I’m going to call church yesterday. It’s a prayer and worship service run by crew members for crew members. They were so excited to have me there and I was so excited to meet other Christians. I only caught the name of one of them, but I saw 2 others that were there already today. I don’t think I had ever seen any of them before. The only place most people hang out are the bars (there are 3 for crew alone). While I don’t mind them, I usually find this time pointless. In one bar they play music so loud that you have to yell to be able to talk- although you can dance there. Ishmael taught me the merengue last time I was there. Another bar has a pool table and about 20 chairs and people sit around a talk. I like talking, but I talk with these same people at meal time every day. And the third bar is new and I have yet to go there- but everyone was really excited about it because drinks were only $5 each, so they got about 7 a night. Both the cost and the amount of alcohol amaze me.

I’ve been struggling with the issue of money lately. At church last night I believe I was the only American and people were telling me that they came to work on the ship because there is no place in their country that pays this well. Mothers have left children. Fathers get to be with their kids 2 months a year. They work the rest of the time and send the money to their families. I’ve gotten to know some of Ishmael’s friends and many of them are from the Dominican Republic or Latin America. They are all here to send money to their families. Meanwhile, the people I spend most of my time with have more money that these families may ever see. Now I have know idea who makes how much on the ship- I’m not quite sure what I make yet- but a friend of mine on youth staff is contemplating buying a $3500 watch. My car is worth less than that. I’m not sure where this struggle will lead me, but it’s very interesting to be in the middle of it.

Another thing I’ve been struggling with is sharing my faith. I feel like it’s easy to tell someone who is hurting about Christ and the hope and healing that he offers. But how do I share with people who are parting through life and don’t want it any other way? I know what their missing, but how can they receive it if they think they’ve found all they ever wanted. My assumption is that they’re hurting and don’t know how to deal with it any other way. Pray that God would open the doors to deeper relationships. I haven’t seen many deep relationships yet. We talk a lot, but it’s usually about work, ports, where we’re from, or partying. I’m not even sure where to begin. I’ve never thought much about building relationships- I think people have usually invested in me and not so much the other way around. Hopefully I’ve learned something from all that those people did for me and now I do that for this ship.

Today
It’s turnaround day! 4 hours of phone calls, free wifi, and grocery shopping. After I get back on board my week starts all over again. My weeks are some times 5 days, sometimes 9 days, and always start of a different day. Sorry that I haven’t had many adventure reports for you. I’ll try to work on that this week and post them next turnaround day. Remember to check Facebook to see some pictures. I just posted more from Bermuda (look for the Bermuda shorts), a few from St. Maarten, and I’m working on posting St. Thomas right now.

Thanks for reading!