Name that country!

Half the fun of knowing people on the ship is knowing people from around the world.  Can you guess what country this friend is from?  "Saw your arrival notice come through the other day!!!   See ya soon mate!  Love, Jodie"

Happy St. Patty's Day!

From our Irish children to you - a very Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Isn't God good?

I picked up a friend for lunch today and when I went into her house, she asked me to grab the cookie jar on her counter.  I'm thinking, "Alright!  Cookies!"  And she says, "We need to take it to the bank.  That's your Mercy Ships money."  The cookie jar was filled to the brim with change - $306.95 to be exact.  And after we turned in the change, she wrote out a check - we are blessed.

Why?

Our support letters started going out this week.  Friends and neighbors all around the globe will be receiving them.  If you're wondering why?  Why do we do this?  Why the good ship Mercy?  I think the ship's long-term Maxio-facial surgeon, Dr. Gary Parker, said it best when he said, ". . . Every person has the right to look human . . ."  To God be the glory.   

Looking good!

Matt and I quickly dove outside during last Sunday's brisk temperatures and had our picture taken for our support letters.  The second shot was this one - we both approved - and we'll put our letters in the mail early next week!

Yesterday's Doctor Visit . . .

Yesterday I saw an endocrinologist because there is something going on with my thyroid.  To quote the good doctor, as he felt my thyroid from the front - "your right side is a big enlarged".  Then he felt my thyroid from the back and that was even better - "Wow!  Your left side is HUGE!"  Fortunately, you can't tell by looking at me (:  So he sent me down to the lab where they drew six - yes, I counted them all - vials of blood so they could check for all sorts of things that could be causing my thyroid to be enlarged.  It may be something as simple as a sodium or Vitamin D deficiency or it could be as serious as cancer (doubtful, but they have to give you the worse case scenario).  I'm having a scan done tomorrow afternoon and hopefully some time around St. Patty's day, we'll have an idea of what's happening!  Thanks for praying - don't stop! 

Flying Missionary Rate!

Matt and I got our tickets for this summer - last Thursday actually!  We worked with a wonderful travel agent through Raptim and she was able to get us tickets at an amazing price - $300.00 less per person than we originally thought!  Of course, when you fly missionary rate, you must translate it to "scenic route"!  Matt and I will be able to spend quality time in the following airports:  Minneapolis/St. Paul, Philadelphia, Brussels, Togo, Tenerife North, Madrid, London and Chicago - fortunately not ALL on the same trip!