April

It is now April, and I only have one month left here on the ship. It's definitely a very bitter sweet realization. I'm very excited to leave and go back to Texas, but so sad to leave these people and my home. I will miss every one on this ship dearly, especially my gateway family. BUT, it isn't May yet! So let's not talk of this.

Much has happened since I last blogged, obviously, since I am a terrible blogger. My life has taken a turn and is probably going in a much different direction than I was expecting. I could say this in many more words and tell you a long story, but in short, I am single. If you didn't know, I was dating this great guy for a year. So that happened. It has been very difficult to deal with, but fortunately I have an amazing God looking out for me, and he basically took a hold of me and wrapped his arms around me. I never saw it coming. I never knew God could give me such comfort. So yeah, things have changed a bit for me. I'm a little scared of how open my future is, how many paths there are for me to take, and of my new independence, but I hope and pray God will guide me through this.

Another new thing: I am now team leader of my dining room team, which basically just means I'm supposed to tell everyone what to do and makes me responsible for mistakes we make. It's been difficult, and it is stressful to say the least. I get discouraged often and feel as though I don't do a very good job. However, my team is amazing. It's always changing because people always come and go on the ship, but everyone that is and has been on my team is great. Sometimes communication between people of different countries/languages is difficult, but it's fun and interesting. :-) And my day volunteers are incredible. Mary Lou, my boss, always told us we would be blessed more by the day volunteers than we would ever imagine, and she was right. Geraldo, Antoine, Bona, and Antony are not only fantastic workers, but they are also great men of faith. They are so encouraging, and so so fun.

Easter weekend was fantastic on the ship. I played djembe early in the morning on Sunday for the sunrise service on deck 8 and later sang in the choir in church service. Congressman Louie Gohmert visited on the ship for about a week, and he gave the message at the service. He delivered a very good message, and it was good to hear a Texan speak again with a slow Texan twang. Then we had our easter brunch, which was so ridiculously amazing, words cannot describe it. I'm talking about the food. It was wonderful.