Don't rock the boat..

After a month of bad jokes and puns; I have decided to share some proverbs and sayings about ships and some just quite funny phrases to slip into conversation when one is living on a ship.

Good lines to work into conversation

'Don't rock the boat now!'
'Well there is no need to go overboard'
'Seems all shipshape from here'
'Well you're pushing the boat out!'
'Loose lips sink ships'

Funny quotes

'A lot of people ask me if I were shipwrecked, and could only have one book, what would it be? I always say 'How to Build a Boat'
'Noah was a brave man to sail in a wooden boat with two termites.'
'Only the guy who isn't rowing has time to rock the boat.'
'We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.'
'The one thing I remember about Christmas was that my father used to take me out in a boat about ten miles offshore on Christmas Day, and I used to have to swim back. Extraordinary. It was a ritual. Mind you, that wasn't the hard part. The difficult bit was getting out of the sack.'

Deep and meaningful

‘Such is the human race, often it seems a pity that Noah... didn't miss the boat.
'The water is the same on both sides of the boat'
'You can't row a boat in two directions at the same time'

There's a hole in the boat!

Hi all!

Been a little while since my last blog and it’s been nonstop since.
Last week was a tough week when the baby passed away in ICU. It’s one of those things that hits the whole community here on the ship and especially the nurses must have been hurting. Sadly it is an inevitable part of our work here and we can only trust it features in His plan.

The school year is in full flow now and when I’m not spending my time teaching I’m busy doing ‘Reflective Unit Plans’ or ‘Subject Philosophies’.. There is a reason I wasn’t made for a desk job..

I’ve got everything sorted for the up and coming basketball court but still need the netting to be hung. The joys of working in an industrial area means that I need an ‘Elevated work permit’ and someone who is ‘safety harness trained’ to complete the work (ie read: stand on a chair and zip tie the net to the frame..) but I understand that safety is important.

Some of us managed to get away to a local hotel last weekend to enjoy their pool. And for the first time since the shoulder problems I nailed couple back flips! Water seems safe enough a landing.. Peer pressure got the better of me ;)

Sadly there were problems with the donation cards so everybody donating should have received an email, if you haven’t, let me know. The first newsletter will be out in the run of the week.

I ALMOST FORGOT THE BIG NEWS! We officially heard yesterday that next year after Togo we will be in South Africa for 6-7 months while there is major upkeep work (something about generators being replaced after a big hole is cut in the ship, never seems a good idea to cut holes in floating things really but I’m not an engineer so what do I know..) done on the ship. This will most likely mean the academy will have to relocate for a time and in accreditation year that will be interesting.

Keep the news coming on how all y’all are doin’!
God bless!

Ben

Just as a little extra; here's a photo of my 'gymhall'.. Also known as the starboard (look at me being al maritime) side of deck 7.

Sad news

I'm sorry to inform you all that the baby in ICU passed away this morning, thank you all for your prayers. Please keep remembering the nurses and his family as this is a rough time for them especially.

God bless,

Ben

Prayer request..

Just a quick message, not a 'normal blog' but a prayer request.

There is a very very sick baby down on the ICU ward right now who is not responding to treatment. I was playing with his sister after work up on deck just this last week and what a joy she is. This is as much a spiritual battle as medical.. If you are willing and able please uphold him and his family in your prayers.. Thank you.

James 5:13-16
The Prayer of Faith
¹³Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. ¹⁴Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

It's just another one of those glory days..

School's started!

There is nothing like being asked: 'so how was school today?' and then discovering its not your mother asking and you're not 8 years old.. :)

But i've got my 'classroom' up and running, interesting experience when you have to watch out cause their treating your gymhall for rust :P but the kids are just gems!!

Following on from small mercies last time: my showers been fixed! No more lukewarm morning showers but piping hot relaxing ones!! It's the little things that keep you going..

Funny story: I've got a shiplicense!! This basicly means that I can use the Land Rovers available!! Ive been told its not necesseraly a normal thing to have (especially as I dont have a family) so what a luxury!! This is what the new wheels look like:

I had a drive out on Tuesday trying to pick up supplies and its just madness!! Traffic rules arent so much laws here as general advice. Green means 'GO', red means 'stop if you want but dont worry if you dont want to..'

'No right turns' means: 'take right turns but at own risk..'

And the big rule of the road is: 'size wins..'

Car beats Zimi jon, Land Rover beats Car, Truck beats Land Rover, Tank beats Truck (not found anything that beats Tank yet..'

Life will never be the same again.. (in a good way)

(Poll: do I use .. too much at the end of sentences? Let me know..)

Rejoice in small victories !!

Teaching on a ship.. never had a Physical Education program before.. Sound like a problem?

But within the space of 24 hours I have a basketball court (ok half a court) and a trampoline + mats!!

After finding the top of a small round trampoline in the storeroom I discovered there were no legs... But ships = engineers and this afternoon an amazing Dutchman (what are the chances) welded 6 legs under it for me.. not only that, in the back of a storage cupboard someone found some gymnastics mats: I HAVE A TRAMPOLINE + MATS !!

next..

After pitching for a play area on the top deck (only place with height) today I was approved to set up a basketball/volleyball/playarea, AND NOT ONLY THAT.. I was told we already had free standing basketball board on board in storage !! I HAVE A BASKETBALL COURT (safety netting pending).

It started as a tip from someone onboard to keep sain in a cramped envirement but now it takes on a new meaning: REJOICE IN SMALL VICTORIES !!