Jackie Ann Conway

"My Own Two Hands"- Jack Johnson & Ben Harper

2006-03-09T06:36:00.000-08:00

For a good four years my favorite song has been "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" -by Israel "Iz" Kamakwiwo'ole, but this new one "My own two hands" -by Jack Johnson and Ben Harper touched my heart when a friend played it for me when we first got to Africa and I can't stop jammin to it- check it out I'm sure you'll dig it! Not to mention the entire Ben Harper "There Will Be a Light"disc- ENJOY!

Miracles on the way out...

2006-03-09T05:28:00.000-08:00

God showed Himself faithful throughout our entire trip. Even as we boarded the plane we were witnessing miracles, which gave me even greater faith that God was going to carry on to completion the good work that He started in restoring Liberia's hope.

A close friend of mine, Kate, had gone a few times to visit an orphanage called "Acres of Hope," which has been a miracle in itself with it's outstanding adoption rates that soar over anything that Liberia has ever seen as far as finding orphans new homes goes. While she was there she noticed a boy who was older than most of the kids there. She inquired with the orphanage leader about why the child had not been adopted yet and she told her that he was deaf because of a beating to his head when he was just a baby. Kate, quickly fell in love with Alfred and her heart just broke for him. She prayed and prayed and then prayed some more that God would give this boy a home...
Weeks and months passed and Kate thought of and prayed for him periodically, but never heard anything about his situation and was unable to make the trip back to the orphanage because we were so busy in our own village...
As we waited in the airport on our way out of our new African home, a friend pointed to a young white man playing with a small African boy, dressed in new tennis shoes and brightly colored clean clothes and just smiled. Kate then looked over and it was Alfred. She jumped up and ran to see him and his new FATHER!

Yet another miracle as we boarded the plane was waiting to be revealed-
excited as can be Kate and I were giddy with God's goodness to give Alfred a home.

FLASHBACK- During our final week in Liberia our team leader was asking us what regrets we had or what expectations we came with that were unfulfilled. I raised my hand and shared that it broke my heart to see the way that the men treat the women. Nearly every night we would hear screams of women throughout the village who were being "beaten into submission." It boggled my mind and even stirred up a righteous anger inside of me. I couldn't understand how these men, whom the majority claim to love God, could wake up the next day and look at their wife's swollen face and not feel any remorse. I told Brenda I knew it wasn't my place to talk to the men about this, but I prayed for a miracle, I prayed for God to "do immeasurably more than all I could ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20-21), but I didn't see it happen. She consoled me and said that perhaps I had a unrealistic expectation, but I still felt like I couldn't settle for that. I knew that God's heart breaks for those women and for the men that are abusing them, and the entire situation, every single detail of it FAR more than I do.

God proved that He cared the moment I sat down on the plane and we began to chat with a middle aged man with a sweet southern drawl named Chuck. This man had been a teacher at a seminary over 20 years ago before any of the devastation happened. He knew the culture and he loved the people.

He began to tell us why he came to Africa, and as the words rolled from his tongue the tears streamed down my face. He had come to speak at a nationwide pastor's conference about men loving their wives!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahhhhh Praise God!

This man was able to share Biblical principles about how God says men should treat women with nearly every preacher in Monrovia (that's a lot!) He said that they were incredibly perceptive and excited about the material. The preachers agreed that as the scriptures backed Chuck's words up, this is something that they need to start preaching about in church.

God is UNBELIEVABLE! He far exceeded my expectations-blew them clear out of the water for sure. It was such a blessing to get to see these miracles on our way out of an amazing 6 months, and it just got me thinking of how many more miracles happen around us everyday that we don't recognize. One thing I'm sure of, seeing the way our God is- His infinite love for his children, His creation- I've never been so sure that He is faithful!

2006-03-09T05:22:00.002-08:00

"I am only one, but still I am one.

I can not do everything, but still I can do something.

And because I can not do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."

Letter to OPRAH!!!

2006-01-05T09:56:00.000-08:00

Dearest Oprah,

I’m writing to you from a hopeful Liberia. Hope is a new attribute of this nation, as there has finally been a turn for the better after the fourteen year civil war. The land has been ravaged beyond recognition; she is but a distorted reflection of her original splendour. But the people are hopeful. It is a beautiful thing Oprah! A new President; A new day!

It has been on my heart to write to you for quite some time now. I’ve been in Africa for 4 months now with a medical ship called the Anastasis, which is part of Mercy Ships, an organization that brings hope and healing to the poorest of the poor. Considering Liberia only has one doctor to every 50,000 people; they virtually have no medical care.

Currently, I live in a village of Liberia called New Georgia with my African Ma and her family. Oprah, I just know you would love my Old Ma. She is a woman of integrity, quite like you, she gives more than she receives. She is a living picture of strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come! She knows that God will protect her and provide for her and her family faithfully, as He always has. This woman is the one and only, stunning, Mrs. Esther Gaye.

Let me tell you a little bit about her past and her dreams for a brighter Liberia…

As a young girl Esther was graciously chosen by her older cousin to be taken from her village to have the opportunity to be educated. She viewed every educational door opened to her as a blessing and she completed high school as well as obtained a college degree in Home Economics. She then began a catering service and teaching while her husband worked in the government.

Esther rightfully earned her nickname, Children Mother, for she brings in the most unfortunate such as those with parents who were slaughtered by the Rebels, orphans left behind after their parents died in the leprosy colony, those who were disregarded by their parents out of sheer lack of responsibility, and so many more. During the first week that I was living at the Gaye family compound I wondered who all of the children belonged to; they were all different ages and they all looked so different from each other. It was extremely difficult to figure out who were brothers and sisters and cousins. Sitting, by candlelight one night I asked her, “Old Ma, how many children do you think you have taken in over the years?” She shrugged her shoulders and tried to count. Laughter came over her because she had never counted before. She is so very humble!

In addition to these children, she also has five of her own flesh and blood.

Of all the incredible stories that unravelled from Esther’s life; one spoke so strongly of her incredible generosity and encapsulated everything she stood for as a woman of character. When the Rebels ravaged their home, raped the women and children, and slaughtered people, Mama and her family fled to Sierra Leone with only the clothes on their back. They found a refuge camp there. However, the time came when Sierra Leone was no longer safe, for word of the camp spread to the Rebels. By some miracle beyond my comprehension, a man came into the camp specifically looking for the Gaye family. He said he had a boat and he was there to carry them to safety.

Esther, replied by saying she would not go until all of the others had safely gone. Oprah, she and her family waited, hiding in a sandpit on the beach without food and water for fourteen days. They ate banana leaves and drank dew they salvaged each morning. It that wasn’t hard enough, she helped her daughter deliver her baby girl right there on the beach. Finally, after an agonizing two weeks had passed every man, woman, and child had safely been transported and it was the Gaye family’s turn to go.

Currently, there are many young men and women who are orphans after loosing their parents due to the 250,000+ deaths from the war. Particularly in the inner-city of the nation’s capitol, Monrovia, this is a huge problem. On the streets you see young girls wearing next to nothing, selling their bodies to the men which are most often the UN- Military men. This has led to 6,000 UN babies which are fatherless, further complicating this devastating problem.

This breaks Esher Gaye’s heart. She has a dream and vision to help these hurting young women. She longs to start a school where these young ladies can live and be educated free of charge. The school would specialize in equipping them with Home Economics skills like cooking and sewing. This would enable these girls to have another source of income; freeing them from the enslavement of prostitution.

In order to make the school self-funding she wants to open a restaurant and clothing/home décor store beside the school. The girls can work at further developing their skills and earning some money so that upon graduation they will have the means to stand on their own two feet and start a new life for themselves.

Isn’t that just gorgeous Oprah! It makes my heart hurt I am so excited for her and even more excited for all of the delicate young women whose lives will be changed because of this big dream of Esther’s.

I wish I had the funds to help Old Ma and by God’s grace, some day I will. However, I just graduated from college and spent my last penny to get here.

You are a beautiful woman Oprah; more generous than anyone I have ever seen! You so freely give and our entire nation is in awe of you because of it.

I heard you were coming to Liberia for Ellen’s inauguration in January. My heart nearly leapt out of my chest. Truly there is a new day coming for Liberia!

You would just love this sister and mother of mine, Esther Gaye. She is so much like you. A woman with heart, soul, and strength and she puts all three into everything she does!

Much Love To You,
Jackie Conway

P.S. She already purchased the land!

My African Family

2005-11-30T03:14:00.000-08:00

This past Saturaday I moved in with my African family and let me just tell you, they are AMMMMMAZZZING! I have a Mama, who we call Nae, which means Mama in Bassau (their Tribal language). Mama has the most unbeleivable stories about the war and having to flee the country because she was a teacher and her husband worked for the government and those who were coming in to corrupt the government wanted to kill him. She and her entire family fled by foot after seeing many of their friends and family killed before their eyes as they were forced to line up by the hundreds on the beach. Men shot the people down the line. They prayed crying out to the Lord, and an armed man came up to Mama and told her that she and her family must go. When they went back to their home everything was burned and they fled on foot to Sierra Lione for three weeks of walking and then lived in the Bush for over three years. Mama's husband is now in the USA and has been there for 4 years because it was unsafe for him to be here because of all of the corruption. Now that the elections are over and there is peace he can come home for the first time!!! Their family is ecstatic!

Here are some really cool things from the last few days:

-I've eaten all kinds of African foods, including fried plantaines and pig hoofs, rice in spicy potatoe leaves all with our hands

-I live with over a dozen kids that are all a part of Mama's family, many she adopted because their parents have died

-We sleep under a bug net to keep away from the mosquitos (malaria), spiders the size of your hand, cochroaches and lizards

-we bathe each night with a bucket by candlelight
AND I LOVE IT!!!!

Thier family is soooo full of love and we just laugh and learn from eachother and it is the most beutiful thing ever!!!! Wish you all could be here to take it all in and pour yourself back out to them!!!

Hope for a New Day

2005-11-20T12:31:00.000-08:00

The last three weeks have been baffling. Honestly, the Friday that we arrived here in Monrovia I was not prepared for all my eyes would see. We pulled into a humble port, 100 meters long, surrounded by old and rusty, out of service ships. There were church choirs there to greet us and celebrate the arrival of hope for the people. Also, many members of their government were there to express their gratitude from the nation. It was extremely encouraging to be so warmly welcomed. The next morning I went out into the city on foot with a small group and the people would yell, “Mercy Ships,” and wave in excitement. Sparkling, sweat streaked faces were everywhere

As we walked, a young girl named Brighta joined us as she was on her way home. As we skipped along her sandal broke. She stopped with a look of despair, far beyond anything we would ever feel over a broken shoe. I had her hop on my back and we continued on toward the town where there is a sort of market. Skipping along we sang songs together, I taught her twinkle little star and she taught me a song about a spider. Finally, after about a mile or so we came upon a man selling flip-flops and I had Brighta climb off my back and choose a pair of shoes. She could hardly believe it. Her face lit up! Soon after we left the stand, I asked her where her house was and she pointed behind us. I laughed and she just smiled up at me with her bright shining eyes, I gave her a hug and sadly told her she must go home because her family was probably waiting for her. She insisted she didn’t need to go home, but I knew she couldn’t come with us any further.

Continuing on our journey into the town, we saw a group of people looking over the edge of a bridge. It seemed as though they were looking at an animal or something, so we peered over the edge only to see the most horrific sight I have seen in my life. A ten-year-old boy was lying lifeless on the river’s edge, belly up and naked. Shocked, I stepped back and cried out to God! What is going on? I didn’t understand. How did this boy die? Why wasn’t anyone doing anything about it? Why wasn’t anyone crying or screaming? Why were the people so calm? Don’t they see this is a dead little boy? I don’t understand God!
After talking with several of the Liberian people I was enlightened that these people have seen so much death and destruction in the past 16 years that they have depreciated their value of life. Death is not foreign to them, it is happening all the time. A woman said that it is not uncommon for a body to wash up there on the river, it happens all the time, and they will leave the body there until someone can come and claim it. Horrifying! Just past the gate of the dock where the Anastasis sits, ¼ mile from my bed there is a massive burial pit with over 3,000 bodies in it that remained after the devastation of the war. Unbelievable!

The war is still not the chief cause of death here in Liberia. With a life expectancy rate of only 39 years old, due to disease. It is painstaking to know that the vast majority of deaths are from a lack of sanitation. The streets are covered in garbage, there are no trashcans. They use the same creek to bath in, clean with, and use the restroom in. They actually have outhouses that are built hanging over the edge of the creek. What we look at as common sense is foreign to them; the people are simply not aware of the dangers that they face in such circumstances. There is such a need for education about the importance of clean water from wells and proper latrines.

Although this is all devastating and quite depressing to hear, there is yet hope for Liberia! Hope that children will be educated, hope that parents will be able to live to become grandparents, hope that they could rise up out of poverty. The unemployment rate here in Liberia is 85%. This is terrifying because there just aren’t any jobs to be had. The war and horrible dictatorship for so long have ravaged the economy, but yet there is hope!

Africa is blessed beyond measure in the area of natural resources. Their land is incredibly fertile for agriculture. Some of their chief resources include: rubber, coffee, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, sugarcane, bananas, sheep, goats, diamonds and timber. However these resources go unused and jobs are not created because there are no businesses to employ the people.

This country needs a lot of prayer.

Just last week the elections were completed, in which the final two candidates comprised a former soccer player, George Weah (a man without a high school diploma) and the other candidate was a woman named Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (a well educated woman with experience in working in the government, however she had worked under the dictatorship of Charles Taylor). How would you vote? Can you imagine those are the two most qualified candidates for your nation’s presidency?

The votes came back with Ellen on top. My prayer request on the behalf of Liberia would be that Ellen would be a woman of noble character and be free from corruption. Pray that she will use her talents and abilities to bring this country a NEW DAY. A day where they will see their salaries rise above 4 dollars a day (if they are lucky enough to be employed), where they will have walls on their houses rather than sheets, where they will not doubt that they will be able to live to see tomorrow. By God’s grace alone will these things be possible so that Liberia can see a NEW DAY!

This update may seem incredibly sad, and it is, but I want to realistically convey to you the tragedies I have seen. This is the raw truth: child prostitution, lack of education, starving people, desensitisation, dirty water... It is heavy, so heavy that only our God can lift it!

Hebrews 6:18-19
…it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

Authentically,
Jackie

Mercy Ships on the Web

2005-10-28T07:47:00.000-07:00

MercyShips.org
(home site)

AnaMercyShips.org
(Anastasis site- the ship I am on!)

OnaMercyShip.com
(Groovy site with great photos)

It's not how much you do that matters, but how much love you put into what you do.- Mother Theresa

2005-10-28T04:14:00.000-07:00

The sail is complete; this morning we are docking in Liberia, which will be home for the next four months! It is so exciting to finally be here after the ten day sail. During the sail we had a blast. It was only rough for the first two days, just like the captain predicted. We got to sleep under the stars one night on the deck and watch shooting stars and gaze at Venus, which is shockingly clear from here. Also, we had an equator party when we crossed over it, in which I was designated as the “line” dance instructor for the evening. It was a blast! It felt like the crew of 300 was one big family at a giant reunion! In addition to all of this the captain stopped the ship for two hours so that we could swim in the middle of the Atlantic. The water is so gorgeous I can’t even describe it! You can see right through the crystal royal blue down past your feet! Dolphins came and swam around the boat, and soon a whale as well! It was unreal! Last night there was a giant lightning storm that we were in the dead center of, which was more beautiful than anything I had ever seen in my whole 22 years of life! Not to mention, this week during the sail the head surgeon, Dr. Gary Parker, who has been on the ship for eighteen years, spoke to our class daily and shared his passion for the needy and many of the miracles that he has witnessed over the years of serving on Mercy Ships. It was incredible and truly inspiring to see someone so REAL and down to earth be used in such an extraordinary way!

All week long we, as a collective group, have been praying and fasting for Liberia to prepare for the upcoming outreach that will last until June. We have a community meeting every morning for two hours in which we have been going through debriefing to become well-informed about the current status of the nation. It is unbelievable what their country has gone through and continues to battle against as the second poorest country in the world.
Just two years ago Liberia came out of a 14 year civil war, in which there were children fighting with machine guns at the age of eight. Most children lost their parents in the war and were recruited by the rebels to fight in the war, becoming brainwashed to kill. Their nation has not had electricity for the last 16 years and there is no access to medical care. 47% of the population is under the age of 14 years old. Those of the population who are the age of 16 or younger are illiterate because there was NO education throughout the entire war. Therefore half (or more) of their culture is uneducated. The statistics are shocking, but even more shocking is the emotional trauma that plagues a nation after such despair of a lifetime of war and the dictatorship of Charles Taylor.

I can’t begin to comprehend the tragedies that these people have endured. As we watched a video called “The Un Civil War,” I felt so powerless, so weak, so small in comparison to a problem that words can’t begin to describe. God showed me then that He wasn’t interested in how much I did, but rather how much I loved. God is funny like that; He chooses to use the weak things of the world. Imagine, he took a bunch of fishermen and chose them as His disciples. All He wants is a willing heart to work through! It’s not even us that do the work; it is His power within us!

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

This week all of the screenings will be done prior to the operations to test blood, tumors, etc. People come from villages that are a three day walk for them to the port, in order to receive the first medical care of their lives. Some of the different surgeries that Mercy Ships focuses on are cataracts removal, dental reconstruction, cleft lip, tumor removal in maxillofacial operations, internal reconstruction in females who suffered during childbirth and no longer can control their bodily functions, etc. During this time I will be on the drama team that performs different skits (some funny and some serious) for the hundreds of people as they wait in line for potentially days for a glimpse of hope. Check out the websites for more details and photos:
- MercyShips.org

- OnAmercyship.com

- Ana.MercyShips.org

PLEASE pray for Liberia and the elections (That God will appoint a man or woman of justice) which will be completed on November 8…pray as well for the people who make the long, hard trek to the ship for care!

God hears our pleas; His heart is for the underdog!

Isaiah 58:1-12
Loose the chains of injustice…
Set the oppressed free…
Share your food with the hungry…
Provide the poor wanderer with shelter…
Clothe the naked…

Much love to each of you… please forgive me for not being prompt about replying to each email, I LOVE to hear what you’re up to so please keep me posted on your lives, I will do my best to reply but I am super busy and computer time is a hot commodity with only 6 computers for over 400 people!

Authentically yours,
Jackie

Quotes to Ponder

2005-10-25T08:37:00.000-07:00

"You will never discover new oceans until you get the courage to loose sight of the shore!"

"God's gift to you is your potential; your gift to God is what you do with it!"

Hello From Africa

2005-10-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

Hello My Luvs,
Here I am in South Africa sending you all my love. It hardly feels like I have been here for a month and a half already. The last six weeks have been more brilliant than I could possibly describe with words, but I’m certainly going to try to! Honestly, God has become more real to me than I had ever imagined. It is like when you have a friend whom you are close to and you think you know very well, but when you go on an extended trip together, spending 24/7 with one another, you become closer than you could have dreamt of. That is the analogy of what the Lord has done; He swept me off my feet to Africa on an adventure of getting to know Him better and to bless others by serving them in the process.
The ship is incredible! It is like an old man living past his prime, yet chugging away at the game of life with a fervor of a twenty year old lad! It is a legend; the ship was built in the early 50’s and went out of commission in the 70’s. Two guys had a vision to start the ministry of a hospital ship travelling to needy countries around the globe. This was a laughing matter to many, but the hand of God resurrected this old ship in the late 70’s and she is still sailing today! Her story of being resurrected yields her name, Anastasis, which means just that! During tours in the PR phase of the ship this past month many engineers came aboard to see the miracle ship that is still kicking!
By the way, during the PR phase last month we trusted God to raise 7 million dollars and He has brought nearly every cent in through the masses that came for tours and donated at the fundraiser concerts on the waterfront of Cape Town. Surely He has multiplied what was coming in from these sources and has His blessing on the upcoming journey to Liberia as He has provided hands and feet of people volunteering for jobs on the ship (ranging from kitchen workers, house keeping, engineers, deckies, doctors, nurses, people to manage our finances, teachers, etc.) as well as the money and supplies needed for all of the supplies for the next eight months in Liberia (medical supplies, food, educational tools, etc.).
My job on the ship has been as a deck hand, which is better known as a “deckie.” Basically, our job title is maintenance and or loading of the ship. The first two weeks we did a lot of painting and scrubbing, but the vast majority of the time we have been loading the supplies for the upcoming voyage and the entire stay. Due to the fact that the ship is so old, the loading is not exactly state of the art, hence the many hours of assembly lines of workers in the holds, passing the supplies to be stored. Well, all I have to say is “Praise the Lord” because we finished this week and we set sail for the 10 day voyage at sea Tuesday morning at 10am (which is 4am Eastern time!). Please pray for me about that because on the last sail I was quite a mess if you know what I mean, and that was only 2 days!
During the mornings Monday through Friday we have lecture with different speakers from all over the world (most are on YWAM staff or Pastors). The different weekly topics that each speaker has enlightened us on have been: Spiritual Warfare, God’s Character, Risking with God, A Missionary Heart, and Discovering Spiritual Gifts from God. These times in the classroom from 8:30am until noon have been the most breathtaking times of my life. When I got here, I asked God that he would use my life to bring hope and healing to others both physically and spiritually as I shared God’s love with them, and that He would not let me go home the same in six months. Needless to say, He takes our prayers seriously! He has shown me so many areas of my life where I need to be refined like a piece of cracked pottery in His hands. He has revealed the things that He wants to mold and repair so that He can get rid of the cracks so that He will be able to use me to hold the water of life that He wants to pour out on others!
It has been quite emotional as He has unveiled His deep love for me, Jaclyn Ann Conway, His bride, His daughter, His love, His servant, His chosen one! It is kind of scary to think that the God of the universe is in love with you, head over heels, crazy about you. I suppose I say “scary” because it lead to wondering what life would look like if I truly dove head first into that love, the love of God that I have read about in the Bible and dabbled in since I became a Christian in seventh grade.
The speaker the second week raved about the feeling that rushed through him as he was bold with God and cried out saying he had known who God was for some time but never felt he KNEW God before. When he said this something burned inside of me and I realized for the first time that I had always known that God loved me because He loves and longs for everyone, but I had been doubting his love for me individually! So I asked that He would allow me to see and feel His love more than ever before; I asked Him to be real with me. That, my friends, was when all the healing began and my doubts were taken away! Read the book of Psalms 139 in the Bible and you will be amazed at how crazy in love God is with each of his children!!!
Last weekend I had the privilege of going to a prison for young boys ages 14-18. I went with a group of eight other people from the ship to share a fun afternoon with them. We played soccer and I learned some amazing African techno dance moves!!! We laughed a lot! Then, the time to get real came. I shared with them all the joy that Christ had filled my heart with, sceptical, a boy named Howie asked if I actually liked to pray because he gets bored. I laughed and told him I understood because I had been there before as well, but God had shown me that we all pray in our own ways. My favorite time to pray is when I go for a run with a friend and we take turns, or just throughout the day walking around, waiting in line, etc. Then I told him that the key was to just be real with God and talk to Him like a friend because that is what He is. Excited He smiled and said he was going to try it. His other friends asked some more questions as well, wondering about this God and Savior that wants to love them personally. Finally, Howie asked me if I knew what he had done to be in prison. I started to tell him no and that he didn’t have to tell me if he didn’t want to, but before I could get my words out he said, “I killed my best friend for drug money.”
The other boys proceeded to tell me of the numerous people they had murdered. My heart broke. Overwhelmed with God’s love for them I told them that even this is not too big to separate them from the love of Christ, that there was no difference between their sin and my sin. That Christ had come to die in the place of all of us because there is not one without sin. I told them about mercy and grace, and how Christ paid a debt that we couldn’t pay on our own. Their eyes filled with excitement and an indescribable hope filled the entire place. We prayed together and several of them gave their lives to Christ that day. They became new creations; the old had gone and the new had come! A new day. A clean slate. It was more beautiful than any sunset, flower, love story… I had ever seen!
I could go on and on and on but I will stop for now. May God watch between you and I while we are apart and I regret not being able to keep in touch more but I will do my best to write an update more often! Drop me a line to fill me in on all of your lives back home!

Other exciting stuff:
-Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu came on the ship! He was the most brilliant speaker I have ever heard and he had an aura about him that resonated God’s love in an awesome way!

-I got to go on a Safari, so yes, these animal pics are from a real live African safari!

-We visited Robben Island, which is where Nelson Mandela and many other political prisoners were enslaved. It was here where the plans to break the apartheid were born as they planned democratic freedom as they were imprisoned! It was an eye opening experience that racial equality was not in effect until 10 years ago.

-we sail tomorrow for an estimated 10-14 days to Liberia! Only the first 3 will be rocky (they say).

-I adore all of the stellar people I have met on the ship, of course there is nothing like family and old friends, but I feel extremely blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing people! My roommates are particularly great; I prayed that they would be kind of girly girls and they are for sure! I also have two little sisters and a little bro that are unbelievable; I always wanted more siblings! My boss is an amazing lad from Australia so we call him “crokey Craig” and he totally digs it!

Prayer Requests:
-Great Aunty Mary is sick in the hospital and could really use prayer! We think she has pancreatitis. My Mom says her spirits are still up! She is amazing! (She’s 94 by the way)

Authentically Yours,
Jackie

God's Love is Brilliant!

2005-10-07T18:29:00.000-07:00

If I ever TRULY knew the depth of God's love for me I believe I would be dancing on a street of gold! Someday I will know. Until then I will simply bask in the romance of the unknown.