England Musings #6 - The Final One!

Email originally sent out the evening of 7 June 2005
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Hiya!

Hope all is well in your lives. The following note comprises the sixth and final installment of my notes from England. Please note that the majority of this note was authored on Sunday (5 June) whereas the final few paragraphs were completed on Monday and Tuesday evenings – so, assume that the frame of reference from which this note was authored is Sunday, not the day in which you happened to receive it. I hope to be flying out of Newcastle tomorrow (Wednesday, 8 June), arriving in Seattle in late evening the same day (with an eight hour time change, backwards).

It would seem that the length of my previous note was a bit in excess and most of you probably did not read through all of it – something that I expected after noting the length to which it grew. Do not fear as this note shall be considerably shorter then the previous as my time is quickly diminishing here.

This note is also posted on the blog site – here is a link (and web address) for you: http://mattsdomain.blogspot.com

In addition, over the past two weeks, I have added and updated the photo albums with some recent and not-so-recent photos. Feel free to check out the photos using this link (and web address): http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=mattsdomain

Please note that the reason there are not recognizable photos of others (besides immediate family – sorry family but you don’t count…) within the photo album is that I didn’t think it right to go about posting others photos on the web without consent. So, the photos are not always exciting as they just include me primarily, but do represent a cross section of the travels in my recent history. Yeah, it seems a little vain, but that is how it’s going to work on this website.

Ok, down to the business at hand. The past two weeks are beginning to blend together for me – I have said it before and I will say it again, but time has moved quickly here. Certainly there were times where I was a bit bored and it would be a lie to say that there was always something going on here. Many nights have been quiet and early to bed (of course this is necessary to rise early for work…) – the point being that I don’t want to cast a false sense of always having had an exciting time while here. This is probably a bigger analogy for life in general – there are going to be occasions of exciting times and periods where time appears to move slowly. However, truth be told, time is not something that one gets to try again at – there is only one chance and its up to you to make the most of it.

Work over the past two weeks has been full of activity. It is a very true statement to say that there is not a lack of things to do within the engineering works of the ship. Just to summarize the work activities that I have been helping with over the past two weeks, in no particular order and not all inclusive: complete cleaning of the crankcase/sump of Harbor Generator #2, relocation of oil purifier (heavy!) from the aft engine room in preparation for shipping it and other pieces out to the Anastasis, relocation of a number of large seawater/oil cooling system pipes to the 3rd deck, completion of a number of daily logs, relocation of “scrap” steel parts and pieces from a forward engine room to 3rd deck for sorting, fitting and installation of new air filters for the turbochargers of the six engines, and checking deflection of the crankshaft of Main Engine #2 among a couple other small maintenance activities.

Without question the work days are full of activity, some with more activity than others, but at the point now where it feels only like a ½ hour of work by the time morning break rolls around at 9 am. Certainly, some of the jobs I have been involved with have not been what I call enjoyable, but that is to be expected. There are always things in life that will not be enjoyable or fun and I would suppose that it is only one’s attitude and perspective that will determine the actual outcome of these melancholy situations. I have chosen to look at the work on the ship in two ways: there is “good” work and then there is work. Both which have a common purpose, but one with which I would rather be involved. This isn’t to say that I always say what I do and do what I say, but I do recognize that the one thing in life to which a person has control over is their attitude, and that alone can make all the difference in the experience at hand.

I will miss the work on the ship; the satisfaction and fulfillment that comes with a physical and visual result of a job well done, the immediate realization that occurs in a situation where the job should have been done differently, and the simple pleasure in learning something new (not that it sticks with me very well…). More a loss then maybe the work will be the opportunities to work with people and to learn from them (uh, sometimes what NOT to do). In spite of the fact that many of the folks here are from all over the globe and share varying personalities (believe me, there is no lack for “diverse” personalities) we all do share commonalities captured in the work which we do aboard the ship and the reasons that we are here in addition to the simple, personal interactions with one another. There is a portion of sorrow with which I leave the work and fellow crew behind, however, I know they will certainly continue in their efforts here and someday the ship will sail for Africa.

The last two weeks have encompassed many non-work activities, a number of which encompassed walking trips. The previous week there were a number of nights out to dinner at the home of Lee & Dana and then Phil & Lois (with some other single guys here) both of which were just great nights to visit and enjoy some good food together. The previous week also included a community meal, community meeting and rounded out with Bible study on Friday night – each of these very enjoyable in their own right.

Last weekend on Saturday was a football match (soccer in the US) between the technical crew (those who work on the ship) and the porta-cabin crew (those who work in the business office just a couple hundred yards from the dockside). The technical crew was able to claim a sure victory (after some funny substitutions and evening of the sides – how it came down to a shoot-out I do not know). In any case the football match was good fun and played in good sportsmanship (well, almost) and turned out to be a good get-together event for the community of the Africa Mercy. The porta-cabin crew really didn’t have much of a chance anyway…
Sunday, Oebele and I got together and did some walking. We walked under the river through the pedestrian tunnel and west towards Newcastle where we had some lunch (okay, not quite “lunch”, rather a piece of pie and a piece of cake for both of us with a sandwich added in mid-way). Following a bit of browsing through the Sunday market and the nearby BALTIC art museum, The Sage performing arts center, and the Gateshead visitor’s center, we ventured back along the south portion of the River Tyne to Jarrow. This comprised a round-trip of what we figure was around ten miles or so, taking us around six or seven hours with all the stops that were made. The weather was good and the conversation was better. We covered a number of life’s questions and then the many times chaotic issues resounding from relationships with girls – quite a good day in many ways, plus some decent exercise. That evening I was blessed with a great haircut by Marcelino – my hair was definitely overdue for a good, summer haircut.

Monday of this past week was “Spring Bank Holiday” for England. We did not have to work on this day and after a quiet morning I just had to get out of the flat. The flats have been great locations to sleep and eat for a time, but I just can’t handle being in them for long periods. This is certainly not due to the roommates I have or anything like that, rather, I just feel like a rat in a cage, for lack of a better analogy. So, I just left and eventually found my way over to South Shields, where after a wonderful lunch of true fish and chips (check out http://www.colmansfishandchips.com ), I begun the walk from South Shields in a southerly direction to Sunderland. This is a beautiful walk along the coast and notably so on such a beautiful day as Monday turned out to be. Thankfully I had applied sunscreen to my face, however, I the legs were missed and came out a bit sunburned – no complaints though as the sun felt great that day. The walk took somewhere around 3 ½ hours, which included a number of stops, and is actually a distance of maybe 5 or 6 miles. I did enjoy the relative solitude of the walk and the exercise gained in addition to viewing some of this part that was new to me.

Over the past week I have enjoyed the last community meeting to which I will attend (followed by an interesting night out at the pub), as well as the last Bible study, and mixed in there was dinner out with Oebele.

Yesterday, Saturday, a number of us ventured out on a walk around an hour’s drive to the Southwest of here at Blanchland. Lee estimated the walk was about 7 miles in total length and I guess that we spent about four hours walking, including a few short stops and a lunch break. The weather did sprinkle on us a bit and the wind was stiff along the higher elevations, however, I would have to say that the walk covered some beautiful countryside including a significant portion spent in the moor lands of the area. The pictures don’t quite do the walk justice as the weather prevented some quality photos, however, I would stress that this was a beautiful area and wonderful to experience especially with the walking company that day.

Today was the third and last visit to Heworth Christian Fellowship with a great lunch (Sunday dinner actually) out with Andy & Brenda and a portion of their family, along with David S. Another great time to visit and to hear the encouragement of Andy & Brenda’s story of God’s faithfulness in their lives. This evening I traveled with a small group to chat at a pub and then go watch a movie – another great time out and a good way to end the last weekend in England.

Now, you will note that I haven’t gone to in depth to any of these experiences over the last couple weeks, as I felt that this would certainly lengthen the email and the email composing process, and since time is running short here I have stopped short of writing too much - not that this note is turning out to be “short” (it’s all relative anyway)… However, just yesterday I updated the photo albums with a few new pics, some of which are from the walk yesterday at Blanchland, with others spanning a portion of the activities mentioned above. The pics may aat least provide some more insight into some of the activities, or they may just be pictures to look at. You will have to scroll down towards the bottom of the left hand window in the “England” gallery to view the newest additions to the pictures.

Over the past week or so I have been trying to get organized with respect to the impending trip back to the States. Some of this means completing this final “mass” emailing and getting the online photo albums in order (as they are now, well, as good as they will get…) whereas the other portion of this “getting ready” is packing, doing up a few thank you notes, and saying the goodbyes. In the midst of preparations over the next few days I hope to make time for a bit of reflection of the journey while here and the experiences experienced.

Sometimes life is boring. Sometimes life is quite exciting. Sometimes life is significantly sad. And sometimes life is not what one expected, nor wanted, nor as dreamt of long ago. It seems to me that it is not the circumstances in life that determines the course of life, rather the person who is navigating the circumstances determines the course by how they would choose to react to the situation into which they find themselves.

I don’t pretend to always react well in life, nor lead a life to in which I have no regrets. There are many experiences in the past for which I dream of a rewind button, a chance to redo situations for the better, whatever that may be. But, that is a pipe dream, and results in futility of thinking to dwell on the past in such a way. The significance of the past is in the choices of the future. The future is controllable, or rather the attitude and choices that are made while living it.

It is certain that I could spend some time in reflection and bore the reader with continued words on whatever comes to mind and heart, and as much as I would like to do that (bore the reader that is…) it seems that both the restriction of time and the interest of maintaining a “short” note have vetoed any attempt to continue on a bent of reflecting. However, in the interest of wrapping up this note as the finality of the England adventures I will just say a few short words and shut up once and for all (well, about this experience anyway…).

There has been some thought put into figuring out what would be appropriate to bring some sort of closure to this series of England emails – I can’t say that any conclusions have come about regarding what to say; although, I am sure something will take shape by the time this email is done… What can I pass on that is halfway worthwhile to any bored folks that manage to read this far into this “short” note and what, if anything, shall be most important for me as I read this note years from now and recall this time in life? The best I can do is to be honest with you and myself concerning the experiences here and in learning (again) what is meaningful for me in life – this I have tried to do with each note, however, words sometimes get in the way of what I am trying to communicate.

I had come here not knowing what I would walk away with. Sure, there were many ideas and small hopes, but expectations do not have a good track record in my recent history, and so I attempted to be open in many regards. My hope was to have some time and experiences that would aid in discerning a purpose, or a direction for life to take – to include refining of a vocation or direction for work to take. What I came away with does fulfill these hopes of 10 weeks ago, and goes well beyond.

I have rediscovered what was once known about life and can say that I have established what I feel to be that satisfaction in life to which I have sought. I don’t believe that my life will be found in a vocation nor directed by the ambitions of a career path. Life for me will be found in my relationship with Christ. Not by any job, nor ambition, nor service can I hope to find satisfaction and a purpose in life – it is by faith in the person and deity of Jesus to which I will place my hope and find the thirst for the purpose of life quenched. Not only is this a promise of the Lord, but it is a truth that those willing may experience for themselves (not only in this present life but for the future to come as well).

What is life to you? Is there a purpose to which you feel called or a purpose to which you live for? If so, where did such come from and does it provide a satisfaction that is found no where else? Do you have a deep satisfaction in life or is there something missing? Why do you do what you do? What drives you? Maybe questions for the ages, but certainly questions that I feel are worth seeking an answer too. Life only comes around once – over the past weeks I have come to sincerely believe that it is best to live it while it is here rather than harbor regret when it has gone.

Maybe you have already answered these “big” questions in your life, or maybe not. My hope is that of anything you have gained out of spending your time reading this is to ask yourself these sorts of questions and evaluate where you are and what you find important in life. I certainly feel that I have not historically taken a good perspective in life and it seems to me that I let much of life slip away – such passive existence is wrought with little worth speaking of. So, I knew that it was time to change my perspective and attitude for the better and in doing so I have come around (again) and found liberation through Christ.

That’s what I am up to these days. What’s going on in your life?

It has been great to hear from many of you (if not all) at some point while I have been overseas. I do appreciate the emails and prayers sent my way and hope that I may get an opportunity to visit each of you this summer - until then please do keep in touch. Thanks for reading…

Cheers and God Bless,
matt


I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.
John 10:10b

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1