What I learned from 4 weeks in the dining hall..

We’ve arrived in Madagascar, are getting settled in, and are full of anticipation to meet our first patients. But it has not been a seamless journey to get to this point.

Rewind to one month ago..

I was discouraged to find out on the day that I arrived to the airport in Durban, South Africa, that the ship would not be leaving 3 days later for Madagascar as was scheduled, but would, in fact, be delayed by a few WEEKS. My heart sunk as I recalled the 2 months of waiting that I had just done the year before as the ship was delayed due to Ebola last fall.

This time, the delays were due to maintenance issues with one of our propellers. I arrived to the ship from the airport to find it supported on blocks and completely out of the water in what looked like a large, empty bathtub for ships. It didn’t look like we’d be sailing anywhere anytime soon!

Days went on as slow (but good) progress was made to the repairs. 2.5 weeks after I arrived they finally filled the bathtub, and once again, our ship was floating. More repairs were made, and another week later we set sail, but before we got too far on our way, we found ourselves delayed again for an additional 4 days due to some unexpected events. Since we’d already cleared customs (a timely process where each of several hundred crew members present their passports one by one)  we were made to anchor off the coast of Durban since we could not dock back in the country. We bobbed back and forth in the Ocean with no idea how long we’d be there.

In the mean time some of us nurses were reassigned to different departments to keep us busy during the delay. I  had the “pleasure” of working in the dining hall. I quickly came to realize how little appreciation I had had for these people who come for weeks or months at a time, where their sole purpose is to volunteer in this department. This was a HARD job!!! They start before the sun comes up at 5:30am to prepare the dining hall to serve meals to the sometimes “hangry” crew members who come through the line. They’re on their feet all day (with two 2-hour breaks in between meals), they get soaking wet while washing dishes (oftentimes scraping nutella out of the bottom of a cup that someone thought was a good idea),  they mop the floor 3 times a day, they battle with rolling carts of dirty plates while trying to keep them from crashing into the walls or people while the ship rocks back and forth, and they answer continuous questions like “why is there no yogurt?”( because you’re late to breakfast) “how spicy is this sauce?” (I don’t know because I’m currently serving you and haven’t had the chance to try it yet), “how come there’s no hot oatmeal?” (Well, being as there hasn’t been any power since 4 am and I’m using my headlamp to help you see your food, I’ll give you one guess!) and the questions went on. There was also the constant battle with the ketchup dispenser to keep it from dripping gobs of ketchup where it shouldn’t be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found myself completely exhausted at the end of the day, and as time went on and the length of the delay was uncertain, wondering “Why am I even here”? “Is there any purpose in this? ”

And then I felt that still small voice ask me, “What does it mean to serve, Heather?” As I thought through this I realized that  it’s easy to serve when you’re cuddling a cute baby with a cleft lip, or challenging a smiley old man with a bandage on his head to a game of Jenga.. But can I still serve if I’m not thanked for what I’m doing? Can I serve if what I’m doing is not glamorous? If no one ever sees me as I’m in the back room washing dishes and scraping 3-day-old spaghetti sauce off a plate that was left in a cabin too long? I felt convicted as I realized that I had a very skewed perspective of what “to serve” meant. Service is not about making yourself look good. It’s not about working or giving in order to be recognized or thanked. Service is about giving of your entire self, as if you were actually serving the Lord directly.

Ephesians 6:7 “Serve wholeheartedly as if you were serving the Lord, not people”

 

The dining hall days are over, but I have been left with a new perspective of what service looks like. My heart has been refined (somewhat painfully at times); my motive for serving has been refined. I am thankful that as I continue to practice what it means to truly be a servant to all, that I can look to the one who was the ultimate servant. The one who came to serve, and not to be served.

Matthew 20:28 “..just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.”

 

Jesus, make me more like you…