shannon's shenanigans: May 2010

We've all got time the only difference is how we choose to spend it. Ive recently made a big decision that may seem a bit rash to some of you but know that i have been praying about this for months and God has given me confirmation and peace. I've now been away from home for just under 5 months although it hasn't been easy i am confident that God is in control. I have learned a lot though the difficulties whether they been personal, work related, or with friends i know God is teaching me and preparing me for whatever lies ahead! and that brings me to what this is all about. In January while in Gateway someone said something about people working for mercy ships for a time and then leaving where as in a paid environment you would work somewhere until you felt God was telling you to leave, Why is working with mercy ships different? if you feel called to work here shouldn't you stay until you feel God is telling you leave? So that has been on mind since then and i have been praying that God would make his plans for my future clear to me.

While in Benin on our Gateway field service portion of our training, i was telling my roommate what my favorite verse is, it's Psalms 45:11 "the King is enthralled in your beauty; Honor him for he is your lord." I then read the previous verse 45:10 which im sure i have read before but never understood it this way before. it say's "Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear Forget your people and your father's house." When i read that i thought WOW is God telling me what i think he is telling me. and i may be taking this verse out of context but this is one of the ways God spoke to me. Those of you who know me know my family is very important to me and i missssssssssss them so much!! The idea of forgetting my father's house and my people makes my stomach hurt like really really hurt, i love my friends and family so much. At that moment i couldn't imagine God was asking me to forget something i love so much.  So in my stubborn human nature i decided that i needed to be sensible and make sure that i really like the ship before i made any "rash decisions".

I got to the ship the last week of February and was so over whelmed by ship life, my job, and the culture here everything was so different i didn't know act. I didn't know what to do or who to do it with. It took weeks, lots of tears, tons of talking though it, annoying my roommates and finally a chat with the Chaplin  for me to finally feel some peace about living here.The entire time i was struggling i knew that God was teaching me something, i knew that it was his plan for me to be here and that was the only thing that kept me from going home. I never stopped praying for God's will for my life to be evident but the idea of staying longer was not in mind i wanted to serve my time and go home to see what God had for me. Its been more than a month since i first felt that peace about being here. since then living here has gotten much better, my work atmosphere has been much more relaxed, things are running smoothly and i have a nice group of friends that i can count on.

This past Thursday as i was riding to work at 645 am the car ride was very quite, so i started to pray and ask God to protect us as we drove to work, to protect our employees, to heal all the patients that we were going to see and then the idea of extending popped into my head and i started praying my life is not own, a saying i got from my friend cyle, i started asking what were my reasons for wanting to go home were they valid? selfish? Godly? As we arrived at the hospitality center and my day began i continued praying i felt an over whelming amount of God's presence, i was finally at peace with the idea of extending my one year of service here to two years of service. I wasn't prepared to share my news with anyone just yet, i wanted to savor my moment with God. : ) Later that after noon i gave a tour of the Eye rooms at the Hospitality center and i was given Confirmation that i was making the correct decision. After Thursday there would be no possible way for me to think i was supposed to go home now. I am so thankful for God and how he prepares us for every part of our life. Please continue to pray for me as i continue on this journey.

Since i have decided to extend i will need to begin raising support again i am certain that God will provide exactly what i need. If you would like to help me continue doing God's work you can do so in two ways first and most importantly though prayer and second financially you can follow this link :https://connect.mercyships.org/page/outreach/view/crewmates/hickes

Thank you so much your love, prayer and support!

Apparently there is some confusion and some people think i live in a straw hut haha I live on board the Africa Mercy, a ship not a straw hut! hahah love you!!

   Linda, Dulce and I

this funny little bike/car i saw driving down the road

some pictures of around Lome', Togo

traffic jam

Oh how marvelous, is my Saviors love for me!
This chorus has been playing in my head all week. The last blog i wrote was about getting uncomfortable and i thought i was doing that and that i was managing. but after a few days i really felt awful i was stressed about work, stressed about ship life and friends, and home sick. i was completely exhausted and sadly spent a bunch of time crying. i was being very hard on myself, thinking man i am such a baby i just need to suck it up! i than realized that i was not fully relying on God like i thought .. i wasn't giving my day to him fully i wasn't asking him to take my burdens. God's grace and faithfulness has been more evident to me than ever before. my quite times with Him have improved and i feel a sense of peace like i have never felt before! i know that with out God i would not be experiencing the peace that i am now! And Because i love posting songs for all to read here's the rest of this one!

I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner, condemned, unclean.

Chorus:
How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
Oh, how marvelous! Oh, how wonderful
Is my Savior's love for me!

For me it was in the garden
He prayed: "Not my will but Thine;"
He had no tears for His own griefs,
But sweatdrops of blood for mine.
(Chorus)

In pity angels beheld Him,
And came from the world of light
To comfort Him in the sorrows
He bore for my soul that night.
(Chorus)

He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own;
He bore the burden to Calv'ry
And suffered, and died alone.
(Chorus)

When with the ransomed in glory
His face I at last shall see,
'Twill be my joy thro' the ages
To sing of His love for me.
(Chorus)

Please continue to pray:

For Africa and all the people that live here

For Godly leadership

For the ship and patients we see everyday

For the crew of the ship that we would glorify God in all our actions, that we would be a light in the darkness

For me personally that i would continue to have deep personal quite time with God that i would let him carry my burdens what ever they may be

and last but def not least For my youth group at home as they continue in their missions training preparing for this summer missions trips that they would stay focused on God and what he has in store for their lives.

here are some pics of what ive been doing lately!!

Working at an eye clinic on a Saturday morning