Greetings from Logos Hope!

Sooo...I just spent the last hour writing a blog post, and now it's completely gone. BOOOO! This confirms that the internet on board really is as bad as they warned me it would be. Bummer.

It's the middle of the night and I really need to get to sleep (a combination of excitement and jet lag has made me an insomniac!), but here's a brief re-cap of the long blog post I just wrote:

I'm doing great so far, meeting new people left and right, and trying to memorize all different kinds of names! We had orientation all day today, and my favorite part of that was doing a scavenger hunt as a way to familiarize ourselves with the ship. We set sail at 6 p.m. which was really exciting with everyone cheering and waving! I can barely tell we're moving since it's so smooth...I'm happy to say that "smooth" is a good word to describe the entire journey thus far. :)

I'm absolutely loving being part as such an international Christian community (as I knew I would), and I can't wait to see what God has in store for the next two and half months!

Going with an open mind & servant heart

This time tomorrow, I'll be on my way toward the ship!!

Here's the plan...

I'm meeting a fellow "STEPper"/travel buddy/new friend in Chicago, getting on a 14-hour flight to Abu Dhabi, and finally boarding Logos Hope in Dubai. We'll sail straight away for 9 days to Colombo, Sri Lanka. The ship is having some special maintenance done there, so I'll most likely be off the ship doing service week for two weeks in Colombo. From May 11th to May 24th we'll be docked in Tuticorin, India. Then we sail to Kochi, India, where I'll be for the last two weeks of May.

While we're docked, local people will be boarding the ship to check out the bookstore.
I still don't know exactly where on the ship I'll be working/what I'll be doing during my time onboard, but I'll do my best to be flexible. :)

One of the other "unknowns" about this trip is what the internet situation is going to be like exactly. I've decided not to take my laptop since there are computers on the ship I can use, but there may not always be internet. So there's a good possibility that I won't be able to publish blog posts/pictures while I'm gone. I'll update as much as I possibly can, but I might have to write about the experience on Logos Hope once I'm home again at the beginning of June.

I'd love to get e-mails or cards while I'm gone! I've put addresses on the right side so we can be in touch. I'd definitely appreciate it if you could please keep me & my new friends serving onboard the ship in your thoughts & prayers. I'm both nervous and excited about this adventure that's about to begin!...

A good kind of craziness!

Sooo...two weeks from this very moment, I will be on my way across the world to join 400 other Christians--from all different countries--to live/work/serve on a ship for three months.

I feel like I have to keep repeating that sentence out loud because I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this idea!!

I've had plenty of time to think about this ministry since it's been nearly two years ago when I first found out about it from a friend. But it wasn't until a couple of months ago that I started seriously considering it, and it wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that it became a reality.

I feel the same way I did when I was preparing to move to Japan--so excited and grateful for the opportunity, but also kind of nervous because of the unknowns!

I got a wonderful packet of information from Operation Mobilization--the organization that I'll be serving through. I'm very impressed by the organization of this organization, (hehe) and it's been a pleasure working with them so far as I prepare for this missions experience.

I learned from the packet that anyone wishing to support this ministry can do so by making a check payable to Operation Mobilization and sending it to

OM USA
P.O. Box 444
Tyrone, GA 30290

If you write "Dana -- 2287937" in the memo, your donation will go into my account. I very much appreciate the financial support, as well as prayer support of course!

The envelope I received from OM included a devotional journal to help me prepare for this experience, as well as devotions for when I return home, which I think is really great and helpful.

I've been doing a lot of praying/thinking, and at some point--not tonight because it's late and I'm getting tired--I may write my thoughts here. (You might notice that I've deleted the link to my more personal blog "Keep Shining" from the right side. The blog still exists, but will remain inactive since I'll just be updating this blog.) :)

Tomorrow morning I'm getting up early to meet my dear friend Sarah Fehrman for breakfast, and then going to get a typhoid shot in preparation for the trip. (I've never had one of those before.)

So I'm getting ready for this 3-month adventure--mentally, spritually and physically. It's crazy, but it's a good kind of crazy. :)

The next adventure...

Greetings! If you've popped over from my facebook page...hi, welcome to my blog now. :) It's been given a makeover and is ready to report my new, exciting news...

I've been accepted to participate in a short-term missions program aboard the ship Logos Hope!!

I'm REALLY looking forward to this opportunity since it combines three of my major passions: serving others, sharing God's love and learning about/interacting with other cultures through travel!

It's a unique ministry since it's more or less a floating bookstore of Christian literature. (books...a fourth passion!) I've been really wanting to serve/work on a ship for a long while now, and this (nearly) 3-month program will allow me to do that in a Christian setting, as part of an international community. :)

My first preference is to work in the bookstore, but I could also end up working in the galley or wherever I'm needed. We'll see. I'm going to go into this new & different experience with an open mind, as well as an open heart.

During my time on board, Logos Hope will be sailing between Sri Lanka and India--two countries I wanted to visit but didn't make it to while I was living in Japan.

Here's a link to the STEP program I'll be doing: http://www.omships.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=86&lang=en

The dates are listed on the web site as March 23rd - May 30th, but the ship's itinerary has changed, and the new start date is March 7th! (Eek!) So I have a lot I need to do in the next few weeks to prepare.

If you could please keep me & the ship ministry in your prayers, I'd really appreciate it. And if you'd like to make a donation to the ministry in support, please let me know. (My e-mail address is dana.sease@gmail.com.)

In other exciting news...
I'm going to be an aunt in June!!
I'm so glad that I'll be back home then, in time for Baby Girl Sease's grand arrival into the world. :)

A wintery weekend in NYC!

Spending a couple of days in New York with my girlfriend Ariel--before flying home to Indiana--was such a fantastic way to wrap up my travels! We saw and did a lot in such a short time (story of my life, haha).

We spent Saturday in Uptown and Midtown Manhattan -- Saks Fifth Avenue, Central Park, Time Warner Center, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Hall, Macy's on 34th Street, Times Square

Ariel standing strategically in front of Lady Liberty. Who knew that she's located just outside Central Park? ;)

Ice skaters! I *loved* Central Park and the beautiful view of the city. :)

This photo doesn't show it, but just outside Radio City Hall was craaazy busy! So many people!

A really sweet lady took this photo at Rockefeller Center for us. Again, the place was packed with people, just like at Times Square too...

I could totally be on Broadway! haha

Day #2: Downtown Manhattan -- Wall Street, New York Stock Exchange, World Trade Center Ground Zero, Greenwich Village, SoHo shopping district, Chinatown, Little Italy

We also went to Brooklyn by accident since we stayed on the subway too long, oops! But it allowed us to see a nice view of the city & the Brooklyn Bridge, which we wouldn't have seen otherwise.

We arrived at the financial district around lunch time and bought some hot dogs from a street vendor--the NYC thing to do, right? For the record, they were pretty good. :)

The World Trade Center site is being rebuilt with six new skyscrapers and a memorial to the casualties of the attacks.

Despite the freezing cold weather, we walked around two different neighborhoods in Lower Manhattan--Greenwich Village and SoHo--and did some window shopping. Later that evening, we went to Chinatown for dinner and foot massages, and walked through Little Italy on our way back to the subway...

Ariel lives in an apartment in Queens, so it was a long subway ride from Downtown! It was so nice spending time with her and seeing so much of the city.

And now it's nice to be back home again in Indiana for Christmas time! I'm not sure yet what I'll be doing next year, but I'm not going to stress about it. Instead, I'm just going to enjoy this time with my family. :) So I'm taking a blogging break, until my next travel adventure...whenever & wherever that might be.

Have a happy holiday season!

Au revoir, France!

I spent my last day here touring the big, yet charming city of Lyon with a new friend from CouchSurfing. (I am quickly becoming the number one fan of this Web site, no joke.)

It was freezing outside, and I needed lots of hot tea & hot chocolate to keep me going as I walked around the city...

See Lyon's own version of the Eiffel Tower? (Haha, not really...it's just a TV tower.)

Lyon has it's own version of the London Eye, too. ;)

Crossing a bridge to get over to "the old city." Lyon doesn't usually get snow this early in the season; while it wasn't fun to walk around in, it was pretty to look at. :)

At noon, this clock inside St. John's Cathedral came to life with music and dancing figurines at the top. From there, we went to a silk shop...

Lyon is known for producing silk. It's also known for its sausages...

...which I tried at lunch. (along with some gratin) Deeelish!

After lunch, I took a cable car up to the grand cathedral (the great big beautiful white building in the first photo of this blog post), where I had a nice overlook of the city...

I couldn't wait to get out of the cold and inside the beautiful cathedral!

My pictures of the gorgeous interior (and amazing mosaics!) really don't do them justice.


I loved this nativity set...

...as well as the Christmas market I went to tonight! I need someone to explain to me why there are umbrellas on this tree, haha.

Ah, I'm getting sooo excited for Christmas!! I can't wait to spend this weekend in New York City (which will look very Christmasy, no doubt) with my girlfriend Ariel...and then going home to spend the days leading up to Christmas with my family. :)

Meet the Hatcher family...

The parents are Amanda and Philip, and the girls (from left to right) are: Nathalie (age 8), Camille ("6 and a half"--the "half" is important to her), Abigail (9) and little Emily (who will be 5 next week).

As I wrote last time, I've really been enjoying my time here and the four ADORABLE girls!

These high-energy gals have kept me busy with all kinds of different things: playing with their train set and other toys, coloring, listening to them read stories, me reading them stories, teaching them how to write their names in Japanese, playing board games, playing made-up games, playing dress-up...

We had a "fancy dance ball" in our fancy dresses. :)

Three little "mothers."

They definitely keep me entertained! They've said some of the cutest things EVER. Here's a conversation from the other day at lunch:

Nathalie to me: "When you were in Japan did you see any of those big, bulky guys?"

Me: Haha, you mean sumo wrestlers??

Nathalie: Yeah!! Do they wear eternity clothes?

Abigail (I think): No silly, they don't wear maternity clothes...they wear diapers!

Hahaha!

Last night when the girls were getting ready to brush their teeth, Camille asked me, "Dana, do you like pink? Yes. Do you like sparkles? Yes. Do you like stars? Yes. Do you like Snoopy? Yes. Then you love my toothbrush!!!" [Then she got out her sparkly pink toothbrush with stars and Snoopy on it to show me. Sure enough, I loved it. :)]

And these are just two short examples of the cuteness I've experienced since Friday night. Ah, I love kids!

It turns out that I also love something called a "raclette party," which is a meal that looks this...

The potatoes are boiled in this special machine, and underneath are little pans of melted cheese. You use the wooden spoons to put the cheese on your potato, then top with different types of meat and sour cream. Delicious!

Tomorrow afternoon, I leave Toulouse and head to Lyon. I'm flying out of Lyon on Friday morning and return to the U.S. I'm definitely excited about being home with my own family!