Surprise!

When I look back at the past year, the thing that comes to my mind is: 'What a surprise!' I cannot believe how fast it has gone – though that's a very common phrase I can see it come true in my life as well – and how many surprises it has brought me. One of the reasons the year went by fast is that I ended up 'ship hopping'. In only ten months I've been on five different ships (Oasis, Grandeur, Legend, Independence, and Liberty) that have been everything from ok to amazing but nevertheless teaching me something and leaving me with more experience and a tad more wisdom.

It's been such a surprise to me how smoothly my transition back to ships has been. In a way it felt like I had never left. Even better. I could almost see ships from a new hire's perspective and still feel at place because I didn't have to learn everything from zero. It was great. I kept running into old friends and I made new friends along the way as well. There is probably no place more international than a cruise ship. I've worked with people from all over the world and let me tell you, it's a privilege! By now, I've roomed with girls from 12 different countries (Canada, USA, Argentina, Netherlands, Colombia, Sweden, Ukraine, England, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, and Peru).

People come and go. True friends stay. When working and living on a ship, even the best of friends though have to part and may leave you a little empty. I've had so many goodbyes this year, it's not even funny. Most of the time my 'Germaness' can brush it off as, if it's meant to be we'll see each other again. In other cases these friends have grown so close to my heart that I will definitely put an effort in seeing them again. That's also part of ship life. You've got friends everywhere in the world. If you feel like traveling in your time off you hope the person you want to visit happens to be on vacation as well. Twice I've been lucky enough to visit people in between or after contracts. First California, then South Africa.

At the beginning of the year I had asked God to make my path straight. I wanted to know where my path was leading me, and looking back I'm overwhelmed. Never would I have chosen this way or could have even remotely imagined it taking me to the places I've been to and to the people I've met. Having said this, I would have missed out on so much I don't want to miss in my life. I'm grateful for where God has led me so far. He knows best.

Christmas is around the corner and I will be able to spend it at home in Germany. After the super long summer I've had all year long I'm actually looking forward to getting out my winter coat and scarf and just dress 'properly'! Thank God Jesus came into this world to set us free from everything that can bind us. Thank God He gives us so much more than we could ever ask for. Thank God that life is amazing.

Grandeur of the Seas

Grandeur of the Seas is the smallest of the Royal Caribbean ships that I've ever been on. Especially compared to the Oasis it's a cute ship with a guest capacity of almost 2500 and 760 crew members, so it didn't take me long to make good friends.

Marija on the left is youth staff, like me. We signed on the same day and  were inseparable since. Lynn on the right is part of the cruise staff and also signed on with us on the same day. My contract would've been so different without these two ladies. It's a priviledge to know them.

I had already been to the Bermudas but it was still nice to see the island again. It has amazing beaches and since we had two overnight stays there, we were able to enjoy the night life.

I'm fascinated by God's creation and by his creativity. I thought the sun having a ring is one of those things.

And then of course I'm baffled by the way God turns bad things into pretty good. I had told you in my last update that the Grandeur had caught on fire. Being on a ship this size, or actually any size for that matter, and having a fire break out is the worst thing that can happen to you. If not detected early enough, it can not only cause big panic but also, in the worst scenario, (obviously) cause the ship to sink. In our case the fire was detected at about 2:40 am on May 27, 2013. The captain got everyone to go to their muster station, just like we had practiced with the guests during our debarkation drill. The life boats were already let down and all of us were just listening for the anouncements the captain was making, ready to get into the boats if necessary. The back of the ship was burning, to be more exact, the mooring deck on deck 3. It took the mobile teams over two hours to extinguish the fire but we still had to wait another two hours, until almost 7:00 am, for the captain to dismiss us. The back of the ship - or what was still left of it - was still very hot and they wanted to make sure that the fire wouldn't reignite. Originally we had been sailing toward CocoCay, Bahamas, a private destination of Royal Caribbean, so it was a lucky coincidence that we weren't too far away from one of the 'dry dock ports' on the Bahamas called Freeport. Once all the guests had been flown back from Freeport to Baltimore, Grandeur of the Seas sailed to that dry dock where it is still today, being fixed so it can soon sail again. So in the process of the incident no one got hurt, no one lost any of their precious belongings. Tell me that's not a miracle.

I've heard it said...

... so many times before, you have to trust God for he knows the best way for your life and he might lead you where you least expect it. Trusting God is never easy especially when you don't see a thing in front of you. That's what I felt, what seemed, for the longest time. And then the way cleared up little by little where I least expected it. Back to ships! And there was no doubt in my mind that this was for me – again. Coming back to ships after over a year was one thing. Working on the world's biggest cruise liner another. I was anxious to see how it was gonna go on the Oasis of the Seas. It was great! I reconnected with a few friends from previous contracts, visited places that I grew to love and thought I'd never see again, and I simply just fell in love with my job again! After a short fill on the Oasis I was offered another ship for a full contract – which I declined. And I thought, why not do another few fills?! It's great to get a peak at a new ship, the team, the itinerary, and then go back home for a short vacation. Now I'm already at the end of my second fill. I've been on the Grandeur of the Seas for the past couple of weeks and I've been loving it. Also, due to some communication problems between my scheduler and the manager at the time of my arrival, I was assigned to work in the nursery with children under the age of three. This has been a blessing in disguise since though at first I had no wish to be part of the nursery staff, I simply love working with those little ones now.

So concerning trusting God for he knows best – it shows to be true again and again in my life. He's leading me a way I had not anticipated but which I love the more I walk it. I realize everyone's life is so unique and special in so many ways. I want to be in awe of the creator always. I'm thankful for the freedom he's given me to explore the world and to live my life to the fullest.

- - - - - - - - -

I wrote the above only hours before a major fire on the Grandeur of the Seas. And I wasn't sure later if I still felt the same way about what I had written or if anything had changed because of what had happened... These are my last couple of days on this ship and I can't wait to get home to actually realize what happened. I will keep you posted with another update as well as pictures. So stay tuned ;-)

Never Say Never

I know, I know, I said I would never go back to ships. And here I am, working on the biggest cruise ship of the world. Oasis of the Seas is my new home now for a couple of weeks and so far it has been amazing. I'm again working with kids, the exact same thing I did before I left Royal Caribbean. I have met a few people already that I know from my previous ships (Navigator, Explorer, Jewel) and that has been a lot of fun. Working with people from all over the world is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I feel blessed making friends with people from all over, speaking different languages, and enjoying the heat of the Caribbean again (winter in my hometown just doesn't want to leave...I hear it JUST snowed there again!).

Falmouth, Jamaica 

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands 

Philipsburg, St. Martin 

Labadee, Haiti (I got to do the world's longest zip line)

Happy Easter everyone. Be blessed in all your endeavors. 

'Who Am I' by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

I was given a book called 'Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy' by Eric Metaxas which I'm devouring at the moment. This poem by Dietrich Bonhoeffer sums up life's most important question.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote "Who Am I" just one month before he was executed in April 1945. This in an English translation of the famous text:

Who am I? They often tell me 
I would step from my cell's confinement 
calmly, cheerfully, firmly, 
like a squire from his country-house.

Who am I? They often tell me
I would talk to my warden 
freely and friendly and clearly,
as though it were mine to command.

Who am I? They also tell me
I would bear the days of misfortune
equably, smilingly, proudly,
like one accustomed to win.

Am I then really all that which other men tell of me
or am I only what I know of myself,
restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,
struggling for breath, as though hands were compressing my throat,
yearning for colors, for flowers, for the voice of the birds,
thirsting for words of kindness, for neighborliness, 
trembling with anger at despotisms and petty humiliation, 
tossing in expectation of great events,
powerlessly trembling for friends at an infinite distance,
weary and empty at praying, at thinking, at making,
faint and ready to say farewell to it all?

Who am I? This or the other?
Am I one person today, and tomorrow another?
Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,
and before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling?
Or is something within me still like a beaten army,
fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?

Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.
Whoever I am, Though knowest, O God, I am thine!