16 was my favorite birthday to date. It started very early. Phillip knew that I had been born at 12:07AM so he and all his friends attacked me with hugs at that time. My friend Caleb (who was in the Teen Missions blog and ended up moving onto the ship) was a baker onboard so every morning when he would put the bread in the oven at around 5AM, he would come to my cabin and wake me up by sitting on the end of my bed and talking to me til the bread was ready and I would fall back asleep til it was time to get up for school. Well that morning he came into my cabin with a birthday cupcake for me with a lit match for me to blow out since candles were not allowed on the ship. Kelly made signs and hung them all over the ship reminding people to wish me happy birthday. That year I had a cabin separate from the school room since I was the only 1 in my class so crew members stopped by my classroom all day to wish me happy birthday. Then that night Kelly and Keri had planned me a big party. First we went to McDonalds (which sounds crazy, but when you are in Guatemala for months, this is the best!) and then we came back to the ship and played tons of games and had a dance party. Poor Kelly broke her toe playing crab soccer. Philip was moving off the ship the day after my birthday so after the party was over, we found a quiet spot and talked til 4am.
We played tons of the games living on the ship to keep entertained. I became an undefeated champion of Rummy. We would have competitions and I was unbeatable. My secret- I took big risks.
I also wanted to be a hippie at this point. I imagined I would grow up, marry super young and my spouse and I would live on love and little else traveling constantly. That spring we spent a lot of time on the west coast and it was the perfect setting for this life I thought I was destined to live. Jill and Dan were with us on the west coast and we had so much fun. Dan had an obsession with the little orange antenna balls that 76 gas stations handed out. I remember one night a big group of us sitting in the 15 passenger van parked outside the gas station and taking turns going in and asking for them.
At the beginning of the summer we moved off the ship. Martha was getting married that summer so Mom had gone to TX the month before us. We left the ship in Portland and I still remember pulling away Keri and Jason standing on the dock as we drove away and crying. It was so sad, but I wanted the opportunity to go to a normal high school for a few years. Jill, Dan, Dad and I rode tripped back to TX with all our stuff. Jill and I had a grand time talking, laughing and singing the whole way from Portland to TX. We thought this was the best road trip ever, but after a few days of this, Pappy had had enough and yelled that he wanted silence the rest of the way. I guess a man can only take so much. : )
That fall I started my junior year at Van High School. It helped that I already knew a lot of people in Van and I joined the church & Mercy Ships youth groups and met many more people very quickly. That fall was also really fun because Dan was at Letourno University and was able to come home a lot of weekends and Graydon had moved to the YWAM base in Lindale and would come hang out with us. I remember one particular afternoon when Dan had brought a friend home from college and Graydon met us at the Mercy Ships base and the 4 of us ran around exploring in the woods of the base in the drizzly rain all afternoon and had so much fun. I always loved hanging out with my brother and his friends and Graydon was my fav because he was so funny and he was so sweet and always looked out for me. That afternoon he made me wear his sweatshirt because it was so cold and rainy.
Not everyone gets to see the sides of Pappy that we get to see. That fall my friends and I were very into Ska music and we would “skank” our hearts out. Well Ska Mania was coming to Dallas with 3 of our favorite bands, the Supertones, 5 Iron Frenzy & I can’t remember the 3rd, but we wanted to go so badly, but our ride fell through and I was so sad. Without me asking, Pappy borrowed the Mercy Ships 15 passenger van and drove all my friends and I to the concert. What a peach! We had such a fun night!
We played tons of the games living on the ship to keep entertained. I became an undefeated champion of Rummy. We would have competitions and I was unbeatable. My secret- I took big risks.
I also wanted to be a hippie at this point. I imagined I would grow up, marry super young and my spouse and I would live on love and little else traveling constantly. That spring we spent a lot of time on the west coast and it was the perfect setting for this life I thought I was destined to live. Jill and Dan were with us on the west coast and we had so much fun. Dan had an obsession with the little orange antenna balls that 76 gas stations handed out. I remember one night a big group of us sitting in the 15 passenger van parked outside the gas station and taking turns going in and asking for them.
At the beginning of the summer we moved off the ship. Martha was getting married that summer so Mom had gone to TX the month before us. We left the ship in Portland and I still remember pulling away Keri and Jason standing on the dock as we drove away and crying. It was so sad, but I wanted the opportunity to go to a normal high school for a few years. Jill, Dan, Dad and I rode tripped back to TX with all our stuff. Jill and I had a grand time talking, laughing and singing the whole way from Portland to TX. We thought this was the best road trip ever, but after a few days of this, Pappy had had enough and yelled that he wanted silence the rest of the way. I guess a man can only take so much. : )
That fall I started my junior year at Van High School. It helped that I already knew a lot of people in Van and I joined the church & Mercy Ships youth groups and met many more people very quickly. That fall was also really fun because Dan was at Letourno University and was able to come home a lot of weekends and Graydon had moved to the YWAM base in Lindale and would come hang out with us. I remember one particular afternoon when Dan had brought a friend home from college and Graydon met us at the Mercy Ships base and the 4 of us ran around exploring in the woods of the base in the drizzly rain all afternoon and had so much fun. I always loved hanging out with my brother and his friends and Graydon was my fav because he was so funny and he was so sweet and always looked out for me. That afternoon he made me wear his sweatshirt because it was so cold and rainy.
Not everyone gets to see the sides of Pappy that we get to see. That fall my friends and I were very into Ska music and we would “skank” our hearts out. Well Ska Mania was coming to Dallas with 3 of our favorite bands, the Supertones, 5 Iron Frenzy & I can’t remember the 3rd, but we wanted to go so badly, but our ride fell through and I was so sad. Without me asking, Pappy borrowed the Mercy Ships 15 passenger van and drove all my friends and I to the concert. What a peach! We had such a fun night!
I still have one of those 76 Antenna balls packed away from way back .. I think I got mine in San Diego .
ReplyDeleteI love your stories ; keep em coming :)
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