Winds of Change = Mercy Ships

There are some major changes happening in my life right now. I decided to leave my stable job and do some missions/nursing in Africa. It's something that I've always wanted to do and right now seems like it's the time to pursue this possibility. Mercy Ships is a floating hospital that travels around the world often to the poorest countries and offers hope and healing to those who feel forgotten and helpless. 

Back in April I applied for a position on Mercy Ships, 6 weeks after that I found out that I was accepted but needed to wait for an official acceptance which took another month. During that time I finished school, and quit my job trusting that everything will work out. 

Let's just say that all the details have yet to be worked out and it all seems very overwhelming, but I feel this is where God is leading me so I'm going to trust that He has everything under control and things will work themselves out. My biggest concern is the financial support that I must raise. 

This is a volunteer position so I work for free, but must pay for my living expenses. I know that some people will not understand why I want to do this for that reason alone. Typically, I wouldn't stress out about it just yet, but I'm suppose to be there in 4 weeks and I'm not able to buy my plane tickets until I reach at least 75% of what I need. Right now I probably have 1-2% which means I have a long way to go. 

Now that I'm not working at the hospital, I'm spending my days attempting to come up with fundraising idea's or working on getting things organized, making phone calls, and just trying to come up with everything that I have to complete prior to moving. That alone makes me feel like I'm working a full time job. 

This is something that is completely different from anything else that I have ever done, but I'm excited about the possibility and know that it will change my life in ways that I can't even imagine right now. I'm sure there will be good times, and stressful times, but I pray that even though I know I'll grow I hope that my presence is also useful in helping other regain their hope and their lives back. 

  

Fun Times with Friends :-)

It's been awhile since my last post, there are a lot of new things happening but I'll share that at a later time. Last weekend was full of spending time with old friends and making new friends. Friday evening I spent some time walking around Lancaster with a friend while enjoying an exotic food walking tour. I tried stuffed grape leaves, stewed conch, grilled lamb and chicken, pigs ears, cactus salad, stewed octopus, Indian-style cabbage, and finally a cranberry almond tart. 

Needless to say I loved the cranberry almond tart, but the pigs ears and stewed octopus weren't my favorite. If you ask my family they would say I was or can be a picky eater, I've been working on trying more foods that typically I wouldn't even consider before. Do I want to eat pig ears again? Not really, the chewy texture and crunching cartilage once was more than enough for me. 

After that exotic adventure I drove to Baltimore and spent several days with some friends. While I was there I got to know some new residents that live in the house now and that was a lot of fun. They are from different countries and so Sunday night we made s'mores. It was fun to watch those who were doing this for the first time try one, then make a second and a third. 

One morning I was there I got up extra early (for me) and went hiking with a friend and meet one of his friends. Now I like to hike but the last time I was hiking was on my trip to New Mexico and there the elevation was a challenge. The hike that I was on this weekend, was different than any other hike I've ever done. 

We start out on a really nice trail, and take the detour to a scenic overlook which was absolutely amazing!  

Potomac River

A mini water fall

White Water!

View from the scenic overlook

While I was looking out at the river I noticed a bee buzzing around, when it finally landed I was able to get close enough for the picture. The best part was that while I was trying to take the picture this older Chinese gentleman walks over with his cane to see what I have discovered. When he bends down to look and asked 'you picture?' while pointing at the bee, I just smiled and said 'yes!' He probably thought I was crazy.

This is the start of the actual 1.7 mile trail we hiked...notice I don't have tennis shoes

A view of the river from along the trail

 As you may have guessed from the name of the trail, it wasn't flat but instead climbing up rock walls, jumping from boulder to boulder. It's the type of trail you really should have tennis shoes on, but since I wasn't planning on this type of adventure I didn't and therefore was stuck with my sandals. The good thing is they weren't flip-flops or I would have had a broken ankle. 

That was the adventure of last weekend...maybe this coming weekend will bring on something new again! :-) 

River of fun!!

Last Saturday I had the chance to go whitewater rafting...something that I always thought would be fun, but have never been able to try. Now, to share the adventure...

If I start the story the morning I woke up, it would start Friday around 12:30 p.m. I had to work from 3p-3a Saturday morning. No big deal, but I didn't have groceries or stuff to pack for lunch so after work I made a trip to the grocery store, came home packed lunch, packed up a towel and change of dry clothes, and decided that if I went to sleep I would sleep through my alarm clock so I opted to stay awake. About the time I was struggling to stay awake it was time to leave, but since one of my friends was driving I could sleep in the car...which I did, until we reached our destination.

We signed in, checked out wet suits (as the water temperature was a scalding 50 degrees), got our life jackets and then piled on buses and where taken to the river. We had tried to get a group together, but it ended up being only 3 that came...the 3 of us debated about jumping in rafts with other groups or venturing out on our own. The guides let us venture on our own...

One of us three needed to steer the raft...well, that happened to be me...the most exhausted one, is in charge giving orders...at first it was fine, I was awake and having fun. As the day progressed I struggled to stay awake. All I wanted to do was crawl into my bed and sleep!!!!

We stopped for something to eat, before driving home...during dinner I drank coffee, regular coffee...and promptly fell asleep in the car during the drive home. Once I made it back to my apartment, I walked in, changed into my pajama's and crawled into bed...I was asleep in a matter of minutes and slept for 12 hours! It felt so good to sleep!!! I actually woke up Sunday morning and made it church with time to spare...

Now, I need to plan a West Virginia rafting trip...I hear that's one of the best places around here...another adventure to look forward to!

Boston

What happened in Boston is tragic  I won't deny that...but I have to wonder what it's like to have bombings and war to be a part of your daily life. There are places around the world that experience these types of events daily, weekly. Personally, I think we need to we as American's in general need to take more of an interest in what is happening around the globe...then maybe, just maybe if/when an event like this happens again we can realize that it's a global issue. 

Finally...I was able to take another trip! Okay, so it wasn't an international trip, but I still enjoyed it!!!! 

Tuesday and Wednesday

I flew from PA to Newark, then boarded the flight to Denver. Colorado was the first stop on my week long continental American adventure. I spent some time with my sister there. We checked out the mall, then went downtown. I must say that downtown was pretty cool, and it was a really nice day so it felt nice to be outside walking around. 

Apparently, there are multiple cities (2 that I know of) that have piano's randomly placed throughout the downtown area. My city in Pennsylvania does that, but so does city in Colorado where my sister lives...wonder where else that happens...  

After we finished walking downtown, we headed back to her apartment, picked up Howdy and took him to the dog park. I thought it was a really nice place, but then again maybe the view of the mountains...

Later that evening we played DDR, well I guess if you want to get technical, it was 'In the Groove,' either way, I forgot how much I liked the songs and how much fun it is to play. 

The next day she had to be at work by 7:30 in the morning...and I didn't have to be at the airport until 11:30-12ish to check in for my flight to New Mexico. We spent some time figuring out how I could get to the airport...the 'Super Shuttle' has specific pick-up locations, or will pick you up at your house for an added cost and then take you to the airport. Well, we figured out that I could walk to either one of two bus stops, catch the number 7 bus and ride it all the way to the mall which is in walking distance of one of the super shuttle stops. 

Thursday

That's what I did...I figured out what the bus fare was $1.25 one-way (which floored me because it is so cheap compared to what I use to pay for public transport in Baltimore). I walked to bus stop (another reason I love my backpack, I didn't have to drag around a suitcase) and waited for the bus. Shock #2 - the bus was on time. As I'm climbing on the bus the driver makes a rather obvious statement, he says something like 'You look like you're on the road.' To which I reply that I was visiting my sister and now I'm headed to the airport. 

While I was sitting on the bus, I could help but remember taking the bus when I lived in Baltimore. There were some other regular passengers that I got to know. As always, there are a few crazy stories I could tell about my Baltimore public bus experiences, but I won't get into that. 

The flight from Denver to Farmington

I made it to airport without any problems, checked in got something to eat, went through security, found my gate and then boarded my flight and left on time...I knew that I was thinking this was to easy! Really, lets be honest...when I travel things don't usually operate that smoothly...if it did what would I have to write about? I make it to New Mexico where I was meeting up with a friend for the weekend. Well, when I got off the plane I went to baggage claim and guess what...my backpack wasn't there! But there was another flight from Denver that came in later that night so I went back to the airport and got my backpack about 5 hours later. The funny part is that the lady who was sitting in my row on the flight also didn't get her luggage and I saw her again at the airport when I went back for the evening flight. 

I had some time to check out Farmington, that afternoon so I went to visitor center for a little while, then I spent some time walking by the river. 

Along the river there is a war memorial, listing each war that America has been involved in. The center of the memorial is pictured here. 

Part of the war memorial

Water + Sunlight = what you see 

Friday

The next day I got to do something that I've always wanted to do...I know this may seem strange to some, because it's not overly exciting like skydiving (which I think I'd like to try someday...) In New Mexico I was close to the Four Corners (New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado.  

I'm standing on the Four Corners Monument...one more dream accomplished 

After leaving the Four Corners Monument we drove to Monument Valley...it's a valley with huge rock formations. 

It's a tree!! 

Overlooking the valley

The ruins we walked to/got to see up close

Saturday

The next day we drove to Mesa Verde which has some really cool cliff dwelling ruins. Some of the ruins were closed due to ice and mud that made the trails dangerous,  but one of them was open. Some of the others we were able to see from a distance which was also really cool. 

more ruins 

Looking at these ruins made me wonder what community life was like. Was each dwelling an home for a single family, including extended family members? What was life really like? 

Another dwelling seen from a distance

The views were amazing!

Sunday

Mountains in Colorado

Sunday morning we went to church before heading to Durango, Colorado. The mountains in Durango still had snow...so we decided to rent snowmobiles for a couple hours. That was amazingly fun!!!! There were some sections that were flat and open so you could punch the gas and speed!!!!!!!!!! Speed, snow, and mountains...need I say more, I absolutely loved it!

After the relinquishment of the snowmobiles, we headed back down the mountain and stopped to do a little hiking as slightly lower altitudes...but still high enough for me to do a little gasping for air at times... 

The trail

There was some gorgeous scenery during the short hike...

Parts of the trail were muddy and slightly slippery, other areas were full of loose rocks...but when it was all said and done, I didn't sprain my ankle (even if I didn't have the best hiking shoes). 

Even if I was a little dyspneic earlier in the hike, it couldn't have been that bad because I'm smiling here

Monday

It was time to leave New Mexico and return home to Pennsylvania. After a full day of travel, a couple flight delays, and no missing luggage (this time) I arrived home.   

A Simple Chocolate Bar

I wasn't even scheduled to work yesterday (Tuesday) but I switched my shift with one of my co-workers...on Monday I get a phone call from work asking if I wanted to change my hours and work 7a-7p instead of 3p-3a. I said yes...

Still not sure if that was a good idea, as I was getting report I could tell that it was going to be a crazy day...and I was right. Due to privacy issues I can't go into any details about what actually happened at work, but what I can say is that in the 4 1/2 years I've worked as a nurse yesterday was 1 of 5 days that I wanted to cry and was actually fighting to keep the tears in. I'm not sure that crying changes anything but it felt like it would. 

That feelings of frustration, and being overwhelmed may have been compounded by adrenaline being pumped into my body continually for the first 6 hours of my shift, no time to break for lunch to actually eat anything. 

8 hours into the 12 hour shift all I wanted to do was go home and have a glass of wine...or some type of alcoholic beverage. You know you've had it rough when your co-workers don't fault you for saying that, or when the chaplain also checks to see how you are coping with what's going and all you want to say is, 'coping? where am I suppose to find time for that?' Instead I just gave him this look and asked "is it wrong if I just want to go home and have a drink?" 

30 minutes later...he's back and say's, 'I can't help you with the alcohol but I also believe in the healing power of chocolate.' as he hands me chocolate :-) It made my night so much better. Part of it was the sugar to combat the crashing feeling of loosing the adrenaline that had been my energy source. Even with that I also think that part of it was realizing that someone else took the time to realize that I was having a tough day and tried to make it a little bit better. 

If I am completely honest, when I finally made it home I did get something to drink...well, I mixed a little bit of rum in some vanilla ice cream and ate it with a piece of cake. It was very yummy!

Last night I had trouble going to sleep, and was wondering about life, death, and what they each mean. I didn't come up with any clear cut answers to my questions, but while i was thinking I realized that this is how most people think of life and death....

Life is meant to be full and happy, yes there may be bad things that happen but overall it's better than the gloomy cloud of death. Death is scary, it isn't something to take lightly...but I could help wondering if maybe they should be switched. Life in empty and void without God, and once you've accepted his grace then death shouldn't be a scary event, it should be anticipated with joy. I know that may not make sense to some. 

I think Paul says it best in Philippians 1:21 "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account." For Paul, dying was gaining a better life, while living was actually harder but necessary. God can and I believe chooses to demonstrate his love through his people, and it may be as simple as a smile, words of encouragement, or even a chocolate bar.

Adventure...less...

Right now, my life seems to be "normal" by societies standards. Eat, work and sleep, on the days off run errands, meet friends, or the favorite...work on homework! It's not a very exciting life at all...but I wonder if that's always a bad thing...I think it's just a matter of personal opinion.

I'm thinking I'll be somewhat adventuresome today by going to the library to see if they have and books or resources that I can use for my research paper. I haven't been there in probably a year...but I think they have to have to something. So I guess that means I'm headed out...to work on homework, how exciting!!