Trip Around the World - Day 5

Yesterday was an early morning, and getting all my stuff back in my overstuffed backpack was insane. I've got to get rid of more stuff!!! Anyway, I got to the airport, checked in and then made it to Johannesburg. 

The crazy part of the day then started...I'm staying with an OR nurse that I met on the ship while I'm in Pretoria. She came to the airport picked me up and as we were talking she told me she had to be back at work because there was an open heart case (single bypass graft) scheduled at 5pm. Since the heart is also one of my favorite organs of the body we started talking hearts. I don't remember how it all happened, but when she left for work...I was in the car too. 

Once, we got to the hospital I changed into scrubs, got an OR cap, covered my shoes, and was given the all clear by the surgeon to watch the surgery!!! I was in the OR and stayed out of the way while they set up, brought the patient in, intubated, and got everything ready.

When they cut the chest I moved up to the head by the anesthesiologist and stood on a little stool so I could easily see over the drape. I was there by the time they had the bone saw in hand and cracked the chest and didn't move until they had the chest closed and the surgeon left. Then I was able to walk to the ICU with them. 

I still can't believe that I was able to watch an open heart surgery. It was crazy, but I loved it. After the patient was transferred back to the ICU the OR staff was asking if I was coming back today to watch all the cases and told me I would be most welcome. 

It's insane, I saw a beating heart in the chest with my own eyes. I seriously am beginning to think something is wrong with my head. I've always wanted to watch and open heart case...how is the rest of this trip going to top that wild and crazy couple of hours? 

Trip Around the World: Day 4

Today was laid back and anything but stressful. I slept in (well I tried - the room gets very light once the suns up), got up ate breakfast and then figured out what I wanted to do. 

My room at the the Giggling Gecko...the widows are amazing an let in lots of light...except that makes it difficult to sleep in. I don't know if I got spoiled with having a dark cabin with no windows. I could sleep until noon and still not want to get up. Maybe, windows are a good thing. At least, I know when it's time to get up.

Here's the thing, there are taxi's around East London, just not very prevalent in the area where I am staying and it's a little to far to walk to the main attractions of East London. 

Since I didn't think I wanted to walk miles upon miles I decided instead to take advantage of the beach...yup the same one I was at Sunday night. After grabbing my camera and walking 20 minutes I made it to the beach, it was amazing! The weather was perfect, the views spectacular, so I walked around, climbed a small sand dune, and had a nap all before heading back to the guest house. 

The views were absolutely amazing! 

Indian Ocean

The waves coming in on Nahoon Point

The waves off of Nahoon Point: apparently this is a world class surfing location.

I'm standing on the shores Nahoon Point while the Indian Ocean is covering my feet.

The white sands of Nahoon Beach

After I decided that it was time to leave, ( I was getting hungry because I hadn't taken food with me) I started walking back down the beach towards the road where I meet a couple with their great-grandson. 

We started to have a conversation about all sorts of random things, but I think the whole reason the conversation started was so I could get 'grandmotherly advice.' She told me they were both over 80 and that 'times are different now, you have to be careful. It's not safe to be out walking by yourself.' She then proceeded to tell me that 2-3 years ago there was a girl raped and killed along the beach were I was walking...alone. I just nodded my head and said 'yes, I'll be careful, but this place feels very safe.' I made it back to my guest house without any problems. 

That was my day today. Non-exciting and very relaxing. Tomorrow I'm up early again (6am) to leave for the airport by 6:30 so that I can head to Johannesburg/Pretoria for a few days. It's sad to think that my time in East London is over. I've really enjoyed it here the people are very friendly and welcoming. 

The 'trip around the world' - has started... (Days 1-3)

Saturday, I left the Africa Mercy unsure if I will ever return. I didn't realize how much of a home it had become until it was time to leave…for an Africa Mercy send off those who want to can come out to the dock and wave you off. I’ve waved off a lot of friends during my 9 months on board, and now it was my turn to leave. 

I didn’t expect anyone to come out and wave goodbye because I had to leave at 6am Saturday morning! Who wants to get up that early? What was most surprising was that some of my friends did get up to say goodbye and wave me off. I felt very blessed, if I was a crying type of person I would have had tears rolling down my cheeks. Instead, I left with a smile and a feeling closure. I made many, many friends and I will stay in touch with them. As much as I loved it by the end I don’t know that God is calling me back…only he knows what my future holds. 

Once I left the ship, my trip around the world started which is exciting, but Saturday night I was feeling a sense of loss instead of adventure and excitement. Right now, I must me honest and say that I’m really glad some of my travels involve staying with friends I meet on the ship. We’ve lived that experience together and so I think it will help with the transition back to ‘normal’ life. 

——————————————————

The goodbye’s have been said, and now onto the exciting part of my life…traveling the world. I arrived in Johannesburg 6pm Saturday night, and had 16 hours before needing to leave the next morning for East London, South Africa. Since I’ve already had long layovers in airports, and decided that I’m not overly fond of them, I found myself a hostel close to the airport. There was a very interesting group there that night….the majority of them spoke French with English as a second language. I couldn’t help but think, ‘I thought I left the French speaking country…I can’t get away from it!’ 

Yesterday, I got up, and made my way to the airport to check back in. The lines were so long!! I found someone and said, ‘All I need to do is drop off my bag because it’s been checked through to East London, but I needed to collect it for customs.’ It worked out well, they took me to a different counter where there was no line and so I dropped off my bag and went through security. 

After arriving in East London, I got the airport shuttle to bring me to the guest house where I’m staying for a few days. I love this place! My room has huge windows and is very light and clean. There is a full kitchen available for my use, and so I asked for directions to a grocery store, which turns out to be 2-3 blocks from here. 

I made my way to the store because they also had ATM’s there and so I could get some cash, which is a good thing. I’m almost to the store and realize that I have no clue what my pin number is. I had to get a new one right before I left the country and so I had never used it. My dad had it, and so I was trying to figure out how to get in touch with him. I don’t have cell phone, there were no calling cards in the grocery store so I couldn’t call home…how was I going to get this number? 

So it really wasn’t that hard, I asked the owners if I could use the internet to send an email to my dad and explained the situation. My dad then emailed me back and I had my number…all was solved. While I was waiting for that return email, I was asked if I wanted to go down to the beach and so I said yes. While I was there I saw an amazing sunset!

This morning I went out to visit the village, see the school, and meet a little girl that I sponsor through World Vision. It was a great experience and I really enjoyed my day. I’m sorry I can’t post pictures or share details in order to protect their privacy, but it was a great way to start off this new adventure. What will happen tomorrow?

"He Left Nothing Outside His Control"

          Life is crazy, time is flying, my future is unknown, and I have less than ONE week left on the ship!!!! Last Thursday, I was starting to get stressed about the future, what type of nursing position do I look for? Where do I look for a job? Should I stay in the states? Should I look at international nursing jobs? Who will be there? Will I be able to make new friends? Will people understand me? Should I consider going back to school? What does my future look like? 

  I was starting to go crazy with trying to figure out all these answers plus answers to additional questions. It finally reached a point where I had to find one of my friends and say, ‘hey, are you free because I need a reality check right now.’ We ended up having a really great conversation over a cup of tea. At the end of our chat, I didn’t know and still don’t know the answers to any of those questions. She reminded me that God has everything under his control.

Later that very same night, I was reading my bible and flipped to Hebrews for some reason. I read some and was thinking, “okay this is good, but how does it apply to what I’m struggling with right now?” When I looked back down at my bible I saw this verse.  

“Now in putting everything in subjection to him,

he left nothing outside his control. 

At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.” 

(Hebrews 2:8 ESV)

“he left nothing outside his control”

Wow, I heard it from my friend and now I just read it from scripture, God is amazing! I really have no reason to hang on to this need to control my life and instead I should let go of my stressing out about the future and trust God. It’s not easy. The unknown future is still in the back of my mind, but it's not consuming all my thoughts. The really cool part, now that I'm not so focused on the future I can actually enjoy the present moment. How cool is that?

Reflections

It’s hard to believe that I leave the ship in less than 3 weeks! Where has the time gone? After arriving in August, May felt so far away…how was I going to survive living in cramped spaces with people I didn’t know? Would I learn the differences of working here, for example: Tylenol is Paracetamol, and the date is written day/month/year instead of month/day/year? It seemed overwhelming at first.

The craziest part of it all, I was so stressed that I was going to fail. If I’ve learned one thing, I’d like it to be that the continual fear of failure robs me of joy. The sad part, I didn’t realize this until I after returning from Uganda. Now that I’m back on the ship, and know that I won’t fail, I have been able to let that fear go and things suddenly seem better. 

It may sound like I’ve had a horrible time here, but even there I would disagree. Yes, it’s been hard. A lot harder than I imagined it would be, but it’s also been a very unique experience. God has used this time and the people around me to challenge me, to make me stop and look at my attitude towards Him. Do I really trust Him as much as I say I do? How do I demonstrate that trust?

I like to be in control of my life, I want to know what the future holds. I need to be prepared. If anything, that need for control and fear of failure is something that makes my life miserable. There are countless times that I’ve heard the phrase, “nobody’s perfect,” but I’ve tried. I’ve tried to be perfect alone, in my own strength. It doesn’t work, plain and simple, I’m always going to fail. 

Even through the roller coaster of life on-board Africa Mercy, there are moments that have become highlights…these are just a few of my favorite highlights. ard Africa Mercy, there are moments that have become highlights…these are just a few of my favorite highlights.

Venturing out with friends

Holding some of the cutest babies...

...and then having them finally fall asleep in your arms after fighting to keep those heavy eyelids open 

Making the patients smile and laugh...even if it means you have to be just a little bit crazy :)

and the ever important...it's time to play! 

Watching some really amazing sunsets

I’m continually working on trusting God’s promises, the promise that he won’t leave me and  he won’t give me anything more than I can handle. My prayer as I walk the journey of faith and life is not only to release the fear of failure, but also continue to find those small moments of joy each day. 

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.

(Isaiah 43:2 ESV)

UGANDA

         I was able to take 2 weeks off of working on the ship and make a trip to Uganda. That may sound crazy, but it was an amazing experience. I’ll start from the beginning…

When I arrived on the ship in August I made some new friends, one of these friends lives in the U.K. and invited me to join a group from her church and travel to Uganda with them. Well, it didn’t take much convincing, but I wasn’t sure that I was going to be able to get the time off work. As it happened, I was able to get a 2 week vacation and so the planning started. 

Finally, April 3rd arrived and I boarded the plane and meet the Chinese guys in Brazzaville (that story is in my previous blog). After traveling for the day I reached Entebbe International Airport in Uganda, where the driver from the Bed & Breakfast was waiting. 

Colonial Residence (the Bed & Breakfast) was a lovely place to stay. The hosts were very welcoming and helpful, breakfast was excellent, the staff friendly, and the grounds were beautiful with a various trees and flowers. 

Room at Colonial Residence

I arrived in Uganda 2 days before the rest of the group coming from the U.K. due to flight availability and cost. I didn’t mind to much since I was able to have a couple days to explore the area. The first day I walked around Entebbe and checked out the Botanical Gardens. It was a beautiful walk through the gardens, plus it is also on the shores of Lake Victoria. 

Lake Victoria 

One of the many flowers at the Botanical Garden

        After leaving there as I was walking back, I got stopped by a local woman who wanted me to come into her restaurant and eat. Now, I wouldn’t have known what it was unless she told me, because to me, it looked like a wooden shed or barn. When you walked inside, there were tables and people sitting. The food was prepared out back a brought into you. It was a different experience, but I had food and water so I was happy.

The following day, I made a trip to Jinja to see the source of the Nile river. That was really cool, but I wasn’t able to get on a boat and to have boat ride on the Nile; which would have been really cool! After leaving the Nile river I went into town and walked around the craft markets of Jinja. There were some unique crafts for sale that I wish I would have had space to take home. Instead, I enjoyed chatting with the store owners. One of the shop owners, Ester, found out that I had been in Congo and asked what some of the differences were in the crafts that were for sale. The biggest difference that I noticed, was that they didn’t try to force me to buy something which happens all the time where I am in Congo. It could be as simple as the fact that I would stop look, and take time to chat with them. 

The Nile River

Later that night, I group that I was joining arrived and so I meet them at the hotel. After introductions and chatting, we went to bed. The next morning it was up, eat breakfast, and pack everything in the vehicle and drive to Kamatuza (around a 3 hour drive from where we were). On the way there we passed the equator, but of course there is a place to stop and eat, so lunch was on the equator.

I'm at the Equator! 

         Finally, we arrived at the school where we would be staying and unloaded everything. The first week was a lot of sorting supplies and organizing.  There were three containers of school supplies to sort and hand out the different schools. It was a lot of repetitive work. The second week was more exciting. After sorting out most of the supplies I was able to visit 3 different schools with supplies. 

One of the containers that needed sorting, it is already partially sorted in this picture

The first school that we visited

The second school that we were able to visit

The third school that I was able to visit.

There is also a pediatric medical center located very close to the school where we were staying and so those of us in the group that are nurses spent some time in the clinic. The primary thing that they treat is Malaria, but there is also a physiotherapy room and so I spent most of my time in the clinic learning about what they do for therapy. 

The best part of the whole trip for me happened almost everyday. I loved to play with younger kids in primary school. When the kids had break from classes where I was staying, more often than not I would be out playing with those that wanted to join in. Playing most often consisted of me chasing and tickling them, high-fives, counting, making circles, and whatever else we decided to do. 

Some of kids who liked to come out and play

The kids being just a little silly. 

Usually it was the same kids that would come and play, and so I may not have learned the names, but I could recognize their faces. One day we were able to go out into the village and hand out clothes to those who needed it. At one of the stops I saw a girl in her school uniform that I would play with, then a little later another one of the girls came by with her family in her everyday clothes and not in the school uniform but I was still able to recognize her. Needless to say, I started talking to and playing with them and let the other sort out clothes. 

I loved it there!!! There could be many reasons that I loved it there so much, playing with the kids, language wasn’t as huge of a barrier (English is spoken in Uganda as French is spoken in Congo), the people seemed more friendly, probably because I could communicate. It’s amazing what communication does. 

At first I wasn’t sure if I should go, but I am really glad that I did. It was an experience that I’m grateful to have had. 

Roadside market: this stand was selling potatoes

With all the rain the road turned to mud, and it was a little slippery in places. One of the cars that we were taking to our third school visit slid into the ditch. 

The kids would often start waving at us as we would drive by them on the road.

New Airport Friends

After waking up way to early (without my alarm), I left the ship. I didn't just leave the ship, I left the country. I'm no longer in Republic of the Congo, I'm sitting in Rwanda as I write this.

It's already been an adventure. I left Pointe-Noire without any problems and flew an hour away to the capital of Brazaville. While I was there, I needed to collect my luggage and recheck-in, during my 3 hour stay. No rush, I get my backpack and the. Head upstairs to departures. 

While, it's to early so I can't even get into the check in counter so I walk around looking for a seat...needless to say, there are none. As I'm setting my stuff down by the window I hear someone trying to get my attention. I look over and there was one person in the group of Chinese guy's sitting on the chairs that was offering me his seat. 

Initial, quick assessment told me he was the youngest of the group, and all the older guys appeared to be laughing and giving him a hard time in good fun...so after trying to refuse and he was still offering, I walked over and sat down in the middle of this group of Chinese men. Well, they of course were speaking in Chinese, which I don't know much of, or they also spoke French...also a language in which I don't have a large vocabulary. It is truly unfortunate that I really only know English, but luckily this young guy knew some basic English and so he acted as translator for the group. 

In the end, here is what I know, his name is Shi Long Nain, and he is 27 and has an older sister. English is his fifth language, and he is more proficient with it than any other languages I know. I did find it humorous, that he knew how to ask if I was married, when I told him the truth that I wasn't, he shook his head and said 'come to china, and you can be married in one month.' 

I passed on his offer, to continue on my way to Uganda. So then we started having an english/Chinese lesson, and I didn't make the best student, but we were laughing at my mistakes. Once it came time to part ways, the one guy offered me a 1.5L bottle of water, which again I ended up taking. I really enjoyed my time with them. That's the most interesting and fun part of my trip so far, and its only day one!