Goodness, it's been awhile since I've dated...I apologize! Not to much has been going on though. I just got off a stretch of night shifts...so I haven't been able to do a lot off ship. I thought I might just give some random updates for this post...

Roomates: As I've mentioned before, I live in a 6-person cabin. But I don't think I've told you about my roomates! They are as follows: 1 from Australia, 1 from Switzerland, 1 from Germany, 1 from Georgia, 1 from Seattle, and me!! Quite diverse...and I love it. I heard that currently, there are over 40 nations represented on the ship. It's so neat to hear about things from all over the world! I don't know how the long-termers do this all the time though. You develop great friendships with people and then they leave...the time here on the ship initially sounds like a long time. But once you're here and involved, it goes quick! And I much as I'm loving meeting new friends from all over...its weird too, in a sense that I don't truly know if I'll see these people again. I pray I do!! But until then...I guess thats what facebook is for... haha!

Ward Church: Every Sunday, there is a church service held in the wards. A couple of wks ago, I was working and was able to attend this! It was awesome! There are 3 wards...and almost everyone comes and crams into just one side of one ward. I'm going to include a picture here of a ward...so try to imagine ~50 people in here...with another ~10 people in the hall, all praising the Lord. Amazing stuff! As with true African worship, there was lots of dancing and drumming. The dance circle was held in the middle...and everyone just danced around the people sitting on the floor. It's so neat to see everyone together. You have nurses, patients, caregivers, translators, random visitors and occasionally doctors all gathered together in one small room! One of the photographers on the ship gave the message that Sunday.










Aissa: A couple posts ago, I mentioned the little girl named Aissa, who had NOMA. She has become such a special kid to many of us, here on the ship. She is SO fun to be around! Aissa speaks a language that no-one hear on the ship knows...I don't remember the statistic, but there are an insanly high number of languages/dialects spoken in Cameroon. There are lots in Togo too, but Cameroon has a ton! Aissa has learned some Engligh though, since being in the ward. It's hard to keep a 7yr old busy, in the same room as 19 other patients/caregivers are as well. With no windows and only 1-2hrs of playtime outside...its just hard at times. She is full of energy, full of life and has kept us on our toes. At her village, she was given free reign. There was no discipline, no guidance, etc. So at first, it was a challenge for her - to listen, share, etc. But she has come soo so far. This little girl has stolen my heart! She has become like a mother hen to other patients, she helps the nurses, she even gave herself her own tube feeds/medications when her NG tube was down (she would aspirate to make sure nothing was still in her stomach before feeds, she would flush the tube once they were done and would push her own meds too). And she's only 7! This past weekend, she was cleared to leave the hospital. So on Sunday afternoon, she left for the hospitality center!! And in about a wk or so, they think she'll able to make the trip back to Cameroon. Yesterday afternoon, I went over to the hospitality center to play volleyball and was able to see Aissa again. When I first got there, she came sprinting over to me and wrapped her arms around my legs. I picked her up, twirled her around and we both just laughed! It was so exciting to see her playing outside...running around...and the best part is....without a bandage on her head. Her skin graft to her cheek has taken well, and she no longer needs a dressing on!! PRAISE THE LORD for this precious little girl and her tender heart. Please keep her in your prayers, as she will make the trip back next week...that she will continue to heal and that hopefully she'll be able to start going to school this fall. I'm hoping to post more pictures of Aissa on the next post!

Food: So the food here on the ship is actually pretty good! I wasn't sure what to expect. And being that I've actually been called picky before...shocking, i know...I was a little nervous. But it's been great! I've refound a favorite food...cinnamon/sugar toast. Most definitely not African...but soo good!

Blood bank: The ship is pretty unique when it comes to blood. Our blood bank is the crew! Anyone that volunteers to be a donor, has their blood checked (to analzye and double check blood type) and then if they are needed, they will be paged/phoned at that time. This could be in the middle of the night...in the middle of lunch...whenever! They don't have to technology separate the particles of the blood...so they aren't able to store any blood on the ship. I've only given blood a couple times on the ship (as a nurse, not a donor)...but its SO cool. The lab draws the blood...and within 30mins, a warm (yes...warm) bag of blood is then handed to me to hang. Its so neat to see the donor standing there, watching his/her warm blood flow into another person. At home you can donate blood, but you never know when/where/how its being used. Here, you get to see in person. How cool is that!! The other day, there was a large surgery taking place (a lady was having several very large tumors taken off her neck/jaw). The surgeons had predicted they would 6 units of blood...so the lab got 12 units ready (knowing they would probably need more than the surgeons thought...). And by ready, I mean made sure they had 12 donors on the ship. We've found that B+ is a common blood type here in Togo, but not very common among everyone else! So it's been pretty interesting to find enough donors. I was working that evening, so as I heard the overhead page to inform anyone who hadn't gotten the blood checked to donate, to please please go see the lab. They had gotten to the point, where they would have to stop the surgery if they didnt get enough blood. So we ran over to lab...got checked (i'm not B+) and then started praying. Praying for donors...praying for blood...praying the surgery, etc. They ended up finding some blood from a blood bank in Togo. But it was a close call. They surgery ended up taking 12.5hrs and required 18units of blood. They were able to take all but one tumor off, and she is doing great. Praise the Lord! I just think the system for blood transfusions here is pretty neat...in one person...30mins later...infusing into someone else. Sweet!

Kpalime: So this weekend, a small group of us are planning a day trip to Kpalime. It's a town north of Lome, a couple hrs away. I haven't been there yet, but have been hoping to be able to go! There's lots of hiking and waterfalls to see...so I'm pretty excited about that!


Volcano: Prayers needed. As most of you know, I'm going to travel around Europe for a week, when I leave here. I'm meeting my Mom and Aunt in Paris and we'll go from there. But we need the volcano in Iceland to stay calm!! So I figure if we start praying now...hopefully all will clear in a few weeks when we go. :)



Deck 8: I've mentioned the top deck of the ship before...but last night was the first night I've gone up there at night. Is there anything more peaceful than the combination of: tea, ipod, stars, and ocean? I think not! I've decided that Deck 8 is most definitely my favorite spot on the ship...



I'm going to end this post with a random picture. It was taken in Benin, when we went on the agriculture trip a couple wks ago. The rainy season has offically started here...but it has actually only rained a few days total since I've been here! This picture just shows a random street...with a "puddle" in the middle. All the bikes are trying to go around it...haha...





Today's love: being back on a days schedule...