His mercies are new every morning.

I finally have had a chance to sit down and catch you all up on a bit that has been going on here on the ship, as well as some of my adventures I've taken on my days off! I cannot believe that after this week I will already have been here for a month..with only two months remaining.

I really can't say enough about this ship and the people who are here. Someone put it into perspective for me. Everyone who is here has sacrificed something, so they put their heart and soul into their work. I mean after all-these are some of the most hard working people I have ever worked alongside, and we are doing it all for free! Everyone still holds each other to a very high standard of nursing practice and care. It's nice to be working in this atmosphere.

So first up, I will talk about a few of my patients who touched my heart over the past two weeks. The first up is this man. You can see his before and after picture below. He has had this tumor growing for years and had the opportunity to come to the ship and have his life changed forever. He is one of our few patients who spoke English, and a very smart young man. It made my day when he was discharged to start his brand new life...and I even ran into him a few days later as we were leaving the ship. He is working with physical therapists to get his range of motion back in his neck. But He can't stop smiling. So thankful for all we have done for him.

Before

After 

My other favorite patient-who you can see in this picture below on the left-has had a bit of a rough road. I don't have her before picture but she also had a large tumor growing out of her jaw. So here on the ship, they take some bone from the hip to reconstruct a new jaw after taking the diseased jaw out. Unfortunately her iliac crest bone (hip bone) became very infected and they needed to end up taking bone from her fibula (thigh bone) to make a new jaw. I am praying that this bone will take and there will be no complications from here on out. She is also an amazing individual who never complains. I call her "mama" and she calls me "la fille", which means daughter. She teaches me French which is very interesting because she does not speak English. So we have a fun time trying to understand what the other is saying! She brings me a great amount of joy every time I get to take care of her. I can't describe the feeling-but I feel so privileged to have this opportunity. To connect with beautiful souls from around the world.

Me with "mama"

So-you may be wondering..I do get free time sometimes! I got to go into a little village last week and get my hair braided one day. One of our "day crew" (local Cameroonians who work on the ship and help us translate) took me and my friend into her town to her hair dresser .. and EIGHT HOURS LATER I had a head full of braids! It was quite an experience. Esther (our Cameroonian friend) stayed with us all 8 hours and even treated us to a real African lunch...which was quite interesting to say the least.

Me and the awesome lady who created this masterpiece!

This weekend was my first weekend off-finally! I got to go to Limbe-which is a beach that is about an hour and a half west of the ship. It was quite an adventure getting there. That's for sure. We kind of decided to plan this last minute, so me and three of my friends ventured out to the beach. We had to take 3 taxis to get there, which was very interesting. Getting a taxi and driving here is an adventure in itself! You can really drive on any side of the road. The only rule they have here is that you yield to the bigger car. So you can pass cars whenever and wherever you want. Let's just say I pray the whole time I'm in the car. They use their horns to communicate so there is always a ton of honking. It's not for the faint-hearted. I may have already suffered 3 mini heart attacks since being in cars around here. 

Unsure of what these animals are called...

Douala (the city center)

Our cute hotel!

But anyway, we made it to Limbe in one piece and decided we would stay the weekend. We got an "apartment" suite that was very close to the beach. The pictures will help you get an idea, but it pretty much had the bare minimum. There were 4 of us and we asked for towels, and received two to share between the four of us. Living over here has really put into perspective how much I take my American life for granted. We live like kings in America. I cannot imagine having to live in Cameroon and I go to bed every night thanking God for blessing me way beyond anything I deserve. 

All-in-one bathroom!

Our bedroom-equipped with a mosquito net!

The Kitchen..

Limbe ended up being a nice relaxing time away from the hustle and bustle of the ship. We had a great time getting to know one another and just fellowshipping. There was a restaurant right on the grounds of our hotel, and we figured it out by the end of the trip that in order to get our food when we want, we should order at least an hour ahead of time. African time is a bit delayed! The beach itself was different than anything I've seen. It had black sand-but was just beautiful with mountains behind it and palm trees surrounding. We also decided to hire a car to take us straight back to the ship-which was about the same price as all 3 taxis combined, minus the stress! 

The second day we had clouds mixed with sun.

That didn't stop the fun!

My friends Chelsea and Rachel (from USA and Canada)

So I am back on the ship tonight and safe. We had a church service tonight (we do church on Sunday nights here). We were going through the resurrection story, (Mark 11) tonight. I titled this blog "His mercies are new every morning" because there have been times where I have been exhausted on this ship and just need to be by myself. However-every time I walk into work now I am reminded of the mercy these patients have all received-that they now have new lives. And what they do with those lives has already proven to be of significance. Just the joy they bring to other people is very tangible here. That energizes me and reminds me that just like them-God gives me a new chance at life every morning I wake up and walk onto that ward. He has shown me grace and mercy when I'm not the most pleasant person. And I am reminded I am here to do his work and serve these people. So continue to send me love and pray for me! I miss my family and friends a TON! Thanks for all you do for me. And I will keep these updates coming.

My favorite time of day...