Favorite Things About Living On A Hospital Ship in Africa

This morning I have been feeling a bit reflective. Some more of my friends are leaving today and last night we had their going away party and they were talking about their time here. The obvious was stated "We are spoiled for the ordinary, My life will never be the same again...." and many more Mercy Ship cliches.

As I sit in the recovery room all by myself awaiting my first patient to come out of the OR I have been thinking about my time here. We have been here for 5 months now. Let's be honest. There have been a couple of days when I was looking for plane tickets to get the heck out of here. And others when all I can do is think about how the Lord has blessed me so much to be here. I guess this reflective mood stems from the decision that Tyrone and I will come home after our 1-year commitment is complete. I don't know where home is. We think we will travel a bit more, maybe take a travel nursing job here and there. We have not made any decisions but we do know that we want to enjoy our time with Mercy Ships as much as possible therefore we want to leave before we become burned out or bitter.

In my time here I have come up with my favorite things about living on a hospital  ship in Africa:

1. Short commute to work

2. Friday nights at the snack bar, with music playing and people dancing and chatting. (you'd have to here to understand the true beauty)

3. The patient's first glimpse in the mirror after life-changing surgery.

4. Friendships

5. The things that we do when we are bored: playing in the rain, playing taboo with people from all over the world, just sitting around chatting.

6. This one sounds cheesy but it is truly one of my favorite things about living on the ship. I love to walk down the halls of the ship to where ever we are going, holding Tyrone's hand and knowing that I get to experience this crazy life with my best friend.

7.  I love to sit on the dock and watch the sunset and be silly with my girlfriends as we discuss the meaningful things in life like what we would be if we were a superhero.

8. Being a part of our Bible study with our girls at the orphanage, some times I think maybe they are the reason why I am here in Liberia.

9. Taking a shower after being hot and sweaty from the Liberian sun.

10. Sitting at the Starbucks cafe on a day off sipping my hazelnut double shot latte chatting with people as they pass through.