Anticipation

I'm beginning to learn a little bit of the ship language but we all know how great I am at directions.  You can bet that I've gotten turned around a few times while trying to navigate through this amazing vessel.  The Africa Mercy was actually a train ferry, so it's not quite as large as a cruise ship that you may think of, but it is big enough for a train to fit in the lower decks.  It's pretty crazy when you stop and think about how much transformation the ship has undergone.  They're actually in the process of setting up funds for a new ship that I believe will be around in the next couple years.  According to the plans, it looks pretty massive.

I've also met a ton of people.  They said that this is probably the first time that they've been able to start a field service with an entire hospital staff.  That's pretty awesome.  People have come from all over to volunteer - I think I have most enjoyed eavesdropping on nearby conversations - the accents are so pleasant to listen to.  I'm in an 8-berth cabin (there's only one onboard, along with one 10-berth) but right now there are only five of us, so it isn't too overwhelming.  Three of my roommates are from Holland and one is from Texas.  I sort of think we may have lucked out - there are two bathrooms in the cabin.  Although being limited to the 2 minute showers often makes it so there's not much waiting around for an unoccupied bathroom anyway.

There are a bunch of nurses here that will be responsible for staffing the wards.  Thankfully there are quite a few returning and/or long term volunteers that can show us the ropes before we really dive in.  These last couple of days have been filled with ship and hospital orientation, but soon we will be able to fall into a bit of a routine. 

Sunday afternoon a few girls and I decided to take a little stroll off the ship.  We didn't have an experienced volunteer with us, so we kept the walk fairly simple.  It was so nice to get off the ship and move around after spending so much time on airplanes, etc.  We ended up walking a little bit through the nearby town and ended up finding our way over the train tracks to the beach.  There were tons of people outside along the streets either cooking, socializing, or just relaxing in the nice weather.  Surprisingly it wasn't dreadfully hot.  When we got to the beach one of the first things I noticed was virtually nobody was sitting.  If you were to go to a beach back home people would be sprawled out half naked on a towel, umbrella for some shade, coolers within reach listening to music.  Here, not so much.  The dress isn't AS conservative as I had anticipated, but it's still not very revealing.  Knees are covered and although some woman had pants or shorts, the majority were sporting skirts or dresses.  A couple of kids were playing near the water but I didn't see a single swimmer braving the waves.  I suppose it's probably a good thing, I found out later that the riptide is quite strong and people were to use caution.  After getting our fill of the ocean breeze, we made our way back to the ship.  Taxis occasionally whizzed by making your hair raise a little bit, but overall it was a good first trip on land. 

Like I mentioned before, the last couple of days have been filled with meetings and orientation type gatherings.  As Wednesday approaches however, I can feel the excitement rise.  Tomorrow is the big screening day.  It's going to be off the ship in Pointe-Noire and from what I've heard, it is supposed to be quite an amazing day.  This is the day people from all around come to seek medical care.  It is the day that the potential patients will be chosen.  Some will be granted the long awaited surgery and care while others will sadly be turned away.  It's a day of mixed emotions.  Wishes granted and dreams crushed.  There is no telling how many people will show up, but the plan is to stay until the last patient has been seen. 

I met up with a few friends for dinner, but because tomorrow is said to be such a big day, I was thinking of turning in a bit early so I would be able to function day walking (it's been a difficult task haha).  We sort of lingered in the dining room for a little while because it was just too early to admit we were ready for bed.  It's funny the way things happen though...As we were nearing the doorway, we noticed more volunteers walking in.  It turned out they were getting ready to make sandwiches for the patients and staff for tomorrow.  To be honest, I wanted to make a quick getaway and bolt down the stairs to my cabin.  But somehow that just didn't happen.  The three of us ended up strolling up to the tables to do our part - after all, we were going to be hungry tomorrow - might as well help the cause, right?  Somehow this group of people banged out over 1700 peanut butter sandwiches in less than 45 minutes.  I think I laughed more making those sandwiches than I have since I've been onboard.  It was one of those moments where it makes you stop and think how fun it is to be part of team.

I have a few pictures to go along with this, but my patience is a little thin so I'll post them when I have a little more time.  :)

Please send some prayers and positive thoughts for the Screening Day and all the patients, families, and volunteers that are involved!