Very cloudy Sunday

Hi everyone! I just read all of your comments and they were funny, inspiring, encouraging, etc. Thanks for thinking of me! It has been a busy few days. I think I am going to really like working here once I get the hang of it. Work on Friday PM went very well as they gave me all adults. Things at this hospital are interesting. At home it is very common for the orthopaedic doctors to order xrays after surgery to make sure things are aligned. To do them can be a challenge here. Most of the patients can get up on crutches but 2 couldn't. The cart doesn't fit through the door of the xray room so we had to but these people on a stretcher type thing and carry them in. (We found men to carry them back to bed because we decided it wasn't worth hurting our backs). Saturday I did a 12hr shift. Everyday at about 2:30 we get all the patients that are allowed out of bed and bring them up to the 7th deck of the ship so that they can be outside looking at the water. A lady who had surgery on her left arm was very afraid up there. She made me move her chair away from the balcony rail and sit with her and hold her hand. I don't think she had ever been that high before. One of the nurses was explaining to me that a lot of things here are foreign to these people. In the patient bathrooms they actually have pictures of how to use the toilets because in some areas I think they are used to using squatty potties.

There are 4 wards and an ICU on the ship. There are about 20 beds on each ward, split by a wall with 10 beds on each side. We only have about 2 and a half wards open at the moment. We mix all the men, women, and children together. Today I had a bunch of 19-30year olds all on crutches. It was funny to watch them carry their toothbrushes in their mouths and hobble on over to the bathroom to get washed up. Their is a boy about 13 years old who is the comic relief on the ward. He is trying to learn Dutch from all the Dutch nurses. He wants me to take him to Chicago in my suitcase. I told him since he is only 36kg that yes I can pack him.

We took most of the patients into B ward this morning and they had a church service. It was AMAZING! They sang, and then 3 of the patients gave their stories. It was so good to hear their side of the experience on Mercy Ships. They are so thankful to God and they give Him the glory for being able to come here and get help. One of the men that shared his story was my patient the night before. Every night before bed, and every morning when he wakes up, he reads a passage from his bible loud enough for the rest of the ward to hear. Then he prays for those going to surgery and those that came back from surgery. He prays for the patients, the nurses, wisdom for the doctors, families at home, and continued healing for all the wounds. It is really touching because he prayed for the 3 nurses by name. They all make it a point to learn our names.

I was feeling like I had a pretty good day until it was time to hand off to the next shift, and then I felt like I didn't have things together. I left feeling pretty bad. Difficult to explain, but I need to not be so hard on myself. So after a handful of chocolate and a quick walk outside, everything was fine again. I should take the patient's advice "Don't let the devil put negative thoughts in your head!" During the sermon this morning the pastor (who is from some island off the coast of Denmark) talked about how following God can be a sacrifice--leaving home, family, etc. But all we have to do is be willing. He said often we feel that we don't have the capabilities to do certain jobs or tasks in life, but all God wants is a willing heart. If we are willing to do or go where God wants, He will equipe us to do the job He wants us to do to further his kingdom. I am so fortunate to be able to hear all of these great sermons, but my issue is I have to learn to believe that God means these things for me as much as He does for others. I tend to forget to lean on Him when times get stressful. Instead I freak out a little (inside of course as we all know I am good at internalizing things). This is something I am going to try to work on while I am here. I am not superwoman and I need to accept and ask for help when needed.

P.S. I must pay special recognition to Mr. Wayne Thomsen for his debut to the computer world. I was very impressed he used a computer for the 1st time to leave me a comment on my blog. Congratulations to you sir. (Don't quit your day job, you tile much better than you type).

P.P.S. One of the orthopaedic doctors that was here for the past two weeks has spinal stenosis like my dad. He said when he goes home one of his partners is going to do surgery on him. But he flew all the way here from the states to do surgery on these people. So Dad you should come out here because you would love walking the dock and exploring the ship and hanging with the Dutch folk. There are many Dutch on here and they almost allowed me into their click because apparently I look like I come from Holland. One of my Dutch roommates and another nurse said a few people were wondering if maybe I was Dutch or had parents from Holland. There is something in my face they say.