There's no snow!

3pm EST, 8pm Sierra Leone time :)

Thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers over the last 48 hours of travel and my safe arrival to Mercy Ship.  I had very uneventful travel (though Kristen K I thought it would especially give you a big smile to hear that my Syracuse flight actually left at 2pm, not 230pm and I still had about 15 minutes to wait before boarding ;).  My flight out of Brussels was delayed, so I had 6 hours in the Brussels airport… I was able to nap a little bit and had a few of those great times in life when there is human interaction that is brief, but meaningful and for me is confirming that the world is not without hope or goodness.  I had my laptop with the internet for a short bit of time… a beautiful Indian woman dressed in lush green with a scrumptious and lively baby boy of about one approached me… a little panicky as she was in a hurry to not miss her next flight she asked if she could use my computer to send her husband an email… I of course obliged and not only did she get to communicate with her love, but I got to entertain the squirrely one year old :) … This was a short interaction and one to easily be forgotten, but I had a lot of time to think and often travel time is the best time for that for me… space to reflect and search my soul.  I read a quote recently "So much of language is unspoken.  So much of language is comprised of looks and gestures and sounds that are not words.  People are ignorant of the vast complexity of their own communication."  I am glad that my gestures were such that made a loving wife and mom feel comfortable to approach me for help.  I am now on a ship with 400 strangers of every age, race and ethnicity, background… all with amazing stories I'm sure.  Though I am often a gregarious and outgoing person I can also turn inward in my fears and close up, retreat, stay where it's safe… my challenge to myself is to not do so and to be aware of the complexity of my own communication.

So I am now on the ship.  My flight landed at 730pm last night… there were 29 other Mercy Ship volunteers on my flight.  After landing we didn't actually arrive to the ship until 1130pm and I am glad that part of the journey was not alone.  The tiny African airport… a bit disorganized, hot (which quickly turns into smelly), and crowded, would have been a bit overwhelming.  We eventually were able to get our luggage and ourselves onto a couple van taxis, over very bumpy dirt roads, to the edge of an inlet… the ship lights were in view, we just needed a boat ride across.  We then in groups of 10 were escorted to the end of a dock, assisted with lifejackets and jumped on a ferry… this ferry was a glorified raft with folding chairs and two small engines attached to the back… it took about 30 minutes one way.  We were met by Mercy Ship land rovers and driven to the ship… (The drive on land from the airport to the ship would be approximately 3 hours on very rough roads, so this is definitely the better option.)  A quick welcome, bunker keys handed out, and after 29 hours of travel ID pictures taken!  :)

The ship arrived from South Africa two days ago.  The first week on the ship will be a lot manual labor… organizing, cleaning, unpacking, and sorting.  We need to actually set up the hospital.  Word is spreading quickly throughout Freetown and beyond that Mercy Ship is here.  They will begin triaging people March 7th and 8th and surgery will begin shortly after.  We took a walk into the city today… me and three other nurses.  We ended up having an informal tour of a pediatric hospital in Freetown.  I am glad we are here to help.  They need it.