African Wildlife

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Africa; elephants, hippos, cheetahs, giraffes, and amazing wildlife? Did you grow up thinking there are animals running all over Africa? Or that missionary kids ride elephants to school instead of a school bus and that everyone has a pet monkey? We all know geography and natural history were never my strong points in school. Therefore, I grew up thinking Africa was one huge country where animals rule the land and people live in huts trying not to get eaten by the animals. I was totally shocked to arrive in Liberia and learn that there are no wild animals here! I was hoping to jump off the airplane and see some of God’s amazing creatures roaming the land. As many of you know, I do not give up easily and if I have an idea in my mind, I do everything I can to make it reality. Over the past few months, I have heard whispers about the location of some monkeys in the area, therefore I have made it my side mission to find these little creatures and count observing them as my viewing of the African wildlife. I am proud to announce, that I found monkeys! I recently visited a place called the Wulki Farm. It is a privately owned farm, zoo of sorts. The owner has ostriches, crocodiles, and two monkeys. Everyone that visits is guaranteed to see the ostriches and crocodiles because they are caged, but it is only a few persistent visitors that find the monkeys because they roam a large plot of land and jungle freely. Our group checked out the ostrich family and crocodiles, but then we jumped in our land rover and drove back and forth on the road in pursuit of the monkeys. Now, of course, I have been to a zoo and I have seen monkeys, but never in the wild. We drove around forever and were about to give up when, in the distant trees, we saw movement and… MONKEYS! I was so excited. We got out of the vehicle and attempted to befriend the little creatures. Friendship was made and we proceeded to play for about 1.5 hours with the monkeys. We laughed and laughed as we watched them run around chasing each other and some of the guys in our group. One of the monkeys walked directly up to our group and put his hands up, like a small child wanting to be held. It was precious. Everyone took turns holding the “nice” monkey. One of them was mean and just chased people and stuck his tongue out at us, but the other one loved to be held. It was funny to watch the “nice” monkey with my friends. If the monkey approached a female, he would act like a baby wanting to be held. But if he approached a male, he would try to chew on their ankles and use their body like a jungle gym, jumping around, and climbing on them. I was afraid to hold the monkey and as many of you know, I do not even pet or hold, dogs, cats, hamsters. The only pets I play with are fish! Despite, my fear/dislike of hairy animals, I decided this opportunity may only come once and I picked up the little hairy monkey and I have pictures to prove it. Enjoy! God bless!

ORANGE-oranges

My far distance from home and the modern luxuries of a first world nation have caused me to become extremely thankful for the small, ordinary things of daily life. Let me tell you about some of the things that I have been thankful for lately. A few weeks ago, I was going through the food line in the dining hall. I was approaching the fruit section of the line when suddenly, I spotted a glorious piece of fruit in front of me. I could not believe my eyes... ORANGE, oranges! I was so excited! It was like Christmas morning! I was so pumped to have a proper colored orange. We are extremely blessed on the ship and we eat very well, but our produce section is often limited. We have oranges on a regular basis, but they are green. Can it actually be called an orange if it is green? The oranges we get are ripe and totally ready for eating, but green. I just cannot wrap my head around the idea of eating green oranges. ORANGE, oranges, are just better! The small things in life remind me how much Jesus loves me and this past week He decided to bless me with another tasty treat; carrot sticks! Oh, my goodness, I jumped up and down when I saw carrot sticks in our food line. I ran around the dining hall, with the excitement of someone who has won the lottery, telling all my friends about the carrot sticks. It is a rare treat for us to get fresh produce, partly because of the work that the food preparation takes. Our galley staff has to bleach, wash, bleach, and again wash all our vegetables before they can even begin slicing them. So, you can imagine how hard it is for the galley staff to prepare carrot sticks for 400 people. I was so excited about the carrot sticks that I skipped all the other dinner components and filled my entire plate with carrot sticks, covered them with ranch dressing, and that's all I ate for dinner. In case you are wondering, yes, Africa is changing me...Not only was I excited about a vegetable, but I also ate an entire plate full of the vegetables! Many people have asked what I want to do first or eat first when I return home. I have been craving Mexican food and steak! I have already informed my mom and dad that I want to head to my favorite Mexican restaurant as soon as I return to Idaho and then eat steak after that. To my incredible surprise, my craving for steak was met on board just the other day. We had the most amazing steak for dinner a few days ago! The dinner was complete with baked potatoes and A1 Steak sauce! Holy Cow it was so good! (soon to be uploaded a photo of me and my amazing dinner) Every good thing comes from God. I am thankful that He knows what is best for me and He blesses me with small things and bigs things too!

Sweet Mama

My mom made it home to Idaho. She really enjoyed her time here and I wouldn't doubt it if she plans a return trip in the future! Everyone on the ship thought she was lovely and beautiful! My African friends called her "Sweet Mama." I know she blessed all the people she cared for. Thanks for praying for her!

Kidney Stones Update

Friends and Family, I am hanging in there and I feel much better. No more pain or fevers. I am getting stronger every day. Thanks for your prayers! I will go see the doctor again on Tuesday. It is possible that we will do another CT Scan to see if some of my kidney stones are dissolving. I am praying they are all gone! I started back to work yesterday for a 12 hour shift. I was totally tired after that shift and I slept great! Considering patient census is down and I was beat, from yesterday, the charge nurse gave me a break today and I only had to do 8 hours of my 12 hour shift. I think I will go to bed soon! Take care!