Assaulted Brain

“What exactly is Laura doing in Texas? I am confused. I thought she was going back to Africa to live on a ship where she volunteers as a nurse. So, what is with this trip to Texas?” I am sure many of you may be wondering what exactly I am doing in Texas. As I pile on layer after layer of tank-tops, my one sweatshirt, and borrowed coat, before I walk across the campus for class, I wonder what I am doing here, too! It is so cold here! Long ago, we established geography and basic knowledge has never been my strong points, but seriously I did not think it got cold in Texas! I know it is January but, seriously; ice storms and freezing temperatures in Texas, what the heck? Okay, besides freezing I have been keeping an intensely, busy schedule, most of which includes having my brain assaulted daily in the classroom. I am in Texas living on the campus of the International Operations Center for Mercy Ships. I am enrolled in a Mercy Ships course called Gateway. This course is four weeks long, with the purpose of educating and preparing long-term ship crew to adjust to living on the ship. The course focuses on different aspects of life as a volunteer with Mercy Ships. For example, we cover topics such as living in community, cross-cultural ministry, serving effectively, communication skills, interpersonal growth and development, worldview, basic safety training, and a few other intense subjects. There are 30 of us enrolled in the January term of Gateway. Between the 30 of us in the course, we represent at least 6 different countries. We range in age from 18-mid 60’s. We all have unique jobs and professions. Our class is very diverse. We have a few military personal, a registered nurse anesthetist, receptionist, multiple nurses, teachers, an electrician, an engineer, a hair dresser, deck crew, and video and communication techno wizards, among our group. Our background differences do not matter, which is awesome. We are all united under the passion of serving and loving the poor and needy, in Jesus’ name. The focus of this week has been on interpersonal development, personality, and Principles to Live By. Oh, joy! There is nothing like taking eight hours a day, three days straight, to evaluate your personality and how it influences your choices and the world around you. There have been many moments during class this week when I felt like I was on a Doctor Phil or Oprah show getting grilled and motivated to get my act together. Funny how when we evaluate ourselves, we normally have a variety of positive traits, but the negative traits get our focus. And our short comings replay over and over in our mind like a broken record. What does all of this study have to do with me volunteering as a nurse in Africa? Well, when we work with people on the ship in Africa, we are not only aiming to fix temporary health concerns, but we are serving to change lives for eternity. People who don’t know who they are, their purpose, or what life is about, cannot teach others, therefore; the brain draining study and pondering of life’s big questions. “Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? What guides my journey? Where am I right now? How am I going to get there? When am I going to start?” This week of class has been painful to some extent and intense to say the least, oh blessed “growing pains”. It is a mighty big project to answer all the previously mentioned questions. It takes some people years to answer one of those questions and for some; their entire lifetime. We have also worked on developing personal mission statements and our life vision. Another sobering exercise that is highly effective in promoting self-analysis is writing your own eulogy. Are you getting the picture of why my brain hurts? We have been encouraged to make the most of every day, to live life on purpose, and to live life by design. My head and heart hurt, but they hurt good! I wish I could somehow convey everything that we are discussing here. But, I won’t bore you with that, but I will leave you with a few points to ponder that have really impacted me this week. Although some of you think I am super intelligent, I cannot take credit for the quotes/phrases below. I am not sure who wrote them and I would hate to plagiarize on my blog, therefore; someone wiser than I said the following. “…The Platinum rule: Treat others the way they would prefer to be treated…” “…Be careful that you don’t let perfect become the enemy of good…” “…Forgiveness is giving up my right to hate you because of what you did to me…” “…Discipline is choosing to be governed by true thoughts; not feelings…” Be blessed! I love all of you! My eyes remain the same. My right eye is wonderful; my left eye did not get corrected completely and remains blurry. But an under correction is better than an over correction, which could have required a cornea transplant. For the time being, I am wearing glasses again. In the future, I may have another surgery on my left eye. Take care!