February 13th I left snowy Idaho and headed for hot &humid Bolivia, South America
…in Bolivia… I sweated my guts out & participated in a Discipleship Training School with Youth with a Mission (YWAM), a Christian organization with the vision of “Knowing God & Making Him Known.” The school had a 3 month lecture phase and 2 month practical-outreach phase to put into practice all we learned in the classroom phase of the course. The classroom phase was intense and I describe the process as going through “soul-surgery.” I realized I have a serious issue with pride and God taught me many things. We covered intense topics such as forgiveness and restoration, inner healing, spiritual warfare, God’s plan for us, Worldview, the Holy Spirit, Inductive Bible Study, and many more topics.


May 6th I left Bolivia and travelled to the earthquake zone in Chile, South America
…in Chile… I froze my toenails off, not literally, but man it was cold. Considering Chile is in the Southern Hemisphere, my visit was perfectly aligned with the dead of winter. It was cold! I love the cold and winter is my favorite time of the year, but I have realized proper clothing, heaters, hot water, hot chocolate, & warm cozy houses are all essential components that contribute to my love for winter. I am not so keen on the cold when I don’t have those lovely items! Oh, it wasn’t all that bad, but definitely another adventure. I didn’t complain the entire time I was there. I also helped build houses, provided community & mental health nursing care and counseling, slept on the floor in a building without heat or running water, played with children, performed dramas in churches and schools, seriously improved my Spanish skills, worked with the government to unload huge trucks of mattresses, blankets, sheet rock, & other emergency supplies. I moved and helped distribute tons of flour, went weeks without a shower, knocked on doors of houses in the worst devastated areas and offered to work, clean, listen, & pray for the people. I got strep throat and lived with a Chilean family for a week while I was recovering. My group and I set up a table in an area destroyed by the tsunami and painted nails, cut hair, & offered massages. The list goes on and on…


June 29th I left Chile and travelled to Bolivia
…in Bolivia… I gathered the rest of my belongings that I had left there while on outreach in Chile and I graduated from my Discipleship Training School.


July 1st I left Bolivia and travelled to Texas. I left Bolivia feeling restored, refreshed and more equipped to pursue more of my dream to be a missionary nurse.
…in Texas…I met up with one of my best mates, named Karl, a crazy Australian guy that I met on the ship in Africa. I also visited Mercy Ship’s headquarters in Garden Valley, Texas. I was reunited with many other lovely friends from the ship.


July 4th I left Texas and travelled to Idaho
…in Idaho…I basically stopped over for a few nights to empty all of my belongings onto the floor in my old room at my parent’s house & donate a sample of my urine at a local nursing home to test it for drugs, the final stage in my hiring process for temporary employment. I interviewed over a computer phone from a small internet café in Chile, but even though technology is amazing these days, there was no other way for me to offer my urine sample for drug screening without delivering it in person.


July 7th I left Idaho and travelled to New Hampshire
…in New Hampshire… I was reunited with my dear friends and church family that I met while working at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center while I lived in New Hampshire. I also dug through all my material belongings that my dear friend has faithfully stored for me the last 2.5 years while I was in Africa and South America. With tears in my eyes and a heaviness of heart, I made garage sale signs and sold almost everything I own, knowing that it is not good stewardship to leave my items in a box, molding & rusting in my friend’s basement when I will probably not use the things again for a long time.


July 13th I left New Hampshire and returned to Idaho
…since returning to Idaho... I have been experiencing the biggest culture shock of my life…returning to nursing in the USA. July 15th I started a row of 12-hour orientation shifts at a local nursing home. The first day at my new job all the staff and care aids gathered in a circle for morning report, out of habit from the ship, I bowed my head thinking we were going to pray before starting the day. I was quickly brought back to reality when I heard one of my new co-workers cuss and the others converse in some of the most vulgar language I have heard for a long time. I almost cried. I miss Africa.


I had three 12-hour orientation shifts and was launched into nursing on my own. I am now working full-time night shifts at the nursing home. The learning curve is huge; I have never worked in long-term care and have been out of nursing in the USA for 2.5 years now. YIKES! I am responsible for 30 patients and I haven’t yet figured out how to accomplish everything I need to within the time limit of my shift, the entire process is entirely stressful, but I have seen God take me through greater challenges. I see God answering prayers already because I was wondering how I would stay awake on my night shifts. So far that hasn’t been a problem. I run all night long trying to get everything done!


The other night, I was standing at my med cart when I felt someone pinch my behind. I heard a male co-worker quickly claim, “That wasn’t me!” I was feeling slightly offended until I heard a squeaky little voice from the 90 year-old grandma in a wheel-chair behind me say, “he he, that it was me!” Oh, my goodness, I am in a different world!


With the vision of someday returning to care for African orphans and precious chocolate children in my mind and the goal to show God’s love to every person I come into contact with, I bravely return to the nursing home for each shift I am scheduled. Out of stress and pure exhaustion, I have cried almost every shift I have worked so far, but that is okay. I am working as hard as I can to earn money for what God has prepared for me next.


September 12th… Lord willing, I will board a plane headed for London, England. I am pleased to announce that I have been accepted to take a 4.5 month course in tropical nursing at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. I am super excited about this opportunity as the course is in high demand and nurses travel from all over the world to participate in this course. The course is designed specifically for nurses who have the passion to serve overseas in undeveloped areas. I will study tropical diseases, community health, water and sanitation, malaria, typhoid fever, dengue fever, leprosy, & learn about all the other freaky little parasites that are out there!


Right Now… It is the middle of the night & I am wide awake. Instead of being frustrated that I cannot sleep, I am working on my to-do-list that is a mile long. Thank all of you for your amazing love and support throughout the years! I love all of you very much!