Easter aboard the Africa Mercy

So after a very long period of not blogging, I decided to break the silence. I do apologize for those of you who faithfully have been checking the blog for updates. I wish I had a good excuse like I am so impossibly busy, or I had some interesting tale to tell. In reality, the first month to six weeks here was very hard for me. It took at least a month to transition from the time and routine changes and feel like I was a normal person and settle in to the fact that this was now my home for a short while. I also went through a bit of homesickness and loneliness. You may think with a crew of 450 people that it would not be easy to be lonely, but you can get lost in the shuffle if you are not careful. I guess because I had looked forward to this experience for so many years that I had built up this fantasy in my head of what it would be like.

I stopped writing when I felt like I didn't know exactly what in the world I was doing here. Like I maybe made the wrong decision and maybe I had let everyone down. I felt like no one wanted to hear that I wasn't exactly having the time of my life here in Benin and that I didn't particularly enjoy the nursing work. I had to learn the hard lesson that just because you change circumstances, you always take yourself with you. I guess I foolishly thought I would miraculously change overnight on the flights from Dulles to Benin.

I have adjusted more since then. Some days I enjoy it and some days I struggle. Now, with about 5 weeks left, I have started to contemplate what the next step is for me once I get back to Morgantown. I have had some time in between shifts to reflect and pray about what God may have for me.

This picture is from Easter Sunday. I am wearing the top to an outfit I had made with cloth I bought in the market and had tailored. The skirt that goes with the outfit will still needs some work to fit right. I wanted to get my picture taken in it because I remembered having my picture taken every Easter as a little girl with my new dress and Easter basket. This Easter was the warmest one ever for me. It was a little odd not to be around all the spring flowers and new green leaves. We had a sunrise service on the top deck and it didn't really sink in that it was Easter until we sang the hymn "Christ the Lord is Risen Today." Later in the morning, we were treated to a delicious brunch. The food was a real treat for us since most every day it consists of some kind of rice or plantains, a meat, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots and sometimes lettuce, and bread. We had Sunday evening service as we do every week and then we had open cabin night where some of the crew hosted people to come through and look at their cabins while they served desserts and drinks. It made me think of Christmas time when people visit each other's homes. Easter here is considered a four-day weekend starting on Good Friday through Monday. Earlier in the week, we also had a service on Maunday Thursday followed by a footwashing prayer time and on Friday the Passion of the Christ was shown. I had to work on Thursday and Friday evenings and then Monday morning, but with the holiday going into Monday, there were no new surgeries and things were much more quieter than normal.

I do want to thank you all again for the opportunity to be here. I would ask that you keep me in your prayers. Specifically against spiritual attack (there is a large Voodoo influence especially in the area of West Africa we are in and some patients have stated they are involved in witchcraft). There are acutually some times that I have felt a heaviness that I really can't really explain. I know that Satan really does not like what we are doing here and that he will use just about anything to get us discouraged, depressed, and lonely so that we cannot function to do the work that God has us here to do. Thankfully, as we celebrated this Easter, through Jesus' death and resurrection we have the hope and power we need to overcome any schemes Satan may throw at us. May we celebrate this each day!