well looking at the dates, it sure has been a long time since i last wrote...the weeks have gone by quickly as ever, but alot has happened and i will attempt to tell you all about it!
it was a great blessing that i was able to go home for Christmas and New Year. it was refreshing and i feel revitalised ready for all that is ahead in Togo. A lovely family Christmas was just what i needed, to take time out from mercy ships and to enjoy quality family time and tasty food! and to top it all off, we were in the Lake District - a proper white Christmas, with over a foot of snow and mountains and lakes as far as the eye could see :)
New year was special too with Martin's family in loughbrough; catching up with his sisters and mum. it was so nice just to slot into family life and do all of the 'normal' things! go for walks, cook meals, laugh and play games together.
I also popped home to midhurst for a brief time, enjoying time with mum and battling with the snowfall and then an even briefer visit to Swansea before flying back to tenerife onto the ship.
and here we are still. there are another few weeks until we set sail for west africa again and all the preparations are still going on. the engine rooms have been degreased and the water tanks recoated. a swimming pool has been errected on deck 8 and a half! (its rather large) and the whole ship has been repainted and rust protected. decks have been scrubbed and floors are going to be recoated. the ship is almost ready for another year in africa!
as for me i have been moved into the crew services department and am now a housekeeper. it is great just to be able to switch off and plug the earphones in and clean...no responsibility or protocol writing, just on my knees scrubbing or mop in hand washing and drying the long corridors. there is an open ship tonight, so anyone on the island can come around for a tour - so today the ship is looking extra tidy and clean...like it always does! i never realised that even the handrails and doorhandles are disinfected to keep everyone healthy - but it is working, theres never been any sort of outbreak!
i had an extra special time last weekend, as Sophie (a friend from home) came all the way out to the ship to visit for a long weekend. we had a great time together as she sampled ship life and we explored the island together - chatting in cafes in santa cruz and lying in parks, visiting the zoo and then hiring a car and road tripped all around the island. it was great to show her around the ship and share ship life with her...so now someone from home knows exactly what its like! (as its so hard to explain in words).
I have now settled back in well. it sure was hard adjusting back to everything here, after such a wonderful time at home. but i'm focused and embracing all that is ahead of me over the next months. the ship is filling up again, the new nurses are arriving and our eyes and prayers are set to Togo. but there is another 10 day sail before then and a week long orientation that i'm involved with for the new nurses. my cabin is filling up again with new people. Linda has arrived from Canada a few days ago and there are more nurses expected to fill the other 3 beds! we even managed a visit to ikea and treated ourselves to a new shower curtain (!) and a lovely little light, just to create a relaxed atmosphere.
home is certainly right where i am.
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