Hospital Ship...a strange concept

Its strange having been here for 2 weeks now. I feel like I  have settled into my daily routine of getting up in the morning, walking up the 2 flights of stairs to breakfast, walking down 2 flights of stair to the OR to work, then repeat the stairs at lunch and dinner. There are community meetings twice a week as well as other optional in services, trainings, and bible studies to keep oneself busy.

I have a comfortable bed and am being blasted with air conditioning (when the AC machines are working well). The food is good and there are always options (haha I had to add that for all of you who know that I am a bit of a picky eater), and there is clean drinking water. Don Stephens one of the co-founders of Mercy Ships spoke to us last week and was explaining the concept of how they created this hospital ship. We live on a ship that provides hope and healing to the poor and needy of Africa's west coast. The ship is set up in more of a "western" living and eating environment to keep all of the crew healthy and fit so that we can provide excellent care to the people we serve. If you came to Mercy Ships and stayed on the ship and didn't talk with the local people, you would not be able to get a full experience of the culture, the people, the desperate living conditions.

It is through working and talking with the patients and volunteers as well as making excursions off the ship that you can really understand the poverty and needs in Sierra Leone. All around the ship we have Day Volunteers. They are local people who have been selected to help the Mercy Ships Crew, and specifically in the hospital they help us with translating. One girl that I have been able to get to know is Amy.

If you were to just walk into the OR, Amy looks like everyone else in the hospital. She is wearing her blue Mercy Ships scrubs. She has amazing english and has trained to be a nurse at one of the local hospitals. As I have started to get to know Amy she told me more about her life. She is 23 years old and just got married this past year. She lives in a very small home with her husband, sister and 2 brothers. When I asked her what she does after work she told me that they are lucky and have a TV,  if there is electricity she will watch some TV but often the electricity is not working. When she comes to work, Amy takes a taxi part way and then walks the rest. It is neat to hear the stories of the day volunteers as they are so thankful for their lives and for what little they have. There is another volunteer in the recovery room who likes to pray every morning. She starts her prayers thanking God that she woke up this morning. Sometimes all she has to eat for the whole day is bread and tea and again she thanks God for that, knowing that he will provide for her! It is amazing to think about what we grumble about and how little that matters in the big picture!