happy thanksgiving, presendential dinner, etc

so, yesterday was thanksgiving day in america. not something you would think we would celebrate here on a multi-national ship in west africa. but you would be wrong. (we do attempt to celebrate many of the different cultures' holidays on the ship)
our cooks outdid themselves with limited items at their disposal. we had roast turkey with gravy, yams (they weren't yellow like at home but then oranges are green here), mashed potatoes (not real but pretty darn good anyways), wax bean casserole (decent substitution for green beans), stuffing, cranberry sauce (made with craisins and i'm not sure what else...pleasantly good) and pumpkin pie with cream for dessert. it was yummmy. i really had to work at finishing my plate but my mouth was soooo happy. =)

presendential dinner...a few weeks ago, the president of benin hosted a state dinner for the crew of the africa mercy. our founders and one of our surgeons received honors such as the equivalent of knighthood during the dinner. we all got dressed in our finest clothing and were ferried over on buses to the presedential palace, ushered in by armed guards through metal detectors, and then enjoyed a nice african dinner with the president. most of the talking was in french so i didn't understand a lot of it. my table was a fun group of people which was nice as i couldn't really see anything being at the far end of the room from the president and honorees. he had some dancers out to tell stories of benin in their native dress and dance styles which was a lot of fun to watch. and then, it was back home to the ship and to the real world of the day to day of finishing up surgeries and getting ready to sail.

etc...the last surgery was a week ago today and today the hospital closed. we said our farewells to the few remaining patients and to our many wonderful day volunteers (translators, housekeepers, deck and engineering assistants, etc) and although it was a time of rejoicing at the work that has been done this year, it was also a time of sadness and we say goodbye to people who have been part of our lives and hearts for the last 10 months. next week we will be finishing cleaning and packing up the hospital and soon we sail on to tenerife for the holiday season.

i'm sorry i haven't been good at posting lately. i'm tired and having a hard time knowing how to share the day to day of here with home. (though that is an excuse and not really a good one). i hope each of you reading this are doing well and i hope to get a chance to see you while i am home for a month in late december.

bless my enemies

this was sent to my by one of my aunts several years ago and i liked it so much that i put it in a journal that is a collection of prayers and poems and quotes that i like. i was going thru it today and came across it and thought i would share it with you. i don't fully agree with every word but the heart behind it i do. i also don't think it originated with her but am unsure as to where it started.

Bless my enemies, O Lord, even as I bless them and do not curse them. Enemies have driven me into Thy embrace more than friends have. Friends have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world. Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath Thy tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul.
Bless my enemies, O Lord, even as I bless them and do not curse them. They, rather than I have, confessed my sins to the world. They have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself. They have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torment. They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself. They have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance.
Bless my enemies, Lord, even as I bless them and do not curse them. Whenever I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish. Whenever I have made myself mighty, they have mocked me as though I were a dwarf. Whenever I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background. Whenever I have rushed to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand. Whenever I thought that I would sleep peacefully, they have wakened me from sleep. Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life, they have demolished it and driven me out. Truly, enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of Thy garment.
Bless my enemies, O Lord, even as I bless them and do not curse them. Bless them and multiply them, multiply them and make them even more bitterly against me: so that my fleeing to Thee may have no return, so that all hope in men may be scattered like cobwebs, so that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul, so that my heart may become the grave of my two evil twins—arrogance and anger, so that I might amass all my treasures in heaven, ah, so that I may for once be freed from self deception which has entangled me in the dreadful web of illusory life. Enemies have taught me to know what hardly anyone knows, that a person has no enemies in the world escept himself. One hates hi enemies only when he fails to realze that they are not enemies, but cruel friends. It is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good and who has done me more evil in the world: friends or enemies. Therefore bless, o Lord, both my friends and my enemies. A slave curses enemies, for he does not understand. But a son blesses them, for he understands. For a son knows that his enemies cannot touch his life. Therefore he freely steps among them and prays to God for them.
Bless my enemies, O Lord, even as I bless them and do not curse them.

if you made it to the end, you must surely be a family member or friend, please know that i love you and am so thankful for you also.

here or there

today i sat down in the midships lounge with a handful of popcorn, a dr. pepper, my laptop and a list of emails i need to write. and i find myself struggling to find words to share with people who though not far from my heart are far from my day-to-day. i have been finding it easier and easier NOT to email or to only email people who have some idea what this crazy life on the ship is. i feel that i cannot adequately tell people what this life is and that if they don't understand, then why would they care about the things i try to explain about my life...and sometimes that the things here require so much setup to share that it gets lost in the telling. but then, my heart is torn...b/c i want to share my life with people at home b/c they reside in my heart despite the miles. so, today, i have managed to email 5 people, three on my list, a mix of home and people who are home but have been here. and i haven't even really tackled my list. the three i emailed on the list had emails in my inbox needing responses. easier to start there.
why am i rambling about this??? just to tell you (whoever you are that read this) if you are from "home", you are in my heart even when i can't seem to email. and i'm sorry.