Picture Pages, Picture Pages

Bethany & I washing the knives so we could cut vegetables for our picnic. Washing in the stream and then rinsing with filtered water (from my Nalgene). This was before the hike.

These are the falls! Aren't they just beautiful?! Ahmed Awa! I made just be geographically challenged, but I had no idea part of Iraq looked like this. I assumed it was desert, desert; loved this oasis. Actually, I found out that Suly is a common vacation destination for Arabs escaping the Baghdad heat. It's a balmy 122 there, whereas Suly is a cool 110-115 this time of year.

These were the "stairs" to get to the top of the falls. Without the "small stairs" one came up mid-thigh on me. I really felt as though I should have had climbing gear on. That's Bethany climbing; she and her husband are two of my new friends. (Miss you guys!)

Again, repelling gear to come down.

This was on the way to the top. I didn't alter this camera angle at all!

Beautiful view from the top!

The ridge I'm pointing to in the distance--behind that is Iran. Don't worry, this really is the closest I got. As hiking goes it's probably a 2-3 day trek to get there. Again, no plans to go there. I enjoy my Suly freedoms!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Picnics & Policies

Today I started my second official workweek. (If I didn't mention it before, the workweek starts on Sunday here.) This week I will begin my "lecture series." It sounds much fancier that it is. That being said I have been working on this curriculum for a little over a month. The process of developing, implementing, and evaluating the curriculum will hopefully eventually become the basis for my MPH thesis. My first lesson is on vital signs (how to take them, when to take them, why take them?) It seems basic, but basics are necessary. I have been in the ICU and hospital for 4 full days. I have seen quite a bit; some parts okay, other, not so much. I am trying really hard to not swoop in and fix everything. ICU nurses tend to be pretty Type A--controllers. Of all the ICU nurses I know, I am among the more laid-back variety. However, I am who I am, and watching patients be under unnecessary risk is nearly impossible for me.

That said, I have had some wonderful teaching moments the last couple of days, which I have truly appreciated. I am starting to figure out what some of the barriers to learning and teaching are here. I am sure I'll learn more on Thursday when I actually try to teach.

Tomorrow, I will go into the hospital for the afternoon. Hopefully, I'll get there before the patient comes back from the operating room. I learn a great deal about colleague relations and communication styles during that relative high stress time.

In the morning, I am going to the immigration office to apply for residency. It's a requirement for anyone here longer than 10 days. I tried to go last week, but the office was apparently in the process of moving to another location. There were probably a hundred people or so milling around trying to get all their signatures and blood work when the lights went out & registration stopped. It was very confusing for this white girl. The Samaritian's Purse lawyer said, "Ok, it's not open anymore, maybe next week." I love it. We'll just keep trying.

A great Kurdish tradition is picnicking. Yesterday, Nawzad and Omar (2 Samaritian's Purse staffers) took the other 4 non-Kurds (John, Brian, Bethany & I) to Ahmed Awa for a picnic. Ahmed Awa is in the East of country. It was amazing. We were driving through the desert for a couple of hours until we entered this lush oasis. The stream was rushing past us as we ate. After lunch we went for a quick hike up to the main waterfall. It was beautiful! It reminded me of Yosemite; except that at Yosemite you can feel the falls coming, because the air gets so thick with moisture. Here they just came out of no where. The falls themsleves came from within the mountain. I had been told it was beautiful, but it really was surprising how stunning it all was.

I'd love to show you pictures as evidence but I am having trouble loading pictures onto this post. Any suggestions? I'll take them. By the way, it's now Tuesday, and I am not sure if the lecture will happen this weekend. Each day this week I have heard a different reason why. Today it was, "We must talk to the Head Nurse of the hospital and get an order to have conference." This was news to me. No one told me I had to get outside permission to teach. Oh the joys of finding your way through red tape!

Hope your week is going well! God bless!

Safely Ensconced in Northern Iraq

This title may seem to be a bit of an oxymoron, but I truly am. After leaving the States on June 1 and overnighting in Amman, Jordan, I arrived in Sulaymaniyah (Suly) on the 3rd. I spent the first couple of days getting settled into my apartment and hanging out with some of the wonderful Samaritan's Purse staff here. I actually got to see Iron Man 2 my second night here! (Fun movie) I feel totally safe here. I have been shown (on a map) were the conflict areas are, and don't worry, I have no plans to go there. It's mostly cities you've heard of. Mosul & Kirkuk are the closest conflict cities, and they are not that close. Plus, you have to try to get to them. Again, I have no plans to try. Rest assured, all my worriers!

On Sunday I started work. I will spend the next 2-ish months working with the ICU nurses at the heart hospital enhancing their skills, teaching some advanced care concepts, and helping them put it all into practice. The heart hospital has been open for 2 months and treats mainly adults, but also some children. Fortunately, over the last 2 days we performed surgery on two 8-year-old girls (who are both doing well). If it's not obvious, I say 'fortunately' because I'm more comfortable working with kids than I am with adults. Adults tend to be so much bigger than I: scary!

Dr. Jaafar is the cardiothoracic surgeon here. Through a complicated network of networking, he requested that I come. Well, not me specifically, that would be weird, but someone with my kind of background to come and train the nurses here. And since I am in school, had a 'free' summer (thanks, CHOA, for my leave of absence), & in need of a project for my public health thesis (not to mention that I am actually interested in this kind of work), I'm here. He has basically given me free rein to do whatever I want, however I want, as long as it gets done.

There are definately barriers and obstacles to overcome, but with patience and a teachable spirit (on everyone's part, especially mine), I believe this is do-able. More about this later, I'm sure.

Okay, enough about that. The countryside here is beautiful! I have a lovely view of the mountains from my 3rd floor balcony; althougth there is a dust storm today, so I can't actually see them. It's hot, very hot, and getting hotter (like 120+ degrees). Thank God for AC. Ironically, today I have AC, but no running water in my apartment. The super is working on it. I'm sure it'll be back on soon. No shower for me this morning; it's okay, it would have been cold anyway. Cold showers are almost as good as coffee, almost. If anyone is wondering what to get me for my birthday, my french press broke leaving me no other option but instant coffee. Not a great option, let me tell you; however, anything is drinkable given enough milk & sugar. But for future refence Nescafe (the brand of instant coffee here) will now be referred to as Nes-crappe.

Thanks for checking in on me! And for those who have, thank you so much for committing to praying for me. I truly covet your prayers and God has made his presence known to me more than once in exciting ways. God bless!

Stranded in England . .

. . . And having a great time at it. I am sure many of you are quite confused about what exactly transpired to get me here. I'm still working it out myself. By the Lord's provision, I had planned an overnight stay with a friend of mine from Mercy Ships (Sue Lord) who lives in the English countryside. I was supposed to spend one night with her and her husband; then get on to Heathrow; then fly to Yemen. I had an evening flight out, so we had planned to spend the day driving around looking at churches, having a pub lunch, and other sundry items. Before we went out, I checked my email just to be sure I hadn't missed anything. Good thing I checked. There waiting for me in my inbox was a lovely email from the US Embassy in Yemen informing me and the rest of the team that we were no longer wanted--rejected by my own government! Actually, the apartment we were to be lodged in had been attacked overnight. After much prayer and consideration, the team decided that this was not the best time for us to visit Yemen. I'm not sure if our profile got too high, or if it those responsible had just hit a lucky target. I think it's probably impossible to know.

So, after a few international phone calls (sorry, Lord family) and a sense of deflation, I was back to the drawing board of this trip. Because I was supposed to go to Egypt with the team, that's out as well. Had I done any of the planning or research for this trip, I might have gone on alone. However, since all of my knowledge of Egypt comes from The Ten Commandments, The Mummy, and The Prince of Egypt, I decided going by myself would not be on the list of the "Smartest Things Molly's Ever Done." Plus, it is difficult to identify historic landmarks when your reference point is a cartoon. Case in point, Simba (The Lion King) is not as cuddly as one would think!

So, the new revised plan: to become a true English lady! (It may take longer than the 2 weeks I've got. Don't tell Sue my hostess cake!) I have been quite busy learning to say things like "quite" and "trousers" and "just pop 'round to the. . ." Yesterday we went for a walk 'round the countryside. A "walk" in England is not what we would consider a "walk." It is more like a trek. But the best part is that you get to walk through pastures were sheep are grazing and lambing. Fortunately, no one actually lambed while we walked past, but if one had Sue's husband Chris is a veterinarian and Sue and I are both nurses! I also had my pub lunch yesterday.

It's very nice being out here, because few foreigners get down to this part of the country. So, my dream of being in a place where people are fascinated by my accent has come true! (It's a silly dream, I know!) When we were walking out of the pub, I greeted a boy of about 5. He cocked his head to the side and exclaimed, "Where are you from?" I told him America; it seemed easier than Festus. Then Sue asked where he was from, and he said, "I'm from England!"

I have also infiltrated England's seedy underbelly--the world of the WI (Women's Institute). Sue already had a Mercy Ships talk set up for last night, so I got to go with her. Those women got just a taste of the international scope of Mercy Ships. No matter they had trouble understanding anything I said! By the way, the movie Calendar Girls is about the women of the WI. Yes, this chapter is getting ready to do a calendar as well; they claim is won't be as "tarty." If I were you, I'd place my order now. Did I mention the mean age is 73.8-years-young?

On the hillside in back of Sue & Chris's house, the region's point-to-point race was held. Point-to-Point as I have learned is a horse and pony race with jumps. Horse and pony race not to be confused with dog and pony show. The race course goes all over the hillside, estimated about 2 laps at 1 1/4 each. There's anywhere from 10 to 18 horses running at a time, and it's not uncommon to see a horse racing sans rider! Presumably, the jockey is fine, as he usually turns up eventually.

The new plan also includes 6 days in Edinburgh with other Mercy Ship friends. I've never been to Scotland so I am really looking forward to it. Hopefully, I won't get peer pressured into eating haggis. Already had it; no thanks, I'm full from that last bite 3 years ago!

Eventually, I will get back on track and go to Australia. Instead of flying as originally planned, I'll fly from London. Thank the Good Lord for comprehensive travel insurance and his direction in buying it! Only He knows our coming and our going! As far as I know, I am still coming home on the 21st of May, but clearly I can not be held to that.

Here we go again!

Allow me to begin by saying how much I love that video/song. It's called "Ok, Go" on YouTube. If you haven't seen it yet, you are missing out. My blog history tells me that I haven't updated since September 28, 2007. Yikes! So much is happening.

Currently, I am waiting for my flight to London. I am on my way to Yemen for another medical mission. It will be similar to the Mongolia trip. A team of 15 of us will be teaching the Yemenis pediatric heart surgery on children under 12kg (25lbs). We will be doing more teaching in Yemen than we do in Mongolia. I am really excited about that part. The actual surgeries are rewarding, and it is an honor returning a healthy child back to his/her parents. But it is just as important to empower the national people to provide excellent care to their own.

Please pray for safe keeping for the team while we are in Yemen. The U.S. State Department & Condi Rice will be caring for our security needs while there. The State Department is not normally active in securing the safety of missionaries, so it is a gift from God that they are willing to help us. Also, pray for the infants, toddlers, and their families that they will be healed and will will understand the love of Jesus through our actions. Also, pray for teachable spirits in the national doctors and nurses as well as for us as we work with them. Finally, pray for me and the team that God would be glorified whatever may come.

We will be working for 2 weeks on this mission. Then it's off to Cairo for some anthropological fun! I just don't understand why they don't fix the Sphinx's nose. He is starting to look like Michael Jackson! Shame, shame!

And just for kicks because I am already going to be so far around the world, I am going to fulfill my longtime dream of going to Australia. I'll be there for a month traveling around and visiting friends from Mercy Ships.

I figured that since I am starting grad school in the fall I should probably try to satiate my travel bug for a while. Short of a quick trip or two here and there, I will be grounded for the next 3 years! I imagine this will come as quite a shock to my system. I have been accepted and will be attending Emory University in Atlanta this fall to pursue a dual masters degree in Global Public Health and Acute Care Peds Nurse Practitioner (MPH/MSN).

I am really excited to start this next adventure. I can hardly imagine what the Lord has in store for me next. I have been so blessed to be a part of His work in such unique ways over the past year. My life has certainly been different than I imagined it as a teenager. I am just amazed that God allows me to be even a small player in the story he is telling. I pray that he would be glorified throughout my days!

More to come later. Must board for the next adventure!

Gobi Adventures. . .

Many of you may not know this, but I have extended my time in Mongolia by one week. We had a complicated surgical case here (an 18 month-old boy, Tsend) that required more care that we anticipated post-op. Unfortunately, the Mongolian nurses and doctors are not really experienced in taking care of these children after their surgeries. A few of us decided to change our plans and try to get Tsend healthier before we left him. By God giving us little miracles along the way, we were able to extubate (take him off the ventilator) on Sunday evening. I say it was a miracle because he miraculously peed off about 1 liter of fluid from his body in 24 hours and was still hemodynamically stable. If you're not a medical person, that won't mean anything to you, but trust me, it is miraculous when you're talking about a child weighing under 15 pounds. Because God provided and he got so much better, I was able to spend the week in the South Gobi Desert with the Searching Team of For Hearts and Souls. We spent the week traveling through the Gobi screening children for congenital heart disease and neurologically disorders. It was a great week! I was on sticker duty all week. I put stickers all over the children while they were waiting to be seen by the doctors. I got to make them giggle, smile, and help them enjoy life. It was such a change from the previous week. I am so glad that I was able to stay and experience both weeks. What a blessing it has been! I'll have more to post later, but now I must go to bed since I have access to an actual bed now. We spent the last four nights sleeping in "gers." They are Mongolian tents that may or may not be heated. It has been around 30 degrees Celsius here in the Gobi the last few nights. Freezing nights may be long, but Gobi days are gorgeous!

The Accidental Tourist

It was a tearful good-bye from the ship and Liberia a week and a half ago. I had such an amazing time there and just crave to return to Africa. . . soon. (yes, that's right, momma-cita, I'm going back). I wish I could sum it up and understand what exactly God did in my life and heart while I was there and is continuing to do now that I am in Mongolia; however, I need approximately 36 hours, 8 triple non-fat lattes, a journal, and Bible before I'll be ready for that. So instead, I'll just carry on with this post.

After spending twelve hours in Belgium, one hour in Frankfurt, and four days in Beijing, I am in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia. My week of travel was quite an adventure. I arrived in Brussels at 5:45 AM and hopped a train into the city (more like dragged myself onto the train) where I promptly feel asleep after the first two stops. An hour later I woke up in rural Belgium, completely clueless as to where I was or how to get back. Not really a big deal except that in the rural parts of Belgium, Finnish is spoken. The languages I dabble in include English (somewhat proficient), Spanish, and now Liberian-English. Note that Finnish is not listed here. Fortunately, the train station guy took special pity on me and made sure I got back to Brussels, even going as far as to physically stop me from getting on the wrong train. He also informed me that I should have disembarked at the second stop from the airport. One of the two stops I was actually awake for! After arriving in Brussels, first stop: coffee shop, second stop: city tour bus. It is more than a little comical that Brussels is known as being the seat of the European Union and is home of Mannequin Pis (the little peeing boy)! How did those two diametrically opposite things end up in the same city?!

In Beijing, I meet up with the half of the Mongolia group. We went to the Great Wall where I unsuccessfully warded off Chinese selling their wares on the Wall. I was a little surprised that is allowed. Oh well. For those of you going to the Olympics next summer, I suggest bringing a blindfold so you won't know how many cars/bikers/people your cab driver is about to run down.

I am always fascinated when I travel outside of the US. So many places have such a rich history. I suppose that is what happens when your country is older than 200 years. Boston is about as old as it gets in terms of US history. I was stopped in my tracks at The Imperial Palace (Forbidden City) just imagining daily life there 600 years ago (Ming Dynasty). Our last night in Beijing, seven of us went to Tianamen Square just to wander around. We ended up being there for the flag ceremony (when they take down the flag). Apparently, a group of seven American women standing around Tianamen Square on a Friday night is something to wonder at. We got so many stares and picture requests; it was really quite entertaining. These two young women (around my age) came up to all of us and started a conversation. We ended up having tea ceremony and dinner with them. They allowed us to pray for the dinner. I think they thought it was a cute thing to do with Americans, because they both giggled when I said "Amen." It was cool to be able to spend hours with them just talking, comparing culture, background, jokes, and songs. We told them what we were planning to do in Mongolia and they were genuinely interested. They were wonderfully sweet women. It was just one of the many divine appointments we had in Beijing. Political views aside, Communism leaves people spiritually famished.

It's Thursday evening in Mongolia (13 hours ahead of CST). Today was day four of surgeries and caths. It has been a tough week to say the least, but God is faithful in all things even when it is impossible to understand His plan and justice. We have not done all the surgeries we had originally planned due to many reasons, paramount being that God has changed our plan. Please continue to keep the Mongolia team, children, and families in your prayers. Pray specifically for us specifically that we would be a light in a dark place; pray for the safety and protection of the children; pray for every one's energy level and state of mind. As the director of the program said, "Pediatric cardiac surgery is difficult in the US when you have almost limitless amounts of what you need." Please pray for limitless faith and encouragement. God bless you all and see you soon. Love, me!