Fully Alive

So let me paint a word picture for you....
Today I worked a 12 hour shift at the Hospital of Hope where I cared for a total of 11 patients throughout the day. It was a steady day but not too crazy. I sincerely enjoyed today.  I have to mention that working in a hospital such as this one is an entirely other world for me, and this is an advanced hospital with a lot of western influence for this kind of remote area! Nursing with limited resource, paper charting, different kinds of supplies, and generally a different way of doing things takes a lot of retraining of the mind. I have worked at the same hospital for 3.5 years (and love my job there) so I knew that this would be an exciting adventure to enter into such an unfamiliar environment (and I'd be lying if I didn't say I experienced some anxiety over the unknown leading up to my orientation). Today was my first day on my own after a two day orientation. (Can I just say God totally used med-surg to prepare me for the multitasking and time management that comes with caring for so many patients). I made mistakes today though, and I asked a lot of questions to my very kind and patient coworkers so today was far from perfect. It was a long day. Then this afternoon the down-pour came. You could feel the cool breeze in the hospital which is unusual for the afternoon, the peak of the heat. Then you could hear the rain. Keep in mind, at 7:15 pm (after sunset) I have to bike home on two-thirds sand/dirt roads with already impressive potholes to dodge. Well the rain slowed up but didn't stop so....here I go...I sit down on my wet bike seat and start peddling in my long dress with a headlamp attached to my forehead. And I just started laughing!

The entire way home I could hear the bull frogs bellowing and I got a nice cool down shower all while getting a decent leg workout peddling in the wet sand. Of course, you want to peddle slowly so that you can swerve around the puddles that you think might be too deep to drudge through. I just laughed the entire way home. I have to say, I felt fully alive! Ken Davis wrote a book that I read about half of (I hope to finish because it really is a great book!) and it is all about how even pain or discomfort is an indicator of life! We learn that even in nursing school...if someone feels pain appropriately it means that their body functions and nervous system are working correctly and that is a GOOD thing. Not to say I want to feel pain, necessarily, but feeling and living are absolute gifts from God. I could easily see myself feeling alone, discouraged, or miserable after such a seemingly rough and exhausting day...but God redeems days like this to make me laugh. I can't help but stop and think "I am in western Africa, riding a bike through a rain storm, this is kind of awesome."

Instead of going to "work" I recognize that I get to go use my skills and knowledge to help people that otherwise would not get medical care and the hospital would be short-staffed! I get to work along side people from an entirely different background that share the same passions as me. I get to use goofy gestures and voices to attempt to communicate with people of about 7 different languages (none of which are English, and most of the time not French). I get to hold and play with the most beautiful little babies while I care for their parent or grandparent. I get to listen to the bullfrogs sing a deep and slightly creepy song and my soggy ride home through the jungle of Africa. I get to feel my thighs burning as I peddle because I have the gift of mobility in a young body. I get to cool of in a light rain when usually I'd be soaked in sweat on my ride home (sorry, I know gross). Sorry if I'm getting sentimental, but it is good to feel alive and to live with a purpose bigger than myself. And to soak up every experience as a gift from Jesus. This is not to say that I am not most often selfish. BUT I am convinced that God seriously takes me on the BEST adventures! The passions that God has placed in your heart for HIS glory will make you feel alive because, as I'm reading in John Piper's "An All Consuming Passion For Jesus," our joy and satisfaction coexist when God is most highly worshiped. What an amazing God I serve.

Meet Iesha. I could literally bring her home with me. Her giggle is one of the most contagious laughs I've ever heard and music to my ears....videos to come!

This little one's not too sure about us white people but still stinking beautiful and she humors me with a smile occasionally. Her mom and grandma were riding a moto (like a dirt bike which is  a common form of transportation) and they wrecked. This precious baby girl was strapped onto her mom's back when it happen. Both her mom and grandma broke their right femurs but the baby is completely untouched from the accident!

This picture does not do my trail justice. And see how only part of the ride is lit....yeah, it is quite a maze. I'm starting to find the challenge fun though!