What happens when mercy shippers get a four-day weekend??....They go to AFRICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the former days of Mercy Ships, the outreaches lasted only 4 to 6 months in a port before heading off for fundraising and ship maintenance for several months. Now, the outreaches are stretching 6 to 8 months at a time in a country. Someone was really thinking and decided that this was a long intense stretch to go without getting a little break, and so they built into the schedule a couple of long weekends. This last weekend was one of them. Nurses never really qualify for these sorts of things anyway with our random schedules, but it just so happened that it was my weekend off. So thanks to a gracious fellow nurse, I was able to trade a shift and land all four days off as well!!! Thanks for the prayers for this ....we had had an intense couple of weeks before this with baby Joanna in the ICU, and I was just plain tired. Also there was a little trip I had the chance to be a part of. A group of twenty or so people from mercy ships schemed a trip across country to a place called Nimba Mountain...the highest mountain in Liberia. It sits at the eastern border of Liberia, where the country meets up with Guinea and Cote d' Ivoire.

We headed out last Friday with about 18 of us crammed into a 15passenger van, along with all our hiking and camping gear. This in itself started the adventure out on a very african note as we passed other vehicles and determined that we had successfully crammed our vehicle fuller than many of the other taxis and busses passing us. Only ours was mostly full of white people. A day and a half later, and a million funny stories later, we successfully arrived at Nimba Mountain.....and i could hear Rita Springer singing...."It's gonna be worth it!"
And it was! The view of Nimba was absolutely breathtaking, and after that long in the car, there were definitely mercy shippers frolicking all about .......... ! We hiked part way up the mountain and could see out over Guinea and Cote d' Ivoire and Liberia!

The majority of the group brought whatever camping gear they could scrape together in order to stay the night on the mountain. I could say I didn't stay because I didn't have the camping gear. But more truthfully, I didn't stay for some of the following reasons: Not sure camping on the top of a mountain in rainy season is the best idea; not sure camping in the middle of a recently war ravaged country is the best idea (does the term 'rebel army' and the implication of a zillion UN checkpoints mean anything to anyone??); not sure that Liberian search and rescue is up to the same par that it is in the US (but learned that some form of it does exist); not sure that my parents would appreciate me dying while doing something stupid. Or maybe we could just sum it up by saying I am getting old.
Therefore, in that moment of decision, a team was born. A team forged in the firey tension between adventure and stupidity. A team that has affectionately come to be known as "TEAM TURN-AROUND". Yes, there is a theme song. An unlikely, but incredible group of five individuals who I will now feel bonded to for life:) Team turn-around did indeed turn around and head back to the town of Ganta for the night, and enjoyed a relaxing day in town the next day, awaiting the return of team nimba. To our great relief, the thunderstorms from the night before had not touched them, and they all returned that evening with only minor injuries. When even the bravest of them reported that it had been "scary" I felt even more secure in my position on team turnaround:). With the knowledge that everyone was ok, the five of us jumped in a taxi sunday evening and made the six hour trek back to the ship, ready for a good shower. Wish I could share all the pics, but hope you enjoy a few of these:)!! Much love to all of you!