See the Story of Abel, one of my Children from the Africa Mercy!!

Hey Everyone! Just today, I saw a new Mercy Ships video all about Abel, one of my sweet, sweet boys from the Africa Mercy! Check out his 5 min story of amazing transformation! I wept with joy in seeing him home again!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjIyOotniNs

A few more steps along the New York path...

Hello everyone!
Wow... it has already been 2 weeks since I've last written. Things keep flowing and moving here at Harriman Lodge on what we call "camp time". It is where the days run together with activities, events, and daily schedules until you don't know what day it is or what's going on in the outside world. The only thing that keeps me reminded of the normal world is writing the date on all my nursing charting each day. Even then, we are very much in our own little world here at Harriman Lodge.

I have LOVED camp nursing here for MR adults and have been impacted so deeply by so many specific campers. I wish I could share photos of the many faces and stories I've had the privilege of being a part of this summer, but we're not allowed to post photos of campers on the internet. Some of my favorite guests have been CP adults, verbal and non-verbal who, through communication boards and books of pictures, communicated "I love you" and "I will miss you" to me on the last days of camp. I even got the chance to visit some of them in their residential home.

I was in the City (NYC) with Sarah, and walked off the subway into the Bronx to find the residential home. As we made our way into the apartment where 4 residents lived, I knocked on the door and called out... "hello!?" All of a sudden I heard "Aarrrggghhh! Ahhh! Ahh!" and banging coming from the bathroom. "Angelo is in the bathroom" the residential staff member said with a smile, "but I think he heard you." Angelo was one of the residents who weaved his way into my heart with his bright personality, sounds of excitement, and many minutes spent with his communication board, figuring out what he was trying to say. His quirky little smile and laughter will always be nestled in my heart along with hundreds more. :) It was a huge blessing to be able to see his, and his friend Sidney's excitement as we visited with them in their home.

In the meanwhile, we had an "intercession"- a break in between sessions of camp last week. During the intercession, I made one final trip into the City to spend time with friends there and help out with a day camp Metro Ministries put on in one of the more difficult neighborhoods in Brooklyn. I got to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, eat authentic Brooklyn-style pizza and then spend the day with inner-city kids at the day camp themed... "Back 2 Africa!" I got to sit in the health center with one of my Africa friends, Sarah listening to African music and taking care of minor cuts and scrapes of sweet inner-city kids. How much better can it get? :) My friend Rey got to jump in all the way and help out as a counselor for the day while Sarah and I held down the fort in the infirmary. It was an amazing day.

Things are now finishing up for the summer here at Harriman Lodge. We have 1 week left before the end of the camp season, and I am left wondering where the time has gone. I will spend a couple days after camp visiting Laura Coles, another nurse friend from the ship who I will be travel nursing with this fall, before flying back to good old MN on Sept. 4th.

Hopefully between now and then I'll have an official position with American Traveler (my new employer-a nursing travel agency) starting the middle to end of September somewhere (thinking it may end up being Texas). So, yes! God is so good.. I feel the perpetual need to rely on him to meet my needs and plan my course before me. As I was getting anxious about so many of the details ahead of me I still don't know, he spoke to my heart and reminded me of Peter, when he walked out on the sea to meet Jesus in the middle of a storm... all he needed was to put his eyes on Jesus, and he walked.
So much ahead of me is still unknown, yet it is known to Him, and for that I am full of peace.

Breathtaking Niagara

A week and a half ago, during "intercession" (the 2-3 days we have off between sessions of camp at Harriman), I was blessed to be a part of a road trip adventure with other counselors and staff from Harriman Lodge; destination... Niagara Falls!!! Being the only American on the journey, and also being the only one 25 or older, I was automatically designated as one of the drivers. :) I got to drive a new Chevy Impala the 800 miles or so we went during that trip, hopping on and off the New York Interstate, paying tolls, and finding campsites and destinations along the way. Some of the most memorable moments were:

1) Standing in front of a fish hatchery (which took explaining to the Brits who had never heard of such a thing) and reading a ridiculous monument in Rome, New York documenting the first cheese factory in the U.S.

2) All of the side road we took to make it to cities such as Liverpool, Rome, Warsaw, and Sheffield just so the Brits and Pols could feel at home. :)

3) Camping. Never have I been so thankful for my family camping background, and especially my dad who took us all out wilderness camping. Many/most of the 14 people on our trip had never been camping before, so when the rains came and fire needed to be started, I soon found myself one of the camp organizers! :) My favorite part was cutting and peeling roasting sticks, gathering the hot dogs and marshmallows for s'mores, and one of the girls looking at it saying "I'm suppose to cook my food on THIS?". It was AWESOME! :) I laughed so hard. Needless to say, everyone LOVED the s'mores and campfire food and we had an AMAZING camping experience despite heavy rains and waking up in pools of water one morning. :)

However, apart from all the amazing music, car time, conversations, food, and experiences, I have to say that standing at the foot of Niagara Falls was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. To hear the rush of thousands of tons of water crashing into the river, feel the spray of thick mist that covered the bottom of the waterfall, and be able to yell and hardly be heard... all I could to was sing...

"Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds thy hands have made.
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder. Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, my savior God to Thee. How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, my savior God to Thee. How great Thou art. How great Thou art."

And then, as I stood there at the bottom of the falls singing, all I could think of was the verse In Luke 19 where Jesus said "Even the stones will cry out" if man ceases to cry out in praise to Him. As I thought of all the people who walk through life nonchalantly thinking about God, neglecting to praise Him, the roar of this enormous waterfall was most certainly creation crying out in lack of that praise. And how amazing for me to be able to join in, in a simple chorus of "How Great Thou Art." Wow.

I am SO thankful for this season of life in New York. I couldn't imagine a better place for me to be right now. It wasn't what I initially thought or wanted. I miss my Minnesota friends and family terribly, but honestly, there is no place I would rather be because I know and believe without a shadow of a doubt that this is where God desires me to be right now. Love and hugs to you all!