Writing again

Ok...so I am returning to this blog after nearly a year of not writing. I actually couldn't even remember what my blog address was so I went to blogspot.com and searched for "Nicole Austin". Some seductive looking blond popped up and I am pretty sure it wasn't me...looked kind of sketchy like a porn site or something. Never did want to be blond, they always get a bad rap for being unintelligent. Aren't all the introspective, adventurous, and noble heroines of books always brunette anyways? (ie: Jane Austen's Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice being a prime example).

Anyhow, all this to say I have decided to resume blogging thanks to the encouragement of my somewhat wacky poetic friend Mle Haymes who is a true writer at heart (I am just a wannabe).

I also thought it might be good to resume this public journal as a sort of post-Mercy Ships rehabilitation therapy. This whole adjusting to life back on land is taking some time. I miss not being able to say goodnight to my neighbors through cabin wall, I miss tea times in the cozy cabin 4343 sitting area, I miss long evenings on the dock with the ship kids playing red light green light to the backdrop of a brilliant African sunset. I miss the power of a community worshiping in song together. I miss Sat. morning pancakes and the ripple of excitement that the daily opening of the snack bar and cafe always caused. I would never remember it was break time until I saw a large herd of people moving toward Deck 5 with their mug in hand. And I miss that you would never forget when it was meal time even if you never carried a watch because you always saw a third of the crew heading en mass to the dining room, hoping there might be a dessert or something special at dinner. (They were usually disappointed, however, fresh cut pineapple was always a source of excitement for me).A few other things I miss: Ultimate games in the rain, magnetic walls (sure did make re-decorating easier) ,the crew galley on Saturday mornings, cooking with the Kronester and Cairncross kids, the Scottish Cedeles on the dock, Christmas eve and the special events of December, and the transformation of a patient's countenance as he or she experienced the joy of physical wholeness and meaningful touch once again.

I am no longer on the ship, however,so just to ease a bit a of homesickness perhaps I should also remember some of the things I don't miss about ship life. Time has a funny way of fading from our memory the hard times, the time of homesickness, stress and fatigue. It's a gift from the Lord I think that our mind sifts the memories, keeping the good ones as if they were valuable gems and letting go of the painful memories. Sometimes it is good to forget.

A few things I don't miss:
--Stench of sewage that wafted across the harbour some days, making me feel like the ship was floating in a giant toilet bowl

--Seasickness during sails

--the constant flow of UN paparazzi who seemed completely unaware that the ship was our home not a tourist destination.

--Cucumbers and slightly fermented tomatoes every day twice a day.

--Weevils in the breakfast cereal

--4 hour church services with 3 offerings

--The disappointment of a patient's face when 'wholeness' wasn't going to be possible despite surgery

--People asking for more then I felt I was able to give.

--Weekly fire drills =)