Work was good Thursday night, I had a quick and beautiful delivery and my second labor was so sweet too.  Everyone was in a good mood and we had a beautiful spread of food for our party.  Everyone has been telling me to stay or comeback, with only planning to go two more assignments then back home I have no response to that.  I wish I could say I will. I have loved working here.  We have loved every place we have been so far.  

At the end of the shift I changed and said goodbye to day shift, got my time card signed and had to turn in my badge (this is the first place that won’t be represented in my little name badge collection oh well I understand it could be a security concern).  I climbed in the car and rolled towards home…over Afton Mt. and past the Shenandoah Valley.   One thing I won’t miss is the truckers.  They all drive nearly 80 mph and like they are driving little sports cars.  They put on their turn signal and start coming over whether there are cars next to them or not.  I have been pushed off the road several times by them and have been so thankful for the wide shoulders.  Although when I am next to one and there is no shoulder or we are on a bridge it stresses me out.  I have never seen such aggressive truck drivers.  I made my road exchanges as is habit and muscle memory by now.  I don’t even think about it and then I am pulling into our apartment complex.  Chad and the kids started carrying their stuff out before I was even out of the car (I was scanning and sending my time card).  I asked if I should just get back in the passenger side or if there was more to get inside.  There was a little more to get so I headed inside and used the restroom.  We didn’t have room for the kids sleepingbags that we have been usuing for bedding (not the backpacking ones) so they and the laundry soap, as well as the broom and dustpan ended up going into the dumpster.  We set them in towards the top in hopes that someone would rescue them because they really weren’t trash at all we just didn’t have time or space to run by goodwill.  The office didn’t open until 10:00am on Fridays so we stuck the keys in an envelope into the payment drop box and headed out of town.  Chad woke me up to take a picture of the welcome to Tennessee sign, but other than that I missed most of the scenery from Charlottesville to Nashville.   

We had so wanted to go to Mitchie’s Tavern (a historical resaurant connected with Monetchello) for lunch.  But they are only open 11:30-3:00.  After only getting three hours of sleep the day before we decided we just couldn’t swing getting up at 1:00pm and only getting 4 hours of sleep today.  I skipped breakfast this morning, took two melatonin and dove into bed, well the sleepingbag on the ground in our room that is.  I know I’m only mid thirties, but when I have to sleep on the ground I feel my thirty years.  I rolled around a bit trying to get comfortable and slept pretty fitfully for the first three hours or so then finally fell really asleep to get an additional four hours of solid sleep.  Chad woke me up around 4:00pm so I could hop in the shower and we could go out to eat for dinner since everything except our sleeping bags and a change of clothes for the morning was already packed in the car.  The kids had been wanting to take me to Jason’s Deli so that is where we headed.  The pastrami/corned beef sandwich was amazing.  And they had gluten free bread so I wasn’t eating the meat alone.  Caleb and Hannah chose a salad bar and were thoroughly enjoying that, Eve had pizza, and Chad had the salad bar and half a sandwich.  The food was very good.  Chad ran over to Staples next door and picked up some thank you cards for me and I took off to work leaving my crew at the restaurant to walk home (which is just a little more than across the road).  With my heart radio cranked up and a bag of party drinks for this last shift I pray that the night is chill enough that I can enjoy these last few hours at Augusta Healrh with the amazing coworkers I have been blessed with here.  I can feel my savior carrying me along reassuring me that he’s got this.  It’s all in good hands. 

I can hear Chad and the kids packing up the kitchen and the kid’s clothes, doing last loads of laundry and getting everything that we don’t have to have tomorrow into tubs.  Also I have had several messages throughout the day finishing up the paper work for my California assignment. The kids have come in and out of my room more than usual and I just have a lot on my mind as we end this adventure and get ready to start our next one.  Things that need to get finished before we leave…things that we would like to get done that won’t.  Arrangements for when we get there…

We are excited to visit friends and family on our way back to California that we haven’t seen, some in months and some in years. Here’s to two more shifts and the hope that with melatonin’s help I will get some sleep tomorrow. 

I think the kids’ absolute favorite thing to do is visit other kids.  Pretty much every time we get in the car to go somewhere when we have asked the kids to bring extra clothes in their backpacks, in the first mile the kids ask us, “are we going to visit someone you know, and do they have kids?” Often we don’t tell them what the plan is, because it is always subject to change and we don’t want them to get their hopes up and then not be able to follow through.  But anytime we can visit friends with kids they are in heaven.  Yesterday we visited with Katie and Marty who have 6 kids, only three of whom were home for this visit.  They were the perfect ages and the kids all played so well together.  From 6:30 when we arived until bed time at 8:00pm they were playing non stop, and again from as soon as they were up in the morning until the moment the kids climbed on the school bus.   

 We had not planned on spending the night, but were completely blessed by the opportunity to spend the extra time together. Besides that their kids are such good kids and enjoyable to be around. Thank you Katie and Marty for having us over I hope we get a chance to visit with you in Oregon when you are there.  

Now for the long drive back to Charlottesville so I can be ready for work tonight.

  The Outerbanks is the place to go for vacation if you live in Virginia or North Carolina it is like the Keys in a way, a line of islands that are just off the coast extending south parallel to the coast.  There are six light houses (I believe) and several national and historical parks.  We felt it an appropriate way to spend our last non work day at this assignment.  We wanted to say goodbye to the Atlantic Ocean before turning back towards the pacific.  We did not set an alarm which would have been a good idea, so we got out of the house kind of late.  The Outerbanks is a 4.5 hour drive from Charlottesville.  It was around 2:00pm before we made it and the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk was our first stop.  

    
    
 The monument in the distance.

   
  Above: the hanger, below: the “camp” their temporary housing for when they were in the Outerbanks.  
    Above: the marker where the first airplane took off on flat ground. Below there are four makers beyond the starting point with numbers on them for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th flights.  The 4th attempt with the plane flying 800 ft. 
    
  
   
   The breeze was perfect, and the 74 degree weather felt hot after last weeks blizzard.  We decided it was nicer than most summer days on the Oregon beach and the kids bargained to spend just a little more time taking in the views from the monument that topped a sand dune and had an awesome view in all 360 degrees.  We stayed a little longer then raced down the sand dune getting extra pent up energy out of our little ones.  Hannah turned in her JR Ranger book for a badge and the volunteer gave her a badge for Eve as well even though she did not finish her book.  The volunteer was telling us that she goes around working at national parks and living in her Motorhome all over the US.  She asked the kids what their favorite parks were and Hannah told her that the Grand Canyon was pretty nice, and Hawaii.  She said she had never been to Hawaii so we encouraged her to some day see if she can volunteer at Volcano national park in Hawaii.   After the Wright Brothers National Memorial we headed towards Bodie Island Light house getting distracted about half way by a hammock shop.       And the coolest fire pit ever!!!     
 Only $1300 + 800 shipping and handling…  Chad actually found it on Amazon for $1400 with free shipping but still out of our budget for right now.  

We loved all the cool houses in the Outerbanks, some of them we ginormous!   

 Bodie light house could not be any more picturesque.  So amazingly beautiful.  

    
   After the light house we played on the dunes and at the beach for a little while before leaving the Outerbanks.  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    We saw two Osprey planes on our way to Elizabeth City, and the sun setting was beautiful.
    
 We were able to visit a friend and co-worker from Silverton Hospital in North Carolina named Katie.  It has been a little while since we have worked together and we reminisced about our time at Silverton and the labor and delivery practices we have witnessed since our time there.  I am frequently reminded how fortunate I was to have delivered my kiddos at Silverton.  I would have been a C-section with Caleb, and consequently the rest of my kids if I had delivered in many of the hospitals I have since worked at.  

We enjoyed our evening of visiting with Katie and Marty, Ava, Henry, and Thatcher.  The kids played so well together giving us time to visit and catch up. 

I was so thankful that we were not out too late Saturday as often is the case when flying internationally.  I have rarely returned from such a trip and not been completely exhausted.  This Sunday would be our last and we did have a few goodbyes to say.  We were sad to discover that our Sunday school teacher was home sick, but we enjoyed Jim’s Sunday school class as they were starting a new study on forgiveness.  You can never spend too much time on forgiveness.  It is one of the hardest things to do and the book from their new study is called “Forgive and Forget” by Lewis B. Smedes. I have a few things in my life that I feel like I have completely forgiven, but for the sake of protecting myself and my children I have not forgotten (although I don’t think about it much unless there will be exposure to this person) I am curious as to what the book will say about forgetting, and what it exactly means by it.   

It seemed more awkward than usual telling people that we were leaving and goodbye because we had not been there for two weeks to give people time to process the fact.  Between visiting Micheal and Kristen, and the snow storm last week with Church being canceled there was just no way to warn people.  Eve’s sundayschool teachers said bye a couple of times to her.  We enjoyed the service on Delighting in Christ.  Emphasizing that our relationship with God must never take the back seat, as I have had several things on my heart lately.  This was a good reminder to let go and let God.  If I keep my focus on him he will work out the details and I won’t miss his direction.  I think we as Christians overthink obedience.  It says over and over again in the Bible that God values obedience more than sacrifice so we stress about missing God’s direction, what is from him and what is not.  Will we miss it, have we already missed it?  We need to just forget about searching out our own way and seek to draw close to him.  He will direct our path.   

   
After church we gathered up our kids and cemented our sushi making dinner plans with Bryan and Jessie, said a few more goodbyes and then headed out to the car. Pastor Bill caught us as we were loading the kids in the car and asked us what day would be good to do lunch this week.  Tuesday was the only day, but then it was suggested that we do Sunday lunch at one of their favorite restaurants called Tip Top specializing in Greek and Italian food.   The parking lot was completely full and there was quite a crowd in the entry way, so we were excited to find out that our wait for a large group was only going to be 10 minutes.  It has been a while since we have had Greek food so we were in heaven, and the company was even better.  I love to have time to talk to other nurses and the pastor’s wife Lori is a pediatric nurse.  Pediatric nurses amaze me as that is one of the few areas I feel the least capable of.  We talked about life, our travels, and NNU (Northwest Nazarene University).  The kids were more antsy than usual and all over the place once they had finished their meal.  Most of the time I am very glad that they are confident and bold in all social situations, but occasionally I wish they were at least slightly reserved and self conscious (well not really), I guess it probably is a patients and respect issue that we need to work on.  We were so thankful for the opportunity to get to know Pastor Bill and Lori better as well as for the delicious lunch.  I keep waiting for the goodbyes to get easier, but we have yet to go to a place that we would not want to go back to if given the chance.  This makes it extra hard when people ask if we will come back, or just forget about our next assignment and stay.  They prayed a blessing for us in our parting that we are most appreciative of.  Thank you for the blessing, and the blessing of being in your congregation I hope that we have also been a blessing to you.  

After lunch we went home and watched a movie that Hannah had purchased this last week.  The prequel and sequel to “The Little Mermaid” and then we rested a short time while the kids played in the snow.  Around 6:00pm we gathered up our sushi supplies and headed to Bryan and Jessie’s house.  They moved here from Hilo so our sushi and musubi night was kind of a tribute to our common adventures.  We found their place easy enough and got the rice going in the rice cooker.  The kids made themselves at home since Bryan and Jessie have a play room even though they do not yet have children.  Jessie let the kids take turns attempting to play her student flute and several other woodwind instruments that she had.  They also liked the pool table and the tubs of beanie babies.   When the rice was finished we took turns making different kinds of sushi rolls and some spam was fried up for musubi.  The kids were extra hyper and excited as they all love sushi and getting to make it themselves was just too exciting.   

    
 Also Jessie made some Boba tea for me that was awesome!!! So delicious!  I took pictures of the ingredients so I can try making it for myself later.  

  After our sushi we had mochi for dessert.  We played Banana Grams and Story dice and had a blast. I didn’t get many good photos from the night as we were busy enjoying the company.  It was near 10:00pm and time to go.  We will for sure keep in contact and hopefully our paths will cross again.  On the way home the kids exclaimed how wonderful a day it had been and how thankful they are for this experience to come to the east coast.  It will definately be hard to leave but we remain thankful and humbled by the opportunities we have been given these last few years to meet all kinds of amazing people and be witness to some of the best parts of God’s amazing creation. 

From my flights on Saturday.  

Aerial  views of Cuba… 

    
   
The Keys…

And the Everglades were so fascinating from the air, I wish the kids could have seen it.  

Due to weather conditions I did not make it to Honduras until three days after the rest of my group.  I tried to be conscious of the group and how they had already been working because in these groups dynamics are often established in the first hours and days that carry the group through the week.  Everyone knows their rolls and the things that have to be done and we anticipate each other so things flow easily.  The sum of us adding up to more than it’s individual parts.  

Below are the photos from Wednesday’s clinic.  We had visited this same church two years ago so it was fun to see a few familiar  faces.  It was very hot and sunny, we saw around 170 people. 

    
 
  These two asked for their picture to be taken.  Below Ron playing with the kiddos  coloring and doing magic tricks.  Their favorite was when he turned a newspaper strip into a 20 lempira bill then back again.  
  The last group leaving the pharmacy. Below: when this little girl and her family came through our station she asked if she could sing a song to me then she leaned in as to whisper in my ear and sang “His Banner Over Me His Love” such a sweet heart.    
    Loading everything back up in the vans to go back to the Campamento. Below a little tienda on wheels that someone parked right out in front of the church. 
    
  We may look at this picture and see poverty, but why are possessions so important to us.  We have way more than we need.  Often all our unnecessary things just get in the way of putting our trust fully in Christ.  
 The Campamento, getting ready for Thursday’s clinic also in a church we visited last time.  Efrainsito helping us unload the vans.  He and his whole family manage the Canpamento and assist the mission teams that come through their facility.  It is a big job.    
  Ron loving on the kids.  
  Gisselle and Samara both local to Honduras, willing to assist their help with interpreting.  Gisselle helped me and Samara who is a medical student in Honduras took histories also making us a pretty efficient team.  Really they could have done it with out me, but I appreciate how they included me and taught me new Spanish words.   
    Heart sisters. 
  
    

    Two kids who were friends from the last visit.  They hung out with us all day. 
Friday: final clinic…we saw 259 people. 

 It seemed like we had more time at the nurses station for each family as the groups were big and so they needed more of the Dr.’s time causing a bottle neck. This allowed me more time to play with the kids.  The favorite two toys of the day were the stethoscope and the BP cuff.

   
    These two girls were learning how to take my bloodpressure.  They were so cute. 
     

A priceless face from Jameson.  He was our group chef and Ron’s right hand man with the kids.  The kids are all gathered around talking to Papa Noel and Mary Beth.   
    
    
   This picture is the normal sight in the middle of the streets.  There is litter everywhere and a lot of scrawny dogs as well.  
I didn’t take very many pictures this time as we were busy and my number of days was short.  The group saw 918 people over the 5 days of clinics.  I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to love on these people this week, and know that they have also ministered to me.  God is amazing in the way that he works.  He doesn’t need me to do his work, he has allowed me to be apart of it.  

Today was Caleb’s birthday. He woke up early and was asking to open his present before breakfast.

I was a old softy and agreed.

He got a bushcraft knife for when we go hiking and camping.

We had a lazy day and watch Charlotte Web. Then time to start dinner. Caleb had requested crayfish.

The kids really enjoyed it.

Abdul for dessert was banana cream pie.

Happy Birthday to my awesome son.

~Chad

I must be enjoying being shut up in our apartment.  Both Chad and I slept in until almost 9:00am.  The kids had some breakfast and then headed outside to play with their friends who must have had their schools closed still due to the snow. They were out from 9:30-1:30.  We kept peeking out the window to check on them and watching them sled down the little hill between the apartments.  They were having a blast.  So much so that we decided not to call them in for lunch, we would feed them whenever they came in of their own accord.  Hannah ended up being the first one to show her face and that was only because she thought she had heard us calling them.  It was nearly 2:00pm and we had planned to leave for the airport at 3:00pm so at that point we had her round up the rest of the troops for lunch and to change into dry clothes.  That was when we discovered that Eve had been out in the snow in her church shoes with no socks for 4+ hours! Crazy girl, her feet were a little red but she seemed no worse off for the wear.  I pulled things out of my bag that I would no longer need and changed out of my pajamas.  We had recleaned the house while the kids were out, planned our route back west and contacted the people we hope to see on the the way.  It was a relaxed and productive day.  In some way it was wierd at that point to step out of our neighborhood and into the airport fast lane.  Only one leg of my flight was today Richmond to Laguardia.  Now for a long overnight layover (but not long enough to get a hotel).  Good thing I am practiced up at pulling all nighters.