Back to the Boat - Part Duex

We're baaaack!  Well, at least I'm back in the writing mode and Peter is back to packing as he's leaving on a large jet plane on Monday to do his part for the Africa Mercy on its new mission in Conackry, Guinea! 

So - a short update on what's up, what's happened and what's next. 

What's up?  Peter is going solo to help out as the Crew Physician for about six weeks.  We announced the arrival of the new crew physician and his little family last February when we were on the boat with great fanfare.  They have committed to stay on the ship for at least two years and the whole family loves their new life, complete with friends and school work so why have they all jumped ship so soon? 



Olympian "Blade Runner"

  They were blessed with a darling little boy about a year ago - after deciding to come live on the ship.  This little sweetie was born with what we in the business call an anomaly of his right lower leg.  Now that we've all seen the olympics and marvelled at the skill of the South African sprinter known as the "Blade Runner" we can just use short hand and say dear, little Stephan has the same thing as the Blade Runner but just on his right lower leg.  So just like the Olympian, Stephen will have his right leg operated on in early September and fitted with his first prosthesis as soon as he heals enough.  It is really amazing how well these kids do as this is their new normal.  So, not only is it inspirational for them to see how The Blade Runner was able to thrive without his lower legs.  They also see it as God's mission for them to show Africans - who often abandon children with any sort of deformity - that their children are God's blessings, no matter how different they look.  Amazing to see so many pieces of the puzzle fall together in the whole plan. 

  So, Peter will be covering for Dr. Kevin during the first six weeks of his absence until the middle of October.  The beginning of a new mission is so exciting!  There will be the big screening day early in September and the start of surgery soon thereafter. 

  Yes, not only will I miss my sweet Babooh - but I will miss not seeing the friends we made on the ship last winter/ spring as well as getting to help out with the patients.  Since there's not a real job for me to perform while onboard it makes more sense for me to stay home - in Navy style - rather than put together the cadre of folks that helped us out before and kept our minds at ease. 
   
   In addition to watching the house and forwarding the mail we would also have to find an alternate home for our new family member - Georgie! 

   While on the ship last spring Peter and I often talked about how much we hoped to find a new dog to fill the void our dear Buddy the shepherd/ boxer mix left behind.  We figured having an active dog that would get us out of the house and off our butts would be a good plan.  Soon after we came home last June I found Georgie at an adoption event and she's turning into a perky (Beagle-Jack Russel), loving companion that we both really enjoy.  On the flip side, she is madly in love with Peter and follows him everywhere he goes.  When he is gone she whines a bit and prefers to snuggle in his bathrobe.  Hopefully she won't need antidepressants when we leaves for Africa but it's a possibility! 

What's Happened?  Since we've been back from Africa the time has flown by at a wicked pace!  We were barely home for a few days before we flew back east to see our sons and retrieve our boxes and boxes of mail that my mother in law (self titled "The Mail Matron") had sorted, catagorized and paper clipped to a fair thee well.  We were quite surprised that the east coast heat wave did not faze us a bit.  We were even kind of chilly when we trouped up to Lake Placid for a week or so.  We finished up the trip with the house warming and mile stone birthday of brother in law Scott. 

Soon thereafter we had another family reunion when most everyone reassembled in Las Vegas at the beautiful Wynn resort where we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary.  Fortunately the hot weather was actually delightful with 8% humidity.  Everything went off without a hitch. 

We were able to spend some time with our younger son, Tommy who was able to come home with us for the rest of the summer but he leaves tomorrow night to go back to Pennsylania for his junior year of college! 

What's Next?  As far as we know 2012 will continue to be a year of travel.  After Peter leaves the Mercy in mid-October we're going to meet up in Paris and quickly head to England as we're thrilled to witness the upcoming wedding of our dear collegue from our earlier Africa trip - Dr. Fiona.  Anyone who's read the previous posts remembers what a key part she played in the experience we had on board.  Peter was present when our two love birds met for the very first time so we were pleased to know that their relationship has continued to grow.  We're also looking forward to spending a few weeks in England and Wales touring around since neither Peter or I are at all familiar with this part of the world. 

And after that? As always - we try hard to patiently wait and trust in the Lord to reveal His plans for us and also pray that we won't be overly anxious in the waiting.  It looks like Peter will continue to play a role working with and advising Mercy Ships, primarily here in the states with multiple trips to Texas. 

I'm investing more and more time into local volunteer work, being a gym rat and spending frequent flyer miles.  So...we'll see.