Home & Family

This past week I have reflected on what is most important in life. Sure adventure has it's perks and excitement, but it is home and family that matters most.  At the end of the day it is those eternal family relationships that make life worthwhile.  I am grateful for my Pacific Partnership experience and all that it has taught me. I am grateful for the joys and the trials.  Mostly I am grateful to be home.  Would I do something like this again?  Yes, the opportunity to serve others is priceless, but for now I am content to be home with my family, a place where I can focus on being a mom and a wife - the two callings in life that are the most worthwhile!

Sydney Harbor Bridge Climb

I have experienced the most amazing, serene, incredible, breath-taking experience ever! Suzie Bramwell and I both had significant birthdays this week – both of us turned 29 – well maybe it’s a little higher, but you get the idea, so we decided that we would splurge and do the Sydney Harbor Bridge Climb at twilight.  Words cannot even describe the feelings I felt as I was on top of this bridge overlooking the Sydney Opera house and Sydney harbor with the sunset behind us.  We just could not stop smiling the whole time.  My new birthday goal is “Ever Striving to Reach New Heights – Never Give Up!”  This bridge climb inspired this new goal. We climbed 1,400 steps which was no big deal after the hundreds of steps that we were used to climbing in the Mercy. I would say that I am a pro at stairs by now.

The best thing about our whole experience is that we decided to the the Express Climb which is a 2 hour climb instead of the normal climb 3 1/2 hour and no one else signed up for our tour so we got a private “VIP” climb all by ourselves with a guide.  Our guide, Mick, was the best and he let us stop a ton and just chill and soak up all the amazing sights below.  We started at dusk and were able to experience all the colors of sunset over the harbor and then got to see the incredible view of Sydney in the dark with the whole downtown and the opera house all lit up. Wow, wow, wow.  I was able to sit on the steps and just gaze over the edge and just contemplate the incredible sights below. Sydney is such a beautiful city – it is so clean and the people are very friendly.  I would definitely return here again.  Afterwards I just felt an amazing contentment.  Susie and I could just not stop smiling!  Going at twilight made it all worthwhile.  I felt so special to have the VIP service – what an incredible birthday gift. The only thing that would have made it more perfect would have been to have my sweetheart, Jody with me! 

Australian Blue Mountains

For my birthday I visited the Blue Mountains of Australia.   They are considered Australia’s Grand Canyon.  They appear blue due to all the eucalyptus trees that grow on them.  Many days they are covered by a mist and hard to see, but the day we went the skies were clear all day long.  They were so beautiful.  The weather was pretty cold. My buds gave me a “beanie hat” or ski hat for my birthday which helped keep me warm all day long. The weather was quite a contrast from that of Darwin just 2 days before. We spent the day hiking along “bush trails” (Australian lingo) and exploring cool waterfalls – no swimming today!

The Blue Mountains are very diverse.  They had different trees growing on top and then a rainforest trail that was full of giant fern trees that were on the bottom of the canyon.  Wild cockatoos could be seen flying all over. Very fun.  We hiked down to the base of Wentworth falls – down 686 steep steps – yes we had to go back up these stairs also.  Stairs just seem to follow us! It was a great day full of nature and hiking and being in constant awe of the creations that God made for us!

Darwin

Darwin was the embarkation site for the Mercy and the end of my amazing Navy journey. Thirty five days seemed to have flown by and at other times seemed like they would never end. Such is life – we should never hurry through today as this may leave us wishing for yesterday back. Live life to the fullest every day.

Australia is great and once again I am a fan of the country more than the busy the city. Darwin has a great marketplace that local vendors and artisans set up every Thursday and Sunday evenings down by Mindil Beach. Anything you could think of is sold there. I love to shop and browse items like this so it was a shoppers paradise for me. The best part of the evening was eating dinner on the beach and watching the amazing sunset. Nearby an aboriginal man was singing a haunting song which totally fit the beach scene filled with people from all over the world altogether watching the red ball of sun set into the ocean.

Five of us rented a car and decided to visit the National Park -Lichfield Park. I drove for my first time on the left hand side of the road. It took a lot of energy to drive as you have to think hard about where you are turning and where the other cars were. I think driving is kind of of a no thought process and I really had to pay attention so I did not drift onto the right hand side of the road or turn into oncoming traffic.  I did get to drive 130 KM – it sounds fast, but in reality I had no idea how fast I was going. The most frustrating park was the blinker was on the right hand side of the steering wheel so each time when I went to put on my blinker I switched on the windshield wipers instead.

Funny story:  As I was driving through a small town of Batchlor I was stopped by a policeman who was doing random road checks for people who were drinking under the influence. He pulled me over and asked me when the last time I had any alcohol to drink. I told him never and asked him if he had ever heard of Mormons. He said yes and was astounded that I had never even tasted alcohol. What a blessing to be able to say this. Then I got to do a first – I took a breathalizer test. He asked me to blow in this tube like I was blowing up a balloon. I did so quite forcefully and he laughed and told me to blow again, but a little slower as I had about blown the straw thing off. Yes of course I passed my breathalizer test and hopefully left a lasting impression of Mormons on this policeman.

Lichfield Park was very surprising. It is a National Park for Australia and I was expecting some sort of rainforest jungle, but Darwin is really like a desert. I reminded me a lot of Utah. The forest consisted of sparse trees and dry grasses and interspersed among the trees were hundreds of termite mounds about 6 feet tall – which were rounded and bumpy. They looked like huge stalagmites to me. It was crazy to see these. In the park were wonderful waterfalls and by the water the landscape drastically changed to lush green in was uncanny the difference that water made. We were able to swim in the waterfalls and the water was pretty clear and cold. We went on an amazing hike under a green canopy of trees all occupied by thousands of giant bats. This was a little freaky to me, luckily it was during the day when they were supposed to be sleeping. Every once in awhile one would stretch out his wings, but not one bat took to flight. That was fine with me. We ended the day at Berry Springs which were natural warm springs and a nice contrast to the cold water of Florence Falls. 

The springs consisted of a stream flowing down to a small waterfall and then 3 pool areas connected by narrow jungle like areas where the streams connected each pool. It was a beautiful paradise. We started in the lower pools and swam through up the stream to the large pool area. The swim up the stream was a little freaky as the vegetation was thick and reached down to the water. I was waiting for a crocodile to surface any moment.  Luckily this did not happen. I did get to see a whole field full of wallabies on the way to our car.  Very cute!

Lessons Learned

As I sat out on the deck during out last day at sea I started to write down all the lessons I have learned here on here on the Mercy. I'm sure this list will continue to grow as time goes on, but I want to share some on my blog. 

1. Making new friends makes life so much better. I have met people from all over the world here on the Mercy and have enjoyed this time together and am a better person because of it. I believe that we can learn from all people.

2. Don't let your fears over take you. I am extremely claustrophobic and the first day when I got assigned my rack in berthing I saw how small it was. I had to get down on the floor just to put sheets on my bed and as I did this tears ran down my face. I thought never in a million years could I sleep in my coffin like rack. I was terrified, tired and homesick and thought what have I gotten myself into. Now after 35 days of sleeping soundly in this small rack I have found that I can face my fears and not let my them conquer me.

3. Angels are watching over us. One of our LDSC group fell into the ocean between a Band-aid boat and the Ambon pier. He was coming back from liberty and it was dark and he does not see well, he had his hands full of purchases and he thought he was stepping onto a step of the boat instead he found himself in the ocean. At first I thought it was funny, but then I went back to the pier at night to go to the Soeharso and saw where he fell and I was astounded that he was not killed or crushed.  I know angels were definitely watching over him.

4. Wearing the same clothes for 30 days – day after day after day – really isn't that bad. It has been easy to get ready each day as I don't have to think about what to wear and I can focus my energy on more important things. Material things we think we must have are not really necessary.

5. Sacrifice brings blessings. One of our LDSC group sold all her possessions to come live on the Mercy for 4 months – her house, car and all of her furniture. She has an amazing heart!

6. Walking hundred of stairs a day actually has a cleansing effect. So skip the elevators and escalators and take the stairs!

7. Always look for opportunities to serve others. Those opportunities are there every day, but we must be looking for them. One evening we were playing games on the mess deck and they were ushering everyone out so they could stock the tables and get things ready for the next day. My little group started to leave and then something made me pause – where were we going – someone needed help. I then asked – hey can we help you? The sailor was taken back and said yes. We did all his work in record time and then he took us on a tour of the galley and gave us treats. We blessed him and he blessed us. 

8. All children are precious unto Christ. I have looked into so many Indonesian children's eyes and have seen their purity and light and know how much the Lord loves them. He loves all his children all over the world – both young and old.

9. I can be a morning person.

10. Never be afraid to live life to the fullest. I am have found that it is best to be a participant and not a spectator in life. I loved volunteering for new experiences, learning the Crazy Bamboo game, dancing with the Commodore, trying durian fruit, being unafraid to meet new people, and sitting down by someone I did not know, at meals times or on a bus, and getting to know them has helped me make many new friends. 

The Perfect Day

Our last day at sea was amazing!! After leaving the protection of the Indonesian islands we headed out into open sea. The day was stormy and the waves were high. This experience was the best ever. I stayed out on the deck for hours and just listened to music and watched the amazing huge waves as I felt the ship rock up and down. Such a peaceful feeling and I felt in awe of God's creations.

It has been interesting to watch people walk down the ship corridors swaying side to side with the movement of the ship. I am glad that I have had no problems with seasickness.

Tonight was our last day to work in the Scullery and I really wanted to help serve. I went to the FSO (Food Service Officer) and asked if I could help serve – she said yes and then I asked if my friend, Michelle Crawford, could come also as it was her birthday. I wanted this to be a surprise for her birthday.  We both got to serve in the officers line and we had a ball. I made a birthday hat for Michelle to wear as she served. She tried to get out of wearing it, but that was a no go. I was the soup server and the soup of the day was “Tomato Bouillon” Usually the soup is a favorite, but I did not have a lot of takers so I made it my challenge to market the soup. I had quite a lot of takers once I started broadcasting the merits of “Tomato Bouillon with a touch of Celery” I suggested crackers and cheese from the salad bar. It was quite fun. When the line was dying down I asked one of the sailors in the kitchen if they had candles that we could put on a cake for Michelle. He said he had something better and pulled out a lighter and set it on the counter and we started singing. Right at this moment Commodore Franchetti rounded the corner to get her meal and found us singing to Michelle. She joined right in to help us sing “Happy Birthday” – all the while Michelle was red as a beet. It was great!

At the end of the evening we went all the way up to the top of the ship by the Bridge. The navigator on watch was out checking the compass and I waved him over. I pulled out the birthday card one more time and asked if Michelle and I could come forward and watch the waves from the front – before that time we were dutifully staying behind the “red line”. He said yes and we spent the next 40 minutes feeling the strong headwinds hit us in the face and watching an amazing final sunset at sea and from the USNS Mercy. I could have stayed out there forever.

After playing games a group of us decided we wanted to see if there were any stars out. It had been cloudy and stormy all day. I had never seen any stars at sea as I usually I was too tired when working to stay up or even notice the stars. We went up to the highest point on the ship and the clouds were all gone. I have never seen such amazing stars. It took my breath away and I felt so content just to stare into the heavens. What a beautiful sight and such peace filled my soul as I was able to enjoy this last evening under the stars. I am used to saying when I am away from home, “My family can look up and see the same stars”, but that is not true here – I am on the other side of the world seeing stars that I have never seen before. What a concept! I was able to see the Southern Cross for the first time.  Hey, isn't that in a song? It was a perfect ending to a perfect day!

America Home of the Free

The Navy is steeped in tradition and one tradition which is almost spiritual to watch is when the flag is raised each day at 8am and then when it is lowered each evening at sunset. The sailor who is in charge of this duty dresses in his/her best whites in respect for our flag and our amazing country, The United States of America. I sat in silent wonder as our flag was raised one morning and to add to the moment the sailor who raised the flag, HM2 Smith was a good friend of mine whom I worked with in the operating room. I am grateful to be an American and am grateful for the men and women who serve in the Armed Forces who leave their families and sacrifice so much for our freedom. We should never lose sight of this precious freedom that we have and always remember that our country was established by God fearing men who loved the Lord and wanted America to be free. We are truly blessed!

Soya Atos

We were given one day of liberty in Ambon and I wanted to do something off the beaten path so one day when the internet was my friend I looked up Ambon and came across a place that looked interesting – Soya Atos. I did not want to venture there without someone who spoke the language so I invited 3 of the Indonesian interpreters to go with us. We had an amazing experience. Soya is located on Mt. Sirimau and the roads up were very steep and windy. The drive itself was an adventure. We rolled all the windows down and just enjoyed the breeze and the scenery. I loved waving to everyone and seeing the smiles we got in return. The mountain town was so calm and peaceful compared to the chaos of the big city below. They told us that there are 2 million people who live on the island of Ambon.

The road ends at the city limits of Soya. There I was so grateful to have Indonesian speaking people with us as no one knew English. V was the most assertive of our interpreters and she took care of asking if we could walk up to the baileo, or ritual meeting place and the sacred urn. One the the men in the village agreed to be our guide. He told us that the walk was 600 meters up these stairs. We were like – stairs no problem as that is all we do on the ship is walk up and down stairs. Well this was quite a hike up old stairs that were covered with moss. They rose up through the rainforest with trees on either side. There were tons of fruit trees on either side of the stairs. Mango was the only fruit that I was familiar with as they named off the names of the fruit trees.

The stairs wound all up the mountain and it was fun to keep moving upward. There were creepy spiders along the edge. I don't think I would want to wander off into that forest as who know what kind of bugs and snakes lurked in there. Eventually we got to a locked gate which our guide opened for us. Then the stairs got narrower and steeper as we continued to climb. At the top were some stone remnants of a “temple” where we could stand and overlook the bay below. The view was amazing and it was super cool to be up in the middle of a rainforest overlooking the sea in the middle of nowhere. I heard one of our group say that if they did nothing else on this trip this was would have been enough. I was so glad that it turned out a great place to visit as I really had no idea. I really do like to go off the beaten path. I don't think any American's had been there in a long time.

I noticed another small set of stairs going up into a small cove. I asked V to ask the gentleman where those stairs went. He said that he would take us up, but that we had to get in order of oldest to youngest. I looked around and thought surely I am not the oldest, but alas I was and so I was the first one that climbed up this small stone stairway. Our guide went up first to the “Sacred Urn”.   The legend has it that it never is empty that there is always water in it and that the water has healing powers. There was a “cup” of sorts resting on a plate that covered the top of the urn. The cup looked kind of like a coconut shell, but only thinner and more pointy. He dipped this cup into the urn and handed it to me. I took it and immediately looked back at the group and said, “There is no way I am going to drink this water” He then motioned for me to dip my fingers in the cup and rub the water on myself. I did so, but left out any chanting or praying that I'm sure the locals do when performing this ritual. It was kinda cool to be involved in something that was special to this little town. Our group was very respectful of this place that was sacred to this people. After everyone had approached the Urn we were then asked to form a line youngest to oldest and that is how we descended the mountain. The whole experience was so unique and I felt like I had stepped back in time. I loved being a part of something cultural and special to the people of Soya Atos.

The Soeharso – the Indonesian Hospital Ship

There was the reception on the Indonesian ship Soeharso that only 25 people from the Mercy were invited to. Each NGO and partner nation were to send one representative from their group and I was asked to go for LDSC. All the Navy personnel wore their “whites” and the NGO personnel were to wear their uniform – which consists of a blue collared LDSC shirt and khaki pants. To say the least I was very under dressed for this occasion. I may burn my shirt and pants when I get home.  It was fun to see all the different military uniforms from many different countries that attended this reception. We took the Band-aid boat to the pier and then we boarded cars to drive to the Soeharso that was docked at another pier. There were tons of policemen all around the ship for protection as the party was attended by a lot of big Indonesian officials. The Indonesian military wives were dressed in beautiful long Indonesian style dresses. My hiking boots just did not cut it. Ironically all 3 of the other representatives from the other NGO groups all worked in the OR so I knew them well and had someone to pal around with. We mingled with the Indonesian people. The Indonesians that we spoke with wanted to try their English out on us. It was fun to talk with them. The reception was held on the flight deck of Soeharso and at the back of the flight deck we saw a group of people congregated so we walked back to see what was going on. There was a table full of a fruit called, durian fruit. It is a fruit that smells really bad – hence they had it far away from the reception, but it is a favorite fruit of the Indonesian people. It is a huge fruit that is about 3 x as big as a grapefruit and with painful spikes on the outside. It is hard to pick up without getting hurt. Durian fruit grows on very tall trees and should never picked from a tree, but should be allowed to fall to the ground and then it would be ready to eat. The skin is tough and a knife is needed to make a cut in the spiny skin to get to the fruit inside. The inside is separated into sections that are full of these “fatty - sticky like” large seeds. The ministry of Health of Indonesia was out at the table with us and he was trying to show me how to eat it. The idea is to eat the meat around the seed and then spit out the large seed. The seed is about 1 ½ inch long by ¾ inch. Well it was all I could do to not spit out the fruit the minute it hit my mouth. The texture made me gag, but here I was standing next to their Ministry of Health and I wanted to be respectful and experience this new fruit so I had to eat all the fruit around my seed. I smiled a lot and tried not to gag too much and cleaned off as much of the fruit as I could before dutifully spiting out the seed. He encouraged me to get another bite – but there was no way I could stomach any more of that. They even had a wash station to wash your hands so your hands could not stink like durian fruit. That was probably the most memorable event of the whole evening. They say that the smell of Durian will stay on your hands for 3 days. I still can taste durian a day later on my tongue. I believe durian is an acquired taste and my palate just has not arrived yet.

The Bridge

My father has always taught me the importance of networking and meeting new people. I have tried to meet and make friends with as many people as possible on this trip. It has made this experience so much better by doing so. Friends really enrich our lives. One of my boson friends introduced me to the Chief Navigator of the ship and he took Michelle and I on a tour of the Bridge the night after our Navy concert. I really wanted to see the Bridge as it is behind the “red” lines that we cannot cross. The Bridge is located at the highest point forward on the ship. The view is amazing! The Navigator showed us all the GPS's, maps, steering consoles, and cool computer planning screens. He showed us the course the Mercy had taken around the islands of Indonesia and our projected path to Australia. He showed us charts with sea depths on them, that helped him to keep the Mercy a safe distance from shallow water. Navigating takes a lot of math and time. It is a very complicated job.

 The navigators work 4 hour shifts then are off for 8 hours then on for 4. On the starboard side on the deck is this huge, 12 inch in diameter or so, beautiful lit up compass that is checked every 30-60 is checked against fixed points on the shore to make sure the ship is still where it needs to be in the harbor.

He has to calculate where the anchor is and then the length of the anchor and the length of the ship to make sure that when the tide and current moves the ship some that it would not get into shallow water. It was all very interesting to learn and it was amazing of what the navigator job entails. Modern GPS's, paper topical maps, and old time compasses are used just to make sure everything was correct. There is no room for error. Next to the compass is this gigantic pair of binoculars when I looked out them I could see details of houses on the shore. These are used to find the fixed points on the shore to make the calculations needed to anchor the ship and to make sure it stays where it should. Very very fun! Michelle and I were giddy like school girls after our private tour of the Bridge. This was a perfect ending to a totally fun night. It could not have been better!