Pacific Partnership 2010

The USNS Mercy in Ternate, Indonesia Ternate, Indonesia ~ Mt. Gamalama LDS Charities friends We saw many beautiful rainbows.... still never arrived at the gold... ;-) It seems I couldn't take enough pics of her.... she's so majestic! Mt. Gamalama One of the girls at Cafe Aroma in Dili, Timor Leste

Helo maintenance Sunset from the Bandaid boat On our way "home" late... I snapped this, of my patients and Corpsman Buchanan, as we took off in the helo. Standing watch Helo transferring supplies to the Mercy Watching the ship that brought us our supplies

I just completed a video summarizing many of the fun times I had while on the Mercy this Summer.  It was not all work!  There is so much more and so many pictures left out... and many fun times I have no pictures of... wow!  We had a great time, didn't we? Here's the link to see the video: FUN ON THE MERCY

I enjoyed yet another gorgeous sunset on the "fantail" which is the very back of the ship.  Last week, a friend of mine and I had a nice conversation with one of the civil mariners named Anthony.  He told us if we came up to the bridge at 1900, he would show us around.  Of course, we were excited since the Bridge is one of the few "off limits" places on the Mercy.  As luck would have it, since that day, they have called Flight Quarters every evening.  During Flight Quarters, the Helo is either flying or being refueled and unauthorized personnel are not allowed to be outside except for the very back of the ship.  We certainly could not walk across the flight deck to climb up to the Bridge! Finally, this evening, after sunset, we realized we had not heard the, now familiar, Flight Quarters announcement!  We walked to the other end of this huge 900 ft ship and climbed up to the flight deck, passed the helo which is bolted down and climbed up another set of stairs to

Enjoying life on the "fantail" I was thrilled to have 2 1/2 days to explore Guam.  Since the departure of the Mercy was delayed, we actually had a 3rd full day off the ship, however, there was no transportation off base.  I spent more than 6 hours at the NEX (Naval Exchange store) and LOVED it, which clearly indicates that I've spent way too much time on this ship! Our tugboat as we prepare to dock on Guam The first, and most important, thing I did in Guam, was to explore Spanish Steps.  It is the site of an old Spanish fort where the belief is that they dug a well near sea level and created steps down to the fresh water.  The steps are mostly gone now and it is a steep, rocky, muddy traverse down the side of the small mountain.  Someone tied ropes to trees that we held onto to help us down and back up again.  The path leads through a jungle with huge palm and coconut trees.  When you get to the bottom, the jungle opens up into a breathtaking lagoon complet

The Mercy, taken from a bird's eye view at the Christus Statue in Dili Today was a much needed day of R&R.  The powers that be aboard the Mercy declared it a "Holiday Schedule."  This meant we did not have to muster at our normal time or be awakened by reveille at 6 am.  In our department, we even had permission to "phone muster."  This meant instead of reporting to work in person, we could call from the phone in berthing and say, "I'm here."  This way, the commander can send the muster report to account for all of us still being here (as in, nobody fell overboard) without us having to get dressed and go upstairs. It was very, very dark when I woke up to the sound of really loud "ship noises."  I have no idea what it was, but it sounded like water and clanking and drilling.  Hmmm....  Anyway, I looked at the clock I keep in bed with me, and it was 8 am!  Wow!  I slept 2 hours past the normal 6 am!  Yippee!  And, although the nois

Last night, a group of us met on the flight deck to look at the stars.  Richard, one of the Merchant Marines here on the Mercy, is somewhat of an expert and gave us a "Night Sky Tour."  He obtained permission to bring us up on the bridge where they keep the "Big Eyes" ( a huge, powerful set of binoculars).  The moon was full, so it wasn't the greatest night to see the stars with the brightness of the moon drowning out the stars, but we saw plenty!  I had my little pair of binoculars and was able to see amazing star clusters and the red color of Venus. There were 4 planets visible last night: Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus.  He showed us that we could see 3 moons around Jupiter with "Big Eyes!"  It was wonderful! The view I saw was SO much brighter and more beautiful! Then, he focused "Big Eyes" onto the moon and showed us the Sea of Tranquility!  I've never looked at the moon with the ability to actually see its topography before.

I was thrilled to be invited to participate in 2 SMEE's!  They are simply educational classes given on subjects requested by the organizations we visit.  I was able to visit two organizations here in Dili that had requested some breastfeeding education. Teaching my breastfeeding class with Daniel, my translator. First, we spent a day at the Hiam Health Clinic.  They receive patients once they have been discharged from the local hospital for severe malnutrition.  The child and the parents come and stay at the clinic until the child is well enough to go home.  While there, they are taught nutrition and balanced diet, child development, gardening and cooking. Ima next to a papaya tree Liz working with a 2 year old boy recovering from severe malnutrition Our SMEE group taught classes to the employees on nutrition, food and water safety,  and breastfeeding.  While that was occuring, our LDS Charities Occupational Therapist, Elizabeth, worked with the mothers and babies, tea

Beautiful Timor Leste Day 10 in Dili, Timor Leste.  I'm amazed at how quickly the time has flown since arriving in timor.  We only have 3 full days here before we head out.  Thus far, Mercy staff has seen 13,036 patients ashore for medical, dental and opthamology treatment.  We've admitted 146 patients onboard the ship and performed 119 surgeries.... as of last night.  We are still in full swing admitting more patients and the OR is still running.  Those numbers do not include the Operation Smile patients.  Sleeping in the peds ward after cleft surgery. Operation Smile came on board for a few days.  They brought their own staff and supplies, using our facilities to operate.  They mostly do cleft lip and palate repair, but also perform other plastic surgery as well.  A little boy going home with his dad after cleft repair. A little boy selling peanuts and limes. So many surgeries are incredibly life changing for those receiving them!  In the US, infants born w

A View from the pier in Darwin.  The Mercy is on the left. Before beginning this great adventure called Pacific Partnership, I did not realize many things.  One of them being how it feels to live on a ship for weeks at a time.  It is interesting, fun and wonderful in many ways, however, it can also make you stir crazy!  I had not realized that by the time we arrived in Darwin, Australia, I would be as anxious as I was for some free time, called Liberty.  We had 3 full days in Darwin and I tried to use every minute to the fullest! Casuarena Beach It's a beautiful city with friendly people and lots of tourism.  Since we have over 1000 people on the Mercy, it was fun for me to be in this strange city, yet see people I knew everywhere I went!  I ate local food recommended to me by my son, Nathan, who served a 2 year mission in The Land Down Under.  One of his suggestions was to try the Flake fish and chips.  We discovered a fantastic restaurant on the wharf, just a short walk

Life on a Navy ship! Let's talk about how it is to live on a Navy ship.  There are plenty of things to learn and many adjustments to be made, for sure!  First, you have to wrap your head around the fact that most of the time, you have to go up before you can go down, or visa versa.  Because the ship consists of compartments that can be closed off if we begin to take on water, you can't simply walk from one end of the ship to the other.  The main level does go from one end to the other, so for instance, to get from my sleep area to the computer room I climb 4 flights of stairs to get to main.  Then, I walk to the other end of the ship and go down 2 flights.  The levels on the ship are not numbered in order either.  Main is main.  The floor below main is level 1, below that level 2, etc.  The floor above main is 01, above that is 02, etc.  So, we eat on 02, but it is really 6 flights of stairs since I sleep on level 4.  The stairwells are color coded, so once you learn that t