My first travel assignment this year was to Denver, Colorado from January-April. I have wanted to live in Colorado since I was a little kid, so I was really excited to head out there for a 3-month assignment. My family thought I was crazy for leaving Arizona during the winter and head to the snow, but I embraced the opportunity to live somewhere that I could snowboard on my days off and build a snowman in my backyard. But we still had enough sunshine to keep me from freezing to death!
I got to Denver and fell in love with it right away. It was fun to be in a new city with an old friend that I had met on the other side of the world. I met some other great people in Colorado, connected with a few old friends who lived there, found a great church, and got plugged in with an awesome small group from church. I met some really fun people there, including the sister of one of my old roommates from the ship...small world. We also had a Mercy Ships reunion in Colorado Springs and I had a few other ship friends come to visit me in Denver while I was there. Overall, it was a great experience and I loved the hospital where I was working. I had to pry myself away from that place when my contract ended because I genuinely wanted to stay in Denver forever.
The next adventure was a trip to Peru with more ship friends, where we did a lot of exploring and sightseeing. One major highlight was an overnight stay on an Island at Lake Titicaca, where we met a random Peruvian family and spent the night at their house (because that's how we roll). They even offered to let me name their newborn baby! It was definitely a fun cultural experience that brought back memories of weekend adventures in Africa!
And of course you can't go to Peru without spending some time at Machu Picchu! We did a 4-day trek on the Inca Trail and ended at the famous ruins. That was an amazing experience that I will never forget. We had a fun group of about 20 people, including 5 Swedish people and a Dutch guy close to our age. Needless to say, we all hit it off and had a fun time together hiking and camping along the way. We were also spoiled with an amazing cook who made us some extravagant meals, including a cake with a picture of Machu Picchu for our last night. We were not suffering on that hiking trip by any stretch of the imagination! The last day was the perfect ending to the trek. The sun was barely rising and there were clouds everywhere. It almost felt like we were hiking in the sky. When we got to the Sun Gate, we could see a slight outline of Machu Picchu below the clouds. Then as we stood looking down, the clouds all cleared up and we could see the ruins in all their beauty below us. It was absolutely breathtaking!
From Peru, I headed to Chile for five days to hang out with my friend Lycia who was visiting her parents there. She showed me around Santiago and then we spent several days in a little cottage on the beach with her family. It was a relaxing and refreshing time that I was very grateful for. We finished off the trip with some wine tasting and shopping, which was an added bonus!
After coming back from my South American adventures, I spent a few weeks working at my part-time job in Phoenix and see family and friends while waiting for my next travel nursing assignment to come together. Before I knew it, I was heading to California to start another travel assignment. Once again, the details came together on where I should live. Through a series of events, I ended up living with a girl my age who was a social worker at another local hospital. She had a cute little townhouse less than 5 miles from the hospital and right across the street from some great hiking trails. It was another perfect living situation that God brought together.
Living in San Diego was a great opportunity to catch up with friends and relatives out there. Not to mention, I met some other fun travel nurses who became good friends. On my days off, if I wasn't at the beach, I was kayaking, hiking, paddle-boarding, or surfing. There is definitely a lot to do in San Diego! I also found an awesome church and got plugged in with a small group. My first week there, the leader's wife found out I was a nurse and told me all about their upcoming medical missions trip to Guatemala. It just happened to fall right at the end of my contract.
So I headed to Guatemala for the next adventure with some amazing nurses, doctors, and support staff. I mainly worked in the surgery center, but I did get to spend some time helping in the mobile clinic as well. One day, I even got to help build stoves for some of the local families in the area! It was fun to use my Spanish again and connect with the people there, especially the kids! At the end of the trip, we got to do some sightseeing in Antigua, hiked to an active volcano, and kayaked on Lake Atitlan, one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen. It was fun to get to know the people from our team a little more and explore the country together!
After Guatemala, my plans were to just go back to Phoenix for the rest of the year and work at my job at PCH. But then, a last-minute opportunity came up to do a 2-month travel assignment in Flagstaff at the hospital where I worked while I was in nursing school. So, loving Flagstaff as much as I do, I jumped at the chance to move back. Once again, I had to figure out where I would live, but this time I wasn't too worried. God had taken care of it every time before...why wouldn't he do the same this time around? I was literally driving to Flagstaff the day before my assignment not knowing where I would live and I was honestly not worried about it. I could see how God was growing my faith. I did have a week that I was able to stay with my cousin, but I didn't want to overstay my welcome, especially since his wife works from home and I was worried I'd be in the way.
So my very first day, I was in the HR office filling out my paperwork when a girl walks up to the front desk and asks about places that she can post for short-term roommates, "like maybe for a travel nurse or someone like that." I sat there in total shock. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. After the lady at the desk gave her some information, I said "I'm actually a travel nurse looking for a place and I'm interested." Needless to say, it turned out to be the perfect fit living with two amazing Christian roommates in a really cute place near the hospital!
If it wasn't enough to come back to Flagstaff for a 2-month assignment that my manager basically tailored to the exact dates I wanted to come, she also approved one week off in the middle of it so that I could take a birthday cruise with my friend Lycia!
So the day after my birthday, Lycia and I set sail for the Caribbean. Even though I had previously worked on a ship for over two years, this was the first time I had ever been on a cruise and it was awesome! I definitely felt spoiled with all our fancy dinners on the ship and housekeeping twice a day. The sailing alone was relaxing and beautiful, but we had some amazing stops along the way including Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Belize, and Roatan. It was such a fun way to celebrate my birthday and our waiters even sung to me in three different languages at the same time one night at dinner :)
I wrapped up the year with some good time in Phoenix with friends and family. My next assignment will be back in Denver in mid-January at the same hospital from last year. I loved it too much to not go back.
In reflecting on this year, I have been reminded of the faithfulness of God. He is my constant one in spite of the constant changes in my life. I'm so grateful for all the amazing blessings He poured out on me this year and can't wait to find out what adventures He'll have for me in 2015!
I'm leaving doubt and sorrow in the distance. I'm gonna trust and cast my fears aside
My life's a work that I know You'll finish. I know I'm gonna be alright.
It's You I'll chase when I can't see your face.
No matter how many skies fall down, I'm covered under the peace I've found
You're my shelter when there's no where else to go.
No matter how many times I break, you promise always to keep me safe.
You're my rescue when I'm spinning out of control.
Oh, my God is always faithful.
From the song "Faithful" by Hawk Nelson
