Thursday, October 11, 2012

Here We Go Again!

      I'm back! Its been so much fun to see all of my friends again and catch up.  Its a little strange to be back, I know the ship yet so many faces have been replaced.  This time around I am in the 8 berth, with 6 roommates.  My bunkmate is my best friend from last field service, Sandy.  I am also back to work in the Galley, on cold side again.  Yes, the baking has begun again.  So far Pumpkin Pie and Cream Puffs.  I just injected and dipped the puffs into the chocolate, but it was fun and yummy! My roommates are already starting to develop a love-hate relationship with my baking: its good but we can't get those Mercy Hips!

     Last Saturday I joined the trip to the Baby Rescue Center here in Conakry.  The center is operated by a Canadian woman who has lived in Conakry for over a decade.  Unwanted babies are left in a market or other busy area and when the crowd realizes they have been abandoned arguments ensue over who should get the baby.  However, the reason for wanting the baby is not to have them join the family, by the time the child is 3, they have become household slaves.  They are not allowed to go to school or have "normal" lives. At the Baby Rescue Center there are currently 10 babies.  They are the cutest, sweetest things.  When the Mercy Ships crew visit they are shyer, quieter, and more inclined to snuggle.  When we first arrived, most of them were sleeping.  Eventually all of them woke up and stared.  3 of the babies are being adopted out of the country.  2 of them are ending up in the U.S. and 1 will move to Canada.  They steal and break your heart all at the same time.