And now for something completely different...

Picture, if you will, a modest little park in sunny Tenerife.  Petals from some exotic blossoming tree dance about in a lusty breeze that tastes like salt and spicy dirt.  Parked contentedly on a charming green bench, our World Traveler enjoys a hot empenada and cold bottled water, spoils of her first foray in bilingual commerce.  A picturesque family of Spanish vacationers comes whizzing by on rollerblades, while old people sip from delicate cups and argue at a nearby café.  Radiating contentment and smug accomplishment, our World Traveler reaches for her handy travel-size Bible to indulge in some practically continental reading.  When suddenly it hits her like a thunderclap.  She is wearing her shirt backwards. 

I thought the neckline felt a little high.

Oh well.  A little fashion violation now and then is good for the soul.

Greetings all, from the Africa Mercy Ship, currently docked in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain.  My new life is strange and I am a stranger in it.  I’ve only been here for a day and a half, but it feels like it’s been a week at least.  Everything is so new and bewildering, and yet there’s an air of permanence that honestly scares the poop out of me.  I haven’t spoken to anyone from home in an eternity, and my heart aches like an old boxer’s ribs for the company of someone who knows me more than face-deep.  I feel like I’m losing myself.  Vacationing in Spain is all very well, but when I left home, all I had left was this sense of purpose, and now I feel that draining away, too.

Okay, I didn’t mean to go all Eeyore on everyone.  It’s just darn hard work being the new kid, and I am afraid I might be getting too old for it.  My heart’s not as rubbery as it used to be.  Or maybe I just forgot what it was like to start over.  Nevertheless, I am glad that I came.  Good will come of it, for me and for this strange new community of mine.  God brought me here, and that means he thinks I have things to offer even if I can’t see any right now.  Suffice it to say, I love you all very much and I miss you terribly.

Now for some business. 

My new address:

Sarah Dunn, Africa Mercy Crew

P.O. Box 2020

Lindale, TX 75771

Please send pictures.  Here I am with metal walls and (literally) a boatload of magnets, currently useless.  I seem to have left all my pictures in my car.  And when I say pictures, I mean pictures of you, friends and family!  If I want to see nature I can go up to the observation deck.  Paper mail gets shipped out here from the IOC in Texas for free, but I have to pay for packages that have been shipped.  This is not to say that you shouldn’t send packages, only that said packages should be worth paying 8 dollars a pound to open.  (Which means, sadly, that banana bread, even your banana bread Sister Sara, is probably not a good idea.)

My new phone number: (001) 954-538-6110 ext. 4421

I have two roommates, both marvelous ladies.  Their names are Michelle and Moriah.  And we all have this one phone number between us, which means phone time may be spotty.  I have not been able to buy a phone card yet, but as soon as the ship store opens on Tuesday, you can bet I will be the first in line.

Also, Michelle has been generous enough to let Moriah and me use her computer, so I shall try to send out updates as often as I can.  My goal is at least one fat update a week.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this, but I love you guys very much.  And I can’t wait to share all the amazing things that will happen this year with you.  

Thank you for being part of my heart.

PS- Speaking of pictures, I have been taking them (yay!) but I'm going to need some help getting them off of my camera and on to this blog (boo! or, as SHS says boo minus!)

I think I'll wander off in search of the library.  We are still on vacation, after all.