Packing for the container

Each of us had the option to put a box on the shipping container leaving soon for the Africa Mercy, which should arrive at the ship a week or two after we do. Yesterday evening we went on a trip to Walmart- we had a 1 hour time limit, which goes by surprisingly quickly when you are trying to pick out items for ship life. So we all ran around Walmart like we were on a scavenger hunt looking for things like multi level hangers and sunscreen.

Here is my box for the container....I promise you there is more than just cookies underneath there. It was nice to pull some things out to lighten my travel bag. Anything that was not essential for the next 6-8 weeks I put in the container box. I did put a jar of nutella in the box- apparently that is one item they sometimes have in the ship shop, but people stand in line to get it and it sells out right away :)

Romina, a ward nurse and one of my roommates, tries to decide what to pack in her box...

I have a pretty bad cold right now. Yesterday when I woke up, I was really wishing I had packed some Emergen-C (those flavored packets with a bunch of vitamin C that you mix in water). I wandered out to the living room area of the dorm and said good morning to Nicole. When I told her I had a cold the first thing she said was "hey, I brought a bunch of Emergen-C do you want some?" Later Erin gave me a shoulder rub, and Krissy made it a point to ask me how I was doing and how the transition to dorm life was going. I have a nasty cold but some very kind friends.