Tadaima! :)

It's good to be back. To file away my anxiety (from being away) along with my possessions. I've been back nearly a week now, just settling back into life in Australia. The weather's been horrid (consistently >35C), which makes me feel very lethargic. So I've been napping an awful lot. That too is nice.

So what have I been up to these past three months? The bulk of it (nine weeks) have been spent on my electives, both undertaken in very scenic locations. I spent quite a lot of time admiring sunrise, waves rolling, leaves falling, sunset, during both electives, so I decided to share a photo from each.

{Palawan, The Philippines}

Theme song: For you alone

{Cambridge, UK}

Theme Song: In Christ Alone

Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse (NIV)

weeks 8+ of elective

i've been working in accident & emergency and critical care. when i tell people, they ask why i chose this elective. why not in a bigger city? why not in south africa, where trauma is rampant? why not america, where people turn guns on each other?

well, in my five-and-a-half weeks here, i have seen plenty of trauma. plenty of resuscitation and surgery. of lives ruined and lives lost. true, the causes are different, but it is trauma nonetheless.

usually i can just switch the emotion off, i can scrub in and assist without any qualms, read blood gases with academic interest instead of horror. but today suddenly it's all too much.

why the waste? what remnants of life will these people return to? for them, especially those who are younger, what is living about now? when you are unable to walk, can barely feed yourself, or have lost those closest to you?

they don't cry for themselves. i wonder if they can.