Loving the World 2013: The Start of another Journey!

As I write this I am sitting on a bus, heading towards Margaret River, It is a small side of the highway
town to the south of Perth, All I really know is there is a great information center in the town, and the
Beach is far away. My plan for the next two weeks is to explore Australia to the south of Perth.

Let’s recap what I have been up to. March 2012 my dear friends Ruhina and Rolf got engaged! I was so
excited for them and when they told me the wedding would take place in Perth Australia I was eager to
attend! The plan started as a year abroad, I would fly to Australia, attend the wedding and then look for
work and travel and work for 2013 in Australia! I have been granted a year’s leave from my position at
Peace Arch Hospital and nothing but opportunity lay ahead.

Here is where the plan changed; I had the opportunity, the time and the skill of being a nurse. I have
always known that I wanted to serve with Mercy Ships providing nursing to those who need it and
are unable to pay for it. Mercy Ships is a wonderful Christian organization. It is an old ferry that has
been turned into a Hospital and living quarters for staff. Everyone from the Captain to the cooks are
volunteer. The ship is funded by the crew fees. It is up to us to promote Mercy Ships and spread the
word of the wonderful work that the organization is doing and seek donations. Here is a Link to my
Donor page; http://mercyships.donorpages.com/MERCYGIFTS/NicoleMoen/ it is here that I talk more about Mercy Ships. You are able to fallow my progress as I raise support funds and participate yourself in supporting me! It’s easy to donate online and a tax receipt is given!

So my plan changed, I felt it was a better use of my skills and passion to apply for Mercy Ships. I was
ready, my time was already free and thankfully I was accepted to serve for 4 months in Conakry Guinea
on Africa Mercy. So where does this leave my original plan? I already had my one way flight (yes one
way to Perth, I had a strong feeling and was praying that an opportunity would arise to volunteer). I still
had a wedding to attend and a marriage license to witness!

I packed up my house into neat and tidy boxes and moved back to moms and dads for 3 weeks, finished
my work at Peace Arch Hospital on December 18th and made my rounds of saying goodbye to all my
dear friends and family leading up to Christmas. Emotions ran high and my to do list grew shorter. I sold
my car, and packed my backpack (into the wee hours of the night 5am on Dec 26 th! Just hours before my
flight to be exact!). Saying goodbye to everyone proved difficult, when you are at the beginning of a long
journey away it seems daunting, however I know once I return home I will reflect on my trip thinking it
passed to fast.

On Boxing Day Sandra came to say good bye and watch me finish the last of my packing. And my family
drove me to the Airport all together, we had timmies too! Saying goodbye brought tears to our eyes,
and reading a letter from a friend kept those tears coming. I am so blessed to have so many people love
me and support me. Why am I leaving? Why don’t I just stay and finish paying my student loans and
start saving for a down payment on a house? Because that is what is comfortable and I need to step out
of that and be pushing every day. This I believe is God’s plan and I want to do his work serving others in
everything I do, not finding a nice groove that soon becomes a rut that is blinding. Now is the time to
pick up and travel, now is the time when everything I own can be stored in a few boxes and now is the
time when opportunity has presented itself!

Cottesloe Beach at Sunset

The flight to Hong Kong was 13 hours of Movie watching and napping! Once in Hong Kong I enjoyed Dim Sum and of course was my usual self…. Knocked over my iced aloe honey tea in the restaurant! Oops! Darn those chopsticks! Our second flight was a quick over night flight, only 10 hours, to Perth! Upon arriving it was so great to be greeted by Ruhina and Rolf! They kept us busy all day long, meeting Rolf’s family in Australia, eating Fish N Chips, Swimming in the Indian Ocean, spotting Dolphins as we swam, and stopping in at the Cemetery and seeing hordes of Kangaroos! What more can one ask for! We had a lovely dinner all together with our lovely hosts Russell and Greta that evening and off to bed
at 8pm. That was the switch! No jet lag! Boom I was on Australian time just like that! In the days that
fallowed we ran wedding errands, had drinks in town one night, and met more of Rolfs family while out
for chocolate cake in Fremantle! The night before the wedding Ruhina and Rolfs family, and a few of
Rolfs sisters and their families all came together at Cottesloe Beach for a late day swim, Fish N Chips and
Champagne at sunset! It was a great way to come together and enjoy a warm Australian night.

December 31st 2012 was wedding day!! Greta and I ran morning errands and then Ruhina and I got ready together for the wedding, it was a lovely day, not a cloud in the sky, temperatures reached 44 C and everyone was sweating just a little bit! The photographer was talented and captured the wedding beautifully! Ruhina and Rolf were wed under a rose covered archway in Russell and Greta’s backyard. The food was amazing and Ruhina looked so beautiful and happy. I am so happy that I got to partake in their wedding and see them make their lifelong commitment to one another. At midnight those of us who were left ended up in the Pool, what a way to ring in 2013!

The next couple days were spent seeing more of Perth. On January 2nd Ruhina and Rolf threw me an early birthday Day! We went to Cottesloe beach once again; all got a bit sunburned, ate fish n chips, and explored the Shipwreck Museum in Fremantle. After they parted ways myself and ruhina's sister and mom explored Fremantle waterfront a bit more and ventured to Little Creatures brewery! It was a great day! Very much appreciated since I will be traveling alone next week when my birthday arrives. On the 3rd we all made our way to Penguin Island and explored the little island and saw Little Penguins

Beach at Tottnest Island

in the wild! It was a great day finished off with dinner with Rolf’s sister Barbara. On Saturday, our last day together we all ventured to Rottnest island. It is a must see if you are ever in Perth! Rolf’s son Kevin and I rented bikes and made our way around the island checking out different snorkeling beaches and look outs! The surf was a bit rough but that didn’t stop us from seeing plenty of fish and even a Cray fish! By the end of the day we were covered with sand and headed back to the mainland. Our last night all together was spent eating a perfectly prepared dinner by Russell and Greta in their back Rose garden with wine, champagne, prawns, salmon and even pie under a blanket of stars above. It was a wonderful dinner all together. I will miss the comfort of being around those I’ve come to know but do plan to return for a night or two before leaving Australia!

This morning Ruhina and Rolf drove me to the Bus station and we said our goodbyes, again emotional! It
is so hard to say goodbye! I caught my bus and am heading to Margaret River; I am getting nerves now
as we should be arriving in 20 minutes. What does the town look like? Will there be room at the Hostel?
The dirt is getting redder and the only way to know is to step of this bus! I should be able to update my blog more often now, sorry for the essay! Until then, Salute!