2 1/2 weeks.

Tonight, after the Mercy Ships church service, we gathered up a bunch of people to play Apples to Apples. We started playing, and after a couple of rounds, one of my friends (who I'd met at the very beginning of my stay here) leans over to me and goes, "... I don't know anyone in this circle right now".

It was the weirdest realization to have at that moment; I still remember a couple of weeks ago, we were in almost the exact same location, almost the exact same table/chair configuration, but this time, all the faces were different. Last time we played with "our" group of friends, but by now they've all left, and new faces fill their spots around the game circle, in the cabins, in the halls. I understand that because people are here on a volunteer basis, this is the way that Mercy Ships life is-- this constant rotation of faces-- but I don't have to like it. I miss the friends who have already left, and though I feel bad about it-- especially with the recent influx of smiling college kids on their summer breaks who have invaded the ship-- I really have no energy to make new friends at this point (horrible attitude to have, but that's how I feel right now. May God change that). And I'm only here for three months; I cannot even begin to fathom how difficult this particular aspect of Mercy Ships must be for the long-termers who are here for 2+ years.