On Mercy: Monday, Monday.

It’s June 18^thand I just realized my wall calendar is still on May, and that feels about right. I feel like I’m doing really well in some things, while falling far behind in some others, like changing my calendar! So here’s some of the exciting things going on in my world!

Last week I finally received my final grade for my Master in Public Health research project; I submitted the 100-page dissertation over six months ago and finally they’ve let me know I got the equivalent of an A on it and I will be graduating next month with merit! This is the English school equivalent of graduating with honors or deans list. I’m thrilled and glad it’s finally officially over. I’ll get specific feedback on the paper in the next week or so, and then I can finalize it for publication in a medical journal.

Of course, because I love learning and there’s so much more out there to study, I’ve already started looking at other degree programs. They’re pretty expensive though, so I’ll probably take a break from paying tuition for at least a year!

I have mail!

Well, I haven’t actually gotten any mail yet, but I have an official post office box that allows me to get mail sent to me! So let’s see if it works, shall we? It’s a small box, so please only send letters and cars that are okay to bend, and we’ll see how it works for now. They tell me they’ll hold packages, which would also be worth a try, but I’m pretty sure every package will be opened and some may not arrive, so keep that in mind.

Krissy Close

PO Box 640

1000 Monrovia

10 Liberia

If you look at the top of the main blog page you should see a link to “mail” at the top, alongside “my story” and “bucket list” so you can always find it there.

Work is going well; settling in to anything new is a challenge, and it’s definitely had it’s ups and downs. But over the last couple of weeks I feel like I’ve finally had some real wins and made some progress on a few things, which is really encouraging! This week we participated in the international day of the African child event and my team did an incredible job. We offer a training program for children called My Body is Mine that teaches them through story what is abuse and what is okay and what is not okay, and what to do if they or someone they know are being harmed. It was really well received and I’m fielding requests for more training across the country!

I’ve been healthy so far, which I’m super grateful for, and here’s a fun fact: my immune system has always been pretty good, I’ve never really been sick all that often, but I’ve not even had a cold in almost two years. What’s my secret? I’m crazy about hand hygiene, I’ve made a very conscious effort to stop touching my face (eyes, nose, mouth are all how germs get into the body from our nasty hands), and I take probiotics every day. Either it’s some combination of those things, or I’m just really really lucky. I also don’t have kids which are actual germ factories so I’m sure that’s got something to do with it. But I’m grateful nonetheless and will keep doing what I’m doing as it does seem to be working for me!

That’s all for today. Monday morning, another week, another opportunity to try to make a difference here, to bring joy and light and laughter and hope to those who need it, to try to do the next right thing. I’m grateful for the journey. Happy Monday, world.

xxk