We discovered that disaster response work is messy, chaotic, and difficult—but we were hooked. It felt great to be vital and useful in a meaningful way. Watch this video about traveling into the hardship areas of Nepal to install communications and internet for Red Cross field hospitals, surgical units and clinics.

Friends wonder what it’s like when my husband, Glen, and I deploy to disaster zones—at times living in what some consider to be hardship conditions. Here’s a little insight:

The past few days Glen and I had our heads in our work; installing communications for the Red Cross disaster response in Saipan after Super Typhoon Soudelor devastated the island.

Dhunche, a remote village high in the northern mountains where we were going to support a 35 person Canadian Red Cross medical unit perched on a narrow strip of rare, flat land.