God and Dog

My Africa Trip

I'll try to cover as succinctly yet comprehensively as possible. If you have any specific questions, though, by all means send 'em my way. OK, here goes for the inquiring minds...

Leaving Nashville, 7:30 AM CDT, Monday, July 20, 2009, Nashville Airport

Newark Airport (New Jersey), appx. 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM CDT, Monday, July 20, 2009

Brussels Airport (Belgium), appx. 1:00 AM CDT, Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Entebbe Airport (Uganda, Africa), appx. 2:00 PM CDT, Tuesday, July 21, 2009


One of the vans that transported both the team and all of our luggage (appx 88 pieces total) from the airport to the guest house.

Bedroom at guest house where we lived for a week and a half. Each bed was covered in mosquito netting.

Bathroom at the house. Western set up (sink, potty, tub & a shower stall). I equated the water pressure to that of an old man peeing. You couldn't get too much shampoo in your hair or soap suds going as there wasn't enough pressure to wash it off. We did use the water from the sink to brush our teeth rather than bottled water and I believe everyone was fine.

[more coming...]

First Thought

A man died in a skydiving accident, leaving behind an expectant wife who is 35 weeks along.


OK, so what was your first thought? Your very first thought? Go ahead, take a minute.

Here is what mine was, in all candid honesty: Eww. And then my mind wandered to how it happened, exactly, how he was found, what he looked like. Then I thought about something I often ponder, jumpers. You know, people who jump off bridges to end their life. What actually kills them? The impact, I know, but how/why? What do they look like when they're found? Then I thought of the Natchez Trace Bridge over Highway 96 near the Davidson/Williamson County line which appears to be a popular jumper spot. That made me think of people riding their bikes on the Natchez Trace and then I thought, "I should start riding my bike again." And so it went.

My husband had another first thought: Maybe the victim above wasn't skydiving himself. Perhaps in a weird Hollywood-worthy twist, he was an innocent bystander on the ground and someone dropped from the sky on top of him. That was his first thought.

What was yours? I'm asking because I was shocked at some other peoples' immediate reaction. That of accusation, wariness and a lack of sympathy. I overheard "why was he doing something so stupid in the first place?" and "why didn't his wife tell him not to do that?" "Why would he do something so risky with a baby on the way?"

Well, the answer is simple: he was doing his job. Here's the official write up --

NORFOLK, Va., Aug. 3 (UPI) -- The man killed in a skydiving accident near Middle Peninsula Regional Airport in Virginia was a U.S. Army soldier from Maryland, state police say.

Virginia State Police spokesman Sgt. Thomas Molnar said Army Command Sgt. Maj. Harry Parrish of Fort Meade died while taking part in a private skydiving training exercise, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot said Monday.

"The only thing I can say is that it was a training exercise and obviously something went wrong," Molnar said of Saturday's deadly accident. "I can't specifically say what right now."

Parrish's body was found in King and Queen County, Va., Sunday following a search and rescue effort.

Molnar, who confirmed the skydiving fatality was accidental, told the Virginian-Pilot the incident has been reported to the Federal Aviation Administration.

First impressions, hmm? Crazy stuff. I think we'd all do well to not be so quick to judge.

Thank you for your patience

I'm still processing, getting settled, catching up on sleep, laundry and Bird hugs but I promise, I will post pics soon along with lots of narration. Here's something to tide you over:

Hard Times

Even Hollywood's A-List (OK, well, B-list?) are struggling in this economy. Here's a sign I saw on my way home the other day:

Africa Bound

I'm leaving today for Africa.

It feels like this trip has been a long time coming, and maybe it has subconsciously, but I didn't officially hear the call and begin preparations until just three short months ago. Oh, how far we've come! In the early days, I made a list of fears/questions. I called it my "But What About...?" List. Let's see how they shook out.

1. I've always questioned people doing mission work abroad when there's so much need right here at home.
God is bigger. And He knows what He's doing. When people say to me, "I think it's so great what you're doing," I quickly point out that this isn't my trip, but His. I'm just honored He picked me and has enough faith in me to send me out.

2. I don't know how I will pay for this.
As of today, and with the tremendous, unbelievable generosity of family and friends, I have met, and exceeded by a little, my $4,500.00 goal.

3. I've never been away from Jason or Calleigh this long and it scares me.
The power of prayer, friends. Even as I write this, I feel my mind and spirit calmed. Like they went out for mojitos and left me here to update my blog. It's still on my mind and heart but is not occupying my every thought. I suspect, and hope, there's enough work to do in Africa that I don't have a lot of down time to sit around and be sad.

4. I've never had any desire to go to Africa.
On May 1, this update was written in my journal: It's all I think about. I cannot wait to get there.

5. I've torn the house up and looked in our safety deposit box - can't find my passport and am going to have to go through the process of getting a new one.
04.13.09: Found my old one!

6. I don't like strangers.
It's still not my forte. I'm working on it.

7. I don't like working with people on a team.
It's still not my forte. I'm working on it. Seriously, I have really been trying to seek the good in everyone, not focus on their faults and shortcomings, but, rather, see each person for the wonderful, unique person they are. Even if they do annoying things from time to time. ;)

8. What will I eat there?
I have granola bars, FiberOne bars, jelly beans and peanut butter. We'll see how it goes.

9. Will I be kidnapped by gorillas (or guerillas, for that matter)?
04.09.09: We are not called to be safe, we are simply promised that when we are in danger, God is right there with us.

10. Will I catch malaria?
I started taking anti-malaria pills yesterday. I take one every day while I'm in country and for a week after my return. I also have liquid DEET which is to be applied, head-to-toe, every day. And I think we sleep in mosquito netting.

11. I'm afraid of growing apart from my loved ones during this process.
I don't think this has happened. I like to think this has created Valerie 2.0, a kinder, gentler, more efficient version.

12. I'm afraid of lions and tigers (and bears, oh, my!).
Matthew 10:28 Do not fear things that can destroy the body but rather things that can destroy the soul.

13. I don't want to travel - especially that far, and alone.
Well, I won't be alone in the true sense of the word, but I will not have my favorite people in the whole world by my side. I try to keep reminding myself that I'm just away from my friends and family for 10 days, these sweet, little children we're going to visit have no one. Ever. This pasty white American lady with a lot of questions and Purell may be the closest thing they've ever had and they've waited their entire lives for me to come.

14. Do I have enough vacation to pull this off?
05.05.09: Apparently so.

15. Can I miss this much work?
07.19.09: Apparently so.

16. Can I pull this together so quickly?
I couldn't pull this together so quickly, but we did. Thank you.

17. People will think I'm crazy. Will I have the support of family and friends?
04.01.09: Jason asked me tonight, "so when are you going to Africa?"
04.04.09: Brenda asked me today about the trip, about Sweet Sleep, and was very supportive.
04.06.09: Had lunch with Man. Talked about God pushing me. She said, "that's great!"
04.08.09: Had dinner with DVL5 tonight and told them. All very supportive, intrigued & positive. Especially Amanda.
05.22.09: Feel really blessed to have Emily in my life, for so many reasons, but that she's been my personal advisor on this journey.

And now, as I set off on this journey, I have a new set of "But What About?'s."

- What do I do when I get over there, fall in love, and want to bring one home with me?
- How do I tell them "it's OK" when it's not?
- How can I reinforce in them that there is a God who loves them fiercely?
- What if I have trouble connecting with the kids? I'm not good with kids here. What makes me think I will be with ones on the other side of the globe?

And so I bid adieu, friends. Look for possible updates along the way and know you'll be missed and thought of while I'm gone.

:)

All Aboard

The train is about to pull out of the station...to Uganda, that is. This past Sunday, we had our "pack party" where everyone came together, brought two big empty suitcases per person and we started packing all of our supplies for the trip. This included, but was not limited to: toothbrushes and tiny tubes of toothpaste for each of the children we'll be visiting, soccer balls and cones to play games with them, jump ropes, crayons, glue, construction paper, etc., etc., etc. Here are a couple of pics - they don't do the sheer amount of STUFF nor the chaos justice but just to give you an idea:




Also, in about three days' time, I collected approximately 700+ Beanie Babies and had to start fending them off for the time being. Turns out people did indeed jump on the Beanie Baby wagon, made quite the investment in the little guys and have had trouble turning loose. That is, until a really good cause came along. Then the benevolence, generosity and veritable tsunami of BBs came pouring in. Just goes to show...God gives you lofty goals but He also provides and richly.



Update: The Dollar General corporation has just offered to donate (yes, DONATE!) all 450 small, handheld mirrors that we'd hoped to give to each of the children! Praise & wonderment! That's all I have to say. Wow.