Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Trouble With the Present

I am very excited about working in Uganda. Most people probably consider that to be a given, but it bears repeating. Also, this fact helps explain the trouble with my current situation. The trouble is that I am not in Uganda.

A midterm rapidly approaches, there is a grad school application to complete, and there are so many people around me that mean so much to me. But I just want to get on that plane. I don't procrastinate when it comes to the trip, support letters are squared away, I already got my shots.

Why am I struggling so much when it comes to studying for this midterm? Why am I not spending time with people that I care about?

I need grace to live in the present.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Vaccinations

Just an FYI, the first modern vaccine was for Smallpox. In 1796, Dr. Edward Jenner discovered that exposure to the cowpox virus could prevent someone from contracting the much deadlier smallpox. Thanks Ed!

I went to the Brooks Army Medical Center (BAMC, pronounced Bam-See) in San Antonio on Friday to get my vaccinations and medicines for the trip. It is about a 3 hour drive, and this Friday was homecoming so we made a weekend of it. I was supposed to get 6 shots, but they only give out the yellow fever vaccine on Wednesdays, so I only got 5. Two in one arm and three in the other. One of them is a triple, three diseases for one stick in the arm. I am currently immune to Meningitis, Influenza, Tetanus, Diphtheria, Acellular Pertussis, Hepatitis A, and Typhoid. So if you were planning on giving me any of those diseases as part of a foul plot, you missed your chance. Sucka.

Did you know there is a Hepatitis E? Africa is an exposure risk.

I also have 6 months worth of medicine that will make me impervious to Malaria. The only possible side effect listed is nightmares. I am not making this up. We will see how that works out. Time to start keeping a dream journal.

So, the sum of all this is that God is so good. I heard Chris speak last night about desiring to hear from God. How badly do I want to hear from him?

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Getting Started

It is all coming together. I found out two weeks ago on October 3rd that I would be travelling to Uganda in January. While there, I will work on one or several engineering projects with Engineering Ministries International. EMI is a Christian non-profit that does development work in the third world, designing schools, orphanages, clean water systems, you name it.

Their website, which you should check out, is http://www.emiworld.org/

The first hurdle is the support letter. I just got it back from Megan (the Uganda intern coordinator) with comments, and they will be going out soon. The one issue right now is that my name is misspelled on the official endorsement letter from EMI, so I need to get that cleared up before I can send anything out.

There is a facebook group to receive prayer updates, and for anyone that wants to support me financially.

What else... Oh yeah! Shots! (not the kind you drink, I don't like liquor). I need 5 immunizations including Typhoid, Yellow Fever, and Hepatitis A to name a few. My Dad is in the Air Force and hooked me up with a clinic in San Antonio where I can get everything I need, including Malaria meds! The catch is that San Antonio is a 3 hour drive from College Station, so I will be getting all 5 in one go. I hope they are all in the arm. The drive back is a lot of sitting...