Prayer changes things

I can’t believe that I’ll be in Uganda in exactly 2 weeks from today! Where did the time go? I would love to get on a plane now and go, but I’m not exactly ready for that. Was able to get a few pieces of luggage that I will be leaving at the baby cottage so I don’t have to pay to bring it back. Goodwill was so kind to let me buy each for less than $5. They aren’t exactly the size I wanted, but I’m very thankful that they were available. Just can’t believe how much I have to pay to take them…they will both definitely be below the 50 lb limit. British Airways lets you take one free piece and I found out too late that I could have taken a 2^nd piece for free since it’s a mission’s trip.

People have asked how they can pray for me lately:

Clarity while packing

Safety while flying

Servant’s heart while volunteering

Babies to be either reunited with their families or adopted by the time they reach the age of 5

Health while there – don’t want to deal with being sick while volunteering

Wisdom with what I can eat and that the Lord will give me ideas for recipes

Guidance for what the Lord wants me to do come December (hoping for some place warm)

I'm sorry, how many did you say?!

I had my appointment today with the travel doctor provided through my insurance. Way back in the day when I went to Kenya my mom had to scrounge up shot records for me. Those were then put on a Wisconsin state immunization piece of paper. I took that in with me today to show the doc what I had. He started making notes of what I had and what I didn't have. He then pulled out a "booklet" of different shots and what they were for. When we were done going through that, he had pretty much highlighted the whole thing. At least I didn't need all the shots on there, you know, like the 2 or 3 he didn't highlight!

In total, I need to get at least 8 shots. Today I got 3. The nurse did 2 in my left arm and 1 in my right arm. The right arm was Hep B (which I probably got as a child, but since there was no record he wanted to be safe, rather than have me sorry) which felt like it took a while to get in. The left arm got a TDap and Yellow Fever.

Now, I'm not necessarily one to HATE needles, but I just don't enjoy shots...come on, who really does? As I was getting the Hep B, I thought, ugh, I have to get 2 more of these?! Plus one exactly 52 weeks after the 3rd does....yick! Not really looking forward to that particular feeling again. However, the Yellow Fever vacc got put in the softer flesh on the backside of my left arm. The nurse said it would hurt, but I thought it wasn't too bad....until 3 seconds in. I literally wanted to cry like a little girl it hurt soooo much! It. was. awful. When I was done with that one, the nurse said it was good for 10 years and that I needed to travel as much as I could to take advantage of the pain I just went through. You know what, I think she's right!

After getting my 3 shots, they ushered me down to the lab where I got poked again...thankfully this wasn't as painful. They are going to check to see if I've had chicken pox....because we can't remember if I did or not. If the test comes back negative, well, then I get some more shots....so totaling 9 or 10, depending on if they make me get 2 of that or just 1.

Another one he recommended was a rabies shot. This shot will cost between $500 or $600!!!!!! WHAT?! I told him I'd think about that. I e-mailed the baby cottage asking if this is something the volunteers normally get and will wait on their reply. I hope they say no because that's a lot of money for 1 shot.

The next thing I need to decide on is what malaria medicine to take. There is 1 that is taken weekly and 2 others that are taken daily. I have an ongoing disease, so the cheaper of the taken daily pills is probably not going to be a good mix for me he said. That leaves the weekly or the other daily. Oh, and this other daily will cost somewhere between $60-$90 for 1 pill. Yes, I will be there around 90 days and I will need to take some before I go and after I get back, so that would be a grand total of around $6000. Yikes! So, with all that said, this was an easy pick for me....the weekly one.

I'll be taking a typhoid vaccine orally - yay for one less shot!!! My head is kind of spinning with all of this. I go back in one week to get at least 3 more shots. Thankfully I got into the dr when I did because with the way they have the series of Hep B shots set up, I will take the 3rd shot 2 days before I leave island....and that's covered by insurance! My poor arms......

I know how he feels!

God-thing

I definitely know that God wants me going to Uganda. I love it when He gives me little confirmations along the way. I had two God-things happen this past week.

I have been forgetting for a couple weeks now to contact Kaiser's travel clinic. (For those that don't know, Kaiser is my insurance and they have their own network of clinics and hospitals.) I finally called last week, but was told that the clinic only has one secretary, so I would get a call back within 2 days' time. Ok, no biggie, it's still June.

I got a call the next day and told the lady what I needed. She then told me that the ONLY travel clinic dr would be on vacation for the month of July, but she would check to see if there were any openings left. She had that sound in her voice that made me think it wasn't going to happen. I immediately prayed the same one liner about 5 x's before she spoke again....and they had one more opening on July 2 before the dr left. Hallelujah!!! This was totally a God-thing!

Please pray with me that any shots or medication I need are covered by insurance. If not, thank you for those that have donated to me as that money will go towards this!

That was the first God-thing....now the second one. As of last week Thursday, I hadn't gotten my ticket to leave island. When I first got to island I got a Hawaiian Airlines visa card to help rack up miles. You know, for a rainy day when I would actually have the money to pay for hotel and car rental on another island. Yeah - never did use my miles to go anywhere. I've been planning on going to Phoenix to see some friends of mine and Hawaiian has a direct flight from here to there. 

It takes 30,000 Hawaiian miles to get there. I've been watching the sight to see if I could find a day around the day I wanted to go that would be cheaper. Well, the Sunday after I had planned on leaving ended up being only 17,500. I had 20,350 at the time. I really wanted to see my friends, but also didn't want to have to spend over $250 for my ticket (to buy the extra miles). I would have gotten in at midnight on Sunday and then flown out at 7 am on Monday. Not ideal at all, but it would save me money.

I thought this through and then asked someone if I could get some advice. I laid it all out for them and then thought they would take their time in giving me an answer...nope. They got up and said, "Problem solved. I'll give you 10,000 miles!" I was honestly speechless. After I composed myself I immediately said that I couldn't accept the miles and what would they do then without those miles. Of course, something I have said before came back to haunt me. They said that those miles were the Lord's, not theirs to give. Wow - completely humbled by it! I not only got a FREE TICKET to the mainland, but I also get to spend time with my friends. Yes - this was totally a God-thing!

I will be saying this to Hawaii soon!

To give or not to give....

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So, it seems that there are several people who are trying to raise money for different reasons. I know some friends are trying to go to England and then Australia as missionaries. Another friend is going to Indonesia for close to a month. My dentist's office is raising money for children around the world. And then there's me. I too am trying to raise some money so I can head to Uganda and serve at Amani Baby Cottage. The question I'm posed with when someone has reached out to me and asked me to consider donating to them is to give or not to give financially. If God says give, who am I to say no.

I decided to give a little towards my friends going to England. I know God will provide my needs - in fact the money that I have in my bank account isn't actually mine, but His. Who am I to say that all of that is meant to be spent on me alone. I gave a little today and have received over 100% of that money back because a friend gave to my trip today. I stared at what she had placed in my hands and had no words. Tears immediately formed and I quickly breathed to try to get them to stop. I was so humbled that she would give so freely that amount. She knows me too well....as I was standing there not saying a word, she told me that she knew my immediate response was to give the money back to her. I had no words to that since it was absolutely true. I immediately thought of the now insignificant amount I had given earlier in the day and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Lord blessed me above and beyond what I thought possible today. 

God loves a cheerful giver....I am looking forward to seeing how God works in my friends' lives in England and then eventually in Australia. If I can be a part of spreading the gospel to the unreached people, count me in!!! When you feel the Spirit leading you to give, don't say no. Do it - you may not be blessed monetarily, but you will be blessed indeed.

The principle of 3's

So, I hear in interior design that the best thing to do is group items in 3's. Well, it seems like God followed that rule when it comes to cars and those that need one! Here's are two God-stories from some friends of mine...

Jake and Heidi are moving off island and needed to sell their car. They put it on craigslist and got a hit. (I don't know the exact details...but you'll get the point from here on out.) They said that they needed the car until a certain time...since they are on island until the end of this month. The guy looking at the car agreed to this timeline...which would leave Jake and Heidi without a car for several weeks. A friend of ours heard about this and talked with Jake about their need of a car. This friend and his wife are in the process of waiting for a lady to give birth to the child they are going to adopt. They would need to be on the mainland for an extended period of time after the child is born before they can bring him back to Hawaii. They offered Jake and Heidi the use of their car since they won't be here. Oh, and I believe this happened the very same day Jake met with the guy who bought their car. A God thing?! I think yes.

Beth lives in Waianae and drives to Mililani every day for work. She had an older Ford Escape that was getting 13 mpg. Needless to say, she was paying a pretty penny for gas...especially living here on Hawaii. While her parents were here, her dad suggested that she put her car on craigslist....which being the obedient daughter, she did :) She didn't think anyone would call her....but she got a call for the car the very next day. She hadn't been seriously looking to buy a car at this time either...so this could potentially leave her without a car. Well, she sold her car...with no idea how she would get around. Her landlord had an extra car that he keeps for his sister-in-law who works on island for several months out of the year. The day that Beth needed the car is the same day that the landlord's sister-in-law left island....and he graciously allowed her to borrow his car - which gets way better gas mileage than her SUV. Beth was hoping to have her dad help her look for a car, but that didn't happen. So, after a couple of weeks borrowing her car, she bought one with the help of her neighbor - who helped talk the guy down a lot! This car can potentially get 40 mpg....a HUGE change from what she had! A God thing?! I think yes.

The last you read I sold my car not knowing what I would do. A family in my church has a nanny who is off island right now. I knew she had a car...but didn't know if they would be using it or not. I swallowed my pride and ask them if I could borrow one of their cars for a while. They said they'd talk it over...this was Wednesday. If I could borrow a car, they would bring it on Sunday. My friends who bought my car used it on Sunday....and I was hoping to tell them they could keep it - and I could get rid of my insurance as soon as possible. Well, I'm officially DEBT FREE and am no longer paying insurance! The family brought the car and I'm able to use it...not sure how long yet. I actually got a lot more money back from my insurance than I thought I would...huge praise! God completely orchestrated that the nanny would be off island for a long period of time at the exact time that I would need a vehicle. Man - my God is awesome! A God thing?! I think yes!

Psalm 34:1 has been a verse I've been clinging to for the past several weeks: "I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth." No matter what the circumstance I should always be praising God! How can I not after what He has done not only in my life, but the lives of my friends! Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!

I have now raised over $1000 for my trip! I'm continually humbled by the generosity of others...so undeserving of it. Thank you to anyone who has given and who will give in the future. You are not only impacting my life, but the lives of those children in Uganda for good.