Yesterday was my birthday and it was the best one I've ever had!! I had a meeting with Dave from WorldVenture. He was the final "gatekeeper" as far as my departure clearance was concerned.
At the end of the meeting, he gave me clearance to buy my ticket to Lusaka. So I came home and did.
I'm leaving on Sunday, December 7th at 9:20 PM from Phoenix! Wheeeeee!!!
Can you believe it! It's finally here. I am soooo excited!
If time really were in a bottle, I'd pour it out right now. This waiting is killing me. I'm no good at it.
About 4 weeks ago, I requested departure clearance. Since that time, I've checked and double checked to make sure that all requirements have been met (they have been). I've prayed to get the clearance quickly; I've begged and pleaded with God. I've sat on my hands and tried to be patient. I'm not that good at being patient.
I cannot buy my ticket for Lusaka until I get official clearance. I understand why that's important. It's no good to run off half-cocked. But in the mean time, I'm watching ticket prices go up. I'm unable to make plans for commissioning services and going-away parties.
Everyone keeps telling me that it's all in God's time. I know that. And I know that His timing is perfect. That doesn't actually make the waiting any easier. Have I mentioned I'm not very good at that?
The October newsletter is here: click here
Wheee!! I finished reading The Scramble for Africa: White Man's Conquest for the Dark Continent and have completed the integration report for it. Basically, what did I learn and how will I use it in Zambia.
Yay, only two more books and reports to go. And they're both easy. Should have them done in the next 2-3 weeks! Yay!!!
Last night I watched P.O.V. - Critical Condition on PBS.
Roger Weisberg's Critical Condition is a powerful, eye-opening look at the health care crisis in America. In an election season when health care reform has become one of the nation's most hotly debated issues, Critical Condition lays out the human consequences of an increasingly expensive and inaccessible system. ...Weisberg allows ordinary hard-working Americans to tell their harrowing stories of battling critical illnesses without health insurance. Read the full synopsis here.
Click here to see the film in its entirety. I highly recommend it. It is about 85 minutes long, but incredibly eye-opening.
I don't know what the answer is to our health care crisis. Do we lower insurance premiums? Do we provide global health care for all Americans?
What I do know is that our system in horrible condition. This past summer, on two separate occasions, women died in hospital emergency rooms while others stoodby either helpless to do anything or indifferent to the suffering. Click here to watch the stories of Edith Rodriguez in Los Angeles and Esmin Green in New York City.
The uninsured (and some of us who are insured) are unable to pay for medications. So, many are forced to stop taking their medications regularly and become much sicker. We shuffle our uninsured from one medical facility to the next. Appointments are months out and we tell them to wait until it's "really bad" before we will provide any worthwhile remedy. We stick uninsured patients with bills that are often 2 1/2 times higher than what the insurance companies are billed. Is it any wonder that so many wait even to seek treatment? Doesn't the worry and stress about how they will pay for it make them even sicker?
I know that in many developing countries around the world, patients are required to pay for medical care before treatment begins. Here, we decry the inhumane and unjust treatment. We condemn the medical care and practices in those countries.
Is what we do here in our "sophisticated and indultrialized" nation so different? What happened to equality for all?
I can't believe it's already November. My birthday is next week and I had such great plans to be in Africa by then. Obviously, I'm still here. And I'm tired. My soul is tired.
I'm tired of keeping my house up so people can come look at it. Tired of making the bed every day. Tired of making sure there are no dishes in the sink. Tired of keeping the house tidy. It's been almost 3 weeks since anyone has looked, but "You never know!"
I am exhausted from living in this constant state of limbo. Never really able to make plans, desperately wanting to take a real vacation. Tired of being anxious and uncertain.
I am tired of being alone in my support raising. Not being able to share the load on a daily basis. Not being able to share the joys. I am tired of not really knowing what I'm doing in raising support. God seems to bring in a lot more when I just get out of the way.
Alright America, I've got an assignment for you. It turns out that I have a toxic multinodular goiter that is growing inward and pressing on my trachea. It is causing a significant amount of pain (imagine strep for 2 1/2 months now) and keeps me from doing fun things like singing in the choir or on the praise team.
So on July 11, I found out that I would have to have my thyroid surgically removed. That's gonna leave a mark ~ a 4-5 inch scar across the base of my neck to be exact. The surgery is scheduled for August 10 at NW Hospital here in Tucson. Recovery is expected to take at least 10 days. So I'm hoping to get back to work on the 20th.
So to see a picture of what my scar might look like and for your assignment, keep reading!
I have the best friends a girl could want! They are kind, smart, funny, warm, sensitive, supportive, and loyal. And above all - they are Godly women. Once a month, all of us get together at my house for a meal. Everyone brings something along. We all cook it together (and talk while we're cooking), then hang out on the patio when it's warm enough, or in the kitchen for dinner. The girls were here again last night. We made breakfast for dinner. Yum!
We've been doing this for over a year now. Some evenings we play board games. Sometimes we watch a movie. Other times we just talk. Conversations range from entertainment gossip to politics to religion. And through it all, our friendships have grown stronger and deeper. Throughout the past year, I've had many wonderful experiences with these women. I praise God for bringing every one of them into my life and I am so thankful for each of them!
I will miss them all when I move to Africa. Until then, I will enjoy every moment that I have with them. Once I get there, I will draw on the knowledge that these women support me in what I will be doing and understand my desire to be obedient to God in this calling.
Michael's ordination was fantastic!! I am so glad that I was able to be a part of it. Michael is well on his way to becoming a priest in the Charismatic Episcopal Church, something he's felt called to do for a long time. He is obvioulsy loved and supported by his church family and seminary friends. And since we're so far away him, I'm very glad for him.
Michael and Joshua lying prostrate before the bishop as those of us in the congregation pledged to uphold the ordinands in their new positions
Deacon Michael performing one of his duties
The Deacon and the sister
All of us
Mom and Deacon "Mikey the Great" (as the Priest's children call him) at the huge celebration
Wow!! Only two more sleeps before I leave for Africa! I can't wait! :-)
And I've still got a lot to do and the next two nights will undoubtedly be very short. However, thanks to the help of some friends, it's starting to look a little more manageable.
The other day, I asked a handy-man to help me with some work around the house. He said he wouldn't finish installing the shower door because I had already started. (Note to self - never start a handy-man project if you can't finish it. None of them will touch it with a 39 1/2-foot pole.) Then I asked him to paint one interior door and 8 door frames/jambs. He thought it was going to take 5 hours (at $25/hour). I thought it was a little steep, but willing to pay because I needed to get it done. When he came back the next day to get started, he told me he had thought it over, and it was really going to take 10 hours. Apparently, he's a very slow painter. I told him to take a hike.
I went back to the gyno today to get the full report on all the poking and prodding.
Everything came back normal!!
No cancer, no strange unpronounceable diseases. However, the doc did tell me I am a dysfunctional bleeder. (My appologies to all the men reading this.) Certainly perimenopausal. All curable by a little bit of hormone therapy and plenty of prayer.
I've certainly been aware of all of the prayer on my behalf. Throughout this whole experience, God has given me a great sense of peace about all of it.
Thanks, everyone, for praying and caring. I appreciate it all!
On Tuesday, after the call from the nurse at my doctor's office, I headed to the radiology clinic to pick up the barium sulfate suspension that I was to drink prior to the CT scan. The gal at the front desk gave me two containers of white liquid. She told me to put them in the fridge so they would taste better. Also, I was to drink one the night before and the second two hours prior to my appointment.
My appointment was at 8:30 AM. So two hours prior the appointment was 6:30 AM!!!! We all know that I am not a morning person, and I certainly have no idea what 6:30 AM looks like.
So at 6:30 on Thursday morning, I was working on the second tub of my orange creamsicle flavored liquid. And it tasted just like an orage creamsicle - except it had no stick. And it was pretty liquid-y. And it came in a plastic tub. And it kind of made my tongue feel funny. And really only vaguely reminded me of orange creamsicle. Sigh
Flying Mission is trying to fill a 40-foot shipping container with items that will be useful in our Zambia office as well as for other organizations in Zambia. My church has allowed me to put a half-sheet announcement in our Sunday bulletin which has generated some interest.
Today I got a message from our church secretary that someone had dropped some stuff off at the church office. So during my lunch break I went over to pick it up.
Turns out, this gentleman left us a new Gateway laptop, a gently used printer, a UPS (universal power supply) and some publishing software!!! Way cool!!!!
God certainly is good in His provisions!!!!!!
This morning I got a call from the nurse at my gyno's office. Turns out the ultrasound showed a complex cyst on my right ovary. Not exactly what I wanted to hear. But I reminded myself that "God Will Take Care of Me."
Today I had some more blood drawn. This time to rule out cancer. And I've got a CT scan on Thursday morning. What an exciting week!
Wheeee!!!!
Praise God for his promise in Jeremiah 29:11! God has a purpose for my life. I can bank on the promise that he wants me in Africa and I've got a job to do there. So this little problem will get taken care of. :-)
I'll keep you posted. Thanks for your prayers and well wishes!!
Earlier this week I made my final payment on all of my consumer debt!!!! I am finally free. What a marvelous feeling!
Carsten Michael is my favorite brother. Ok, he's my only brother (only sibling for that matter), and I think he's pretty darn cool.
Michael is quite talented when it comes to computers and such. This past week Carsten created a new template for me to use for my prayer/news letters. He created a listserv so that people can add/remove themselves from this list. I like that feature. It provides people the opportunity to unsubscribe if they wish, without the awkwardness of having to ask the letter sender to do it. :-)
Additionally, Carsten made some updates to my blog site. You'll notice on the right hand side of the page, that he has updated a number of the links, added some more blogs of note, and moved all of those links up towards the top of the page. From here you can now access links to Flying Mission and World Venture. You can also access the link to subscribe yourself to my prayer/newsletter.
I'm currently accepting suggestions for name changes to the letter(s). If you have any ideas, please feel free to post them here or e-mail me with your suggestions.
So I'm nearly done working on my application for World Venture. God keeps encouraging me in the process and confirming for me that I'm moving in the right direction.
However, I've run into a snag. I seem to be stuck on writing the papers regarding my doctrinal statement and my autobiography. I have some incredible writers block.
Do you see the great irony here? For over eight years, I was an English/writing teacher! I should be able to whip these suckers out without any trouble. I'm only about half way done with my doctrinal statement. I know what I believe and I can typically back it up. Just can't seem to get it on paper right now. So I'm taking Tuesday off to finish up that paper.
The doctrinal statement needs to be reviewed with my pastor on Wednesday afternoon. I told him I would e-mail it to him on Tuesday night after I was done. The bio is due no later than Sunday.
Please pray that I will find the focus I need to complete these assignments and the appropriate words to actually say what I mean.
Another sunny Saturday and I was planning on getting a lot of work done at the office. No phone calls, no e-mails. Just me and my computer cranking out nastygrams.
When I got there, around 11:30 AM, I found the garbage can lid scattered across the floor in pieces. Hmm, odd. Our cleaning lady would never do that. I walked into my office and sensed something was wrong. It took me a moment to realize what was going on.
So I did try the chocolate again - with the same result. It's still making me sick! :-D
All of the chocolate, most of the one-pound bar of chocolate and about half the tub of TJ's mini peanut butter cups, is still in the bottom drawer of my desk. Not sure why I'm keeping it around, but can't quite get myself to throw it out yet.
Any one who's ever seen me knows I have a food addiction. Oh, I could try to blame it solely on the Candidadis, but I'm sure there's more to it than that. I've become so tired of the cravings for foods that harm my body and make me sicker, and yet, I've continued to eat them: any wheat product, chocolate, caffeine, dairy, etc. (If it's fun, or easy to prepare/procure, then it's on my do not eat list.)
I've had a headache for about 10 days now. The intensity varies, but it never completely goes away. I've been to my chiropractor a couple of times. I've had some folks pray over me at work and at church. (It's great to have friends/co-workers like that.) Of course, I've done a lot of praying myself and taken fists full of Excedrin. I'm surprised my liver hasn't fallen out of my body yet. Today I went to the pool at my gym, and bobbing around in the water took some of the pressure and pain off my head.
The trouble with the headache is that it is so hard for me to concentrate on my work and I contantly feel exhausted from it. I tend to work at about 50% of my normal speed.
I'm not sure what's going on. But I've thought it through, and I'm sure I'd be okay without the headache at this point. ;-) So any and all prayers on my behalf in that regard would be greatly appreciated.
Headaches suck! :-(