I'm not sure what it's like for most parents, but sitting down and deciding the future of your children, should anything happen to you, is rather difficult! It's hard to admit for one second that they might actually have to continue on with life, without you, at such a young age. Erik and I have put off writing wills for several years now, but decided it was an important part of preparing for our trip to Africa.
Luckily, we had previously discussed who we would like to take our children if something were to happen to us, so there was not too much to discus. I am thankful for a good friend who is a lawyer and helped us through the will writing process. There is a sense of peace knowing that our babies will be taken care of, if anything were to happen while we are away. Jehovah Jireh - the Lord will provide.
Another thing we crossed off the list: immunizations! The only thing worse than getting a shot - is getting multiple shots. My left arm was so sore after all the shots I got, I could hardly lift Torsten the next day! Erik and I got our immunizations at the travel clinic, who did a marvelous job educating us on the country we are going to and the illnesses and diseases that are in that area. It was eye opening to hear about all the sickness other countries deal with and, often, have no means to protect themselves against. I am so thankful to live in a fairly healthy country with ways to protect ourselves and our children against many diseases. It is amazing to have the means to also further protect ourselves against other diseases when venturing to other countries. The recommended immunizations to enter into the Congo are Yellow Fever (required), Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Typhoid, Polio, Tetanus/Diphtheria. and Malaria Prophylaxis (pill form). I'm hoping I don't have to get that many shots at once again for a long time! Luckily, most of the vaccinations we received will last a while!
Another important step in making our trip official was obtaining visas to get into the country. Visas are required for everyone traveling to the Republic of Congo. We suspected a hold up over Christmas because the visa office was scheduled to shut down for the holidays, but we received our visas in plenty of time - Jehovah Jireh. It was fun to get something new stamped in my passport!
Everything else is coming together, too. I have spent the majority of the last week putting together a binder to leave with my parents for our children. It has every detail of their lives documented.... daily schedules and routines, school and bus information, doctor and insurance information, food and allergy information, church information, directions and maps for anywhere they'd need to go, and a list of people living close who my parents could contact if they have an emergency or need help for any reason.
Next up on our list will be trying to figure out how to fit everything we need into four, 50 pound bags. It might prove rather difficult seeing as though we are transporting some heavy items for the hospital and also packing some things for the missionaries there. However, I have no doubt that the Lord will provide again, just as He has through this whole planning process. Even from the day we had the idea to go over to Africa for one of Erik's rotations, to the recommendation to go through Samaritan's Purse/World Medical Missions and our work with them, receiving our visas with plenty of time to spare, having all the vaccinations available to us here (and not passing out while receiving them!). God has provided for us. My un-explainable peace about our trip comes from the proof of God's hand over and over and over again.
Jehovah Jireh - the Lord will provide.
I have to tell you, while I was taking the malaria medicine I would have crazy, twilight zone hallucinations--during all of our safaris I thought we were looking for dinosaurs! HA!
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