- do not swim in fresh water (there are parasites)
- do not go near small mammals (rabies)
- drink ONLY bottled or purified water (NO ice allowed)
- take "insect precautions" (lots of diseases come from mosquitoes)
- wear sunscreen

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." --Anne Frank
Over the seven-week break this summer, I was having that "what-am-I-going-to-do-after-graduation" discussion with my mom. I expressed that I did not just want to sit around and work a dead-end job before I start teaching in the fall. We discussed some options, and I began looking for an adventure.
A few weeks later, I was reading in our little community newspaper, The Holladay-Cottonwood Journal, about how the cast and crew of "Signing Time" (sign language videos for kids) went to Africa to meet and serve the Deaf community of students in Ghana. They went with a program called Signs of Hope International. I casually looked up the listed website.
I watched the video and thought about it. I read the testimonials and thought about it. I looked at the pictures and thought about it. I printed out a mission application and thought about it.
Needless to say, I applied. The application process was interesting (and a little stressful: I still don't know my blood type). They called for a phone interview. I waited. And hoped.
Then, they called to tell me I had been accepted! And now I am going to Africa in May to teach in a primary school for the Deaf. Thrilling! Frightening! Exciting! And let me say this: Heavenly Father answers prayers.
Now all I have to worry about is money and malaria. Africa! Drums. Baboons. Teaching. Students. Sign Language. I am just amazed.
4 comments:
I can't stand shots. I have nightmares when I have to go to the doctor (or the dentist) and get shots. So I am feeling for you on the shot thing but...I do not want you to get any diseases or bugs or parasites so "shots away!"
BRFB POD etc.
Mom
brynn. the last time the doctor told me he was going to test me for mono, I burst into tears in UNDER 10 SECONDS. They stole my blood and I didn't even have mono. I was crying before he ever left the room. I don't do needles well.
Is your arm sore?! I'm getting so excited for you! And I second the sunscreen thing...
She's tough, didn't even cry. She's gonna be great at showering with a bucket, drinking water with cooties in it, and enjoying food of unknown origin. She's in this for the right reasons and I know she'll do whatever it takes.
Post a Comment