Africa at last!

Well, I made it bright and early Monday morning to the Dar Es Salaam airport. Lucky for me I had some in country contacts that I could call on. Dr. Logan inevitably ended up in a traffic jam from you-know-where trying to get to the airport to pick me. My friends, Merle and Claudia (missionaries that my hometown church sponsors) arranged for a friend of theirs, who drove a taxi, to pick me up after I had waited for 2 hours. Brad and his son and Bayona were able to call me through the series of taxi men at the airport. I had borrowed a phone to make the phone call and we all met up at the Golden Tulip hotel where I spent the night. I have taken pictures, but I have to find the cord that allows me to upload the pics to my computer. The hotel was like any modern hotel in the US. Good cool room, view of the ocean and best of all, a king size bed.  Once I was checked in, I took a great shower and then embarked into the great Dar. First and foremost I have a phone!!!! My BB won't work with an international sim card but this one does. When I get back to London, I can get a sim card there and be able to use it in London. I can call internationally very cheap with this phone, but it is mainly for the people here to get a hold of me and for me to get a hold of them. Getting a new phone was quite the process. You buy the phone then take it outside to a tent where this girl punched in a whole bunch of numbers into my phone and the VodaCom phone in her other hand to activate it. There were many people there at the tent trying to transfer money using their phone to other people. I have learned that you have to be quite pushy here. Then once it was activated, I had to go put credit on it. It actually went pretty quick considering. Then we went to the Toyota dealer to see about getting the air conditioning looked at in the truck. It stopped working. Keep in mind that it takes forever to get around in Dar. The traffic is unbelievable. I think Dr. Logan said it was like Houston traffic on steroids!! I have never been in anything this bad. After the Toyota dealer we were trying to get back to the hotel because I was utterly exhausted. We got stuck in this traffic jam that was absolutely unreal. We had busses trying to turn, motorcycles creeping in everywhere not to mention the bicycles and all the people on foot. Needless to say it took 2 hours to get not very far. 
I got back and promptly went to bed. So today I am starting the journey to Morogoro and Berega. I had breakfast at the hotel, which resembles any other continental hotel breakfast and am waiting for Bayona to return to pick me up. He said he would be here around 0930, we shall see!!!!
Rebecca

Eyes Wide Open

So a brief bit about my lay over in London. In an attempt to change terminals, I got on the wrong train which took me into London. Luckily only 15 minutes to Paddington Station, where I was politely instructed on how to get on the next train to turn around back to the airport. My luggage was a BEOTCH to lug around. That is the last time I take anything other then a suitcase on wheels. Once I was in the right terminal and checked into my flight with Qatar Airlines, I was soon schooled in the British airlines rules of checking bags. Yes you can check as many as you want, but if you are over a total weight of 23 kg, then we will SCREW YOU OVER!!!! I had no choice but to take it. I paid $529 for being 10kg overweight. Apparently this airline assumes that if you fly them then you have a connection to an oil pipeline and can afford whatever price they set. It didn't help any that i said it was for charity and that I could provide her with documentation. What choice did I have really? Those items had to get there. Oh I could have attempted to send it via cargo plane, but who knows where it would have ended up. I am the responsible person for those medications and getting them to the correct place. So, I am taking donations to defer that cost when I get back home. I am sure Hands4Africa will give you a tax receipt for your kind contribution to my bank account. Even though I am officially exhausted and trying to not fall asleep as I type this, I didn't lose my cool. I think I may have stuttered and stammered a bit when she told me how much, but I maintained composure. I did get to take a shower after all of that and I didn't have to rent a yotel capsule. If my layover was longer I would have cuz you get charged for 4 hours minimum. So that helped me feel refreshed and got the stink off of me. So lesson learned is that I will fly directly to TZ the next time and not change airlines. That way my bags can be checked clear through to the final destination. Luckily on this next part of my trip, I stay on the same airline and don't leave the airport!! 
On other news, people watching at an huge international airport such as this is quite interesting. I have seen women with all different kinds of head wraps from just a scarf around the head to nothing to a complete head to toe black burka where you can only see her eyes. There is also a multi faith prayer room here, which I have not seen before in an airport. I somehow don't feel like I minority here, even though I am in more ways then one. I guess one eventually gets used to that feeling when you are living in the middle of a place that forces you to be the minority. That's all for now.
Keep praying and wishing me luck.
Rebecca

The last one in the US

Ok, so I have packed and re-packed continually wondering do I have everything? To be honest, I have never been gone a whole month from this country. I know that I will be able to laundry, so why do I need so many clothes? I have this thing about having a pair of underwear for everyday for at least half the month. I don't know why, but I guess I just like clean underwear! Truthfully everything that I need is packed into a hiking backpack of my brother's and I can carry it all on because I also have this fear of lost luggage and wearing the same clothes 12 days in a row (again that clean underwear thing). One thing my short term mission experience has taught me, if you want to guarantee its arrival, carry it on. So, I am carrying on everything that I need or at least can do without for a few days if I have to. I do switch airlines in London, so I will have to recollect everything there. If it is lost at that point, then I will know it. I am sure that it will be ok and that everything I am bringing will eventually find its home. This is my first experience at checking something other then a suitcase, but supposedly this "sport locker" I bought at the recommendation of Brad Logan, will fit the checked luggage criteria. Amazon says it will. I managed to do pretty well at gathering up all the "requested" items for TZ, first and foremost, the medications for the hospital. 
I have no idea what is in store for me once I get there, but luckily Brad will be there to meet me and show me around. I really just want to deliver some babies and hold a few babies and think about all the good that Hands4Africa is trying to accomplish and how we can best do that. As I was making my journey to Phoenix yesterday, I drove through part of the Navajo Nation I hadn't seen (which is no surprise, since it is the size of West Virginia!) and this view was incredibly beautiful. Who knew that there was green things that grew amidst all the red dirt? Yet, mixed into the beautiful mesas and green things there was a landscape dotted with homes that were in shambles and communities that had limited access to resources. I couldn't help but wonder how what I was driving through would compare to where I was going in Africa? For the past two years, I have worked with the Navajo people and basically beat my head against the wall. While there is such a need for health education, comprehension and improving personal responsibility and accountability for health care, there is an equal and opposite greater force that keeps improvements from happening. The force comes in many forms, politics, individual willingness, and cultural barriers. Recently it has come to my attention that I may have a partner in crime (you know who you are!), who carries the same passion for improving the health and welfare of the Navajo people, mainly because they are his people. Maybe having someone who has dealt with these forces his entire life will help me figure how to actually do some good instead of putting a bandaid on the same wound over and over. Jobs, better access to good, nutritious food, better access to quality healthcare either on the rez or off, and creating opportunities for people to leave the rez for a higher education and be able to come back and make a difference are all things that are needed here in the U.S.
In Tanzania, I already know that progress will be slow, but the greatest difference is that the help is welcomed with open arms. The people there are practically crying out for help. I have been told that if the Americans come and say it will happen, then it will happen. I am not going there to serve up empty promises, but to make plans to fulfill these promises. To see mothers and infants not die due to the simple act of child birth (not that child birth is simple mind you) because they have good access to medical facilities to deliver safely, to see the death rate of children under the age of 5 become non-existant because we have improved sanitation and immunization rates, to see the poverty level improve because we have created jobs. 
While, my future is uncertain, my grandma told me this morning that as long as I continue to walk in the plans that God has laid before me, I am in the safest place that I can be. So with those words, I leave you my friends and will write again from Africa. Stay tuned for pictures. Thank you to everyone for your love, support, unending friendship, and patience in reading my blogs!
Love you all. 
Rebecca

A Decade in Reflection

As I sit here at the end of the day on my first day of my 30th year on Earth, I decided that it is time to reflect on this past decade and move forward. This past decade was full of many good things with a dash of challenges sprinkled throughout. I felt the excitement and joy of graduating from college and going on to a career that has been the only sure thing in my life. I have had many great experiences as a nurse and worked with many great people in a variety of environments. I feel as though I have grown mentally, emotionally, and spiritually through being a nurse. I have travelled the world and intend to keep traveling. I expanded my education with an advanced degree and look forward to the opportunities that await me with this knowledge. I have developed a most diverse circle of friends, both in Kansas and in Arizona (moving to another state was a first for me in my 20s as well). There were also a few friends that were lost this year and are watching me from above. I felt and gave love easily and dealt with the heartaches of that love gone bad. I experienced marriage and the significant pain of divorce. People have asked if I feel older and I say that I feel no different then yesterday and that I look forward to what the next decade brings. I am not afraid of growing older, I am just afraid of not using my time wisely for what God has planned for me. I know that I have become a more confident woman and not afraid to go for what I want in life and what I feel God wants for me. I feel as though the road is wide open in front of me just asking for me to drive on and that is exactly what I plan to do-Drive On!

Wine, Wine, Wine

So today I made, what I thought would be a fairly quick trip, to Cortez, CO where the nearest Walmart is located. I had a prescription to drop off for meds that I need to take before embarking on my great African adventure.  I didn't have anything else to do there, so I had lunch and then went to this winery that I had seen signs for on my previous trips. The road to the winery took me through some beautiful areas and I saw about 6 buffalo or maybe bison (don't really know the difference) chillin' in a big grassy pen.  That was an interesting site for sure. I finally made it to the Guy Drew winery after missing the turn off due to a broken down suburban sitting in front of the sign and met Guy and Ruth Drew. They own the vineyards and the wine is made right there on their property. Now, I have gone to some smaller vineyards in the past and have found the wines to be either really sweet or really dry, not so here. I had a great time trying all of their wines and talking with Ruth. I mentioned my up coming trip to Africa and she was excited for me. I also mentioned that my 30th birthday is on Wednesday and after I purchased 4 bottle of wine she through in an extra one for my birthday. So I have two bottle of a great rosea wine, one in the "sexy" bottle as she puts it and the other (the free one) in the "non-sexy, wrong" bottle. I told her that the wine is what is "sexy" not the bottle!!! I will definitely return there after my trip to share my stories and drink more wine. So, if you are ever in Cortez, Colorado stop in at this winery  and enjoy some of the best "homemade" wine I have tasted, better then what I have purchased at World Market, Safeway or from one of those "wine clubs".  Needless to say, my quick trip wasn't so quick!
Rebecca

Personal Responsibility

Forgive me friends as I take this opportunity to vent about something.  I don't really know who exactly reads my posts, so this may be more therapeutic for me then to actually have someone read it.  Here it goes. When I was growing up I was taught many things but the two of the more important things I was taught was to follow through on commitments and to take responsibility for my actions and decisions. I am often asked what do I exactly do out here on the Rez and depending on my audience, I give the actual answer that I work in the ER or something cynical.  This past week the notion of personal responsibility has resurfaced. I must preface this with the fact that there are people who genuinely come to the ER for emergency situation and need help. I must also point out that, like in every neighborhood, city and state, there are people out here who desperately lack resources to handle certain life changing health problems.  That being said, I would say that 90% of the people I see decide to not take personal responsibility for their decision and actions but instead choose to have an entitled mentality. I am in no means claiming to be an expert in the history between Native Americans and the "white man", but I do know that bad things were done to these people. This was many, many years ago and yes while the reservations do remain, I can tell you that the people here choose to stay. I even know of a few people who have left but for whatever reason decide to return despite the desperate lack of economic choices. On a Friday night, it is not my fault that you did not get you medications refilled before the pharmacy closed, it also not my responsibility to wave my magic wand to make your skin infection go away that you have made worse by not taking your diabetes medications and monitoring your blood sugar, it is also not the pediatrics department's fault that you did not bring your child in for the their school physical and now at the 11th hour you demand one, it is also not my fault that you continue to abuse alcohol and wonder why my team has to restrain you when you come to the ER blitzed out of your mind.  There are many reasons why conditions on most of the larger reservations are so bad and I can only surmise at may of them. But as a "white man" working on the inside but having an outside perspective I have to wonder why it is ok that only one grocery store is allowed on the reservation that makes prices be 3 times higher then other places, why is ok that the federal government provides "rez cell phones" but doesn't help to improve land lines, electricity and running water, why is ok that WIC allowed for so much high fat, high calorie food to be the basis of the food stamp program that has allowed for the obesity rate to be a ton times higher among Native Americans then other races (this is a fact I can prove), why is ok that girls as young as 13 get pregnant by men who are over 18 and this isn't seen as child abuse or statutory rape and why is it ok that nobody does anything about any of these problems? The fact of the matter is, that while I see the lack of personal responsibility on the individual level, I also see it out the township, service unit, tribe and even the national, Washington D.C. level.  It is an absurd concept that I get all worked up over the lack of individual responsibility when we as individuals do nothing to hold the powers above us responsible. The corruption is great on all levels as well. Maybe if we had elected a woman president of this country, the check book would have gotten balanced and the dollar would still be worth something. I am not trying to get into a political discussion or debate. I am just airing my thoughts. I came to AZ naively thinking that I could change things out here. The only thing that changed was MY life and not necessarily for the better. This is the brick wall that I hit my head against on a daily basis and why I am no longer focused on using my skills and knowledge to improve things in my own country. I am focused on helping a community on another continent help themselves.  These people truly have nothing and I have a feeling that my eyes are about to opened wide once again and this time I hope it is for the better.
Thanks for listening.
Rebecca

Mercies in Disguise

Ok, so it is my turn to finally put words on my blog. I have just been crazy busy, like everyone else. I went home (back to Kansas) a couple weekends ago and had a great time with my friends I had left behind and was able to check up on my parents and grandparents. My girlfriends and I have started a tradition of getting together for "girl's weekend" where we watch a Deeper Still video.  Beth Moore, Kay Arthur, and Priscilla Shirer preach God's Word in a way that reaches the deepest part of your soul and causes you to have one of those "ahah" moments. This weekend Priscilla preached on Ephesians 3:20-21 with the take away message that God can and will provide exceedingly and abundantly more then what we ask for and all we have to do is trust Him to do it. As we went around the room and shared the one or two things that we really wanted God to go overboard on, I realized that no matter how small something seemed in my life compared to someone else, God cared because it was important to me. Then I listened to Blessing by Laura Story (which I highly recommend looking up on itunes) and the words struck me. What if your blessings come through raindrops, what if your healing comes through tears, what if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You are near?  I realized how far I had come in my life in the last 6 months. I reached the lowest point in March and by the grace of God, two really great parents and a set of awesome friends, I have done a complete 180 degree turn. In 26 days I will embark on what is destined to be another great turning point in my life. I am going to Berega, Tanzania with the non-profit organization I have joined, Hands4Africa (hands4africa.org). This organization is dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of the people living in Berega.  It has one of the worst maternal and infant mortality rates in Africa. My job as the relief supply coordinator is to collect, order, beg, plead and borrow hospital supplies from the US to ship to Tanzania. This opportunity has me constantly thinking about all the mercies in disguise that have occurred in my life over the past 6-12 months. Even through all the darkness and rain, I now realize there was sunshine, it was just blocked briefly. So, take a listen to the song and try to realize all the mercies in disguise.