Practice Adventure

30 Nov 2010

  Just when it looked like there was part of a week to breathe in, opportunity knocked.....or flashed it's lights and honked.  There is an amazing ambulance sitting in the parking lot of church that has been donated to Footprints Missions for the work in Sierra Leone.  In order to ship it, maybe in time to have it their for our visit, it needs to be transported to Atlanta, GA.  Now, who has the time and spirit for a road trip as Christmas approaches??  Well, Sue Stack and I do!  At least we do now as we shuffle schedules and find a way to embrace this chance to assist the process of helping others.  It is clear and humbling how my choices affect the lives of others.  Because I choose to be gone, Steve, especially,  has added responsibility.  And he supports this effort without complaint.  What a guy. 

So many details I don't know as I pack a carry on bag for the return flight.   Who do we meet to hand over the ambulance?  What papers do we need so that it all goes smoothly?  Is there anything I am supposed to do here before I go?  Is there really a special switch to turn off the battery?  Where?  What if we break down?  And.... can we turn on the lights and drive fast????  Please?????  Dean Wilson should answer all these questions tomorrow afternoon.  (should we ask him about the siren?  or is this a case of 'better to ask for forgiveness than permission'???)  Then we're on our own.  Makes me feel like a non-swimmer standing on the diving board knowing I'm going to jump in --and drive this over-grown van to a place I don't know and send it to a place I have never been. 
Ticket-less travel has me feeling a little edgy too.  Did I click all the right buttons when I purchased the tickets on line?  Will they really know that I have a spot on that plane just by giving them my name?  I don't think I've ever flown one way before.  How early do I really HAVE to be at the airport?  Will I make it back for Ben and Teri's wedding??  And....what to do if I get chosen for one of those intimate scans?  Do I say "thank you" for that???  So, so many questions.

The part of me that wants to panic is soothed by the giddiness I feel at knowing that Sue Stack is in this with me.  She isn't going to Africa in January, but she has the heart of a missionary and the spunk of a Yellowstone geyser. I am so thankful for her continual sense of adventure that allows her to jump with me in this, and her capable and supportive family that sends her without guilt. 

A few details I do know:  we will drive my car to the Flint Airport so we have wheels upon our return.  We will take a little bit longer route (about 1 hour) to go via Anderson (to briefly see my 'adopted' parents and Sage) and Nashville where we will spend the night with some friends of mine....hence, no hotel cost, but lots of catching up!!  On Friday, we will get the ambulance where it needs to go in Atlanta, then stay with friends of Sue (again, free digs!).  By leaving Saturday morning we save money on the tickets, and we allow more time for any glitches in the transfer on Friday.  On paper, at least, this all seems quite smooth.  I look forward to relating the wonderful experiences that await us.  Already I am thankful for the way this has dovetailed into life.  And I am grateful that you will be praying for us as we travel and do our best at serving the cause of Love. 

        So is this what always happens in adventure?  It begins with fears and questions and ends with gratitude as blessings and provisions are revealed.  For all of us.....I sure hope so.
dbw

November 26, 2010 and so it begins....

I went to the meeting in September to listen politely to the plans about going to Sierra Leone knowing full well that with 2 kids in college the chances of me going to Africa were slim to none.  Stephanie Benn was more than welcoming... she clearly has ownership in this event, and her enthusiasm was charming, if not contagious.  When she quizzed me on my interest level I explained the obvious: lack of funds.  However, I mentioned that if I were to go I had considered selling ‘subscriptions’ to my journal.  This means I would be working for anyone interested in following the trip: I get help getting there, they get help being glad they’re here!  At 100 dollars per subscription, I joked, I would only need to find 30 people to employ me.  “I’ll be your first customer” she immediately interrupted.  I laughed, quickly pondered if I knew 29 more easy marks...I mean generous people, said thanks, and left. 

The following day I was walking down the mall in Lansing after an appointment with a specialist who works on the shoulder I wrenched last year when my cell phone chimed..  I was thanked for being at the Africa meeting (‘no problem’) and comforted for having two kids in college (‘yes, but I’m glad that’s where they are...’) and then offered help to pay for my plane ticket (excuse me??)  The biggest cost of the excursion is airfare.  The biggest reason for me not to go is the cost of the airfare. 
Somewhere in the cosmos I heard a door slam shut.

Behind that door danced my excuses for staying in Alma in my chaotic, but familiar world. The house is never clean enough, the errands are never finished, the dog has never learned to feed and water herself....  I am helpful if not necessary here in my little space in mid-Michigan.   I thought of the pictures of the hot...not just hot, but drenched in sweat, workers from the last trip and imagined myself negotiating between hot flashes of my own and heat waves of the African climate.  I had SAID I would like to go on this trip, but there are a million reasons why I might be a little relieved if I didn’t get to: no vaccinations that might have creepy side effects, no figuring out the finances, no 14 hour butt cracking plane ride (oh, wait... .), no having my heart broken by lives with less stuff and more joy than I usually manage on a day to day basis.  In short, no risk.     But there seems to be some purpose for me to go and discover.  It won’t involve surgical tools, but maybe a pen and paper to take slices of each day and share them with others.  Maybe I’ll clean up after the skilled medical team, or help dispense medicines.  Maybe I’ll miraculously speak the language and be able to offer comfort to those in need of it....  I’ll aim for that lofty ideal: the transcendence of the language barrier.  I’ll communicate to you, my beloved family and friends and to them, my soon to be loved African family and friends as best I can and trust God to transcend whatever barriers need to be overcome.