Progress....

So a lot has happened since my last blog.... As most of you know, when traveling out of the country you often have to get vaccines and medications to protect yourself from diseases that you may not normally come in contact with.  I went for my annual check up and received my Hep A and Tetanus vaccines.  I also requested the Typhoid vaccine.  I didn't realize that this can be taken orally over a week period.  I was given a prescription for the vaccine.  This happened the beginning of December.  I decided to hold onto the prescription and have it filled over my Christmas break just in case the vaccine made me sick. Well on Christmas Eve my son was diagnosed with Strep Throat.  I decided to go ahead and pick up the Typhoid vaccine along with his antibiotic for the strep.  I knew that his medication needed to be refrigerated so when I got home I immediately put his medication in the refrigerator and put my bag with my vaccine on the kitchen counter. I then also developed Strep and decided to hold off on my vaccine until I was over my illness.  I finally went back to take my medication a few weeks later.  I took the small box out of the pharmacy paper bag and started to open the box when I realized that this medication should be refrigerated as well.  Ugh....  Did I mention that this vaccine is NOT covered by insurance and costs around $60-70.  So... I admitted my mistake and was given another prescription for the vaccine and followed directions this time.  Finally, I am vaccinated against Typhoid as well.  I will start the medication for Malaria a week before I leave for Haiti.

As for the fundraising......THE LORD HAS PROVIDED!!!!  Through my amazing family and RPA family, God made it possible for me to pay for my plane ticket and what I owed Mission Of Hope by the end of December.  I also have some money left over that will go towards the medical supplies and food that we will be carrying with us.  We have an extensive list of medications, medical supplies and food that we will need to carry with us to help run the mobile clinic. Over the last couple months Dr. Parkerson and I have looked at different stores to compare prices on the medications.  It looks like the total cost of the supplies will be more than we originally thought.  But God is in control and he is handling it.  Dr. Parkerson and I are both involved with a Woman's bible study at church.  They have made our trip their mission project for this session.  Last week they passed around a sign-up sheet for the medical supplies and the wonderful ladies of this group will be bringing in medications and supplies over the next 3 weeks.
He also used our RPA family again.  The clinical staff had a successful bake sale on Friday to raise money for the medical supplies.  I was brought to tears by the love and support shown by the staff. Nurses stayed up late on Thursday night to bake, woke up early to bake Friday morning, came in on their day off to deliver goodies, juggled being moms and wives with making decorations and baking. People went out of their way to go by the bank or check their accounts to be able to donate.  All dealing with the stress that comes with our daily lives.  Despite the road blocks, including a power outage (makes it hard to bake when your oven doesn't work), the bake sale was a huge success.  I am so grateful for this amazing group of people and their generosity.

 I was blown away by all the details...Sloan even wrote a poem and put my picture on the plane!

                                               I loved all these sayings on the donation jar.

                               Just a small group of the ladies that contributed to the bake sale

                                                              Dr. Parkerson and I

Spiritually, the Lord is still working on me.  He is making progress though.  As the trip is quickly approaching I am frantically trying to prepare.  I have been reading blogs and books trying to understand the conditions.  I have been making flash cards of certain diseases that we will most likely see.  I have been trying to learn some Creole - it's pretty funny hearing a country girl trying to say Bonjou or Tre byen, mesi. On a side note - one of our physician's speaks French and when he heard me say Bonjou he laughed and said "I hope they don't say it like that." He then referred me to a medical translator app....he knew there was no hope for me...LOL.
As I try to learn all this, my confidence is quickly wavering.  I signed up for a medical mission trip because medicine is "what I know."  In the first blog I explained that I was hesitant to do a mission trip that involved building because I didn't know how to do those things.  Well I am quickly learning that medical care in Haiti is going to be completely different from the medical care that I practice here in North Raleigh. In our bible study we are studying "Bad Girls of the Bible.." by Liz Curtis Higgs.  Last week we studied Eve and how she ate the fruit because she wanted "knowledge", "to be like God" or in other words " to be in control."  We also learned that Satan will get to us through our weak spots which for women are usually  "physical, emotional and spiritual in nature."  I am learning that Satan can lead us into bad situations or, in my case, keep us from good things by our desire to be in control.  I have avoided doing God's work because of my insecurities.  I have a need to be in control, to know what to expect, to know exactly what to do.  I have thought several times over the past few months that I have made a mistake by agreeing to go on this trip to Haiti because I don't know what to expect or how I am going to treat these people.  I keep forgetting to put my trust in God.  I am trying to put my trust in myself and my own earthly skills.  God is The Great Physician. He is working through us.  He is not relying on our skills but our trust in Him.
Please pray for me.  Pray that my trust in God will continue to grow.