Sweet like honey

I was at the river outside of Cottage Grove with my brother and cousins two days ago in an attempt to escape the heat that has so recently hit the Eugene area. It was such a fun time of jumping off the rocks, swimming and laughter. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there as we joked and jeered one another.

As I was sitting there with my uncle, he asked me how I was doing with everything. Was I getting excited? And so I tried to explain where I am... This is a very sweet time. It is summer in Oregon, which I love thoroughly. But it is also such a season of soaking for me. Soaking up every last ounce of laughter from my siblings, hugs from friends, tastes of fresh produce and smells of familiar places. Soaking up every blessing and realizing the ones I habitually take for granted. And I find myself also in a place where I am absolutely and utterly excited to be there, fulfilling a longing and deep desire I have grown so accustomed to in the past months. However, I am also incredibly blessed and grateful for all that is happening here. I have been keenly aware of opportunities to be around family and friends here, and I have really enjoyed those times. I have had a lot of just plain FUN lately... So I would say that I am really just in this thick, sweet place. Much like cooled honey as it covers a piece of warm cornbread. It slowly pours out over the bread, and thoroughly coats the surface with its naturally, perfectly sweet self, and it possesses a thickness that is unequaled by anything else. Smoothly, sweetly and thickly it covers the bread, making the whole dish that much better.

Sweet like honey... That is this time...

A month away

Familiar smells return me to another place. 

As I remember, a slight smile crosses my face.

A mounting expectancy fills each day,

relying on One to pave the way.

An inexpressible joy makes my heart leap.

Though a sobriety in these days I must keep.

A place that served as a foretaste,

Now is the reality with which I'm faced.

Never before have I had such peace. 

I know that this LOVE cannot cease.

                                                - JAT

Vaccinations and malaria pills

I went to the travel doctor yesterday. I honestly expected to have to spend a lot of money on the shots and pills, but I ended up only have to get one shot and buying the typhoid pills and malaria medicine. Still $205 worth of medicine, but only one needle stick so I am grateful.

When I stop and think about that, however, it messes with me a little bit. $205 is not a small amount of money. Yes it could have been more, but I was just thinking about how that would feel if I had no means of supporting myself and had a greater chance of getting those diseases I got immunized against. What if this weren't for an upcoming trip, but instead for my life, of for the life of a loved one? To me, the price is one to pay as I set out on this journey. One that is included, just like the cost of the airline tickets. But what if that were not the reason I needed the vaccine or the malaria medicine? Considering that the average Rwandan family makes under $200 a year, I know exactly what that would do to me. Exactly how that would feel. Discouraging. Insurmountable. Hopeless. 

And the sad truth is that there are thousands of people who die every year from the diseases I just got vaccinated for. Thousands of people, probably millions of people, who die of PREVENTABLE diseases every year. 

It begs the question, why? Is it just because I was born here and they were born there? Because I live in a country that is prosperous and blessed and they live in an impoverished and developing one? Why does that matter? Is my life worth more than those? Should my life be worth any more than the 5 year old Ethiopian child who died today of malaria, possibly without anyone knowing his name? Or is my life worth any more than the daughter of a prostitute who is dying of AIDS, whose mother is only trying to provide (by whatever means) for her children? Why can they not receive medical care also? Why is the price so high?

I have worked in health care here and I can see that the price is too much. The price for health care in the U.S. is huge. But what is worse than that is that the price is great around the world, in countries without programs and things in place to help those who can't afford to be treated. Preventable, treatable diseases killing children. That messes with me. Makes me wonder what does the price tag on those lives say? And who decides?

The reason...

The reason for this blog is to update friends, family and anyone else who would like to know about my experiences and adventures while in Rwanda, Africa. I am going because last October I joined a team of ten other people from my church on a mission trip to Rwanda, East Africa. We spent 11 days in the country, being sent from Jubilee World Outreach, as we partnered with Food for the Hungry to help build a house for a needy family, conduct VBS for school aged children, and purchase five cows for needy families in the community of Kayenzi. As you can imagine the trip was a life changing experience for me, and opened up a part of my heart I had only guessed existed before. Upon returning to the U.S. I felt a deep conviction to return to Rwanda. Under the wise counsel of a few trusted mentors I waited to make any decisions, allowing my heart to settle and emotions to stabilize. However, after three months of prayer, waiting and resting, the urge was still on my heart, and had increased. I began to research the country at this point, investigating what I might be able to do there. I had seen such hope, promise and potential in the small East African country, but I had also witnessed an immense physical poverty. In a country where a whole generation seems to be missing due to the 1994 Genocide, there is an infrastructure that is being rebuilt, and simple things we take for granted here in the U.S. that are not available there. There are thousands of orphans, due to the Genocide and the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is effecting much of Africa, as well. So I found myself asking the questions, where would I start? How could I possibly help? And the only answer that came was to go and love. However that plays out, go and show God's unfailing love to the people there. 
So it was with a strong conviction, burning ache to help, and possibly a little bit of child-like faith in my heart, I purchased a plane ticket at the beginning of June and will be leaving to return to Rwanda on August 25th. As a U.S. citizen I can be in the country for 90 days without needing a visa, so I will be staying in Rwanda until the middle of November. At first it was my intention to obtain a job in Rwanda and stay for a longer period of time, however, at this time that door has not been opened, thus the need for a return flight. When I first arrive I will be spending some time in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, to visit with friends I met in October and also to seek out more of God's plan for me while I am there. I will be staying with a friend from Eugene, Adrienne, and her family. My heart's desire is to somehow serve, in the name of the Lord, this country. Though I don't know exactly how it will look yet, I have a faith that doors will be opened and purpose will follow.