I leave for Kenya in less than a month! The last month has been consumed with thoughts about what to pack and what to buy; my phone is filled with lists of medications, beauty supplies and incidentals I can't live without for a month. I began planning in earnest December 1, when I filled my travel bottle with shampoo. I've been using it ever since to make sure that it holds enough to get me thru a month of hair washing. - Something tells me that most shampoo sold in Kenya will not work well for hair with my texture - Since Christmas, there has been very little else to occupy my thoughts, so it might be fair to say that my packing planning has become obsessive. There may or may not be diagrams of my suitcase involved.
As my lists get checked off and stuff begins to make its way into my actual suitcase, the trip becomes more and more real. I'm starting to get a little nervous.
It sounds like this amazing, noble thing to journey half way across the world to provide healthcare for the poor, needy people of Kenya, but then I think about the reality of the situation. Honestly, I know how to take vital signs and administer medications, but I don't know that my fledgling nursing skills will change anybody's life. Instead, I believe I will be changed. Hopefully, I'll come home broadened and smarter, but also smaller, aware of how big the world really is and how narrow my horizons tend to be.
I feel so humbled and honored to have the chance to experience another country through the intimate lens of healthcare! I cannot wait for the adventure ahead of me!
"...to act justly, and to live mercy, and to walk humbly with your god." Micah 6:8
