I am just about to board my 11 hour flight from LAX to London then a 7 hour layoveand a 10 hour flight to Addis Ababa Ethiopia then another 2 hour flight to Mekele...right where I was 7 months ago on another Op Smile Mission J
It wasn’t in my plan but it seems it was in “the Masters Plan”…here is the story
I wanted to go on another Op Smile mission in the spring. I knew my window of opportunity was in May after the opening/activation of all the new services at CHOC because of my responsibilities there that would require my presence thru April & before Sarah’s Graduation events in June. So in January I put in availability for May missions that I thought I would enjoy: a few in South America knowing that would be “easy travel”, also Vietnam as I heard in there you stay in 5 star hotels & they treat you like royalty & Russia & Egypt as I thought those places sounded interesting. Really though it was all about what missions were occurring in May.
I got a few offers to go on missions in March as there were several occurring this month but I had to turn them down. Then I started getting nervous that I wouldn’t get on a spring mission in May so the beginning of Feb. I sent some emails to a few of the coordinators I knew about the missions I had “made myself available for” & still not much of a response. I thought oh well maybe I will have to wait until the summer & see what missions were happening then.
On Feb 18th I got an email from a new program coordinator saying I was referred to her by Sara (a darling coordinator I was with in Bolivia & Ethiopia) & that Sara said I was the Recovery Room Nurse she needed for her 1 remaining spot on the Mekele team as I had been there & could be a leader for the Recovery Room team. Perhaps that was true but I saw & didn’t sign up for the Mekele mission – I REALLY didn’t want to go back to Ethiopia…that was by far my most challenging mission….the travel is brutal, there is no internet on site & limited cell service so no communication with home, the accommodations not so great (guards with machine guns are near the rooms), can’t drink the water & I didn’t eat the food, it borders Sudan, Yemen & Somalia – those are places they talk about in the news because bad stuff happens there, no flushing toilets even at “the hospital” & you may recall my camera was stolen there. Yep no love in my heart for Ethiopia.
I did LOVE the kids & the humble people who literally have nothing but to me it was a one-time experience….
So I sat on the invitation for a few days which is unheard of – when a mission opportunity comes up you say yes as there are hundreds of nurses waiting to get on missions….finally I looked at our family calendar for things that might not work with those dates & when I realized it was Sarah’s Senior Prom I thought “I can’t miss that” so I asked Sarah what she thought – her response “go mom they need you more than me”. I mentioned it to Doug & he asked how long it would be I said 2 weeks & he said we’ve been fine before for 2 weeks - GO, then at a family mtg with everyone I brought it up & they ALL said GO….Kelli would be home for Sarah & Prom, Ryan & Kya would be here too & Kimmi is always supportive. I REALLY think I was waiting for someone to say “No don’t go” but it didn’t happen.
Then I thought about CHOC – is that gonna be okay for me to be gone…and when I looked at my calendar those exact dates (within a few days) I had already blocked for vacation back last June when because of the tower project we had to schedule all our potential time off a year in advance. We were considering a spring family trip so I blocked that time….really there was nothing stopping me at CHOC????
What about my store…how would that work…I do scheduling one week & payroll the next & would miss one week of each - again they have done it before & Kelli would be here to be the Timeless treasures back up….
Hmmm I had stalled all I could & needed to give an answer so I said Yes – half heartedly knowing an Op Smile friend of mine wanted to go to Ethiopia & was “waitlisted” as a Recovery Room Nurse so if I backed out she would go & it would all be okay. I was still looking for a reason NOT TO GO…I even re-emailed some of the coordinators I know about a few other missions in May looking for a “better option” & I didn’t even get any replies??? I really didn’t want to go back to Ethiopia that much. A week after saying yes I was still on the fence. The thought came to me – do you really want to use your PTO – wouldn’t you rather just go on a relaxing vacation – I am always so busy & doing so much I deserve a relaxing vacation???. I ruminated on that for a day & then had the thought “really Nancy its not an either/or situation you could do both”. Again not the roadblock I was looking for.
Sat March 2nd I was thinking UGHHH We have some financial challenges right now how can I “justify” spending about $1000 on a mission – the team fee is $500, Visas can be another $100-200 & then just random $$$....maybe that was what would stop me. The next day at church a dear sweet older woman came up to me (she is someone who I love & who always tells me she wants to know when I am going on missions because she wants to support me in doing the hard things she can no longer do). She asked me when I was going again – it was my moment of truth….I very nonchalantly said “well I am thinking of going back to Ethiopia in May” and she immediately said “Great I want to give you $500 to help support your service” & she pulled out her checkbook & started to write a check….I instantly became very emotional & I am again as I type this…she was basically offering to pay my “team fee”, without even knowing it. She by that act unknowingly removed the last barrier I was putting up and it became perfectly clear to me….I am supposed to go back to Ethiopia….I don’t know why, I would still rather go to a new, nicer more comfortable mission site but these missions have never been about me – they have always been about going where I am needed or “supposed to go”.
Over the last month or so I have had many experiences that have confirmed to me that I am supposed to be on this mission and as I prepare to board I I getting excited to go on another mission & change children’s lives one smile at a time J. I have realized there are some benefits to returning to a mission site…I know exactly what I am getting into J, I LOVED the people, the needs there are tremendous, and there is not any part of me that doubts Mekele Ethiopia is where I am to serve again & next. If I needed an added confirmation I got 2 emails yesterday saying the other 2 missions I was trying to get on in May have both been canceled….Egypt because of unrest in the area & Russia because the hospital is not supporting the timing of that mission as planned.
So off I go again….I will update you as I arrive & again ask for your prayers, good thoughts, positive vibes & those who are local to keep an eye on my family – they are always fine but I still worry…
Lots of Love!
Nancy
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