Getting closer!

It's just around the corner and I'm so excited. Flights are booked. We leave on Jan 26th (Wednesday). The team will fly home on Feb 7th (Monday), but Sarah and I have decided to stay 2 additional days in Nairobi and will fly home on Feb 9th. We will be gone 2 full weeks. Did I mention that I'm SOO excited?! I will miss Matt and the girls A LOT, but Matt will be home and grandparents will be helping out here at home. I'm planning on getting a cell phone from Verizon that I can be reached at easily and will be able to send / receive text messages pretty cheap. I just took my Typhoid pills this past week - 4 capsules taken every other day; and, I just got my malaria script filled. I start taking that 2 days before we leave and will take it daily until a week after returning home. Sarah and I still have to do a bit more research about where we will stay for 2 days and what we will do, but we figured (actually, Sarah really wanted to stay - and, it really made "sense" for me to stay too!) since we were there already, we might as well stay and explore just a little bit longer.

At our family Christmas

Lorraine, Miriam and Sarah

Immunizations...

I also went for my immunization shots - having my final exam for 200 hours massage school scheduled the next day, little did I know that wasn't going to happen! After 3 shots in both arms, they were much to sore to massage for a few days. Needless to say, I've still got to buckle down and get that final test done before the end of this year!

Meetings

Today we had another meeting about our trip. A couple of people talked to us today that went on a trip to this orphanage this past year - a dentist and his wife. They gave us some insight into what to pack, what to expect, etc. Both of them had a wonderful experience. It's hard to get a real feel for exactly what we'll be doing. The area / orphanage that we'll be going to (there is a team of about 15 people I think) has a doctor that comes in about once a month. My impression is that we will be basically running a clinic for kids in the orphanage and in the community and treating whatever we can. We all get 2 checked bags, which Ada Bible will use to pack medical supplies. All we can bring for our clothes, etc is our carry-on bag. Yes, it will be LIGHT packing. It will be their summer season when we are there -- between 80-90 degrees during the day; 70 degrees at night. Right now, as were are having snowy, cold dreary weather, that sounds simply heavenly!

Flights are being booked this week - but, it takes about 24 hours to get there. We have a connection from Grand Rapids to Detroit. Then, we have about an 8 hr flight to Amsterdam. From there, we have another 8 hr flight to Nairobi, Kenya. We'll stay there one night, then drive to our destination (about 2 hrs I think) in Denali (I think). Please forgive all the "I think" notes -- it's a little hard to know all the details when it is all being planned and organized by someone else!

Things I'm told - we will have no phone or internet. There will be a phone that the church sends along for emergencies. We will have good accomidations - private to semi-private rooms with bath. No hot water though. Cold showers - although, that might feel good after a warm day! On the day before we come home, we will have the oppertunity to go on a safari day trip out of Nairobi (and Sarah and I will for sure be going on that!). I'm told it is an amazing experience and I can not wait to go!

Immunizations

Today was my appointment at the health department. Usually, I'm really organized. But, for some reason, I've never been really organized with my immunizations. I guess I've always had to have an up-to-date record at my job and they let me know when I need to have any new shorts. So, I went there empty handed. But, I did call my work to have them fax the list over to the Health Dep't. I still had to get 3 shots today ... yellow fever, Hepatitis A and meningitis. I was given medication for Typhoid fever (which I might take this next week). And then, I need to see my Primary Doctor for the malaria medication. Then, I'm all set! It's hard to believe this is really happening! I'm so excited =)

Some pictures of the Mully Children's Family

The Mully Children's Family

Miriam and I have both always had a dream to go to Africa...

We wanted to share with you more about what has drawn us to The Mully Children's Family (MCF). MCF was founded by Dr. Ev. Charles and Ester Mulli. This was a wealthy family who were touched by the plight of children in difficult circumstances and gave up all they owned to care for destitute children. The organization was founded in 1989 and today MCF is one of the largest rehabilitation organizations for children in Africa. At the moment the homes care for more than 2000 children between the ages of 1 week to 24 years, both boys and girls.

Their target group is street children, orphaned children, children from juvenile remand homes and government rehabilitation centres, child labourers, children with disabilities, destitute mothers, child mothers, HIV/AIDS infected and affected children, and upgrading living conditions of widows living in rural Africa.

They have an amazing list of achievements and success stories...
* Over 7000 former street children, drug addicts, and the abandoned have graduated from MCF with high quality skills and education and are well integrated into society
* Charles and Esther Mulli were awarded the "Angel of Hope" award for their humanitarian work among the needy children of the world by World Vision International Canada in 2002
* On July 15, 2007, Mrs Esther Mulli was awarded the Heart of Africa award and named Woman of the Year!

We want to thank you for your prayers and support as we do our part to help the Mully Children's Family through this mission trip. http://www.mullychildrensfamily.org/

A mission trip to Africa

As long as I can remember I have wanted to go to Africa. I never knew when it would be. I just felt it in my heart. About a month ago, in the church bulletin, Matt saw the note about a mission trip being planned to Kenya, to an orphanage and Ada Bible (our church) was looking to put together a medical team to send over. Matt encouraged me to go to the information meeting. He knows that it's been a dream of mine. He said he could take it or leave it, and he'd be happy to stay home with the girls. So, I was almost giddy as I attended the information meeting. After getting home, I talked to Matt and then, while talking to Sarah, I said, "If only you lived here and could go too". As soon as I said it, I thought, why not ask. So, I did ask and found out that if there was room, they would take volunteers along. All I could think was that this would totally incredible - to share this amazing experience and adventure with my twin sister. Before I knew it, Sarah and I were both signed up and got the phone call that they wanted us on the team!!!

Excited!

We are both so excited to have the opportuntity to go on this trip - What an adventure to be able to share together!

Sarah and I are heading to Africa!

Travel Dates are set ... January 27, 2011 to February 7, 2011