Thursday, September 27, 2018

Mercy Ships Update 0.2 - Still in pre-flight planning mode

Scrubbing!



Hello All!

Did you know how hard it is to live a normal, confusing life, working your regular job, and concurrently gearing up to move all your material possessions across the country and THEN jump on a plane for another amazing move to Africa? I didn’t, and let me tell you, it’s tough! I did not realize - as I made my initial plans even four months ago - quite how much I had bitten off. However, though exhausted, I am so excited! This is definitely a time of stretching, learning and constantly facing my own weaknesses and needing to turn to my Savior’s strength.
My sister and her family are going through a few things lately, too, so while we would both rather be in easier circumstances, we are thankful to be able to understand and support each other. We were just talking about how even when you are in difficult circumstances, we also know that God will bring us to His joy and provisions in the end. But, that does not mean that it will be easy in the middle…
Right after Katie and I had one such conversation, I was listening to my Bible as I got ready for bed, and I “just happened” to be reading in Genesis about Abram coming to the Promise land for the first time. At this point, he was not even Abraham, he and Sarai did have the promise of a home and family (but no child yet), Abram had to rescue Lot, had lied about Sarai being his wife to the king of Egypt, and Sarai had just given Abram Hagar to bear him a son in her place – talk about a lot of crazy stuff going on! On our end, we know the story and that God does in fact provide Isaac, the Promise land and offspring to rival the number of the stars, but there is still so much ahead of Abram and Sarai. Nevertheless, God is faithful and he has given us his word so we can see his love, work and faithfulness in the lives of so many of his children that have come before us. For that I am thankful!
Other than thinking on the faithfulness of God and being a bit overwhelmed, I have some good news! First, things are lining up in place for my move back home to Idaho! As I mentioned in an earlier post, my lovely parents found me not only a great storage unit, but also the use of their good friend’s trailer from Grand American Piano! In early October, Mom and Dad will drive down to San Diego, visit with grand babies, and then move me back to Moscow. They are the best parents!
Second, on learning that Guinea is quite conservative, I have been sewing appropriate clothing for my trip. I like sewing and it is surprisingly rare to find such clothes ready-made. That task is about complete, so I can now move on to the “joys” of ... packing, finishing work at the hospital well and working on raising the rest of my financial support.
So, if you have been considering donating to my work with Mercy Ships, now is the time to do so! My flight to Conakry leaves on October 27 out of Seattle.

OR day crew in Benin 

Prayer requests:
1.   That I would have a good attitude at work and continue strong in caring for my patients. The scrub hats that mom and I made have sold well to my co-workers. I love seeing all the beautiful fabrics/hats in the hallways.  I pray that the hats will remind them of the Lord's goodness to themselves and to the people of Guinea.
2.   That my health insurance would be gracious and cover my Malarone malaria medication.    I had a reaction to the cheaper doxycycline last time, so I need to take this one.
3.   That my mom and dad would remain in good health. They are instrumental in my move and I really don’t want them to miss out on playing with the grand babies (my niece and nephew)!
4.   That I would be able to figure out my post-Mercy Ships flights – I have (another) amazing opportunity to go visit my cousins and some friends in Europe on my way back to the US.
5.   That God would continue to provide financial support for my trip to Conakry.  Having worked since I was about 13, there is a bit of panic knowing that I will be not be making money for up to 6 months!

Thank you all so much for reading this second missive! I am so thankful for all of you – you, your prayers and financial support. I'll keep you updated!

Much love,
Amaanda 




1 comment:

  1. Thanks, Ryan! When your kiddos are a bit bigger, you and Anna should come! You'd both be needed and there is a whole school here!

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