to africa

Twenty four and counting.
I suppose I should describe a little background to this trip, so perhaps it'll make a little sense:
Five years ago I went to India. I think mostly it was a thirst for adventure, but also a desire to do something different with my life without knowing exactly what that was. It was in India saw extreme poverty; naked, dirty, and staggering. I saw leprosy, a disease mostly eradicated here in the U.S. but extremely prevalent there. And then out of that overflowing pool of stark poverty and curable disease, I saw a generosity that humiliated me.
I guess the experience has never left me. It's definitely been a fuel in my desire to study medicine and a large influence in my perspective of health care, poverty, wealth, and what it means to have a 'successful life.'
So I started to study something that could possibly be used to make a practical, lasting effect on the world and the people who live in it: nursing. There were many times I honestly didn't know if I was going to make it all the way through school(it was hard as hell), but there were dreams I had that really drove me on through the finish line (besides my mom's unending coaching, lots of prayer and loads of grace).

One image I couldn't get out of my mind was a sick baby who just needed some fluids. In that dream I was helpless and could only observe it's suffering....
Another was sort of a vision of a thin emaciated child running towards me in some tropical jungle. I caught them with my outstretched arms and as we spun the child became whole and well again: obviously a scene out of some corny Shirley Temple film while we sang about the sun coming out tomorrow, but inspiring nonetheless.
The gnarled, yet loving faces of India have tackled me in my rest at times.
I can't live like they don't exist. I can't forget them.

Also, I've seen what uselessness I can become when I put away the responsibilities I feel about the poor and the sick. I'd rather die than live like that, all selfish and materialistic, promoting my own success or desires and ignoring the oppression of others. Jesus died giving and loving and I'd like to die like that.

Anyways, so during the last year I've been praying and checking out this website called www.ngoabroad.com and I called Ann to talk to her for a couple hours. She set me up with a special program specific to my personality, skills, and passion. I'll be headed to Cameroon, Africa on the 15th of October 2009 and won't return until the 17th of February 2010. In Cameroon I'll be aiding a local woman doctor as she provides care primarily to the poor and underprivileged. I'm gonna hopefully learn a lot about primary health care in a third world country, loads about love, and maybe even a little french, but this isn't really about me. It will definitely be a great experience, but more than that I'd like to open your eyes to Cameroon, Africa and the people who live there. I don't want you to forget them either.

So, if you have the time, I'm gonna try and keep this blog. I'll try and write about the things that I see more than anything. I want my readers to get a feel for what's out there and what's possible. Feel free to comment, keep in touch, and pray. My time of departure is closing in fast!

"The only nation is humanity." Paul Farmer

"Love the one in front of you." Heidi Baker

"My apologies to chance for calling it necessity.
My apologies to necessity if I'm mistaken, after all.
Please, don't be angry, happiness, that I take you as my due.
May my dead be patient with the way my memories fade.
My apologies to time for all the world I overlook each second."
-Wislawa Szymborska, "under one small star"