Departure

After chasing down a busy 2 week stint in Urology with a hectic and fun filled weekend (wedding, duathlon, track meet, “How to Train Your Dragon”), I am finally at the airport waiting to leave my Minnesotan motherland. The morning of departure was similarly frenzied. We had the traditional last minute ritual of rummaging through all 140 lbs of luggage to find a small item (malaria meds) and some slight confusion at the check-in, evidently Lufthansa = Shuttle America = United.

For those detailed orientated followers, I will be flying to Newark NJ, crossing the Atlantic to FrankFurt, Germany, then arriving at 8:45 pm on Wednesday in Addis Abba, Ethiopia via Khartoum. I will be spending Wednesday and Thursday night in Addis with the very gracious Dr. Kevin Love and his family then driving down to Soddo with a group.

As I mentioned, I am basically maxing out luggage limitations at 140 lbs, however, the bulk of this is not my stylish wardrobe. The Lim’s asked me to bring some American food down for the missionary families: M&Ms, Parmesan cheese, bacon bits, hot cocoa in Costco sized quantities and then were able to scrounge up some toys for the kids and lab coats for hospital staff. Dr Grey was able to purchase some surgical texts that could be alternatively be used in the building the hospital’s foundation. My mother, aunt, and a few ladies from church put their knitting needles to work and fashioned about two dozen hats for newborn babies in Ethiopia’s national colors. Last and not least, God used the seven degrees of separation from a dinner acquaintance, Heather, to somehow put me in contact with Denis and Roger (seen below) whose church has a ministry refurbishing used laptops for people in developing countries. From this random connection that I am not sure I fully understand, a nursing student at Soddo, Hasabu, will be able to advance his education.

I am just amazed at how generous everyone has been with this whole venture and I am looking forward to responsibly playing Santa Claus when I arrive in Soddo.

Many people have asked me what I am feeling about this trip, and to be honest, not a whole lot. I am not really nervous, I got that out while presenting at the Minnesota Orthopaedic Society, or even on-the-edge-of-my-seat excited. Rather, I just want to see what opportunities God has in store for me and how I will react to missionary life. After reading the first few chapters of Corinthians I and hearing my pastor’s sermons on Corinthians II, I am feeling much more confident about sharing the gospel. For the most part, I do not actively witness to others, largely out of fear of saying something stupid (a hobby of mine) and turning people off to the Gospel. However, Paul says in Corinthians I 2:3-5 that “I was before you in weakness and in fear with much trembling and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in human wisdom, but in the power of God.” If Paul, one of the best witness of the Gospel ever, is lacking in wisdom and since God’s power is made perfect in my weakness, then there is no way that I have any excuse to not share Christ with everyone I meet.

That is all I have for now and I will be looking forward to seeing everyone when I get back!!