23 Oct Sunday
On the plane to Trinidad and Tobago I helped two ladies fill out their entry into country form. They are Chinese, older and I wonder if they are sisters? Chee Kwan’s passport says it was issued in Trinidad-Tobago. Chunru’s was issued in Port of Spain, but is a Chinese passport. Neither of them speak much English, let alone write it, so I had the privilege of filling out the information on their sheet and asking questions like “are you married?” and trying to explain what I as asking. It was fun. They were visiting China and are on their way home to Trinidad-Tobago. What’s in Trinidad-Tobago anyways? I know absolutely nothing of the country.
I like my teammates. They all seem just as confused as I- excited, but not sure what we’ve gotten ourselves into. J First there’s Miriam, she’s a nurse who does acupuncture. She has 3 kids ages 24, 22, and 18. Her boyfriend didn’t talk to her for a couple days and so she “threatened” to leave the country… and ended up having everything fall into place rather quickly- a lot like me. We talked about religion and she asked me about mine- she didn’t know much about Mormons. I was trying to communicate our religious respect for Judaism… it was hard considering I’ve never studied Judaism or had Jewish friends. I ended up saying something I felt was good to communicate. Essentially, learning about Judaism and Jewish beliefs adds to and strengthens what I already feel, believe, and know. When I learn about Judaism, I feel like I’m learning about my own religion.
After staying up most of last night packing, my plane left Seattle this morning around 8:30am. I flew to Chicago, where I met Miriam- our nurse. I like her. She has kids my age. She is Jewish. I’m excited to get to know some Jewish people and more about their religion- I feel like learning about Judaism is like learning about my own faith.
I got a father’s blessing from Scott this morning before we left for the airport. As soon as he put his hands on my head and began speaking I started crying. Oh how I had been yearning for a blessing! And what a relief to finally receive one! I was blessed to have a safe trip and reminded of what King Benjamin said in the book of Mosiah, “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” I don’t remember much else that was said, but I remember noting that I wasn’t promised good health. I may still have good health, or I may struggle. I personally hope that Guyana proves to be good for my asthma & sinuses and therefore migraines. Guess we’ll find out. I remember, though, feeling or sensing the flow of revelation through Scott as he quoted the scripture from Mosiah.
Early today, on my first flight, that scripture helped me through. I was getting anxious. Then I remembered that I am on the Lord’s errand! I am serving Him! I was reminded and humbled: this is not about me. I feel weak and inadequate, but I am going to Guyana to serve my God.
I was reminded that Christ can make weak things strong. I feel like I may be the weakest link in our team- maybe least prepared, maybe not, but I am the youngest, with no professional experience whatsoever, little money, and on top of it all, I have health problems! Migraines brought on by stress. Sinus problems. Sleep apnea… and I’m going 2 weeks without my CPAP! I’m pretty irregular with using it, but I haven’t gone 2 weeks without it before.
As I think of all those things, my heart begins to race a little. Anxiety. But the Spirit- beneath the light fog of anxiety, whispers to me. I am reminded that Moses (Aaron?) was slow of speech; Joseph Smith barely had any formal education, and other prophets have at times felt weak and inadequate.
I am also reminded of the pioneers being asked to leave the comfort of their homes in Nauvoo, trust the Lord, and move forward with the very most basic of necessities and sometimes lacking even those.
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| when we were still clean and our clothes didn't smell |
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| Carol, Miriam, and Dr Fred |
Okay, Dr. Fred Leitner. When I first met him, he reminded me of the Uncle Red from the Red-Green show. He used to do family practice, then went into occupational medicine, from which he just quit and is considering going back to family practice. He left it in the first place because he felt like he wasn’t able to practice medicine the way he learned to do it—he said the Canadian healthcare system (which has long been socialized) has cut out much of doctors' choices and also demanded less face-to-face time with patients.
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