Finally an Update: Before Africa!

Hello!

I hope and pray that all is well on your side of the pond. I’m writing this only 2 days before leaving for Africa. I am so excited. The last month has been wonderful!

My arrival in England was dramatic – when I landed in London on February 8^th, I fainted at customs. It was a lovely way to enter the country, and I spent most of my first day in the hospital A & E (emergency room). Which is where I met my roommate Monica (from Brazil) and the long term volunteer Adam (from Northern Ireland).

During the month that followed I had orientation and prepared for the trip. I’ve learned Sketchup, a free Google program that can produce 3D images. My roommate and I have done a little touring of the area, as well as our home town of Colchester. We live in a 2 bedroom flat on the 2^nd floor (which in the US is actually the 3^rd floor), with almost no hot water pressure.  There are a few things that I have had to get accustomed to: as most of you know tea time is pretty big here and I’ve been trying all sorts of different teas. Most stores close at about 5/5:30pm, and everyone goes to the pub afterwards or home (I usually go home). When washing clothes it takes 2 hours to wash and 2 days to dry. That’s been fun.

Our Rwanda project trip spans March 5^th to March 23^rd and we’re flying through Uganda. We arrive in Rwanda on March 6^th and will drive to Kibogora Hospital on the 7^th (about 5 hours). We will be in Rwanda until March 19^th. Then we’ll go back to Uganda for a few days, where we will have a closing session, gather more information from the EMI East Africa office, and enjoy a free day.

In Rwanda, we’ll be surveying, designing and redesigning buildings. There are 15 of us on the team, 4 of whom are medical staff, which is the first time that other professionals will join an EMI trip. It’s a larger than normal project, so there’s a good chance that EMI will visit Kibogora a few more times in the coming years. I am very excited to meet new people and experience a different culture. I hear Rwanda is a very beautiful country, so I’ll take lots of pictures! You can check out the hospital at www.kibogora.org. I can’t wait to see what the Lord will do in each of one us and the people we’re serving.

I have a few prayer requests concerning this trip:

-          Safe travel: I most likely will not have internet access, so you can assume if you don’t hear from me or my parents that all is well.

-          Health: a few of us have been hit with a cold, including me.

-          Rwanda: blessing on the people we will meet and on Kibogora Hospital.

-          Finances: I am still in need of about $2,000 for the rest of my internship.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support!

God Bless, Laura