Needlephobia

It's in less than 3 weeks that I will board the plane that eventually will land in Uganda. That's under 21 days. To be exact, that's 495 hours.

The past week was kind of a whirlwind for me. I worked more hours at the Children's Center than I ever have, started my mini-mester, and ran a lot of errands. I have made a thousand trips to the bank getting my travel account set up, depositing support checks (SUCH a blessing- NOT a burden), and making sure that everything is squared away. And it is, by the way! God has provided in the most extreme ways... His grace is incredible. Through substantial donations made by my family, friends, and my wonderful Community Church, I am literally just dollars away from my goal. I have spent more than a few nights laying in my bed, completely overwhelmed and humbled by how the Lord has pieced things together.

Tomorrow morning, I will begin the first round of vaccines that I need for my trip: Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Yellow Fever, Typhoid, Rabies, Polio, Tetanus, and Malaria.

OH JOY.

For those who are not already aware, I have a pretty serious phobia of needles. My fear has gotten less extreme as I've matured (and by matured, I mean as I've gotten older), but that doesn't mean that I handle shots well now. In fact, I'm kind of hoping I can talk the nurse or doctor into giving me laughing gas before I get poked so I don't feel anything. It's much better for me if I don't have a clue what's going on. Is that even legal?

I am supposed to undergo flu-like symptoms for a few days after my vaccines, and I'm not really looking forward to that either. If you don't mind, please pray for me. I feel like this should be one of the easiest parts of my trip preparation, but I have been dreading this from the beginning. I hope and pray that the after effects aren't too serious, and I can relax enough to be thankful that I have access to healing and preventative medicines.

"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us."
1 John 4:16-19