He Shot Me!

I was thinking that maybe I should give a quick Africa update. Yesterday I had to drive to Honolulu to get my first sets of shots. I got four shots yesterday and have to go back in a month to get three more. On top of that, I have three oral vaccinations to take. The doctor who sat and explained everything to me was so funny. He had a dry sense of humor so I couldn’t tell if he knew if he was funny or not. But a couple of things he said were so stinkin’ hilarious. I’ll tell you them even though the funniest part of them was his accent and body language and I don’t think it will come across as funny.


1. At the beginning of the appointment I asked him if I needed a rabies shot and he said he wasn’t too worried about rabies. But then at the end of the appointment, he said, “Don’t go near any animals in case they bite. That’s just common sense (his favorite saying). All animals bite so just don’t go doing anything stupid like petting them.”
Me: “Well, what about rats, don’t they bite?” (I was thinking about the rabies shot again)
Him: “Of course they bite! All animals bite! Even domestic housecats will bite! That’s just common sense!”
Me: “Oh, right. I’m sorry.”

2. He kept talking about how bad his day was. He was saying that they moved his office so someone else could move into his. So the one we were in wasn’t his. There were all sorts of fake flowers everywhere and tons of pictures of this fluffy dog. He was looking for some band aids and was mumbling under his breath, “This is the worst day…. they moved my office… look at this place! Flowers!!! I look gay! I’m not gay! Look at that dog! Give me a break!”

3. After he gave me the shots, he was putting band aids on them and I asked him if they were bleeding. His response,:“Of course they’re bleeding! Anytime you puncture yourself with a needle, there’s going to be blood. That’s just common sense!”

Anyway, I seriously have so many moments in my life where I am convinced that I am on Candid Camera. But the shots went pretty well. The worst part about them was the name of the diseases that they are vaccinating me for: Typhoid fever, Hepatitis A and B, yellow fever, meningitis, malaria, rabid rat disease... :).

In other news about Africa, I should be getting my plane tickets soon. They sent me a preliminary itinerary. There are like 10 pastors going and then about seven people like me going from all over the US. Since we are leaving from all different places, we will all fly separately to London where we’ll meet up and go to Africa together. In the group of the seven people, it seems like there are two married couples and the rest are a pretty equal mix of guys and girls. I’ll get to spend about a week and a half in Lodi before I leave from San Francisco for London and then about three days in Lodi after the trip before I come back to Hawaii.

God has been so faithful to continue to prepare my heart. The last two weeks or so, I have been really distracted by dumb stuff going on around me here, but God has been calling me back to Him. The verse Psalm 51:10 has been the verse I’ve been praying, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

I’ll be sure to do a better job of keeping everyone updated.