Off To Africa 2012

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It's New Year's Day and I'm starting the year off right -- with a short-term missions trip to Africa. I was supposed to leave New Year's Eve morning via New York but my flight was cancelled due to weather. So, I'm leaving today via London Heathrow. Flying on British Airways always gives me a secure, solid feeling.

I'm flying into Johannesburg, South Africa where I will be met by my missionary hosts, John and Ruth Kerr. I leave Sunday and arrive Tuesday. We'll be heading back to Zambia in a day or two, hopefully via Kruger National Park. We'll  pass through Zimbabwe on the way up to Zambia.

So, what's involved in getting ready for a missions trip? Here are some thoughts as I wait it out at Pearson.

1. Getting the best airfare you can. This year I booked on something called CheapOAir. So far, it's living up to its name!

2. Getting your health/medical up-to-date. This year all I had to do was take some Dukerol as a digestion problems preventative. My Yellow Fever is still good. I've got enough Doxy to get me started on anti-malaria meds and will get more -- the cheap stuff -- when I get to Africa.

3. Getting as much stuff to Africa as you can. I've been perfecting my system over the past several trips. For this trip, I used two cardboard boxes for luggage -- cardboard weighs next to nothing and is good for a one-way journey. Two times 50 = 100 pounds of Christian books and stuff for Africa! I packed my roll aboard bag with clothing I will use on the trip. To top things off, I packed an extra 18 pounds of books in my travel vest, travel jacket, and raincoat which I wore to the airport-- there's no airline restriction on extra stuff in pockets! Downside is I could be mistaken for a penguin, but, hey, you have to make sacrifices for the team, right?  In order to pack as much in as possible, I'm wearing a pair of travel pants under my dress pants. At some point I may discreetly shed a pair, but not before I'm aboard the plane.

4. Preparing your materials. I have a 319 page Apologetics presentation. I found a way to print it 8-up, meaning I get eight slides to the page. So, I pack 319 pages into 40 printed pages. I'll make the copies when I get to Africa. Each slide is small, but readable.

5. Prepare for your return. I'll be returning out of Ndola, Zambia. Flying down to Johannesburg, then across to New York Kennedy, and then up to Toronto.

But that's not for nineteen days.

6. The last thing you have to do is prepare spiritually. I've got my eyes fixed on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith -- I'm good to go!

I appreciate everybody's prayers and look forward to giving you a trip report when I can.

--
Rick Ball.