Getting shots is one of
those “to do” items which says you’re serious about what you are doing. I mean seriously, does anyone actually like getting shots? Even if you don’t have a healthy fear of
being poked by sharp pieces of metal I doubt you enjoy it for its own
sake. I don’t know, maybe you do, but I
don’t. And if I don’t Mary definitely doesn’t
(more on that below).
As we’ve been preparing
for this trip I think we all knew that getting our immunizations was one of the
two steps in the process which would prove we were really going, that this was
for real. (The other was to actually buy
the plane tickets). So, it is probably
not too far of a stretch to say we had been “on pins and needles” about this
whole thing for a while. We needed to
get it done in order to feel like we had officially committed to the trip and
at the same time we were probably all a little nervous about the prospect of
being pierced by the sharps!
When we arrived at 1:00
pm we all kind of looked at each other and said “We’re really doing this!” For Mary this was a really big step. Mary hates needles. I know hate is a strong word but I gotta be
honest she really does, and it isn’t just fear.
The thought of getting a shot is enough to make her woozy. It isn’t just the thought of getting one that
sets her off, the thought of someone else getting a shot can send her spinning
too. If you talk about shots or needles
in her presence her eyes have been known to roll back in her head and she’s
come close to falling out of her chair. I
can’t repeat in good Christian company some of the things she’s uttered when
getting shots in the past. At times she’s
even had to be restrained and one time I thought we were gonna be kicked out of
the doctor’s office because of her antics.
She may not even be able to read this post because of how she might
react. So, needless to say I was more
than a little excited to see what might happen on this excursion!
We were all called back
and split up to take a quick medical history.
With that over we were gathered together into one room to wait on the
doc to talk to us about all the things we needed to consider regarding our
immunizations. In order to go to Ghana
you have to show proof of a vaccination for Yellow Fever. This is required by Ghana and you can’t get
into the country without it. On top of
that there is a long list of other vaccinations and medications that are
recommended. These include shots for Typhoid,
Hepatitis A & B, Meningitis, Polio, DTAP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, and
Pertussis), MMR (Measles, Mumps, & Rubella), and for the flu. It’s also suggested to get meds for Malaria
and bacterial infections.
Whew. That was a lot to take in but we weren’t
totally surprised (this was a topic Mary had been looking into and dreading for
a while). Now we had to pick our
poison. Besides the Yellow Fever vaccine
what did we want to take? It gets
presented something like this, “there’s a risk of contracting all of these
diseases. The risk increases the longer
you are there and it depends a little on what you will be doing and where you
are. So really you are playing a numbers
game; What are the odds you’ll get sick
with one of these diseases if you don’t get the shot, and how much money do you
want to spend (they are expensive).” Now
that isn’t exactly the way the doc presented it but really, that’s how we had
to think about it. The doc left us to
our thoughts for a few minutes and we discussed it as a group. In the end we all decided on a different
selection of elixirs. We all had
different insurance coverage too so that played into whether we got all the
shots at Redpoint or if any would be done by our regular doctor.
Mary and I decided to
go ahead and get all of ours at Redpoint.
I knew if we didn’t do it then and there we just wouldn’t get around to
going anywhere else. After discussing as
a group and then as a couple Mary and I settled on getting four shots; the one
for Yellow Fever, DTAP, Hepatitis A & B (a combo deal), and Typhoid. We also all get scripts for Malaria meds and
bacterial infection.
Once again we were
separated. Mary and I got to stay
together which was good because I knew the nurse would need me to help restrain
Mary when she walked in with the sharp pointy things. Mary was starting to breathe a little faster and
couldn’t sit still. Yep, this is what I
expected. The nurse didn’t want to hear
any of what I had to say though.
Typical. She had Mary lay down on
the bed/chair thing they have in all doctor’s offices and told had me sit in
the chair by the door. Then quick as you
know it the first two shots were done without much more than a sharp intake of
breath from Mary. The nurse had Mary
roll over to stick her in the other arm and in less than 30 seconds it was all
over. No fanfare, no yelling, no
kicking, no unseemly swearing, nothing.
I’ll be honest I was a little let down, especially considering how much
I’d played the whole thing up to the rest of the group. My turn came and I was told to stand up so
Mary could stay on the bed thing (she was
a little woozy even if she didn’t cause a fuss). I was quickly stabbed four times and it was
all over. After giving Mary a few more
moments to make sure she wasn’t too dizzy we went outside and joined the rest
of the group.
It was over. Now all we needed to do was buy the plane
tickets.
As I’ve thought about
our outing to get the shots two things keep popping into my head. The first is the realization of what’s
required to fulfill the Great Commission.
After his resurrection Jesus told his disciples “Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19).
Later just before his ascension into heaven Jesus reiterated this
commission saying “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). This command to “Go”, to make disciples, to
be his witnesses to the ends of the earth is something the church has heeding
doing for two thousand years. It is a
command that is often fraught with peril.
The history of the church is filled with stories of missionaries -
beginning with the Apostles - who died while engaging in missions. At times the danger to missionaries has come
(and still comes) from hostility and violence directed at them from the people
with whom they hoped to share the good news of Jesus Christ. They were (and are still) injured, maimed,
and killed for their commitment to spread the gospel. At other times the danger has come from an
unseen source, one which until very recently has been much harder to guard against. Disease.
I don’t have the numbers on how many missionaries are thought to have succumbed
to disease during their journeys, but I’m sure it isn’t insignificant. Even today with all of the medications
available to the modern missionary people still get sick and people still die
because they contracted something so tiny that it can’t be seen with the naked
eye, yet it was so powerful it could overcome all the defenses that could be
thrown against it.
This realization brings
into focus those instances when we are told what it means to truly follow
Jesus. Christ told his disciples “If any
want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross
and follow me” (Matt 16:24). Too often
we gloss over such statements and say “sure, I get it, following Jesus may be difficult,
it won’t always be fun and games and every now and then I should put in a
little extra work helping out around the church.” I’ve been as guilty as the next person at
thinking such thoughts. But Wednesday’s
experience is a reminder that Jesus wasn’t just talking about going a little
out of my way to help out more at the church, or to perhaps put a little more
in the offering plate even when finances are bad. No, it is a reminder that just as Christ
suffered for us we may also be called on to suffer, indeed we have been granted
“the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as
well” (Phil 1:29). We may be called on
to suffer more than just a little inconvenience in our daily lives. We may be called on to give our lives if
necessary in the process of building the Kingdom of God here on earth in the
name of Christ.
The second realization
that came to me Wednesday after we got our shots was that thinking of the
possible dangers these diseases may present to us is pretty selfish. To go for too long focusing on the dangers of
contracting a disease and suffering for Christ smacks a little too much of
self-promotion. Sure, it may be a
natural first reaction to say, “wow, I could get really sick in Ghana” but making
too big a deal about it is just as bad as those who pray aloud in public for no
other reason than to bring attention to themselves (Matt 6:5). It isn’t really about us. Focusing too much on ourselves also neglects
the people we are going to serve. It
neglects the fact that for them, such hardships are a part of normal daily
life. We here in America are blessed by
not having to worry about the diseases which are prevalent throughout much of
the world and for that we rightly give thanks.
On a normal Monday morning we don’t generally have to worry whether our
child will contract Yellow Fever or Malaria or some other dire sickness. And even when it does happen it is rare and
we expect that our access to modern medicine will cure it. Much of the rest of the world does not live
in such luxury.
Such a realization makes
clear why God’s message of hope and redemption resonates so strongly with so
many people in nations like Ghana all over the world where sickness and death
are more prevalent than here in America.
In Christ they are told they can find “living water”, a well in which
they can quench every thirst and cool any fever brought on by disease, for
Jesus promised “those who drink the water that I will give them will never be
thirsty. The water that I will give will
become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14). The Lamb of God will shepherd them to springs
of living water (Rev. 7:17) and God will dwell among them and will “wipe away
every tear from their eyes. Death will
be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things
have passed away” (Rev 21:4).
If truth be told I’m on
pins and needles again. Not about what
still needs to done before I go (and yes I have to get one more shot before we
leave). No, I’m on pins and needles
because I can’t wait to experience what God is doing in Ghana. I can’t wait to see how the faith is lived
out in ways that are different from what I’m used to. I can’t wait share in the message and hope of
Christ in that context. I can’t wait to
see and hear the good news lived out in Ghana through new eyes and ears. I can’t wait to drink from that well with
brothers and sisters from halfway around the world and to share in the hope of
new life and the coming day when all tears are wiped away, sickness and death
trampled underfoot, and when we will all live together once more in the eternal
light of God’s life giving presence.
