Of course there’s much to do before we leave. There are five items on the agenda for this blog post.
First, we need to raise more money. At the parent meeting two weeks ago, Justin asked each team member to send out 25 more support letters. If you’re on the team and you haven’t done that yet, I urge you to put together those letters and get them to Emily Taylor this Sunday. She will gladly mail them for you. All you need to do is put stamps on the return envelopes, stuff them, and bring them to her at church. Also, if you need anything printed, or you need more return envelopes, she’s the person to talk to. Emily already has done so much for our team, and she’s willing to do more. Thank you, Emily!
Second, here is the travel itinerary discussed at the parents' meeting:
Departure:
June 29th - Leave Lax at 10:35pm, arrive in Washington DC at 6:28am
June 30th - Leave DC at 12pm, arrive in Ethiopia at 7:45am
July 1st - Leave Ethiopia at 9:45am, arrive in Lilongwe at 12:20pm
Return:
July 14th - Leave Lilongwe at 3:05pm, arrive in Ethiopia at 7:45pm
July 14th - Leave Ethiopia at 10:15pm, arrive in DC at 8:40am
July 15th - Leave DC at 1:45pm, arrive in Charlotte, NC at 3:12pm
July 15th - Leave Charlotte 4:35pm, arrive at LAX 7:03pm
Third, let’s talk about packing. Let me reiterate what we talked about at the parent meeting. You can bring one carry on and two 40 lb checked bags. We recommend you use a backpack as your carry-on. A backpack will be much easier to carry during the long travel days, especially as we walk through airports. That is a recommendation, not a requirement.
Regarding your checked bags, we recommend that you bring two large duffel bags. Most of the space in these duffels will be used for team supplies, tools, gifts, etc. We would like you to fit most of the packing list into your carry-on, but if you overflow into one of your duffel bags, that’s okay. If you do not have duffel bags, and cannot borrow them, just do your best to bring whatever you have. We don't want to place more of a financial burden on you by saying you must have a certain type of bag. Just know that whatever you bring will have tools and other possibly heavy items packed in it. At the packing party, we will make sure you don’t overpack. Justin says he’s going to have a yard sale at his house the day after the packing party so he can sell all the clothes we remove from the teams bags. I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but I don’t think it’s a terrible idea. Could help us raise more funds for the trip. J
For sleeping bags, please only bring a mummy style sleeping bag specifically marketed for backpacking, or a compressible fleece blanket. Mummy-style backpacking bags pack down much smaller than your standard sleep over at your friend’s house sleeping bag, and they are much warmer for the weight. Down bags are the lightest and most compressible, so if you can find a good sale on a down bag, I recommend bringing one. Or try to make friends with someone from our ministry who likes to backpack, and borrow theirs. You can find good sales at http://www.sierratradingpost.com/, http://www.backcountry.com/, or if you're lucky, find one on http://www.steepandcheap.com/. If you do not have, cannot borrow, and cannot afford one of these sleeping bags then try to find a highly compressible fleece blanket. If you can't find anything, email me and I'll see what I can find in my backpacking gear closet. Keep in mind that we are packing as if we are going camping. Whenever I go camping or backpacking, I always plan to sleep in some clothing for extra warmth. y doing so, I can pack a smaller sleeping bag and still stay warm. I recommend that you plan to do the same.
Fourth item … medication/vaccinations: Here is some important information from Mr. Luedke regarding the travel clinic. Go to http://www.passporthealthusa.com/ . The consult is $50 plus the price of the necessary shots. They carry almost every shot needed for overseas travel.
And fifth but not last (I don’t think that makes sense), let me remind you quickly about the work day we’re having on June 11th and the packing party on June 25th. Please email Justin, jw19719@gmail.com, here sometime this week if you cannot make the June 11th work day, otherwise he expects that you will be there.
That’s all I have for you in the way of reminders. In closing, let me say a special word of thanks to those of you who made it out to the work day last Saturday at the Roehr’s house. We dug a ditch, mixed concrete, then poured it, and ate pizza. All in all, I’d say it was a great day, just like the days we’ll spend in Malawi … minus the pizza of course. Here are some pictures of the day.
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