I’m currently processing about 1700+ images for Doctors Giving Back & Touching Africa Ministries (as well as my teammates), but I do have one quick one to share.  This little boy drinking his disease-free water just about sums up one of the main reasons why we flew half-way across the world:  To bring God’s love in the form of clean, filtered water.  Ahhhhh….refreshing!

I guess I just need to breathe.  My list is getting out of control.  But it is good to know that God is totally in control of this whole process.  I thought for sure going a second year I would not get nearly as much funding as I did last year.  Wrong.  I thought I’d be on my own for arranging food for my family.  Wrong.  I thought I’d have to arrange child juggling.  Wrong.  God has been showing my little mind in all of this.  I have little plans, little dream, little needs.  His are bigger, and better, and they are His.  I am just his vessel for as long as he allows me to be, and I am so okay with that!  I am not a forefront person.  I don’t like being in the spotlight.  I like to just support.  And support I will!

As I have been counting down to my departure on Facebook, I just realized I forgot to share with my blog family as well.  The photos on here are way bigger anyway. 

Here are some things I’m looking forward to….

…seeing John & Jana again.  The husband & wife team of doctors who become my alternate family while in Ethiopia & when I return.  I so love their company, their hearts & their vision for Ethiopia.  I am truly blessed to know them.

….the children.  I know they may like me because I’m probably the whitest person they’ve seen….ever!  But I like to think they like me too.  I’ll admit, I enjoy having a gaggle of munchkins following me around saying, “cam-er-A!”

…Solomon’s kids. Ahhhh…never have I felt so loved meeting a group of kids.  They hugged, touched, played & giggled with us the entire time.  I even got in trouble from the American adults for talking too much with them!  They love posing for group shots….whipping out their modeling poses.  It will be wonderful to see some familiar faces here.

…sorting.  I know it sounds weird, but as you sort through the massive amounts of donations made to this trip, you become in awe at all it takes to pull this trip off.  There are literally thousands of pills of medication, hundreds of thousand of dollars in medical supplies, hundreds of pairs of eyeglasses & shoes, and a small army of knit bears from Project Mother Bear.  It’s amazing.

….the feeding program at Solomon’s place.  To think that Solomon starting feeding these HIV/AIDS kids only one meal per month was devastating.  And now, by the grace of God he is able to feed them one meal per day!  And I am anxious to see my chicken!  Yes, I own an Ethiopian chicken.  We all bought one for their “village” so they could start chicken farming & becoming self-sustaining.  I can’t wait to see how it’s grown in the past year.

….glasses station!  This was one “medical” area where I was actually of use.  When I took breaks from snapping photos, I’d help out at the glasses station.  Here I got one-on-one interaction – because you couldn’t call it communication on my part – with many people who could see more clearly with the reading glasses they’d been given.  Yes, we oftentimes had men picking the most hideous pair of rhinestone glasses, but at least they could see!

….clean water!  This is probably the thing I’m most looking forward too.  We know that the majority of the illnesses we see, especially in the more remote villages, are caused by dirty drinking water.  The Ethiopian people don’t waste their firewood on boiling water, so they are drinking water that has run down a hill where animals graze & defecate.  Gross, I know.  It has been on the forefront of Doctor’s Giving Back’s mind to solve this problem.  The amazingly wonderful news is they have found a company in Florida who has a filtration system similar to a kidney dialysis machine that can filter 99% of the water!!!  We had enough funding to purchase 34, which was a little disappointing.  However, since God’s plans are bigger than our own, we got bested again.  The company in Florida asked to be able to give us 148 water filtration units at the same cost as the original 34 we were going to purchase.  Heck yes!!!  I don’t know how we are going to transport them all, but I know it will somehow happen.  I can’t wait to see the ramifications of that much clean water!

And this year, I personally get to be responsible for filling one 50-lb hockey bag of supplies!  I can’t fill it alone, though.  So if you are able to donate any of the following items, please let me know!  Thanks in advance for reading, for donating, and for praying. It is definitely felt!

“Tylenol(Adult tabs and Pediatric/Children’s syrup)
……Advil, Motrin (Adult and Pediatric/Children’s syrup)
Alieve
Pepto Bismol (tablets, not liquid)
Immodium (tablets and liquid)
Zantac 150mg tablets, Zyrtec tablets
Claritin or Clarinex tablets (Adult and Children’s)
Hydrocortisone Cream
Antibiotic ointment (i.e. Polysporin)
Naphcon A Allergy eye drops
Prevacid or Protonix (Omiprazole)

From the above list, the OTC meds that we usually run out of first are the allergy eye drops, and allergy meds, and the stomach meds like Zantac, Prevacid and Protonix.

Some good places to get these over the counter medications at a great price include: the Dollar Store, Walmart, and sometimes even Costco. DGB usually suggests Walmart first as it is hard to beat their prices on medications. We need as many of these medications as possible, so anything you can donate would be fantastic!!!!”

For those of you who didn’t know, I just returned from a two-week medical missions trip with Doctors Giving Back.  Now, I realize I have no medical background, except applying Princess Band-Aids, but I do have the ability to document with my camera!  And that’s what I did.  As I sort through literally thousands of photos, I’ll be catching up on my photo of the day project as well as sharing what I did with you over in Ethiopia.  Let me just sum it up in two words:  life changing!

The following isn’t technically a photo, but it was shot with my camera!  I am so glad to have been able to figure out the video features.  It was awesome to have some 1080P High-Def footage – even if it did eat up my memory cards!

Here are Daniel & Kokebe singing “Jesus My Lover.”

Jesus my lover from Mandy Sroka on Vimeo.

Well, it finally came.  It actually came very quickly.  This is my passport – don’t worry, you won’t be subjected to the inside photo that I got on a whim at Kinkos on a off hair & clothing day.  I had it rushed & it just came this afternoon.  Now it will quickly be sent away to the Ethiopian Embassy in DC to apply for my visa.  In case you’re wondering why I am getting my passport & why I’m traveling to Ethiopia, let me explain quickly….

In March I’ll be traveling with Doctors Giving Back to Assosa, Ethiopia for 2 weeks.  Actually, I said it a lot more eloquently in my fundraising letter, so I’ll just paste that here:

From March 4 through 18 I will be traveling to Assosa, Ethiopia with Doctors Giving Back (www.doctorsgivingback.org).  I came about this opportunity in an odd way, or really, in a “God way.”  Who would think that a wife, & stay-at-home mom of two would even think of traveling half-way around the world without her family?!?!  Well, that’s just what I’m doing.  My friend, Jessica, who works with DGB, came to Maryland in October for a wedding & left with me on board as a teammate in her annual trek to Ethiopia.  She had convinced me that I could, even as a wife & mother, be used by God in Ethiopia.  So, I’m taking a huge leap of faith & going way out of my comfort zone to assist Doctors Giving Back in less than 3 months!

What is Doctors Giving Back?  It is a medical relief organization dedicated to education & empowerment through medical and health programs in the developing world.  Their mission is to conduct health outreach programs in impoverished African countries by providing medical care, support, supplies, education and other resources for the people living in these countries.  This year, 2010, DGB has expanded into two teams – a medical team & a construction team.  The medical team will be busy hosting various clinics, and education & sanitation projects.  The construction team will focus on the hospital renovation & land rebuilding.  I encourage you to visit the Doctors Giving Back blog for a short video showing exactly what they do & who they are helping – your time won’t be wasted!  (http://doctorsgivingback.wordpress.com/)

The reason I’m telling you all this is 1) yes, to ask for your hard earned money, but 2) more importantly to ask for your prayers.  I need to raise about $3,000 for this trip.  And on top of that, I need God’s grace & peace to go with me and to be with my family while I’m away.  Here are a few things you could be praying for:
Funds
My husband & daughters while I’m away
That I would be able to use God’s gift of photography in my life for DGB & the people of Ethiopia – one of my roles in this trip will be to document & tell the story of what Doctors Giving Back does through my camera lens
Travel
Health – spiritual & physical
Peace

There are two ways you can give to my trip to Ethiopia:  Mail checks to me or give online through this site.  Please make checks payable to Doctors Giving Back on my behalf & send to:
Doctors Giving Back
7172 Regional St. #155
Dublin, CA 94568
memo line:  Mandy Sroka

Thank you again for taking the time to read this letter & prayerfully consider how you can support this endeavor.  And be sure to look forward to a second letter when I return – I can’t wait to tell you all about my trip!

I feel so blessed to have already received donations towards my trip from some dear family & friends.  If you feel led to donate, & even more importantly to pray, please visit my fundraising page & let me know.  Thank you again!