Saturday, April 23, 2011

South Pacific Campaign #1

Jimmie and I have both been battling sinus junk for close to 2 weeks, probably brought on by the lovely seasonal pollen that tinted everything yellow outside.  Mine finally turned into actual infection so I made a trip to the doctor a couple of days ago.  Such wonderful timing, but we are both improving, thankfully.

Today is Packing Day, that wonderful day when you try to be sure you have covered every possible need for the next 3 weeks and then squeeze it into a suitcase that the airlines keep shrinking.  I remember our first campaign to Ghana in 1983.  We were each allowed TWO of the biggest suitcases I have ever seen with a weight of 70 pounds EACH.  My clothing for 6 weeks only took up a corner of one of them, so the rest was filled with gospel materials and supplies.  Today I get ONE suitcase that is a midget in comparison and can't go over 50 pounds to boot.  That hardly seems like progress.

A quick check of the projected weather presents another challenge to today.  We will be in a different nation each of the 3 weeks-plus of the campaign. Since these are all in the Southern Hemisphere the season is opposite to here, but the three have distinct differences.

Week One - Australia:  50s during the day / 40s at night and windy
Week Two - New Zealand:  60s dayround
Week Three - American Samoa:  80s and VERY humid

A 30-degree shift in temperature does make packing a bit trickier.

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