BETH'S COMMENTS AND PHOTO JOURNAL

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Texas Equusearch Members and I met at the Mickey Leland Federal Building in Houston to get passports. Carmen in Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee’s office walked us through the process and expedited our passports. We started at 11:00 a.m. and by 2:30 p.m. that day our passports were ready.

At 2:00p.m. we met at the Kelsey Seybold Clinic and got our shots. The staff was great and discussed the risks involved in traveling to Sri Lanka and ways we can improve our chances of avoiding disease and infection. We received inoculations for Typhoid Fever, Hepatitis A & B, Polio, Diphtheria and Tetanus and a prescription for Malarone – the medication to help us avoid Malaria.

Many meetings and conversations have occurred at this point but we still do not know how we will be traveling to Sri Lanka. We are running on faith that a means of transportation will reveal itself!

Thursday, January 13, 2005

At 8:00 a.m. Tim Miller calls to tell me that we will be flying with Global Peace Initiatives to Sri Lanka. I look them up on the web and realize that the founder, Dr. K. A. Paul, is the man I saw interviewed on 60 Minutes the previous Sunday.

We meet Global Peace Initiative’s plane on the tarmac at Ellington Field. We get to tour the plane – it is amazing! It is a short 747 and has 90+ first-class seats and a large cabin. We learn that we will be traveling with 40 doctors and nurses and $40 million in medicine and medical supplies for Tsunami victims.

Saturday, January 15, 2005

I finally begin my shopping. I went to Academy and Oshman’s to buy lightweight outerwear to protect me from mosquitoes, but not make me suffer heat exhaustion. I also got the super-duty insect repellent and sunscreen.

Now it’s time to turn to food. What to pack so that I get enough nutrition but don’t get weighed down like a pack-mule? I decided to try beef jerky and rice cakes (very lightweight), Balance Bars and Odwalla Bars (my favorite healthy bars), peanut butter crackers, trail mix and nuts, dried fruit snack packs, tea bags and equal.

When I get home I decide to pack a gallon bag with enough food for each day. I do this until bag 9, at which time I have run out of some things and learn I will need to make another trip to the store. When I add up the calorie count of the bags I find that they have about 1,200 calories and 55 grams of protein. This is sufficient protein but may not be enough calories if we are burning a lot of calories searching. I may have to supplement the bags or I’ll come back weighing a few pounds less.

I begin packing my clothes and equipment and realize that I will need a pack-mule to get all of this stuff from the car to the plane.

Sunday, January 16, 2005

I went back to the grocery store to buy more supplies to finish off my daily food bags. I have a few leftovers that can be used to supplement my caloric intake as needed.

At 2:00 p.m. Global Peace Initiatives holds a press conference by the plane at Ellington Field. We had a good turn-out from friends, family, volunteers and area churches. I got to meet some of the medical staff who are traveling with us. We are all very excited about getting started on our journey.

There is outpouring of prayers and good wishes and some people make donations to help fund the $200,000 fuel cost we will incur in just this one round-trip to Asia.

We are set to leave at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, January 17, 2005.