When dreams come true (and a goodbye)

Although I don’t write about it much in this space, one of my greatest passions in life is to help people in the developing world.

If you’ve been reading here for a while, you may have picked up that I live in Australia, or that I have lived overseas for the last 12+ years of my life.

When I left the States at 22-years-old, I had no idea that I’d end up where I am today. I said goodbye thinking I’d go and help the poor and needy for seven months and then return home to Oregon and get on with my life. But after my time in Malaysia, Nepal, and India… I was hooked.

Turns out, that was my life.

Now twelve years later I’m still doing what I was doing back then. It’s just that now I get to do it together with a handsome Aussie bloke and two adorable, spunky littles. (I am so, so lucky.)

Sure, life looks different for me these days. I’m not as light on my feet as I used to be. (How much crap do you need to pack for children, anyway??!) And I no longer belong to the gold level frequent flyers club. (We stay a little closer to home for the time being.)

But I still believe with all of my heart that we are all called to make a difference in the world.

And that includes families. Yes, even families with young children. Because even children are meant to shape the world around them.

So as weird as you may think I am, that is our reasoning for taking our children to a place like Papua New Guinea to join us in serving on the YWAM Medical Ship. (And yes, we’re taking anti-malaria medication and other precautions.)

Because together we can all help to make the world a better place for someone.

That, my friends, is my dream coming true.

Oh, and you know all those clean birth kits we’ve been raising together? (All 7000+ of them?) Well I’m going to help distribute some of them among women and birth attendants in the Western Province. [Insert happy squeals here.]

Goodbye, friends.

I will not be posting here for the next three weeks. Originally I had planned on having some material auto-post for me while I was away, but as I considered it more, I decided it was best to just let this space breathe a little. Intentionally breathe, that is.

I am also going to be very intentional during this time to breathe in this nation, these people, my family, and life on the ship.

Dear friends, while away I will have limited internet access (if any). I’m hoping I’ll be able to connect long enough for an instagram (@adrielbooker) or a facebook update. Other than that, I’ll see you next month. Thanks for your support and encouragement and prayers. And please know that because of Bloggers for Birth Kits I’m carrying many of you in my heart with me to PNG.

p.s. Some recent photos that my coworkers sent through:

My friend and coworker, Naomi Colwell (certified midwife), giving some pregnant mamas their first ever prenatal check-up, birth education, and clean birth kits. Western Province, Papua New Guinea, August 2012:

A “delivery room” in the Bamu Region. I hope this gives you an idea why the clean birth kits–as simple as they are–provide such a vast leap of improvement for these women. Western Province, Papua New Guinea, August 2012: