Departing for Africa on August 3rd

As I write this on July 27th, I note that one week from now we will be on a plane headed for Amsterdam, from whence we will proceed to Kigali in Rwanda.  A few weeks ago we moved from our garden apartment to a room in the house of a friend.  Most of our stuff is gone, and we are near to completing the process of winnowing our possessions to what we will be packing. 

While it seems, from one perspective, that we are moving to another continent with much less "stuff" than we have had in the past, I am reminded of the many refuges that have fled from one country to another with no more than they can carry on their backs.  Some of what we will be bringing could be classified as "tools for service," including text books, computers, pens and pencils, and the like, but most are things for our own use, including clothing (how many outfits does one really need?), some things for the kitchen (we hear that a good set of kitchen knives is hard to come by) and a year's supply of our vitamins, prescriptions, and toiletries (also hard to obtain in Rwanda.) There is a Yahoo Group for the participants in the health project for which Anne will be working, and the posts therein include lists of "things I wish I had brought," and, "things I am glad I brought." Some of the items listed seem to be mere personal preference, but others have caused us to take notice and plan to make room.  I don't recall any list of "things I should have left behind!" 

In the last several weeks we have undergone other transformations besides the reduction in our material possessions.  Some have been occurring in our relationships:  both between Anne and me and between each of us and the rest of reality.  We have been working on being more unified through improved communication, greater patience, and more practice at teamwork.  I have particularly become aware of the times when I have a choice of how to respond to situations: either with a "knee jerk" emotional response, or with a more detached and rational response.  (The latter usually has a better outcome, while the former is more likely when I have not been on stage for a long time.  Theater of some sort is definitely on my list of things to do in Rwanda.) 

We have said many farewells, and are grateful for so many good friends and close family.  Soon, we will have new friends and a new Baha'i family in a whole new part of the world.