Yep. I went there. I’m terribly sorry. We’ve been making Ghana puns for months.
Did you know that you have to have proof of your meningitis vaccine to get into Ghana? You didn’t? I didn’t either. Fun fact: if you don’t have proof, there is a chance they’ll make you get the vaccine on the spot. I say a chance because it didn’t happen to everyone. Just the lucky ones who they felt needed a surprise vaccination at an African border crossing.
Backstory:
We arrived at the border and got stamped out of Cote d’Ivoire within minutes. Usually this process takes forever, so we thought we wouldn’t be at the border long. Maybe an hour tops. They made us all line up to check our yellow fever cards to make sure we were vaccinated. When they were checking our cards, they also checked for the meningitis vaccine. Those who had proof moved to the left; those who didn’t have proof moved to the right. Then those on the right were taken into a small room where they administered the vaccines and stamped our yellow fever card with proof of this surprise stabbing. After the shots, we walked to the other side and waited in line forever to get stamped into Ghana. Get this: the man didn’t even check our yellow fever cards when stamping us in to Ghana. The border closed at 6, but they thankfully stayed longer so my squad could all get into Ghana together. We were there FOREVER.
I was one of those “lucky ones” who didn’t have proof of a meningitis vaccine. I don’t like vaccines. Never have. In preparing for the race, I got many different shots. Guess what? I didn’t enjoy a single one of them. Listen, I can get tattoos all day, but as soon as the needle goes into my arm for what feels like 5 years and injects me with the vaccine I get uncomfortable.
You can imagine what happened to my anxiety when they told me that I would be getting a surprise vaccination in Africa. I was on the verge of tears. Luckily, one of our squad leaders Danae was there and comforted me (and many of my squadmates) during the process. After my shot, my body was not happy at all. I don’t know what happened, but my stomach had tiny ninjas fighting in it, my head was on fire, and my arm was so sore. I don’t know if it was a reaction to the shot or just that my anxiety was higher than ever before, but I lost it. This travel day was easily my worst day on the race thus far. I could not get comfortable on the bus to save my life. I had the BEST seatmate, Melanie, who moved and sat on the floor so I could try and sleep. Spoiler alert: I didn’t sleep. I was in so much pain and tossed and turned for the whole bus ride.
The good part about all of this was that we were staying together for debrief which meant we got to rest for a few days with no travel. I think I got out of bed 3 times the day we arrived. Two of my roommates were sick also, so we stayed in the room together all day. I felt sick for roughly 3 days after that surprise vaccination.
Romans 8:18 is a verse I held on to during this time. Paul tells the Romans that their present suffering was nothing compared to the glory that was yet to come. Now, I realize that I was not suffering as the Romans were, but this verse still helped me by reminding me that there were good times to come from the bad. Even though we feel like we are suffering and are going through hard times, we must remember that there are always going to be good things that come in the end.
For me, the good things came in the form of two different things.
The first is coming to the realization that it’s okay to not be okay. For so long, I’ve felt like I always have to be okay, and I don’t always have to be okay. I can be hurt and broken and sad. I can cry and feel all the things. I need to. It’s part of how we grow.
The second is having some time where I just listened to the Lord speak to me. He told me to persevere (which was cool because two days later Stacy spoke about persevering during all squad session). He told me to continue pursuing Him. He told me that He is always with me.
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us.” Romans 8:18
