We're busy making plans for October in our house.
For two very big reasons.
Not only is Hallelujah Acres moving to its new location in Gastonia, NC in October, but we're going to Africa, too!
While we're excited about bringing Hallelujah Acres to Africa, we found ourselves having to make some tough decisions about our travel details. Specifically, whether or not to accept a malaria vaccine.
You'd think that would be a no-brainer for us, but to be honest, we struggled with it.
When you live in a country like ours with healthy sanitation and good access to nutrition, vaccines are much less of a concern.
After all, sanitation and nutrition are the real reason that diseases disappear, not vaccines.
But we don't know if Africa will afford the same assurances.
Will sanitation be adequate?
Will we have access to good nutrition? Or will we end up slipping from our routine?
Furthermore, Ann is struggling through some menopausal health battles lately. What would a case of malaria do to her already-stressed immune system?
In the end, we decided to accept the vaccine.
Surprised? We look at it this way...
We don't know what we're going to encounter in Africa. But we do have significant, personal experience with ridding our bodies of heavy metals and other toxins.
We'd rather go through a vaccine detox (that we know how to handle) than take on a case of malaria, which we know nothing about.
But we're not going without some preparation.
We're working with a natural practitioner right now to boost our immune systems; she's also developing a protocol of chelating supplements for us to address the heavy metals.
Others have very different opinions on this subject.
April Renee Tunsky of the Vaccine Information Coalition (and a past speaker at our 2011 Women's Retreat) travels the world routinely and says, "no matter where I travel they would have to put a gun to my head before I allow them to put a needle in my arm!"
Have you traveled the world and been faced with a vaccine decision?
What would you do? Tell us!
