I've got a million little things to worry about between now and the morning of Aug. 3.

We will be flying out of Atlanta. My parents are driving myself and two of my teammates down to Atlanta. From there we fly to Detroit, then Amsterdam, then Nairobi. It will be 24 hours from the time we step on the plane in Atlanta until the time we step off it in Nairobi. Then we have to go through immigration and through customs. Then, we will take cross-country transportation from Nairobi to the Kisii region of western Kenya. I believe we'll leave for Kisii as soon as we get to Nairobi, although I'm not 100 percent sure about this. If I'm right, it will be probably close to two days from the time we leave Shelbyville until the time we get to Kisii. We will then have a day or two of on-site training in Kisii before moving in to the homes where we will stay during the work week.

On the way back, the flights and layovers are even longer. We will connect through Memphis on the way back -- and it seems like we ought to be able to just get off the plane there rather than continue on to Atlanta. But the arcane black art that governs airline fares does not work that way. It's not a round trip if you get off in a different city than the one from in which you started.

A year ago, on my way to Kenya for the first time, I tried to get some sleep during the transatlantic leg of the journey. A teammate had suggested I switch seats with her and sit in the front row of our compartment, so that I would have more leg room. But the front-row seats, unlike the rest of the seats in the compartment, had their TV monitors mounted on little swivel arms (since there was no seat back on which to mount them). The base of the swivel arm caught me in the thigh, and I never could get comfortable enough to fall completely asleep. It's my own fault for being fat, of course.

Last year, when all of us were working in the same place, our on-site training was in Nairobi. We stayed at an Anglican guest house before moving into our homes. Our flight had been similarly-long last year, and we'd had to wait forever at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport while trying to track down some lost luggage. By the time we arrived at the guest house, it had been 30 hours or more since I'd left home -- perhaps even longer for some of my teammates. We also had to adjust to an 8-hour time difference. At that point, we wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed.

But it's a custom in Kenya never to send a guest to bed hungry, and so, in deference to our hosts, we had to stay up to enjoy a traditional Kenyan meal which had been prepared for us. Those types of gestures -- especially when you're making a first impression -- are vitally important, and the fact that you're sleepy is no excuse for being rude.

Here's a tip for anyone considering a foreign mission trip, or any other trip that will take you to a remote area of a developing nation. If you call and ask your health insurance provider, they may tell you that you're covered during international travel. But what that may mean is that if you spend money for a doctor or hospital while you're abroad, you can save your receipts and file a claim once you return. The insurance company isn't necessarily going to guarantee expenses while you're overseas, and your doctor overseas may have little interest in filing a claim with an American insurance company.

Even worse, what if you were in a remote corner of the world and had to be airlifted out to the closest Western-quality hospital? Would you have enough money to pay for the cost out of pocket?

Overseas Travelers Protection Plan (www.otpplan.com) is a company that specializes in health insurance for this type of foreign travel. They will cover emergency medical and airlift expenses, and the cost is quite reasonable. There may be other companies and plans as well; ask your insurance agent.

I took out OTPP policies for both my 2003 and 2004 trips -- although in 2004, I forgot to take the card with me bearing my policy number and the emergency telephone number to call for assistance. I didn't realize this until after I'd returned home. Good thing I didn't need to call!

John I. Carney is city editor of the Times-Gazette and covers county government and other topics. His home page is lakeneuron.com. "Countdown to Mission" will appear each weekend from now until his Kenya trip in August.