Article May 19, 2003 Issue

Trust in God breaks fear and fever

By Lisa Taylor

Several years ago, I was sent to Africa on a work assignment as producer for a new shortwave radio station that would be broadcasting 24 hours a day around the world. A small team of us was sent to four countries in Africa—Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Zambia—to get to know our potential audience, find out what they were currently listening to, and learn what more they were interested in hearing. We had an enormous amount of work to accomplish in a very short time.

As part of our assignment, we had to fly from Nigeria to Kenya. As soon as we landed in Nairobi, I began to feel faint, feverish, and lightheaded. We went directly from the airport into a focus-group research session, with no time to collect ourselves or do anything but drop our bags at the hotel and run.

I remember interviewing one client at the research session. I was holding a microphone, just conscious enough to remain standing, hoping that no one would notice how weak I was.