Fevers, Fevers, Go Away!

Nam is still in the hospital, so every couple days I’m there on a morning, afternoon or night shift. She’s been stitched up again and seems to be doing well, so hopefully she’ll be home in a couple days. Along with that, we’re still dealing with constant fevers as all of the kids have had it once and a few of them are on their second bout. Checking temperatures a couple times a day has become habit and I’ve been dishing out children’s Tylenol like it’s going out of style. It’s been very frustrating and draining and I pray that soon, these fevers will finally be over and done with.

The other night, I realized just to what degree the things with Nam, Selina and the kids have affected me. I was out in the living room waiting for Fred to arrive to pick up some things on his boda and bring them to the hospital for us when Emily H came in rather swiftly and said, in a way that I interpreted as distressed, that she had just received a text from Emily W. My heart dropped and instantly I was prepared for some horrible news. It was only a moment later that she informed me that Emily was just texting to say that Fred would not be coming due to the rain, but by the time she said that I was already on the verge of panic. I laughed, relieved, and told her, through my nervous laughter, that she’d nearly given me a heart attack. It was a good 15 minutes before I was able to unwind and no longer feel like I could just sit down and cry. I hadn’t realized until then how on edge this place had made me. I suppose I’ll get used to it eventually but for now it seems that after 29 years of living in a place where people don’t just pass away on you, it’s not easy to adjust to a place where they do.

I have been somewhat expecting to get sick here at some point due to the fact that I got really sick in Haiti, as it’s just something that seems to happen when you travel to a third world country. So, I suppose I should be glad that I had a whole month and a half before it hit me. On Saturday night, we went to this guy Bryce’s house from Bible study for a bonfire and some social time, which was great, but I wasn’t feeling all that well. Long story short, that night I slept on the couch with a bowl nearby so I didn’t kill myself climbing in and out of my top bunk and no one had to hear me throwing up every hour or so. Not fun, for sure, but it was pretty much over by morning and I spent most of Sunday sleeping. I know it’ll take a couple days to get my energy back, but besides that I’m good to go.

Random anecdote: The other day I thought of a dinner that has since become a favorite: chapatti with scrambled eggs, tomato and green pepper. We bought chapatti and veggies in town and that evening sat down at the table to start preparing. I was incredibly excited about this particular dinner because I had been craving eggs for a couple days but part way in Emily W reminded me that we still had no gas for the stove. After a brief moment of intense disappointment, someone suggested the microwave…we were back on track. Preparations completed, we placed the bowl in the microwave only to discover that we were having a bad power day rendering the microwave pretty much useless; 10 minutes of cooking and we still had a bowl of warm, runny eggs. There was one more option and we chose to give it a go. I asked Momma Stella if she would be so kind to fire up one of the coal cookers in the outdoor kitchen and carefully carried out the frying pan praying I wouldn’t trip in the dark and forever destroy any chance of this dinner ever making it to the table. George and I stared and stirred and literally cheered with joy at the first indication that our eggs were actually cooking. Based completely on the level of effort and anticipation, best dinner ever.

Finally, something I love. There’s an art studio in town where I guy named Angelo works; he’s popular, good looking and knows it. He’s also the go-to guy whenever any mzungu wants something painted; whether it’s canvas, a tee-shirt or otherwise. DeAnna, one of the volunteers, had a great idea to have him paint her Bible. Due to how amazing it came out, we have all followed suit and have gone on to bring him journals, mugs and anything else we can think of. Here is what I have had done so far…

My clay mug that I purchased in town; I just told him to paint whatever he wanted. I'm hoping that the earthy taste that comes through into my tea will eventually go away.

Before... (an approximate...)

After...it's a beautiful thing. I was a bit specific about what I wanted based on an idea I got from seeing what he did to Jessica's. The idea is kind of a before and after in regards to the growth, knowledge and understanding that comes from reading through the word of God.