I am an outcast. I have been seperated
from my team, ripped away from ministry, longing to hold the children
of Tambo de Mora, and dreaming of the day I can do that again. I have
been stripped away from life as I know it here in Peru only to be
‘locked up’ in a side room and placed in solitude. I HAVE BEEN
EXILED.
We arrived back to camp after a hot,
beautiful Sunday ministry when it stuck me. My head pounded, body
began to ache and chills covered me. This is when my exile started…
I bundled up in my fleece and cuddled under my sleeping bag as I
sweat through the chills. I heard praises being sung to God as
everyone else laughed and worshipped Him. I was bored and lonely but
prayed and praised Him in the mist of the pain. Finally I fell asleep
in the presence of the Lord til the middle of the night I woke up
freezing, shivering like I never have before. Full of fear but calm
knowing I am in His hands, I finally gained enough energy to bundle
up to get help and gather more blankets. About an hour later, I
shivered my way back to sleep in 2 sleeping bags and blankets….
Exile day 1: The morning came as the
fever and exhaustion lingered. I layed in my tent until the heat got
unbearable and I had to be transferred to the onsite enfermery. Robby
and Patrice were also here…yay for friends! We put a movie on the
laptop and of course fell asleep to it. Patrice got better! (praise
God!) but Robby and I remained. I’m pretty sure we slept 20 hours
that day. Whenever we woke up we downed a gatorade and filled up on
Vitamin C drops. Occassionally we had a bit more energy so we’d read
about 2 chapters from tbe Bible which would knock us out all over
again. We counted the bamboo branches on the ceiling over and over.
There’s 49 of them. What more can we do but laugh at misery of the
situation and praise God? Sick on day 9…just lovely! At 11:30 I
woke up and relocated myself back to the comforts of my tent in hopes
tomorrow we’d both be better.
Exile day 2: My fever broke, but
stomach pains remained. Back to the infermary I go, again laughing at
the misery. You are funny God! haha. Robby went to the d
octor to find
out he has herpes on his neck. Again…very funny, but totally not.
Thankfully we were in exile together and today Tammy joined us. She
has laringitis. We couldn’t sleep because we did all day yesterday.
We contemplated why? Why are we sick? God, is there something you’re
trying to teach us? We’re not here to be sick! These people need us,
we need them! Heal us already! It continued…the frustertration,
laughter, pain, drinking gatorade, laughing, counting bamboo, and 2
more movies!
We lived our lives as outsiders as
groups gathered, prayed, and worshiped we layed helpless in a cement
room. We got many visitors who would drop in and check on us, see how
we were doing and if they could do anything for us like get us
gatorade. Then they’d continue on their way. We fulfilled our roles
as slackers.
I felt like an extremely contagious
sick person, not that people didn’t want to help, just being on the
outside. We heard the fun and joy, however we couldn’t take part in
it. We felt the love of people, but just desired socializtion. We
wanted contact with the ‘outside world!’
Maybe God is teaching us how to love on
the sick. Those who really have been forgotton about, who don’t have
hope, who don’t know His great love. They’re lonely in an exiled room
they have created for themselves-literally or just a state of mind.
There in their home they long to be loved, for someone to care, to
feel better, for hope! Their joy and laughter are muted, they just
want to give up.
We walk past these people everyday in
hopes we don’t ‘get’ their sickness. Why can’t we reach out and show
them the great love God has blessed us with? The love that is beyond
our wildest dreams, that streches to the sun, it is more than we can
imagine! All it would take was a simple smile or hello to brighten
someone’s day, to give them hope. It’s not about ‘converting’ someone
or overwhelming them with ‘God talk’ it is about sincerely LOVING
them as Jesus loves us.
Exile day 3: We are both healed! Satan
saw us as threats and put us on the bench for a few days. Well, we
are still threats and now just bigger ones! We’re not gonna take it!
Praise GOD for our healings!!! 🙂 yay!!
ps. thanks so much for all who prayed
and carried us through this!
MUCHO AMOR
