So since I am pretty bad at this whole bloging thing, and
not all of you follow me on Instagram (which you should because the places I
get to see are incredible! kpoe14), I decided it was time I do a little update
blog on where I am and what I am doing.
At the end of February, my squad had some fun travel days on
the way to Europe. We flew from
Lilongwe, Malawi to Ethiopia where we ended up getting vouchers for a free
overnight stay in a hotel for our layover. Yes, I now have a stamp on my passport from Ethiopia. We may have only been there for 15
hours, but it still counts.
Then we had a flight to Frankfurt, Germany followed by one
to Warsaw, Poland with yet another overnight layover. Sadly, this time we had to sleep on the floor of the
airport, but with 40+ Z squaders, everything is still an adventure. The next morning, we caught out flight
to Estonia. In the airport, we
separated into our teams and said our goodbyes. Then my team walked with our massive packs to the bus
station to catch a 4-hour bus ride to Riga, Latvia.
Yall, I am in love with Riga. Yes, I know I say that a lot. But no joke, this city is the most beautiful one I have ever
seen, hands down. Oralia, you can
have New York City. Ill take Riga.
So my teams ministry this month is to actually search
Latvia for ministries that Adventures in Missions dont know about. We call them Unsung Heroes. They are people serving Jesus without
the recognition or support that they need or desire. We get to meet these people, hear their stories, share their
stories, and possibly help make them a future contact for World Racers. So if you know me at all, this month is
basically my favorite. I get to
just meet and talk to people. J
And the craziest part about it is that the Lord called me to be the leader of
this shenanigan. I am in charge of
my team this month when it comes to what we do, who we meet, and where we
go. Which, can I say, is super
scary. I dont really like making
decisions. But my team has been so supportive and the Father has provided in
every way possible.
For the last two weeks, we have been living in a church
(Vilande Baptist. If you ever make it to Latvia, go visit it on a Sunday) in
Riga. Possibly, my favorite part of Riga is the group of people we have met from
the church. We have made some
legit Latvian friends who have saved us time and time again. So shout out to Tabita, Toms, Valters, Janis, and Mikus. Despite all the
sarcasm, you all have been such a blessing in our lives. We can never thank you enough. I dont even want to think about how
hard it is going to be to leave yall.
Okay enough of the sappy. Now for the part you have been waiting formy hospital
adventure! So all last week, I was
not feeling so great. My throat
and lymph nodes would constantly hurt. I would do what I needed to do and then just fall asleep when we got
home. My team was worried, but I
knew I wasnt really that sick so I fought them when they tried to make me rest.
(Sorry AIM and Mom) Well then
Sunday rolled around and I felt horrible. I tried to pretend that I was okay, but by that night, I was running
over 100-degree fever. My body
wouldnt let me sleep, and my fever kept rising despite the enormous amount of
medicine I took. So the next
morning I was taken to the hospital, to the infectious disease part
specifically.
Because I had just come from Africa, and my squad mate was
already in the hospital with malaria, they quickly admitted me and set me up in
a hospital room with her. I dont
really remember Monday that much because I was running over 101-degree fever,
but at some point they told me I did not have malaria. Praise the Lord! Instead I had some
bacterial infection and they were going to keep me for a couple days to try to
fight it with IV antibiotics. Yall, I was so upset! I thought for sure that
they would let me out of the hospital once they knew it wasnt malaria.
Nope. So my first hospitalization
EVER was in Riga, Latvia. Probably not the most ideal situation, but it was an
adventure.
Once my fever finally went down the next day, I had a grand
time keeping my squad mate company and causing just a little bit of trouble. We
may or may not have pressed the emergency call button a few too many
times. But what else were you
supposed to do when you ran out of toilet paper? But seriously. We also may have ordered out and had a
pizza delivered, and we may have eaten it outside. It was our first taste of freedom! (I am a horrible patient
by the way. Sitting in a hospital
bed kind of drove me crazy.)
And then there was yesterday morning when the doctor who
didnt really speak English tried to tell me that I was really sick and was
going to have to stay in the hospital for up to two more weeks. Yall I literally started crying. Me, in
a hospital, for two weeks when I felt completely normaltorture! After a couple
hours, we found out that she actually had me confused with another patient and
that I was going to be able to go home later that day. Talk about an adventure with language
barriers. Gotta love it.
I finally escaped the hospital late yesterday afternoon and
have been living it up in Riga since. It honestly felt like coming home. I am so happy. I love this place so
much. I really never want to leave!
So now you are updated! Until next time!
