Higher standards and lower standards
Lower standards – Toilet seats are HUGE blessings. Cockroaches are a stable member of our community. The food is most of the time gross. Nothing really bothers you anymore. When a huge bug wakes you up at 5am by crawling up your leg you just brush it off with a sigh rather than jumping up on the bed screaming with your headlamp in hand some how already on shining it on the thing wondering how you going to squish it when it all over your stuff (maybe that happen the second time it crawled up my leg… fool me once…) Feeling clean is a gift. There are levels of dirty laundry….there are ALOT more but you get the picture…
Higher standards – All those great things that the bible tells you to walk in… we walk in now. Things like character, integrity, honor, respect, self-control, servant-hood, higher levels are required all the time to keep the growth of our community on track and healthy. Walking together towards the goal.
Is it worth it… YES! A thousand times yes!
Hospital Visits
I was in the hospital again this week, this time food poisoning causing massive dehydration, something that would be easily taken care of back home. But here #1 who knows what you have, it could be anything #2 Your already dehydrated so a morning of visiting the bathroom for multiple reasons literally ‘takes it ALL out of you’ #3 You eventually learn that here it’s better not to wait to see if you get better, A. because when you get worse it’s exponential B. You don’t have anything with you that can help you C. Getting to the hospital requires a way to get there and an open hospital, both can’t be taken for granted.
Now something rather odd happened while I was laying on the first bed. While they were taking the initial blood samples and everything, many nurses were coming in and out but one nurse (and Josh can back me up on this) had some interesting questions..
If I remember right our casual conversation went something like this…
“Are you Chinese or Canadian?” – Nurse
“Chinese” – Me
“Where are you from?” – Nurse
“United states” – Me
“United States of Canada?” – Nurse
“…yes” – Me
As she was leaving…
“Estas Bien?” – Nurse
“….Si” – Me
As I was leaving…
“Is he a man or a girl?” – Nurse
“He is a man” – Josh
“His hair looks like a girls” – Nurse
Hahahahaha… apparently I look like a spanish speaking Chinese woman from the United States of Canada!!
Real life World Race: Viewer Discretion Advised
Community – Not always butterflies and rainbows… Sometimes it’s 6 people living in one room all with diarrhea at the same time… and on top of that one has malaria, and one has typhoid and another food poisoning….
The moral?
Where dirty, nasty, smelly sickness abounds, love and grace abound.
God Bless! Love Yall!
