Yes, you read that right. Our entire team (minus Jacob) got hit with food poisoning this past week. And let me just say—it has been the greatest bonding experience for our team. I’ll catch you up to speed and then explain how all this happened.
Two weeks ago our squad finished the Camino de Santiago and headed to southern Spain for debrief. After spending a week in Mijas, Spain, we took multiple forms of transportation, including a ferry ride across the strait of Gibraltar, to Morocco.
On the second day here in Morocco, I woke up with no voice. A cold had been going around our team at debrief and I unfortunately got it, too. I spent my first day in Morocco laying in bed with no voice and a fever as I tried to fight off the cold. Meanwhile, my team went out and explored the Medina and all things Morocco. When my team came back that night, they had brought me some dinner and told me how they found some amazing street food that was super cheap. I opened up a wrapper to find a chicken sandwich with fries squished inside. It looked slightly questionable, but it tasted really good.
The next day I was mostly feeling better, so I joined my team as we went out and explored more of the city. We walked around the Medina and then ate local desserts on a terrace overlooking the city. It was such a beautiful evening. Thankfully, we had no idea what was just around the corner…
That night, my friend Lauren woke up in the middle of the night with everything that comes along with food poisoning. At one point, after having thrown up multiple times, Lauren sat out on the balcony right outside our room and we all stood around her and prayed over her. After we finished praying, I looked up into the sky and could see the moonlight shining on the Moroccan buildings. It hit me in that moment of, “What even is this life?” That’s become a common phrase for me.
The next day I put my nutrition skills into action and went to the pharmacy with my friend Tamara to try to find something with electrolytes. Through a combination of English, French, Arabic, and Google Translate, we were able to get something from the pharmacy for my friend.
Later that day, our team had been invited to someone’s home for couscous. Lauren and Lila stayed back, but the rest of us put on our most conservative clothing options and walked through the winding streets to a friend’s home for lunch. The meal was amazing—it was couscous and chicken with raisins and lots of vegetables. Then, they brought out an entire platter of fruit filled with pomegranates, apples, oranges, and grapes. Of course, to finish the meal, we had Moroccan tea. At the end of the meal however, I started having awful stomach cramps. It was so bad I knew I wasn’t going to make it back to our house in time, so I asked the man who invited us if I could use his restroom. Then, as soon as I came out, I realized that several other people on my team were in the same predicament.
Oh shoot, it’s coming for us, too.
After tipping our friend extra for letting us use his bathroom, we went back to our home and that’s when I knew I was not doing well. I spent the rest of that day and that night running back and forth from the bathroom. It was not fun. Gradually over the next few days, my team came down with the same thing. Diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, and vomiting. We traced it back to the chicken that was in the street food we ate our second day in Morocco. We also realized that Jacob did not eat the chicken and he never got sick, so it makes sense.
It’s been several days since the worst of it has happened. Most of us are doing much better, though I’m not sure any of us would say we are 100% yet. Except maybe Jacob. Even though I really hate getting sick, it truly has been an amazing bonding experience for all of us. Even when we haven’t felt well, we’ve all done what we could to help whoever was doing the worst. Diarrhea has become a common thing to talk about and we are really good at celebrating when someone doesn’t have to go every 15 minutes or their stool has become more solid. Those are some huge strides for us.
Through this experience, we definitely learned some valuable lessons like not eating street food and always making sure that we have enough toilet paper on hand. Always. I am hoping that we are out of the woods and can really begin doing life here. Morocco is a beautiful country and the people here are so hospitable. Thanks for continuing to be part of my journey!
Praises:
1. We are all doing much better than we were!
2. Our team is coming out of this stronger than ever.
Pr-yer Requests:
1. For continued physical healing for my team.
2. I’m still struggling with my foot. I’m trying to find an airboot cast that will make it easier to walk and still allow my foot to heal. Please pray that I can find one.
3. Pr-y for the people of Morocco and that the Father will give them dreams and visions of His Son.
