The Lord has blessed me so much over the past 3 months by providing mans best friend.
El Salvador:
We had two dogs that were always around, Cosita (little thing) loved to lay in the sun and be pet. Osita (little bear) loved to run in circles and chase a ball. Each morning when I woke up my routine started out the same. Open the door to the courtyard and go right to Cosita sleeping on the step. She let me wake her up each morning; we would sit together; her letting me scratch her back until we were both ready to go water the plants. This was one of my favorite times of the day, there is something about sitting with a dog beside you opening up about anything and everything. Cosita became the ear for my processing, helping me understand what was happening in my head before I could write it down.
Cosita also helped me end my day, she would sit by me as I brushed my teeth, she would chase the rats and cats away when they came to the kitchen. Cosita even tried to stay the night in the room with us, she was the perfect thing for me to have around when life changed so drastically with the start of the race.
Guatemala:
I struggled a lot in Guatemala, everything was hard it seemed. Waking up was hard, being around people was hard, not having a space that was consistently quiet was hard, and having wifi readily available was hard, not having an animal I could pet was really hard. You get the picture.
I didn’t realize just how much I loved dogs until there weren’t any that I could pet. There was a dog that lived across the street. For an unknown reason the dog was paralyzed in its hind legs, only using them to help balance. Everyday I stood on our balcony high above the street and looked down. Each day I watched this dog be pushed out of the door of its ‘home’, to stay on the side of the street all day. It dug through the trash and the grass for food, it laid under the two inches of metal awning that reached over the house when it rained, and it howled. It howled all night long when the family was gone, it tore my heart apart, and there was nothing I could do. That only added to the struggles I was already feeling. For the whole month I had to avoid looking at the dogs because the ach in my heart was too much, I saw things I never want to see again, pain that was caused by humans.
It wasn’t until one of our final days in Guatemala that I was able to pet one of the dogs that I met. The dog belonged to our wonderful cook who had invited us over to her home for dinner. We had to go up to the roof to see her, because it was common to steal pit bulls, so many of the dogs spend all their time on the roofs of the homes. When Sandra called the pitch-black dog to her, we saw nothing but we could hear her, out of the night blackness big white teeth emerged paired with kind loving eyes. The sweet girl came right up to the wall jumping with joy about the prospect of being pet. It broke my heart to know because of the choices people make in the area she was confined for her own safety.
Honduras:
We are living with the pastor’s family, which means life can be a little crazy. The outside space that we have is shared with the families 3 ducks Victoria, Rachael and Grace. We share everything with the two dogs, Chapoo and Toby, not to mention all the spiders, cockroaches and rats that like to hang around too. What more could an animal lover ask for??
Last week we had an off day of ministry and as a team we decided to have worship time right after breakfast. We were sitting around the table as we prepared, getting music set up, finding a comfortable spot to sit/stand. During this time Pastor’s 6-year-old granddaughter came outside with Toby the 4-month-old puppy, in typical Kaidry fashion she dumps Toby on my lap so she doesn’t have to watch him outside (no complaint on my part!). I got to hold a sleeping Toby for our whole worship session, he was so willing to lie on my legs, be held in my arms and laid on my shoulder. He didn’t even know it but he enhanced my worship time 10 fold. Simply being near a dog fills me so much, it feel peace and free to unload the weight on my chest without words. Dogs are a place of home.
When we went to the beach last weekend we met a beach dog that followed us around for two days. All she wanted was to be near people that treated her with kindness, she wanted to be pet and to sit under our beach chairs. Wherever we walked she would walk. When we walked into town to go to the bank, Ginger came with. She waited outside on the front step of us. When we went across the street to the coffee shop, Ginger came with us, waiting in the shade until we were ready to go back. When we went to the water, Ginger went to the water. She never begged, or got aggressive, she listened when we called and never bothered anyone.
It is safe to say having dogs around has been a huge part of my race so far. The peace and love they give have been so necessary for me. I am trying to soak up as much time with dogs as I can now, I never know what the future will hold.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love.
Psalm 103:11
