Well friends Nicuragua is coming to an end. How crazy! Month 2 of the world race is pretty much in the books. Let me tell you it’s been no walk in the park. This month I’ve experienced the Lord in ways and walked through things I’ve never imagined. Battled sickness, endured heart aches, and found freedom all within the same 30 days. So buckle up because I’m about to take you on quite the journey.
My squad and I arrived on Ometepe Island in Nicuragua on November 10th after quite the travel days. (If you haven’t read my travel day(s) blog you should. It’s a doozy) We were greeted with the smiling faces of children and a heat I’ve never felt before. We were taken to the house our squad would be staying at and briefed on some of CICRINs rules.
-Dont walk through the grass at night. That’s when the GIANT tarantulas, scorpions, and poisonous snakes are out the most.
-Dont walk around barefoot because the property has a lot of wild animals on it and their feces could contain parasites.
-Only take two minute showers
-Swim in the lake at your own discression. There are sharks, crocodiles, and parasites in the water.
These are just a few of my favorite rules. Haha. I also realize pretty quick how limited my access to Wi-Fi would be this month. There was no wifi at CICRIN and it was a 15 min walk to the bus stop, a 20 minute ride to town and at least an hour wait for the bus. We also had pretty heavy ministry hours throughout the week taking up most of the day so it was hard to even find enough time to go to town. Which meant not a lot of communication with home or Colin. (Which if I’m being honest was the hardest part). None the less I was so pumped to be starting month 2 and ready to dive into ministry, but my body was telling me to slow down. Obviously I didn’t listen and paid for it. After a week of ministry and pushing my body frequent trips to the bathroom, cold chills, and nausea seemed like the new normal for me. I had seen a nurse/long term missionary staying at CICIRN who gave me some antibiotics and rehydration packets, but they brought no relief to my body. After ignoring my body for at this point two weeks I hit a breaking point. Unable to eat or really move at this point I asked my team to contact the local doctor and finally gave my body the rest it demanded. The doctor agreed to a home visit and diagnosed me with a bacterial infection in my intestines and moderate dehydration. Finally after two weeks, 48 hours of sleep, a round of Cipro, a whole lot of anti-diarrhea, and some rehydration liquid I saw the light on the other side.
In the midst of these two weeks God was on the move! On our first adventure day, which was saturday the 18th my squad went zip lining. Since I had been sick for a week and still at that point hadn’t seen a doctor I stayed home. I was bummed, but felt the Lord asking me to stay home. I thought it was so I could rest, when in reality it was a divine appointment with with Him. He revealed insecurities and heart aches to me that I didn’t even know I had. Things that I didn’t even know were affecting my life.
It was a tangible example to me that God will use all situations for His glory. In the midst of my sickness, feeling so ill I couldn’t leave my bed and stuggling with missing home the Lord managed to used that space to move in my heart like I had never felt Him before. Although I have spent the better portion of month 2 battling sickness and trying to cope with feeling like I’m missing out of my loved ones lives it allowed me the space to spend the most intimate time I’ve ever had with the Lord.
Stay Blessed,
Marah
