Zambia.
I’ve had such a splendid month and this story has been a funny moment that sticks out amongst the many stories.
So,
We arrived to Livingstone, after a short ride across the border. This place is small but has decent infrastructure. We were sent to our Host’s home, which was spacious and had bunk beds for all of us.
The first thing we noticed about Livingstone was that it was Hot.
Last month is Zimbabwe, it was not nearly as hot. In fact, there were some chilly days. But the increase in temperature made sense, as October is notably one of the hottest months. Livingstone operates on water, and rainy season has been slow. Slow, as in, non existent. Because there is no water, there is limited power here (a situation I had anticipated we would leave behind in Zim). Neverless, we are grateful. Just painting an image for you all back in America.
The first night, Elaina and I pulled out our hammocks and hung them up. We noticed it was so cool outside, a comfortable temperature to sleep in. Inside, it was a sauna, even with the windows open!
We indeed successfully escaped the heat, but there was something else out there for me.
We had the set up.
My hammock has a built-in bug net. I felt invincible!
The only issue was that I had only my towel as my blanket, and I slept in shorts and a tank top.
There were definitely mosquitos around. I could here them buzzing obnoxiously but felt like a *baller* under the safety of my net.
Buzz away, little blood suckers!
But, My sleep was not as I expected.
I didn’t sleep much at all actually, as it got surprisingly cold. I wanted to fight through it because getting out of the hammock seemed like a battle against mosquitos who were waiting aggressively on the outside. It sounded like a whole army.
Yet, it became too much, as the rooster wouldn’t stop crowing at 2am, 3am, 4am, and maybe i could carry an hour of sleep if i got more clothes. So i bravely stepped out of my hammock and ran to the door.
It was locked. Ugh. Thats fine.
Definitely the safe choice.
In that moment i surrendered to a sleepless night. At least i wasn’t sweating to death, and mosquitos couldn’t get me.
So i crawled back into my cocoon and lay there, listening to the rooster crow until daylight crept over the horizon.
The sun rose as it always does and I couldn’t get inside faster.
But as i woke up, I noticed my arms had bumps. Hmm, maybe an allergic reaction? And so i brazed my fingers over my arm over and over, taking note of how many bumps, in shock.
Uh, what is this?
I was ~ITCHING~ to get back inside to investigate.
As the day progressed, the bumps became more obvious, more red, more swollen. They began to itch aggressively, and I started to see more and more where I neglected to notice at first glance.
I realized soon enough that these were indeed mosquito bites,
so many mosquito bites that they grew together to form a huge patch of swollen skin, almost indistinguishable.
It was so bad that it was actually comical.
I asked my Host mom, “Have you ever gotten Malaria” and she laughed. “MANY TIMES!” and so i asked her husband, in which he said “I’ve gotten malaria like, 16 times in my life!”
great! So we prayed.
Each day passed and they seemed to get worse, growing more and more, and for bonding time, I had Elaina count every single bite.
The bites were on my face.
On my fingers.
On the bottom of my feet.
On my back.
But the largest amount was on my right thigh and left arm,
All adding up, to the number of 215.
215.
Never thought i could say that.
My grandma used to say mosquitos loved me because my blood was so sweet. I would laugh because I am not very sweet at all. But sure.
And better yet, Elaina, who was just above me in her Eno, without a mosquito net, managed to not get a single bite. How odd and mysteriously comical is that!
Turns out, mosquitos can bite through the hammock nylon.
??????
They can bite through a lot, actually.
Some of the bites on my left arm have scarred in which i’m hoping they will fade!
and this experience has made me grateful for when I only have 10 bites, whereas previously, 10 bites would’ve aggravated me. So Hallelujah for the little things.
Some positives: I haven’t shown any signs of malaria! The signs and symptoms can appear at 7-10 days, but can also appear as late as 1 year later.
So continue praying for me!
I’ll be sharing a blog soon about ministry and my spiritual experience here in Zambia.
Thanks for reading!
Love you guys, and I’m doing great!
XOXO
