*DISCLAIMER!!! If you have trouble with bodily functions of sick persons, DO NOT READ THIS!!
On Saturday, January 30, around 11:00am I began to feel sick. Kind of like I needed to throw up, but I want completely sure. This wasn’t good for several reasons, but the first was that our entire squad was about to start traveling to Cambodia. In 5 hours.
At about 2:00pm, I threw up. It wasn’t horribly explosive and I felt so much better afterward. I put on a few essential oils and one of my squad leaders prayed health and healing over me, with the added prayers of a few other people. We all believed that would be the extent of the issues. We were scheduled to leave at 4:30pm on sungtaos (pickups trucks with benches and coverings over the beds).
Around 3:30pm, I felt horrible again. I asked God that if I was going to throw up again, that he would make it happen before we had to leave. We had to be downstairs, completely ready to go at 4:00pm. I threw up again at 3:50pm. This may sound funny, but God is good. He made sure it happened before we got on sungtaos to the bus station.
Upon arriving at the bus station, I was exhausted, and did not feel very well yet again. I was sitting by the window with my team leader, Darek, next to me on the aisle. We boarded at 5:30pm and left at 6:00pm. The ride was to be 10 hours in length.
Not more than 10 minutes into the ride, I feel as if I need to throw up again, although not extremely urgent. I ask Darek if I could get out, and he quickly obliged, knowing the situation. I get to the bus bathroom, which is basically an airplane bathroom with a bucket of water for flushing and no toilet paper, and the feeling goes away. Since I’m there I decided to at least pee instead.
I return to my seat and settle back into my seat. My stomach still feels queer, and I feel some noxious gas coming. I make the decision to quietly pass the gas, and hope it doesn’t smell too rancid. So I carefully control my gas… Explosive diarrhea has never surprised me more… Anyway, I quickly grab my baby wipe pack, ask to get around Darek again, and get that situation quickly handled, and as I sit on the bus toilet, more explosions proceed out of me into the water below me. I decide to stay put for while.
30 minutes later, I am still in the bus toilet room. I had throw up twice (possibly from the smell as well as sickness, had consistently passed exploding farts, and had asked God several times not only to allow the situation to pass quickly, but also to flush whatever the issue was completely out of my system. By the time I exited to toilet area, it was 7:00pm, and we had only been on the road for an hour.
While sitting on the bus toilet, alternating between vomit and exploding diarrhea (well, really multitasking with a bag for the upper end), I actually began praising God for who his is. Not because I was feeling any better, I was actually more miserable than I have been in a while. I was praising him because he is God no matter what, and he never changes. He could see me and was hurting because I was felling to badly. He was not willing to allow me to be alone. I know he loves me, even though it was a horrible experience for my body.
From there I gradually returned to normal, and have regained my appetite and most of my energy in the last few days. Our travels from Bangkok to our current ministry site I will continue in my next blog.
Listen to the meat and throw out the bones. Search scripture for yourself.
