the month of sickness

Hey friends,
If you haven’t heard, I got pretty sick a few days ago – throwing up quite a bit which eventually led to an IV. I was a little nervous at first, because things are just done differently here and when you’re far from home and incoherent, your imagination can take off quickly. I am feeling much better and am grateful to just be sitting upright and not vomiting. I still feel lightheaded standing, so I am teaching my classes sitting down and getting rides from our awesome driver at the school. My students were so sweet while I was sick, offering their homes, beds, what little medicine they have, offering their time, and of course offered that classes could be cancelled for as long as it takes for me to feel better. Ha, nice try. Being sick in a foreign country far away from home was not a whole lot of fun, but I am eternally grateful for Sarah, (my roommate and another one of the English teachers) who so courageously found me in the classroom vomiting and shaking and far from beautiful…she held my hair while I threw up and cried when I cried and prayed for me as I was sick and vomiting over and over. She stayed by my side all through the night listening to my moaning and groaning, held my hand as I got an IV and whenever I did something as little as coughed, she asked me what she could do or get for me. As if we weren’t bonded before, we definitely are now. It doesn’t matter how old you are when you’re sick, you always seem to want your own bed and your mom, but Sarah was the next best thing. We’re still not sure as to what I got sick from, but there seems to be something going around the refugee camps – as I said in the last blog, October is the month of sickness. I hear many people are sick back home in the valley, I guess we’re all in good company. It’s hard to bounce back quickly here, due to not being able to drive to a convenience store and buy vitamins or medicine and whatever else I need to get back on track, so prayers for a speedy recovery are most appreciated. I want to give my all being here, but I know I need to be rested and well in order to love well.
No new chicken stories, plenty of bug and cockroach stories, but I’ll spare those of you who read this today. I am still covered in bug bites from head to toe...and have discovered it doesn’t matter where I sleep – inside or outside, I still get bit. It’s actually quite impressive how much these little suckers bite. Every morning Sarah and I wake up and find new ones. Sarah was smart and got all her shots – I on the other hand, did not. Our host sisters, who often times sleep with us have not gotten bit once. It’s the craziest thing. The heat is still here and making us feel sluggish, but we are hanging on to Jesus and knowing He’ll see us through. A team of ladies gets here next week from Appleton and we are all so excited to have them join us and bring goodies from home!
Jess and I have been going through some studies with Najla – which are just studies that compare and contrast the similarities between the Qu’ran and the Bible…it has been going really well. All three of us ended up in tears at the last study we had. I am wrestling with what I hear Islam is and is not and with what I know God is and what He is not. I want to see the people of the Sahara free – and in more ways than one.
I hope these next two months speed up and I hope they go by extra slow, as I want to get home and see all of you and celebrate Christmas, but I also want to stay and keep building these relationships and loving the Saharawi. God’s compassion is here – His grace and mercy fails us not.
Someone…anyone, please have a Starbucks for me!!!!!! Or a mocha blast from Baskin Robbins – those are the two cravings I have had so far!
Love wins,
Sarah
Prayer requests:
All those who are sick – here in the camps and back home in the Valley
Najla – that she would come to know Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior
The staff here at the English center – for them to be loved and to come to know our one true Love
Our host family, the students at the English center, & the whole Muslim population – they know part of God, but not all of Him, prayers that maybe God would speak to them through dreams or people or words and they would come to know Him as Messiah
All these bug bites!