What would you do if, hypothetically speaking, you were deathly allergic to anything from a cow... milk, cheese, hamburger, steak, etc. Okay, maybe "deathly allergic" is going a bit too far, but, let's say you're not in control of your food destiny and people who are in control of your food destiny think your food allergies are "all in your head" or "you're just a spoiled person" or you can "think yourself well" but because you've had diarrhea at least three days out of every week for the past two and a half months you're starting to see water at around your ankles and blood in your urine that tells you different. (This was easily fixed pronto with vitamins and electrolytes - see end of story.) Okay, so let's say that's your background history and you're sitting at lunch in the middle of a jungle and someone has prepared a feast fit for a king. And you're eating it. And you're thinking "Whew, thank you Lord, it's chicken". And let's just say you're sitting with a few people that are making fun of your food allergies in Spanish. And as you eat the chicken you pull something rubbery out of your mouth. And it's a worm. What do you do??? Chew on that for awhile... :P
Yes, that actually happened. And yes, I had a little attitude when telling the story. It grossed me out - ugh! But in this culture, in the rural areas of Guatemala, it's a BIG, BIG deal for someone to kill one of their backyard hens and cook it. This normally only happens during a birthday or some other sort of celebration. Having the dentist come to the village was a major, big, deal. And, yes, the guy in charge was kind of making fun of my lactose intolerance but he's like a brother to me, and I don't know how to express what a heart of gold he has. He is here because God knows the best man for the job. He was also telling the woman of the house what a wonderful meal she made, and how he enjoys a home-cooked meal, and my gosh this soup is so much better than Juanita's (the cook at the mission), and just look at the chicken- it's a backyard hen and not something from the market - it tastes so much better than a market bought chicken. The man of the house was very calmly proud, I could tell he was beaming inside. And his wife was beaming on the outside, blushing every now and again, but very happy because of how much we all enjoyed her meal. The kitchen was made of... well, similar to the picture attached. And there was also a two room structure similarly made. There were two hogs with eight little piglets, and hens, and roosters, all laying around or walking about.
So, that was my dilemma. I didn't know how to handle that situation so I just put a smile on my face... :) Just so you know, it's okay to decline food and let them know we brought our own food along. That's what I'll be doing in the future.
As for my health... Medical teams (most recently in February) leave a pharmacy of meds behind so I've been able to add electrolytes (O.R.S. Oral Rehydration Salts) to my water, take vitamins once a day as well as twice a day every other day for a week, and probiotics to replenish what my body lost when I started to retain water (and freak out) due to lactose malabsorption from severe lactose intolerance. And now we have a new refrigerator in the dining area next to our dorms so we're able to store and keep fresh any food that we purchase. YAY!!! Thank you Lord! (and thank you Meagan ;))
Please pray for everyone's health in the villages and at the mission and that more medical teams, surgeons, and dentists make their way to El Faro, with the purpose of expressing the Love, Grace, and Mercy of Jesus Christ.
Pictures of the following can be found in the link below.
A typical kitchen in a house in the jungle.
A little girl that came to the dentist's office because she had accidently been cut by a machete. I remember when I was in Spanish school the teacher made a list of the following words: 1. Things in a living room: yada, yada, yada 2. Things in a basement: yada, yada, yada, machete. And I thought: Who has a machete in their basement? Yup, thing in a basement: machete.
The stitches that our "dentist" stitched in the little girl's leg.
The first patient the dentist had that wasn't a dental patient.
Can you say, "Time to think outside of the box?" Two very drunk friends of this man brought him to the "doctors" office and they were unable to answer questions about the man because they were so drunk. The man in question had had a few as well and was in a LOT of pain. All the dentist was able to do was give him some painkillers for the pain because he didn't know how to help. He had never seen this before. The man hand not been burned. The dentist sent the pics to various people he knew, including his Dad, and his Dad told him what he thought it was. His Dad had lived in Peten, a northern part of Guatemala near Tikal, and had seen stuff like this but not as severe. This was out of control. There is some sort of fly or flying insect that deposits their eggs under the skin and this man had them in his head. It's likely that he let it get so out of control because he couldn't afford a doctor. And also, I think Rolando said he asked the guy how often he bathed and the guy said once a month or something like that. Ew.
Here's the link:
www.flickr.com/photos/joli4jesus/sets/72157626446845713/#
No comments:
Post a Comment