Friday morning, bright and early, I'll be hopping on a bus to Quito (a 5-6 hour bus ride away) to spend some quality time alone seeing the sights, and relaxing...ahhhh....
Actually, that's far from the truth. I'm headed to Quito to see an allergy specialist about some major issues.
Basically I'm allergic to Ecuador.
I know I'm mildly allergic to dust, as I discovered during my short stint as a
22 FEET!!!
To put this into perspective, Seattle gets around 5 feet per year, so we're around 4.5 times rainier than one of the rainiest cities in the USA. To put it mildly, it's really wet here. And, when you live in a concrete house, the walls soak up the water, turning your house into a super-humidified mold machine capable of growing fungus on things you would never imagine getting moldy - wood, clothes, leather, you name it. I once had unopened cans of spices (like the rectangular ones you get from Kroger) that seriously turned to big hunks of mold before I ever got them open. Since they're not plastic wrapped or anything, the mold spores somehow can get into the little cracks and crevices between the lid and the can! It was a sad day when I opened my american Chili Powder to find it was a solid mass of green mold. :(
Anyway, I said all that to say that the incredible mold problem has forced me to see the doctor rather than live on Benadryl (which I have been doing for the last 6 months). Of course, the only specialists are in Quito, so I'll be going up there to do all the appropriate tests and, hopefully, get some treatment, as well as spend my very first night ALONE! This will, obviously, be Andy's first night alone with Jude, so I'm hoping they have a fun time... As for me, I plan on taking a book, some ultra-warm clothes (Quito is cold!), and maybe watching some Ecuadorian TV at the Hostel (we don't have a TV so it's always weird and nice to watch when we're around it). I just might get that relaxing weekend after all :)
On a completely different note, I have a major prayer request for those of you who will take me up on it. Some of you may have seen the pictures on facebook, but here's the story. A little boy (no more than 10 or 12 years old) was climbing a tree out in one of the villages in the jungle (he was probably getting some fruit), and he fell out. On his way down a large pointy stick somehow entered his skull and lodged itself into his brain. He was flown to the hospital here in Shell (a missionary hospital run by HCJB Global) where they performed surgery to repair the damage. He recently regained consciousness, and can move his limbs, but has completely lost the ability to speak due to the part of his brain that was injured. The doctors say that there is a chance he will regain his speech, but it could definitely be permanent. His father seems to be open to the Gospel, and we believe that the Lord could use this situation to bring him to Salvation! Please pray for this family, for the boy's healing, and for the spiritual rebirth of the family.
love,
Priscilla
