Knowing that i am not just a tourist in Guatemala, but that i actually live and work here for the next year, i have been making a strong effort to adapt to life as a "Guatemalan." I can honestly say that so far, i 've tested the water with both feet. I've eaten whatever the people i've been with were eating, in the very conditions in which it was prepared, (see part one and two of previous post). I brushed my teeth and showered with the same water. I've eaten salad, and other food or beverages made with water as long as they were heated up. I did everything except drink large amounts of water straight from the tap. And even for that i've been teased on a consistent basis. Especially because i have a 5 gallon jug of "agua pura" in my room that Hunter and i use daily. I told the guys after the coming Y.C.I. convention (which will be covered) i would take the drinking water plunge as sort of a final step but now I'm not too sure. Tuesday morning my whole body was so racked with pain i was screaming out loud uncontrollably. My stomach felt as if it was overfull of battery acid and razor blades. My body temperature was giving me sensations as if i were continually walking from a sub-zero walk-in freezer, out into the bright burning sun, and then back again. I promise you it felt like the sun would suddenly start burning my face. It was absolutely maddening. Sometimes i was pouring sweat, sometimes frozen with goosebumps, and all in this while in bed for about 5 days, too weak to even take hunter outside on a regular basis. That Tuesday Chris, and all the guys took their relatively new missionary to the Doctor.
And then this happened..........
At the end of my visit i gave the receptionist 400.00Q (quensales) which is significantly less if you equate it to US dollars. I was told however that the express blood work, and extensive staff isn't common procedure and most likely they saw a gringo from Connecticut and hiked up the bill. However they upped the service along with it and being so sick at the time complaining about extra medical attention was the last thing i planned to do.
Later that night i got a call from the doctor and he told me I had a bacteria infection from the food i had been eating, and the water i had been bathing in. The medications were delivered to the house/ inpatient drug rehabilitation center, with no prescription needed for 90.00 Q later that night. The next day Chris got sick himself and was diagnosed with an intestinal parasite.
IT took only ten days of living "as a Guatemalan" to completely break me physically. Within a week of my regular running routine (about 40 miles x week) I developed debilitating and painful shinsplints running around this very treacherous concrete jungle with nowhere soft to land my feet at any part of the run. Shortly after being taken out of my physical exercise routine that i thrive on, the rest of me was taken down by bacteria. To be honest, the sickness brought on an element of feeling "homesick" which i would have calculated as drastically pre-mature if i were to have pre-calculated it's appropriate place and timeline on my mission. However, when your lying there in a third world country, with nothing but your thoughts and sick body for days on end, your mind can start doing some crazy things. I was so thankful however, for this obvious and yet sorely needed revelation and reminder.
Phillipians 4:12-13 "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."
I have read about Paul's secret many times. I have tried to apply it to life circumstances here and there. But living here, in light of the recent posts i've shared, and even more so in the wake of what's to come, i believe i will truly learn that secret for myself. In fact, i understand that as part of the very reason God has called me here. Formally, i was the kind of guy who could make himself miserable and discontented in paradise and in ideal situations. I could be touring with my bands and finding myself at the Grand Canyon, the Pacific ocean, or even Europe and somehow find a way to misery. But why figure it all out now? Because I have to. Because it's time. And because here among me are all good and necessary ingredients for spiritual growth. Poverty, sickness, impending natural disasters, and pandemics lie all around me. As I learn the secret of being content here, i'll be able to be truly content if God elevates me to more "comfortable" surroundings. What about you? I'm willing to bet your not always so content in difficult situations. That is perfectly normal. We all need to work at how we deal with adversity. It's still interesting to know that a man just like us found a secret to being content in those situations though isn't it? How about this, are you content with being well fed, or living in plenty? Does joy sometimes sort of miss it's mark despite those blessings too? I believe this secret is attainable to everyone and well worth seeking! I also want you to know that i'm at peace even as i write and meditate on the above Scripture. Finally, as an update, i still have 5 days of anti-biotics left to take, which i will even though they destroy my stomach, but I'm basically healed of infection! . It's just a matter of getting up and running again now....literally.
