Now I realize I have had this rash twice before. Both times when I was spending more time up in El Hatillo and La Tigra - the rainforest. At this point I only have one spot that is still itchy so I am very content. The rest are fading away so quickly it is amazing! Just since this morning the improvement is remarkable.
My Dr in the states sent me here armed with several different meds. I've been taking them all. When I saw the Dr today I laid them all out on the table. He set three aside and told me not to use them, but showed me the one that had helped and others that were good pain relievers. He will come back to see me on Thursday to make sure I am fully healed. I think I will be. Oh! It feels so good to go to bed tonight knowing that I'm not sleeping in bed bugs or allergic to my sheets and my clothes! Just need to stay dry.
Marlin had pancakes all ready when we arrived today. I was still not feeling very strong (he said the weakness means I have a strong allergic reaction), but finally roday I found something that sounded appealing - yogurt! So Jairo and I bought a ton of it. I already ate almost all.
Lorenzo and I have a new special bond. I'm not sure why. He has decided that he needs lots of long hugs from me, which is absolutely fine with me. In fact I love it! I have a strong feeling he doesn't get hugs outside of the church. I asked him how old he is today. He comes up to the top of my leg and he is 8 years old. Tragic.
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| Lourdes speaking with Lorenzo |
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| On the left of Lourdes, Lorenzo - age 8, on the right of Lourdes, Meylin - age 6 See how tiny he is? |
Junior also showed up today. He is two. Lourdes pointed out how much weight he has lost, just in the time I have known him. His family is very dysfunctional and can't pull it together enough to get him to the church so he can get some food in his belly. It is distended and his legs are skinny. Very sad to see. But he sure is a high spirited boy. Seems like he has no idea that he is so young. He tries to take charge of everything and doesn't let anyone get in his way. Today he decided it would be fun to throw toys at a much older boy, and then have the boy throw toys at him. I stopped the marvelous game before anyone was hurt, and then looked outside to see them throwing toys into the rafters, trying to get them to hang there. Lourdes gave them a stern talking to before we prayed today about throwing toys in the church.
Today was Lourdes' last day at the breakfast program before she leaves for a trip with her family to the states. I'll have lots of help, with Marlin and Walter and the teen aged girls, so I'm not worried.
Tomorrow, however, Walter, Jairo, and Ethel (the leader of the Elders), are invited to a meeting at the President's house! It is about how to solve the gang problems. Jairo seems to be looking forward to it.
Josselyn and I got to hang out for a while as her father was meeting with Walter and Ethel. She is about to finish another term of college and continues to work hard and enjoy school. We ordered books from Amazon today. Amazon doesn't deliver to Honduras, so they are all being sent to a good friend in the states. Joss is very excited to get her books. She wasn't expecting to be able to have them and has been trying to figure out a way since the first day I got here when I was reading one of them on my Kindle. She really wanted her own hard copy since she reads them over and over. We did some shopping and she was worried about the cost so I told her I would buy her a book as a birthday present, even though her birthday is still months away. Her family does so much for me, I really wouldn't mind paying for all of the books, but I don't know if her father would appreciate that.
I paid my first bill today! That was exciting and made me feel like I really live here. The electric bill gets stuck with masking tape on your front gate and you gave to take this little thing, smaller than a grocery receipt, and pay it at the bank. Bank lines are always very long, but since there is no postal system here, that is how you receive and pay your bills.
Last night I was thinking about how much I had looked forward to seeing Karla and Jose, but in reality I haven't spent much time with them. They are so busy with work and college and their kids that I fully understand, but I still wish I could see them more often than a quick hello after church. Tonight Karla called and invited me to come spend the weekend at their house. I eagerly accepted the invitation. Maybe we can go to the mercado and buy fresh fruits, veggies, cheese and meat from local vendors, like we used to when I lived here before. I love the mercado and have not been able to go at all yet. It is like a giant farmers market with meat hanging from hooks and fish lying on tables and fruits and veggies you have never seen before. Heaven! I remember buying so many veggies we covered a table big enough to seat 8 ppl and we only spent $14 US dollars. That place is awesome!
I had another new experience today. I had to pay two months' rent, since I won't be here in the beginning of July, plus a few other bills, so I went to the ATM and had to take out 20,000 Limpiras. That feels a little scary. I kept doing the math over and over in my head, worried that I was going to bankrupt my account. Ended up the machine would only give me 10,000 Limps at a time, but it still felt odd pushing those big numbers into the machine. Since my landlord is moving I will get her washing machine. When I get back from the states, I will have a washer! That is very exciting to me. She is not getting rid of her dryer, unfortunately. But the rainy season will end some day. Then my rash will go away and drying clothes on the line won't be quite so challenging. In the meantime I do love thunderstorms ~
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