Ana called tonight just as I was about to prepare my first meal of the day. We just spoke yesterday, so it was odd for her to call. Normally I don't answer and call her right back so she doesn't have to spend her money. But for the first time ever, I answered.
Ana said that Isabela is very sick and needs to go to the doctor. She suggested a clinic by my house, but I know two kids who have had serious problems from seeing doctors there (one was just today), so I suggested Dr. Gustavo. Ana forgot that Dr. Gustavo has evening hours and immediately agreed Dr. Gustavo is a better option.
Traffic was horrible because it was the end of rush hour, but I did the best I could. Ana, Isa and the boys were all waiting at the bridge when I got there. Poor Isa was pointing at her eyes and saying they hurt. Ana was scared because she gave Isa pain reliever at 2 p.m., but she was still burning with fever.
I kind of forgot I was wearing clothes I would never normally wear in public until I got into the doctor's office. Of course there were people I knew there. People I haven't seen since I left the other church. Here I am in old yoga pants that look like baggy pajamas and a bleach stained tee shirt which I love because it's so soft. I looked like I am a mess. Oh well. I am pretty sure the people I saw are not the type to judge. And if they do, so be it.
That is one thing about Honduras. The only time you wear exercise clothing is if you are going to exercise. People dress up to go to the store or to the doctor, or just to leave the house. But I was in such a hurry because Ana seemed really scared about Isa, I grabbed keys and my purse and ran out the door.
It was great to see the kids again. Isa managed a few smiles and some kisses for me. Her fever was 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 Fahrenheit) under the arm. But I still think that the term "muy grave" is used too loosely in Honduras. If someone is in "very grave" condition, I expect them to be extremely sick. Like, they could possible die. In Honduras lots of people are "muy grave" and they just have a cold or a scratch.
I hope that is the case with Isa. She is supposed to get bloodwork done tomorrow to see if it is something more serious. Ana is still very sick with this disease that I can't even say the name of. (Nobody can, not even Fany.) It comes from a mosquito bite but is worse than dengue. It is new this year and many, many people have it. First you get a really high fever, then all of your bones ache so much that you cannot get out of bed for weeks, and there is a skin allergy that comes and goes. Ana can hardly walk, especially on stairs. I feel horrible for her because she lives on such a steep hill, always carrying Isa. I felt as bad for Ana as I did for Isa.
Dr. Gustavo did a check up but said that Isa needs to go to a lab because he can only really treat her for a cold unless the blood work shows something else. So tomorrow Ana has to take Isa back to the lab when they are open and get the blood work done.
After stopping at the pharmacy for Isa's meds and some meds for Ana, I dropped them off at the bridge at 8 p.m. We all were starving and wanted to stop for fast food (especially Samuel because he has never been to Burger King) but by then it was so late we agreed it was safer for them to get home.
I headed to Molly's house to plan out next week. It is a big one for us! Molly's kids were already asleep so we got straight to work. Monday we are doing home visits in Los Pinos. We are excited to visit the homes of some of the new people we met last week. We are also going to investigate where Osiris lives. If we are correct, she lives right in the middle of the houses we are already visiting! I will pick up Erika after the home visits and spend time with her. I am really looking forward to this day.
Tuesday is errand and preparation day. We have to pick up a lot of stuff for the Mother's day party and do some last minute preparation for the women's meeting. Wednesday is the women's group. Thursday is our day of rest and prayer. Friday is the Mother's Day Party we are throwing for about 100 people. It is going to be great. Nothing extravagant, but nice.
My friend Carol is going to speak at the Mother's Day party. She is a great at motivating and empowering women. We are going to give out baskets of food as awards to the person who walked the farthest, the person who has the most kids, etc. The prizes are purposely very random because we don't want to appear to play favorites. We have 16 baskets of food as prizes. Every Mom will get a coffee mug that is decorated for Mother's Day with something (we don't know what yet) inside. And we will eat cake from Pricemart (Costco) with jamaica juice. Molly is the perfect partner for me in so many ways. One is that she doesn't buy soda for the kids because she agrees with my impression that they already drink far, far too much on their own.
I got home at 10:45 p.m. and made dinner. Now it is time to rest.
My gym would like me to teach pilates. I told them I am not in good enough shape right now, but that is something that will be fun to work toward. I am going to try to get a free membership if I teach a class once/week. Tomorrow I am going to teach one of the trainers.
Today as I was leaving the doctor's office Dr. Gustavo came out from behind his desk and gave me a hug, as he does to most people. He also said, "Te quiero mucho." There is no real good way to translate that in English. Basically, it is a completely appropriate and acceptable way of telling someone that you really like them a lot in a friendly way. I really like Dr. Gustavo in the same way. He works pretty much 24 hours/day at least 6 days/week. It meant a lot to me that he said that.
If you feel called, please pray for Molly and me as we enter this busy week. We will be doing a lot of important ministry, I believe. You can pray for our safety on Monday as we plan to walk into Los Pinos. (We never know for sure until we actually leave if we are going to go, because it is something we handle very prayerfully due to the level of danger there.) Pray for the women we will work with on Monday and Wednesday, and for us to connect with the women at the Mother's Day party on Friday.
This weekend I am going to a retreat with other missionaries. I am excited to go, but disappointed I will miss the very first class Pastor Ruth is offering about how to preach. I will also miss church on Sunday. It will be strange not to be at the church all weekend. But I am sure the retreat will be a restful gift right before my busy week.
I hear water filling the cistern! Gloria a Dios!! We haven't gotten any water in weeks.
