"Michelle, update your blog. I need something to read that makes me laugh!" -Nelly. I just love her!
Well, here's a belated Craciun Fericit (Merry Christmas) from Chisinau! It has not really felt like holidays around here as life continues on as normal, unlike in SC where you are constantly reminded that it's Christmas time. I will say that the week before Christmas I found myself feeling very sad at times being away from family and friends. Christmas is my most favorite time of the year, and being away from home for the first time at Christmas was a little harder than I expected it to be. My roommate is in America right now so I was alone all week. I wanted at least to buy a Christmas tree but could not find one around here. Then, the day after Christmas I saw so many street vendors selling them. Hmmf! Then, I remembered that on the Orthodox calendar Christmas is January 7. Some people in Moldova celebrate on December 25, but many celebrate on January 7. So, I guess I still have time after all to get a tree if I want :) Another bummer on Christmas was the weather. Every year I want so badly to have a cold, white Christmas. In SC, I might get a semi-cold Christmas but never a white one. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would finally get my cold, white Christmas being in Moldova. Well, it was looking good...temps were freezing the week before. Then we get to about December 23 and a blasted heat wave decided to breeze on through. The temperatures began climbing to around 40-45...then 50...topping it off at around 60 degrees ON CHRISTMAS DAY! Now, I know you're probably thinking that 60 is not hot. No, it's not. BUT, when the high temps have been like 15-20 degrees, 60 feels like summer. I was actually sweating a few times during the day. Then when my family told me how cold it was there and that it snowed I just wanted to cry. De che????!!!! Why??? On December 26, it was back to freezing again. Of course. Then on the 27th, it started snowing and finally stopped around 7-8 inches.
I didn't blog so that I could focus on the negative. I wanted to blog so that I could say how in spite of the "differences" (not negatives) of my holiday this year, there was really no other place that I wanted to be. Not even home. I had a wonderful and eventful Christmas. Here's the quick run down:
Christmas Eve - My teammate and I had a Romanian lesson in the afternoon. After, we celebrated Christmas Eve by going to a nice restaurant downtown. After that we decided to go to my apartment and watch a movie. Well, we walked to the bus stop close to the restaurant and then realized that the road appeared to be closed. Grant it, the restaurant is not really that far from my apartment...if you are going by car! There was nothing to do but walk, so we began walking in hopes that the road would open up somewhere and we could catch a bus or rutiera. I would say we had walked a little over a mile and then discovered why the road was closed. There was a marathon going on!! The most interesting thing about this race was that people were running in their street clothes. I saw girls running in their spiked heels and boots, tight jeans, and diva jackets! It was so funny. So, finally, we walked to a place where we caught a rutiera coming from the other direction and made it back to the apartment only to watch 5 minutes of a movie before Rafael learned that he had to go home! Adventures!
Christmas Day - I slept in...a very different way to spend Christmas morning! We had a big dinner/program at church from 5:00-9:00 that evening. I got to church around 3 so that I could help finish decorating and also to practice the songs I was singing that night. The whole event was so great! I loved watching everyone celebrate and worship using their unique gifts and talents. There was singing, drama, instruments, poems, etc. I remember thinking during the program just how blessed I was to be here. Sure, I missed home and my personal family traditions, but I was abundantly grateful to be able to celebrate Him who called me to Moldova, in Moldova! Breaking out of my traditional way of celebrating Christmas was a unique and special time for me. I realized more and more how we, as Americans, tend to make Christmas about the gifts, traditions, schedules and parties and we really do loose sight of why we celebrate. In Moldova I did not exchange gifts, I did not have to organize my schedule in order to attend 10 different Christmas parties, I didn't have to worry about whose house I would go to this year. I just focused solely on Christ and His entrance into a fallen world that He would redeem through His sacrifice and love. I was able to worship freely and purely with my church family. Not because it's tradition and it's what we do, but because it's yet another day that we have to exalt and praise the Savior of the world.
If I am home next Christmas I feel as though it will be completely different for me after this experience this year. It's all making perfect sense to me. Because He IS greater, I MUST become less. The concept of dying to self is becoming clearer everyday. It is not an option.
Some random interesting things that have happened in the last few weeks:
* Was approached by 2 Jehovah's Witnesses on the street. I told them I did not speak the language and told them as clearly as I knew how in Romanian that I know Jesus Christ and I am a Christian. They were still very insistent that they evangelize to me. After everything they said I would say "Imi pare rau, dar nu inteleg" (I'm sorry, but I don't understand). Finally, one woman threw up her hands and motioned for me to go away!
*I started official Romanian lessons. We were supposed to have one teacher, but she canceled the first two lessons we were scheduled to have. So, the director assigned us another teacher, Elena. She is wonderful!!! Please intercede for her as she is seeking Truth. Yesterday, we were checking our homework. We had to write 10 sentences using vocabulary words that we learned in the previous lesson. Well, Rafael and I both wrote sentences that said something like "My bus stop is next to my apartment." When we read our sentences, Elena instantly got this intense look of confusion on her face and then busted out laughing. We misunderstood Elena when she told us that "cada" means 'bath tub.' We both thought she said "bus stop!" So our sentences were saying that our bath tub is outside next to our apartment!
*I was going to the office one day and the rutiera was so incredibly crowded that I was stuck standing in the middle of people and could not move at all. Normally, many people get out before my stop so I am able to see where we are. Not this time! When I was finally able to see out the window I realized that I was in the middle of some town that I did not recognize at all! I quickly got out and found that I was WAY past my stop! So, I walked back up the street towards the office until Vitalie came and rescued me in the car! It would have been quite the pleasant walk if I wasn't being followed by some crazy dog barking at me. I tried talking to it in Russian thinking that would scare it away, but apparently my Russian is not so scary!
For photos and video of my Christmas here, check out my facebook. I guess I should go ahead and say Happy New Year!!
30 December 2010
14 December 2010
Written With Love...
Dear Man Sitting Behind Me on the Rutiera,
I appreciate the fact that you were neither loud nor obnoxious throughout the course of our ride. I am also thankful that you did not hand me your dirty money for me to pass on to the driver. I was very happy that you did not bother me and try to speak to me in that same harsh Russian accent that you used while you were talking on your phone. Overall, it was a very pleasant ride through Chisinau with you and our other travel companions.
I would just like to say, however, that when you sneezed 5 times and the snot from your mouth and nose landed in the back of my head in my hair, I decided that we will probably not be friends.
Yours Most Disgustingly,
Michelle
I appreciate the fact that you were neither loud nor obnoxious throughout the course of our ride. I am also thankful that you did not hand me your dirty money for me to pass on to the driver. I was very happy that you did not bother me and try to speak to me in that same harsh Russian accent that you used while you were talking on your phone. Overall, it was a very pleasant ride through Chisinau with you and our other travel companions.
I would just like to say, however, that when you sneezed 5 times and the snot from your mouth and nose landed in the back of my head in my hair, I decided that we will probably not be friends.
Yours Most Disgustingly,
Michelle
12 December 2010
Sunday Thoughts
Confession: I am a nerd.
I am a huge fan of puzzles. I could sit for hours and work on them. There are dozens of them in the top of my closet at my mom's house that I still will put together over and over again. If you're like me then you know the feeling you get when you can see your puzzle coming together. A feeling of relief. A feeling of accomplishment. It's no longer tiny pieces of cardboard that you think will never fit together; but rather, it's one picture or image that tells a story all in itself.
I thought about this at church this morning.
The praise band played Desert Song today. This song is so very special to me and what I call the "theme" of my life for the last 3 years. I don't think that's it's any big secret that the season of my life that I label 'Post NGU Employee/North Augusta Resident' was one of the most challenging and hardest times of my life. These 3 years were a period of intense stretching, convicting, repenting, molding, breaking, and mending. There were stretches of time when I would come home and cry everyday because I had no idea what God was doing to me. I saw North Augusta as the entire puzzle rather than a center piece that would bring the whole picture into focus.
About a year after I moved to NA I heard Desert Song. This song just described my life and my feelings to a tee! No lie, I would listen to it every single time I was in my car. My favorite part is the bridge where it says that no matter what happens in my life, good or bad, I have a reason to worship God...simply because He IS God! I was comforted by that and knew that to be true. Well, in this short little month that I have been in Moldova I can vividly see and recognize how God has used this challenging season of my life to bring me right where I am! There are things that I HAD to learn in North Augusta and on my own to prepare and equip me for this year. All those "why" questions I had are clearly being answered now. It was essential for me to experience this dry period. It strengthened my faith and trust in Christ and brought me to a new point of surrender.
So, today, when the band started playing this incredibly special song I just smiled and thought about all those times I listened to it in my car singing the words as if they were my own. I just love how God takes all the tiny puzzle pieces of our life and fits them perfectly together to reflect and portray His story. You would think by now I would have learned that He is in control!
PS- If you are from North Augusta and you are reading this, please understand that I do not hate you or your city ;) I am forever changed and transformed by the work that God has done in my heart while being there.
I am a huge fan of puzzles. I could sit for hours and work on them. There are dozens of them in the top of my closet at my mom's house that I still will put together over and over again. If you're like me then you know the feeling you get when you can see your puzzle coming together. A feeling of relief. A feeling of accomplishment. It's no longer tiny pieces of cardboard that you think will never fit together; but rather, it's one picture or image that tells a story all in itself.
I thought about this at church this morning.
The praise band played Desert Song today. This song is so very special to me and what I call the "theme" of my life for the last 3 years. I don't think that's it's any big secret that the season of my life that I label 'Post NGU Employee/North Augusta Resident' was one of the most challenging and hardest times of my life. These 3 years were a period of intense stretching, convicting, repenting, molding, breaking, and mending. There were stretches of time when I would come home and cry everyday because I had no idea what God was doing to me. I saw North Augusta as the entire puzzle rather than a center piece that would bring the whole picture into focus.
About a year after I moved to NA I heard Desert Song. This song just described my life and my feelings to a tee! No lie, I would listen to it every single time I was in my car. My favorite part is the bridge where it says that no matter what happens in my life, good or bad, I have a reason to worship God...simply because He IS God! I was comforted by that and knew that to be true. Well, in this short little month that I have been in Moldova I can vividly see and recognize how God has used this challenging season of my life to bring me right where I am! There are things that I HAD to learn in North Augusta and on my own to prepare and equip me for this year. All those "why" questions I had are clearly being answered now. It was essential for me to experience this dry period. It strengthened my faith and trust in Christ and brought me to a new point of surrender.
So, today, when the band started playing this incredibly special song I just smiled and thought about all those times I listened to it in my car singing the words as if they were my own. I just love how God takes all the tiny puzzle pieces of our life and fits them perfectly together to reflect and portray His story. You would think by now I would have learned that He is in control!
PS- If you are from North Augusta and you are reading this, please understand that I do not hate you or your city ;) I am forever changed and transformed by the work that God has done in my heart while being there.
05 December 2010
When It Rains, It Pours
**Warning: Abnormally Long Post Ahead!**
Last week on The Chronicles of Moldova:
Michelle notices that her internet in the apartment isn't working. She goes to the router and unplugs it and plugs it back in hoping that it will fix the problem. Well, it doesn't. So, after running a diagnostic test on the wireless she makes the decision to "restart" the router. Little did she know that performing this action would make the internet cease to exist in the apartment for almost 5 days.
And now for tonight's episode of the The Chronicles of Moldova:
When I woke up last Thursday I thought that the day was going to be fabulous. It had snowed outside and it was gorgeous, I wore the perfect outfit with my perfect boots so I would not be wet and cold, and I would complete a fairly large task on my to do list. Well, you know the saying "when it rains, it pours?" Well, since we have been having snow here I would change that phrase to "when it snows, it avalanches!" (I don't even think that's a word) I had to go to the medical clinic to begin working on the process of obtaining my living permit. At the clinic I had to see like 8 or 9 doctors and have certain tests run. Well, one of those tests included a chest x-ray checking for TB. Nelly and I walk into the room and there is a woman and man sitting at the desk. They tell me to go behind the sheet (in full view of the man) and take off everything from the waist up. Then, I was to walk into the next room coming into view of everyone in the room! In the next room was a large, rusty, metal, green time warp-looking machine that he named the x-ray machine. I stepped up into it and he shut the door (imagine rusty metal scraping together). I had a thought for a second that I had just been locked in a furnace and would be the entertainment for the day. Well, there was this big, COLD metal square that I had to press my body against and hug. The doctor told Nelly to tell me, "Don't talk, Don't laugh, Don't breathe." Once he took the x-ray I walked back into the first room where there were other people coming in who were ready for their turn. As you can see, privacy is not the same here in Moldova as it is in the States!
Later, Nelly, Rafael and I were on the rutiera going to the office. Jennifer called me and after I hung up the phone I put it in my jacket pocket. When I pulled my money out to pay the driver I think my cell phone came out with it and fell on the seat beside me. When I realized that I had lost my phone on the rutiera, Rafael called it and it was turned off. Not that I'm assuming anything but I'm pretty sure the boy sitting next to me on the Rutiera stole it. Rafael and I defended the poor kid by saying that his mom probably needed a heart transplant and they did not have money. So he needed my phone in order to sell it to get money to get his mom a new heart. And through this heart transplant both he and his mom will meet Jesus and then he will write me a letter apologizing for his theft and put in the ocean hoping that maybe one day it will get to me.
Then...the icing on the cake. I came home real quick to get my cell phone contract and a few other things for Bible study and then was going back to meet Nelly to go get a new phone, visit our friend Nadea, and then go to Bible study at church. Well, I left my apartment and was walking to the Rutiera. In route there a dog came running out of another apartment building and was barking at me as I walked by. When I passed it, it came running after me and I guess its yapping attracted other random dogs because before I knew it there were like 3 or 4 right behind me barking and following me as I walked. I did not turn around to acknowledge them, nor did I speed up or anything. Normally, they just go away. Well, this time one of those suckers ninja attacked my leg and bit the mess out of it. When I got to the rutiera I felt behind my leg and felt a hole in my jeans but did not see blood on my hand. All I knew was that my leg was burning and it hurt. So, I rode the 35 minutes in the rutiera crying the whole way to meet Nelly. All I could think about was Rabies and I was waiting to start foaming at the mouth!
So I met Nelly, we got a new phone and we went to Nadea's house. Well, I finally was able to look at the bite in the mirror and realized that it was much more serious than I was thinking. Nadea's husband called the doctor and the doctor said to wash it with soap and water, take and allergy pill (yes), and then call the ambulance. So, that's what we did. The ambulance arrived and the EMS people looked at my leg and said "come with us." So, I hopped in the ambulance and proceeded to the ER. Many things happened at the ER, but when I finally saw the doctor he had me come into the room where he had just finished working on another lady. I walked in to see bloody gauze and cotton, bloody tools, and fluids on the bed. Then, Dr. What's His Face tells Nelly that she can't be in the room with me and motions for me to lie down on the fluid infested bed. Eek! He looks at my leg, cleans it, bandages it, sends me home, and tells me to go to another clinic the next day to be tested for Rabies.
We go to one clinic the next morning who takes my blood but then tells me to go to another clinic because there is a doctor who specializes in Rabies. Ok...here we go again. We go to her clinic and she is not there. Her assistant tells us to come back the next day (Saturday) between 10am and 12pm. Frustration. THEN, we come back the next morning and (shocker) she isn't there. We waited almost 2 hours and she never came. "Veronica the Shark" goes and finds the chief of the clinic and tells her the situation. The Chief does her chiefly duties and calls the doctor and tells her to come into work. So, I finally see her and after assessing the wound and asking questions she decides that I need to be treated for Rabies. :(
She says that she can do the first treatment that day but needs to know if I am allergic to anything. Stupid me says that I think I might be allergic to Penicillin. That sends her into a tizzy and she then refuses to do the treatment there and says I MUST go to the hospital and stay A FEW DAYS. Um, excuse me...WHAT?? On the road again. We get to the number 2 hospital where the doctor told us to go and I see a sign that says 'Obstetrician.' Uh, Veronica, I think we are in the wrong hospital. I do not plan on giving birth today! We finally found the right one and the doctor there said that I would have to stay overnight so they could make sure I would not have an allergic reaction to the vaccine. Well, the tears just fell. Part anger, part terror. Foreign country, foreign hospital, foreign language, foreign medical care...yeah, the life of a missionary. He said that if I would not stay overnight then he would refuse to treat me and I would not find treatment anywhere else in Moldova. So, I was admitted into the hospital to get a simple shot for Rabies. I was taken to my room where there were 5 beds. 3 were occupied by other women just staring at me as I walked in and started crying again. I was so glad Irina and Veronica were with me because they just kept telling me "it's fine, it's fine!" I think the nurses understood how uncomfortable I was with the whole situation because a few minutes later the nurse came to me and told me to follow her where she put me in a room by myself. PTL! The room that she put me in was much cleaner as well.
Then it came time for the shotS. Yes, 2. I was only expecting one and then when she pointed to the lower hip region I simply thought "oh crap!" Then I went back to my room where Irina and I talked for hours about life. I will say that I really enjoyed hanging out and talking with her. She is a wonderful, wonderful woman and was so encouraging to me. Veronica came back around 8:30 and with her came Alex, Fyodor, Rafael, and Marc! They stayed for 30 min. and then left Veronica and I to the wonderful world of hospital land. Veronica brought my laptop and Elf so we watched it before we went to sleep. I might have gotten 2 hours of sleep all night. I just wanted to be out of there and in my own bed...well, Veronica's bed :) The doctor let me leave at 8am but I have to go back on Tuesday for my 2nd treatment and will possibly stay all day at the hospital. Please pray for only an hour or 2 of observing.
My treatment will be once a month for 6 months. I think after this second one I will be able to go back to the Rabies doctor and she can administer the rest. That way I won't have to go to the hospital every time and stay to be observed.
THEN...today as I am leaving church and coming home I'm thinking that things will hopefully start getting better. As I'm thinking this I step on some black ice in the road and fall right on my hip. I am now sporting a nice large bruise there...and yes, it's the same leg as my dog bite. I'm telling you, someone needs to cast out this demon in my life! Haha!
Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement and love. It's definitely been a tough week full of challenges but I am always reminded of His faithfulness and love. All of these things could very well have happened in the States so I'm not longing and yearning to be home. I love it here and I love serving here. I would really appreciate your continued prayers for my treatment. Rabies and infection are VERY serious and I am praying that God would heal me of any potential threat of either. I know it's in His hands! So, here's the crazy update of my life! I know it's long and if you survived the whole post then I congratulate you!
Nelly, I hope you had your laugh today ;)
The ambulance...not the one I rode in...but looks just the same
Just got home from the ER. The funny thing was that the wound was above my knee, but the doctor bandaged my knee. Not real sure about that one!
The bite. To make myself feel better I pretended that I was bitten by Edward Cullen :) (For you, Dana!)
Up close and personal.
My hospital bed. There were 3 more on the other wall.
Last week on The Chronicles of Moldova:
Michelle notices that her internet in the apartment isn't working. She goes to the router and unplugs it and plugs it back in hoping that it will fix the problem. Well, it doesn't. So, after running a diagnostic test on the wireless she makes the decision to "restart" the router. Little did she know that performing this action would make the internet cease to exist in the apartment for almost 5 days.
And now for tonight's episode of the The Chronicles of Moldova:
When I woke up last Thursday I thought that the day was going to be fabulous. It had snowed outside and it was gorgeous, I wore the perfect outfit with my perfect boots so I would not be wet and cold, and I would complete a fairly large task on my to do list. Well, you know the saying "when it rains, it pours?" Well, since we have been having snow here I would change that phrase to "when it snows, it avalanches!" (I don't even think that's a word) I had to go to the medical clinic to begin working on the process of obtaining my living permit. At the clinic I had to see like 8 or 9 doctors and have certain tests run. Well, one of those tests included a chest x-ray checking for TB. Nelly and I walk into the room and there is a woman and man sitting at the desk. They tell me to go behind the sheet (in full view of the man) and take off everything from the waist up. Then, I was to walk into the next room coming into view of everyone in the room! In the next room was a large, rusty, metal, green time warp-looking machine that he named the x-ray machine. I stepped up into it and he shut the door (imagine rusty metal scraping together). I had a thought for a second that I had just been locked in a furnace and would be the entertainment for the day. Well, there was this big, COLD metal square that I had to press my body against and hug. The doctor told Nelly to tell me, "Don't talk, Don't laugh, Don't breathe." Once he took the x-ray I walked back into the first room where there were other people coming in who were ready for their turn. As you can see, privacy is not the same here in Moldova as it is in the States!
Later, Nelly, Rafael and I were on the rutiera going to the office. Jennifer called me and after I hung up the phone I put it in my jacket pocket. When I pulled my money out to pay the driver I think my cell phone came out with it and fell on the seat beside me. When I realized that I had lost my phone on the rutiera, Rafael called it and it was turned off. Not that I'm assuming anything but I'm pretty sure the boy sitting next to me on the Rutiera stole it. Rafael and I defended the poor kid by saying that his mom probably needed a heart transplant and they did not have money. So he needed my phone in order to sell it to get money to get his mom a new heart. And through this heart transplant both he and his mom will meet Jesus and then he will write me a letter apologizing for his theft and put in the ocean hoping that maybe one day it will get to me.
Then...the icing on the cake. I came home real quick to get my cell phone contract and a few other things for Bible study and then was going back to meet Nelly to go get a new phone, visit our friend Nadea, and then go to Bible study at church. Well, I left my apartment and was walking to the Rutiera. In route there a dog came running out of another apartment building and was barking at me as I walked by. When I passed it, it came running after me and I guess its yapping attracted other random dogs because before I knew it there were like 3 or 4 right behind me barking and following me as I walked. I did not turn around to acknowledge them, nor did I speed up or anything. Normally, they just go away. Well, this time one of those suckers ninja attacked my leg and bit the mess out of it. When I got to the rutiera I felt behind my leg and felt a hole in my jeans but did not see blood on my hand. All I knew was that my leg was burning and it hurt. So, I rode the 35 minutes in the rutiera crying the whole way to meet Nelly. All I could think about was Rabies and I was waiting to start foaming at the mouth!
So I met Nelly, we got a new phone and we went to Nadea's house. Well, I finally was able to look at the bite in the mirror and realized that it was much more serious than I was thinking. Nadea's husband called the doctor and the doctor said to wash it with soap and water, take and allergy pill (yes), and then call the ambulance. So, that's what we did. The ambulance arrived and the EMS people looked at my leg and said "come with us." So, I hopped in the ambulance and proceeded to the ER. Many things happened at the ER, but when I finally saw the doctor he had me come into the room where he had just finished working on another lady. I walked in to see bloody gauze and cotton, bloody tools, and fluids on the bed. Then, Dr. What's His Face tells Nelly that she can't be in the room with me and motions for me to lie down on the fluid infested bed. Eek! He looks at my leg, cleans it, bandages it, sends me home, and tells me to go to another clinic the next day to be tested for Rabies.
We go to one clinic the next morning who takes my blood but then tells me to go to another clinic because there is a doctor who specializes in Rabies. Ok...here we go again. We go to her clinic and she is not there. Her assistant tells us to come back the next day (Saturday) between 10am and 12pm. Frustration. THEN, we come back the next morning and (shocker) she isn't there. We waited almost 2 hours and she never came. "Veronica the Shark" goes and finds the chief of the clinic and tells her the situation. The Chief does her chiefly duties and calls the doctor and tells her to come into work. So, I finally see her and after assessing the wound and asking questions she decides that I need to be treated for Rabies. :(
She says that she can do the first treatment that day but needs to know if I am allergic to anything. Stupid me says that I think I might be allergic to Penicillin. That sends her into a tizzy and she then refuses to do the treatment there and says I MUST go to the hospital and stay A FEW DAYS. Um, excuse me...WHAT?? On the road again. We get to the number 2 hospital where the doctor told us to go and I see a sign that says 'Obstetrician.' Uh, Veronica, I think we are in the wrong hospital. I do not plan on giving birth today! We finally found the right one and the doctor there said that I would have to stay overnight so they could make sure I would not have an allergic reaction to the vaccine. Well, the tears just fell. Part anger, part terror. Foreign country, foreign hospital, foreign language, foreign medical care...yeah, the life of a missionary. He said that if I would not stay overnight then he would refuse to treat me and I would not find treatment anywhere else in Moldova. So, I was admitted into the hospital to get a simple shot for Rabies. I was taken to my room where there were 5 beds. 3 were occupied by other women just staring at me as I walked in and started crying again. I was so glad Irina and Veronica were with me because they just kept telling me "it's fine, it's fine!" I think the nurses understood how uncomfortable I was with the whole situation because a few minutes later the nurse came to me and told me to follow her where she put me in a room by myself. PTL! The room that she put me in was much cleaner as well.
Then it came time for the shotS. Yes, 2. I was only expecting one and then when she pointed to the lower hip region I simply thought "oh crap!" Then I went back to my room where Irina and I talked for hours about life. I will say that I really enjoyed hanging out and talking with her. She is a wonderful, wonderful woman and was so encouraging to me. Veronica came back around 8:30 and with her came Alex, Fyodor, Rafael, and Marc! They stayed for 30 min. and then left Veronica and I to the wonderful world of hospital land. Veronica brought my laptop and Elf so we watched it before we went to sleep. I might have gotten 2 hours of sleep all night. I just wanted to be out of there and in my own bed...well, Veronica's bed :) The doctor let me leave at 8am but I have to go back on Tuesday for my 2nd treatment and will possibly stay all day at the hospital. Please pray for only an hour or 2 of observing.
My treatment will be once a month for 6 months. I think after this second one I will be able to go back to the Rabies doctor and she can administer the rest. That way I won't have to go to the hospital every time and stay to be observed.
THEN...today as I am leaving church and coming home I'm thinking that things will hopefully start getting better. As I'm thinking this I step on some black ice in the road and fall right on my hip. I am now sporting a nice large bruise there...and yes, it's the same leg as my dog bite. I'm telling you, someone needs to cast out this demon in my life! Haha!
Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement and love. It's definitely been a tough week full of challenges but I am always reminded of His faithfulness and love. All of these things could very well have happened in the States so I'm not longing and yearning to be home. I love it here and I love serving here. I would really appreciate your continued prayers for my treatment. Rabies and infection are VERY serious and I am praying that God would heal me of any potential threat of either. I know it's in His hands! So, here's the crazy update of my life! I know it's long and if you survived the whole post then I congratulate you!
Nelly, I hope you had your laugh today ;)
The ambulance...not the one I rode in...but looks just the same
Just got home from the ER. The funny thing was that the wound was above my knee, but the doctor bandaged my knee. Not real sure about that one!
The bite. To make myself feel better I pretended that I was bitten by Edward Cullen :) (For you, Dana!)
Up close and personal.
My hospital bed. There were 3 more on the other wall.
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