Sick as a Dog

I slept little that first night and woke up in agony. My entire body ached, my stomach was churning and I was burning up. My bed was on the second floor of the house I was staying in. The sun hadn’t risen yet and I had to use my headlamp to see anything. I crawled out of my mosquito net and very shakily made my way downstairs and out into the main hallway (we’ll call it the inner veranda) to find Dr. Carter. He diagnosed it as the flu and gave me medicine.

I spent the day just inside the door of my house, lying on a mat and drifting in and out of restless sleep. The three ladies of my household took care of me as if I were their own child. They gave me water (which I could only sip slowly), rubbed my feet and back, and laid damp cloths on my hot face. They truly demonstrated God’s love. We go on mission trips intending to serve, and we do, but often we receive far more than we give.

On the second day I went to a clinic in Tatau with Pastor Del (the district pastor) and Pastor Henny (who was going in to get his asthma checked out). I nearly fainted about three times while we were at the clinic. I couldn’t stand for very long before collapsing. It was very hot and I hadn’t eaten hardly anything in two days. The doctor gave me some more medicine and told me to come back if I got worse (which wasn’t all that helpful but it was an interesting experience; going to a clinic in another country). A nurse helped me to the car when it was time to go and I slept most of the way back.

The heat was stifling that afternoon as I lay on my mat in the longhouse. My fever had broken and I was damp with sweat. I remember looking through a window high on the wall and watching clouds stack up in the sky. I prayed for rain, not only for myself but for my friends working on the churches. When that first breeze swept through the longhouse, it felt exactly as if someone had brushed a cool hand over my face and I jerked awake. It did rain at last and I listened to the rain drumming the metal roof above me.

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