1/17/2010 Another Sunday in Mukeu

What a different day today was as compared to last Sunday. The sun was shining, and we were actually hot at times. The whole time we’ve been here, I’ve practically been freezing, so it was a nice change. We were a bit tired today because Chris had been up all night running to the bathroom. Something didn’t sit well with him and he was one sick boy. He was taking it easy, trying to feel better so he could make it to church. I started getting ready for church by taking a shower. Showers here are different than back home. All we have is cold water, so to get warm water, you heat it over the fire and pour it over yourself. So I gathered my warm water in a bucket, took the pitcher of water and poured it over my hand. Thinking that it was a good temperature, perhaps a bit on the warm side, I then commenced to pour it over my hair, only to wince in pain because it was burning my scalp. I mean really burning. I tried to turn on the shower to put some cold water one it, but all the cold water was gone, so I had nothing. I threw on my clothes and did manage to finally get some cold water and went back to finish my shower, wincing in pain every time I had to pour even cold water over my head. Chris looked at it and couldn’t see anything wrong with my scalp, so I hoped that it wasn’t too bad and continued to get ready for church, though every time I‘d touch it, it would bring tears to my eyes. We got to church and were asked to sing a song, so we sang with the family that is hosting us for the entire congregation. And then Dr. Sams and Dr. Bunge shared a sermon that encouraged the people here in Mukeu to allow themselves to be the light. Afterall, faith without works is dead. It was very good. A short way through the 3 hour service, I noticed that all of my hair was dry, except the back of my head where I had burned myself. When I touched it, it was just a sticky mess. I burned myself worse than I thought. So now I have lovely scabs and ooze back there. Lovely, huh. I can’t wait to take a good old American shower back home! It’s amazing the things I’ve come to appreciate. Chris slept most of the afternoon after we got home from church and started to feel better by the evening. We made macaroni and cheese from the box tonight. The poor Kibarita family could hardly get it down. It wasn’t my favorite, either, but I’d eat it over ugale any day! Poor Harrison, 6 years old, was forced to eat every bite. And he did it without complaint. He’s such a good boy. Right before bed, I remembered we had to take our anti-malarial pill. I got the pills and forgot to get myself water, so I just swallowed it without a drink. Bad mistake. It got stuck at the bottom of my esophagus and irritated it so immensely that I began having esophageal spasms. I’ve never had them before and was amazed at the pain I was in. The burning and pain were so bad that I couldn’t go to sleep and around 1:00 AM I finally started throwing up. Afterwards I finally was able to go to sleep and slept until almost 7 AM. But when I awoke the next morning, it’s obvious the esophagus is still inflamed and it still feels like I have something stuck in there. It’s causing great pain and inflammation. I’m praying that it will get better very soon. Eating only makes it worse, so I think I’ll abstain from food until it’s not so swollen in there. I learned my lesson. I’ll never be too tired or lazy to get a drink of water with my pills. J So all in all, Sunday was a rough day for me. Between my burn and my esophageal spasms, it’s been a painful day!