Don't Drink the Water

This week has been a difficult one. On Monday we had our day with the Lord. I love these days where we spend our entire day resting in the presence of the Lord. I got to catch up on City Church sermons and read a lot. Then the parasite came along with a vengeance. 

For the past week or so I have had sharp stabbing pains in my upper abdomen that would come and go. I thought that it was maybe something I ate or my body still adjusting to life here. It could have been multiple things that triggered the pain. Or maybe I drank the water? 

Then,Tuesday night, I called my parents sobbing. Not sure what they could do for me being so far away, but even just talking to them on the phone helped. And crying helped (haven't had a good sob since I got here which is very surprising if you know me at all). I talked to my brother who had a parasite when he lived in Haiti and told him my symptoms. Sure enough it sounded as if I had a parasite or a bacterial infection in my intestines. YUCK!

Because my stomach had been hurting for a while, I think the little parasite or whatever it was finally left my body on Tuesday night. Praise God for creating our bodies to know how to rid itself of infection! If I had known sooner what it was I would have gone to the doctor to get treated, but I don't like going to the doctor in the US so I know I wouldn't like going to a doctor in a foreign country. 

So for the past couple of days, I've been eating really bland foods (brown rice, potatoes, plain cheerios) and yogurt to replenish the good bacteria back into my body. Praying I (or anyone else) never get one of these again! I am feeling much better by the way. 

Oh, and did you know there was a hurricane happening right now in the Caribbean? The eye didn't hit the DR but we are currently getting some nasty rain and crazy wind. Mine and Karly's apartment almost flooded. Twice. Well not really flooded, but a lot of water is coming in through our sliding doors from our balcony. Not fun to clean up. The university cancelled classes today due to the storm so we're using today as an "admin" day. I wish you could hear the sound the wind makes! It's so intense! Here is a picture of what it looks like out there. Scary, right? 

Maybe tomorrow I'll go to campus. If I don't float away. 

En Cristo, 

Shannon