Preface: I am sorry this is so long. I will try to write more often so I do not inundate you with a chapter of a book each time! I plan on organizing my prayer requests at the end of each e-mail so if you find you do not have the time to read the details, you can skip to the bottom and say a quick prayer before you click the delete button! ;)
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I cannot express the joy and the blessing I have already received during my time at the clinic (trust me, I have tried)! I have experienced so much in the first couple of days and been given so much responsibility that all I can do is praise God for his love and generosity to allow me this opportunity! My personal journal is filled with phrases of being "in awe" of the Lord and what he has done in my life!
I am staying in a cement and plaster house which has been well furnished and equipped by a church in Indiana. They have been coming regularly to Xocempich for 15 years and have built several of the structures on the compound. For as wonderful as the building is, some of the screens have broken and the seams are not as tight as they once were. The first night after I arrived and unpacked I discovered hundreds of ants crawling on the wall by my toilet. They weren´t there the first time I checked... fortunately, I found some raid in the kitchen and KILLED THEM ALL!!! MWAHAHA!! *cough* ahem... just in case you did not know, each time I have come to Mexico, I (personally, not the other people in my team) have had problems with ants. At least these ones do not appear to bite and only a couple of scouts have returned after the massacre. I hope the sight and smell of piles of their dead comrades on the floor will deter them from making a second attempt at infesting my wonderful WC! Other than that I have found in my house one cricket, one grasshopper, on moderately sized spider, one dead tick, several beetles, and a couple of flying bugs I do not recognize.
Compared to Merida, Xocempich is not as hot, nor as humid, nor as mosquito infested (praise the Lord!!). The mosquitoes in Merida are vicious. They are quick little things that do not hum like ours in the Northwest. Even using my magic Oil of Oregano (again, shameless plug) immediately after the bite I am left with an occasionally itchy red mark that can only be due to liquidation of the tissue around the bite, not just your common allergic reaction welt. Fortunately, I have not been bitten by them since leaving Merida. I have discovered a couple of welts or bite marks in Xocempich that I cannot attribute to any obvious perpetrator. All in all, the insect issue is not bad at all! Since I sent the last journal I have seen real, honest-to-God palm frond huts(!), helped deliver a baby(!!), fallen asleep to the sound of LOTS of strange creatures, seen avocado, lime, orange, mango, and mandarin trees including some other tiny fruit I could not recognize nor remember the name of; washed clothes by hand, slept in a hammock, learned a couple of Mayan words, drank fresh limeade (which they call lemonade here), taught two of the girls how to sing the Spanish version of "Majesty", and accompanied hymns in a Spanish church service.
Due to transportation issues I arrived in Xocempich on Friday morning, one day earlier than originally planned. I was informed on my role in the clinic and the school the night before and the morning I arrived. I am basically the equivalent of a headmistress for the Nurse´s Aid students when Femia, the head nurse is not here. She showed me around on Friday morning and left soon after not to return until Monday sometime! She also made sure to let me know that I am to give the girls a lecture on the proper use of hot and cold therapy on Monday! They sure have a lot of confidence in the leadership skills of an unknown American!
Apparently, there was some misconduct among the girls here at the school and 5 of the 11 students were expelled one month ago. In addition to being headmistress (and disciplinarian, which is not my forte among girls of my age) I am also to be their spiritual leader, demonstrating the attitude and actions of a Christian, leading them in daily devotionals, and discipling them so they can graduate with a Christian foundation in one month. Above all, this issue occupies much of my prayer and meditation time. It is a lot of responsibility with girls of my same age. Both Femia and the doctor are very strict and I tend to be more lenient, especially with 18-22 year old girls. Femia counseled me that this class of girls, more than any other class, has had little household discipline and the school must take up the slack so they can graduate as competent nurses.
She also told me that I will be allowed to do most everything in the clinic once I learn the protocol. Apparently, another nursing student who visited a couple of months ago took the night shift every night so the girls could sleep and not take a swing shift every four days. I am seriously considering doing the same.
Prayer requests:
That the Lord would grant me wisdom in how to juggle relating to the girls, being their leader, and discipling them.
That he would grant me an added measure of grace to learn a whole area of new vocabulary and, hopefully, a tonal language called Nahuatl (na-WHA-tl).
That I would use this time to draw closer to God and he would bless me with a deeper relationship with him.
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