Wednesday through Sunday...

On Wednesday, we decided to take Isaiah to the Doctor. We got word that there was a very good Indian doctor that other families had used. We got a driver from St. Anne's to take us to Doctor Sharrief. He had blood work done and a stool culture. No parasites, no worms, no malaria... Isaiah was treated for an Intestinal Bacterial Infection and digestive issues. He began Amooxicillin right away. He also needed to take anti-diarreal meds and digestive meds. We had quite a battle getting all of this in him and we probably lost half a dose to his clothes as he spewed it out everywhere. This was going to be a challenge! He was full of grit as we administered his meds at the appropriate times. We were soon feeling like this battle was going to go on forever. However, we finally had a breakthrough. When we place just a tiny bit in his mouth at a time, we don't lose near as much of it. So, a little bit of patience goes a long way...  Our first visit to the Doctor was not fun. The blood work was nearly impossible to get. They had to try both hands a few times. They were able to get just barely enough to do the testing. He was full of stamina! He may be small, but he is very strong, or should I say strong willed... Hehe. But this is a good thing. He will need to be strong willed to get better. We returned to the Doctor for the results later that afternoon. We went back to St. Anne's and rested....

On Thursday, we rested. We stayed around St. Anne's and did a little bit of shopping with a vendor across the street. We relaxed, played with Isaiah, called home, and just hung out. It was nice not to be running around everywhere.

On Friday, we did a little more shopping, even venturing out to the market. However, the rough terrain and the very high heat and humidity quickly took a toll on us and we headed back to the Parish. The market was not what we expected as it was basically filled with imported items. We did not buy anything. We were looking for authentic handmade items from DRC that our son could have as souvenirs.  We had to stick with the vendor across the street. There are a couple of other markets that do have these items, but it would require a driver to take us and we were not really up for it. We needed to focus on Isaiah's health. William, our helper from our agency, was there for us whenever we needed him. He even gave us a gift on our last day in country. William is a Christian. He works to serve the Lord. He is very humble. We were very grateful for his help in country. We know that God ordained it that way.

On Saturday, I woke up to a high fever and severe cramping. My fever ran around 102.9 and the cramping felt like I was being stabbed over and over and over. I could barely open my eyes all day long. This was the day that we were supposed to leave. All day I fought this illness. I told Greg I didn't think I would be able to travel. I could barely move. It was debilitating. The good news is that God knew where I was and what we needed. We had been promised our exit letter by noon on Sat. so that we could travel on Sat. night to come back home. However, corrupt country as it is, and for reasons I will not discuss, our letter was not ready. The good thing is that we were not desperate to get home. I was very sick. We were not going to be traveling even if the letter had been ready. God intervened with his angel (another Congolese person) and at 4:10pm, our exit letter was signed. We were not in a hurry at this point, but if we had been, it would have been too late to fly out. What man meant for evil, God used for good. We rescheduled our flights for Monday. All day, I was bedridden. I could eat nothing. I could do nothing. Greg went to the market and got some flu meds and I had Cipro for stomach stuff. We pumped in the vitamin C every few hours.

On Sunday morning, my fever had broken, cramping was subsiding to a tolerable level, and I was able to get up and move around. Praise God! Our Great Physician was healing me! The pharmacist thought I may have had Malaria, but we went with the flu meds instead. It worked. At least, God used it to heal me. Whether he changed the molecular structure of it to treat whatever I had or not, I do not know. But this I know, He healed me. Divine intervention. I am convinced. We relaxed on Sunday and took in the Lord's day. We called home to let everyone know that I was much better. They were so relieved as all they knew at this point was that I was very sick. We had a good long talk and everyone was happy. In Africa, you can purchase a $25 phone and put minutes on it for very cheap. So phone calls were not expensive. However, to get coverage, you pretty much have to go outside. Did I mention the flies and the mosquitoes? Oh yeah, flies everywhere and mosquitoes, of course. Enough to drive you crazy if you sit there too long. Greg played soccer with Isaiah while I let our family know that I was okay.

I want to share a little story of God's goodness. We were trying to bond with Isaiah and had few breakthrough's. One night, he had rooted underneath Greg and Greg moved him over. He sat up, yelled, "Mama!" and then looked at Greg and said "Dad!" He was telling on Greg for moving him! This was so precious to us, b/c he was acknowledging us as Mama and Dad. He was beginning to trust us. What a blessing!

He began bonding to me on the first day, but then as he got used to Greg, he began preferring him. I was really glad that he took to him. He had never had a father figure in his life and this is something that he really needed. He has been making up for lost time. He loves being with Greg! I am so thankful that God is giving him this gift. I am so thankful for the gift he has given to us. We wouldn't change anything if we could. God knew that our son was in Africa. He knew that we needed him and he needed us. Our need is to be totally obedient to God's Will for our lives and his need is to grow up in family that loves him enough to teach him about Christ. What a gift! What a privilege!