Tip of the Week-- October 30, 2014

This week's tip is inspired by my recent case of malaria.  (For all you worriers out there...I'm fine.)

The other night I woke up in a wet bed.  I realized after a moment of confusion that this was likely the result of having had a fever that broke and the subsequent sweating. When I related this to my older sister the next evening, my nephew wanted to know how I was sure that it was indeed sweat—an admittedly valid question in any situation, but one that requires even more attention in my current setting.  This got me thinking about how part of adaptation to a new environment and the disequilibrium it causes is largely due to all the new factors one has to grapple with in the decision-making tree.  You are forced to rewrite the algorithms of your daily life based on new realities that were not encompassed by your previous problem-solving skills. 

So this week’s tip is: How to rewrite your “I just woke up in a wet bed in Africa” algorithm.

Though you'd probably think the place to start is, "Did I just wet the bed?" the first question here actually is always: Did the power go out?  If yes, you are lying in a pool of your own sweat because there is no air movement in your room.  You are slowly being cooked to death until such time as the power comes back on and air flow is restored.   You can either choose to close your eyes, hoping for sleep while you await suffocation, or you can lower yourself to the (slightly) cooler tile floor and flail around uncomfortably, prolonging your eventual suffocation.  If no, please proceed to question 2.

Are you currently in the months of April, May, June, or October?  If yes, the temperature in your room is undoubtedly hotter than most American summer days and your mattress is hot enough to fry eggs on.  You are sweating; this is par for the course.  Please refer to the action steps above. If no, please proceed.

Are you violently ill? If no, please turn on the lights and look for ceiling leaks, burst pipes, or other mysterious sources of water.  If yes, does the illness involve stomach pain?  If yes, turn on the lights, because this might be something you want to clean up before morning.  If no, consider that your fever just broke, meaning you’ve been sweating profusely.  If you can, roll over onto dry sheets, go back to sleep, and investigate the cause in the morning.

Prayer Requests

1. Praise--the board meeting for the hospital went well.  There will be a meeting of the church and mission partnership in November.  Pray that this goes well also.

2. Pray for our upcoming conference next week.  All three teams in M will meet up for a week of refreshment and encouragement.  It'll also be a time to share all the great things God is doing through these teams.

3. Pray for my health.  Though this case has been mild, it came at a very bad time, as there is much to do.  I feel worst in the evenings, as I have zero energy left.

4.  Continue to pray for these young men with whom I've had the chance to share about the Lord's love and grace and how it frees us from shame in this past week: Dri, Yacouba, and Amadou. 

5. As you all know, shortly after my post last week, M confirmed its first case of ebola.  This was quite a distance from our hospital, but please continue to pray that there would not be a subsequent outbreak.

6. Pray for neighboring BF, as they are experiencing a coup d'etat.  We have friends and coworkers there, so pray for their safety.  Also, pray that this instability wouldn't become grounds for further instability in the region.