I knew something was terribly wrong when I was struggling to walk to the bathroom.  My stomach was crapping, my head spinning, and I was beginning to fever.  It was 11 pm, and I knew I was in for a long night.  Travel isn’t always glamorous.

I spent most of last night lying on the bathroom floor in my Ethiopian hotel so that I could be next to the toilet.  As you can imagine, my body was in revolt of something that had entered in.  Was it the food?  Who knows?    Everything I had eaten was cooked and delicious so there was no obvious cause.  If God were to come back for the rapture, I was in!

I crawled back to the bedroom to take some Cipro, because if there ever was a time I needed this antibiotic, it was now.  By the way, I never travel without it.  I then prayed that God would help me keep it down long enough to let it get into my system.  My prayer was answered  and it wasn’t until later that I had the joy of complete bodily chaos (no details necessary). I then spent the next 5 hours in a state of misery.  I just kept telling my self, “this soon shall pass, and I am loosing the five pounds in the process.” Self-talk is a good thing.

Finally, about 5 am, I was able to get in my bed as things to settle.  My alarm went off at 7 am and I knew that my body was not capable of moving out of the hotel room, so with great disappointment I had to stay behind today and not visit the Compassion children and go on the home visits.  I was sad to say the least.

It’s hard when plans change and things don’t go the way that you had hoped.  It’s hard when you have expectations, and those expectations aren’t meant.  I was so excited to visit the moms and babies at the Child Survival Program, but there was no way I could go.

Now, it’s about 2 pm, and I am feeling better…still a little weak, but better.  I am thankful for modern medicine.

On the bright side, my hotel room has a nice sliding door that goes out onto a beautiful deck, and I have been enjoying the nice breeze, the sunshine and the view of the lake below.

All around are beautiful birds and I have been an enjoying the sites and sounds of them. I finally got up and snapped a few shots.

If each day is to be a gift, then I need to see this day as a gift as well; the lake, the sun, the quiet and the birds.  Beautiful. I am noticing things I might not have noticed if I had gone out.   Still, I am sad I couldn’t see the sweet babies at the Child Survival Program, but God had this for me today, and I certainly have enjoyed His creation in a beautiful place.   It’s all good.