Sick Day

29 Jan 2013

Yesterday was a sick day for me.  I was awake most of the night before coughing, and by morning my body was aching.  I didn’t want it to keep me from working, as that’s what we are here for, and it was our first full day of work, so I plodded on.  I got my work orders to clean one of the cabins that was used this past weekend.  Change the sheets, scrub the bathroom, wipe down the kitchen, sweep and mop the floor and wash the windows.

I think some of the older ladies here take all day to do something like that but I was mostly done by coffee break.  I felt so horrible by then though, that I went back to the RV and laid down.  It took all I could muster to get up and go finish the job.  I didn’t say anything to anyone, but my body was speaking loudly to me and once I finished I just collapsed on the couch and couldn’t get up the rest of the day as my symptoms worsened.  My head was pounding, my muscles were incredibly sore, my skin hurt.  Every move was painful.  Every sound only increased my headache.  Every smell was irritating.  I slept on and off but stayed horizontal the rest of the day.  Even speaking took more energy than I had.

Kaleb spent the day “grooming the desert” as they say - raking up leaves and needles around some of the buildings.  It was a windy day with a bit of rain here and there so he was frustrated that as soon as he was done around one tree, a wind came along and created an even bigger mess than he started with.   He finally gave up and went to help Kory who worked all day on the new dorm they are building.

At least Kory put in a full day’s work – and then some – as they were pouring concrete and trying to get to a certain level before day’s end.  He was working with two other guys from Hard Hats for Christ (an organization he volunteers for) and four local guys who are getting paid.  There’s a big work group coming in next week so I think they are trying to get it ready for the roof or something.  I’m kinda clueless though but I know they are pushing for some reason.  Kory felt pleased with what he was able to contribute, so that’s good.

Bob is still in the hospital but the good news is they have ruled out pneumonia and said he has bronchitis.  He was supposed to get out yesterday, but they didn’t release him, so it’s day by day now I guess.  He’s stressed out because of all the work he needs to be doing to prepare for two teams coming in next week – one of them is a medical missions team doing free eye exams in town and another is a construction work group.  One of the couples here had to drive up to Nogales yesterday to bring him some of his paperwork so he could do work from the hospital.  Bob is a total Type A personality.  He had an aortic valve replaced a few years ago in November and by January was down here working.  He’s 83 and going strong. He is the kingpin around here though as the atmosphere completely changes if he’s not here.  It’s like sheep without a shepherd.

Initially there was such a different feeling working here, versus working at the orphanage we’ve gone to or even at Gleanings because the work here doesn’t feel as intrinsically meaningful.  The other type of work is directed at the destitute and meeting the poor’s basic needs.  Here though, the work supports a retreat center and for this area, it’s similar to a five star resort – everything is very nice.  I was thinking about that when I was working yesterday “scrubbing toilets for Jesus” and I thought back to some of the times when I’ve had profound words from God – and some of them were at retreats.  So while this place doesn’t meet the physical needs of the poor, it certainly does meet spiritual needs.  In the summertime they have lots of kid’s camps here and many accept Christ, so in that way, the work here has more eternal consequences. We’re either feeding the body or feeding the soul.