Tupac and the Crazy Lady

11-31-09

Well, finally finished our first campaign at Kilometer 8 (Puerto Correo). In total had about 50 people baptized, that part was pretty amazing. Was actually bittersweet leaving…we were definately ready for a new place after being there for 11 weeks, but found myself close to tears several times as I said goodbye.

This past week we moved to Kilometer 15 (Tupac Amaru) and had a medical clinic week. I got to play doctor a few days, which was pretty scary and intimidating, but glad afterwards us nurses had the opportunity! We had a dental and a eye clinic too so a lot of the other SMs from Kilometer 38 (our home base) came to help out. Do not get to see them a ton, so was awesome getting to hang out for the week. Luckily, was a bit of a slower clinic but still saw about 400 people. Were told that not as many people came because they are afraid of us as white people. Down here they have white people that come and pose as tourists and then kill people and steal their organs to sell. Seems like something from a horror movie, hate being associated with them just because we are white.

Tupac is actually a really beautiful place, but is pretty far out in the sticks. Takes about two hours to get into town from there. With living so far out are living a little more primitatively. Use a well now for wáter, take swimsuit showers from a bucket, use outhouses without doors, wash our clothes by hand, and do not have a huge variety of food available. Lots of bugs, snakes, and incredibly large ugly spiders, but have a river to swim in complete with a mud slide.

Overall, all of the people in Tupac are very friendly. They have already cooked us several free meals, in fact yesterday forgot someone offered to cook for us so ate two huge lunches back to back. The people are also letting us live in their community center. The only problem with it is that it has windows all around and that people can look in at us all of the time! Decided to pitch up some tents to help out with that a little.

Anyways, the first day of clinic found out that the town has a crazy lady. Luckily is the sweet kind of crazy. Usually she runs around smiling and giving people hugs. Unfortunately, the first day there when I called out a persons´ name to pick up their meds, I actually believed her when she came forward as the recipient. I doublé checked the name with her, and I she seemed to totally understand all of the directions. A half an hour later though, another lady came up asking where her medicines were. My friend Melanie looked up her card and found that I had given out the medicines. That is when it hit me what I had done. ¨I gave her meds to the crazy lady,¨ as soon as I said it I really how incredibly stupid I sounded. Luckily found out that we had not given her anything more than a vitamin and worm medicine. So gave the correct lady her meds and decided to let the crazy lady keep the meds too.

Besides that , only other true excitement was a guy who I had to give an IV too. He ended up needing to stay the night so all of us girls rotated through watching him. Anyways, came back to Puerto Correo for Sabbath to support the new church. Packed light, which meant not bringing my mosquito net…bad choice. Today am covered with hundreds of bug bites, no exaggertation. Well not sure if I will be in contact as much over the next six weeks, but am hoping to still get into town every other week if not every week. Love and miss everyone!







(Above are pictures of our lab, Lauren and the IV guy, our new house, us SMs playing games one night, and of my friend Martin and me carrying water from the well for showers)