Tuesday, May 8, 2012

right now

Right now I'm laying here in my bed counting the billions of blessings that are mine.  Right now.

I get to live in this fabulous place surrounded by fabulous people.   I eat the most fabulous food ever invented.  Rice, beans and carne really can't be beat but let me just tell you that the aripitas (spelling?  who knows?) tonight were possibly the great thing I've eaten in a long time.  Aripitas are fried yucca and i watched the hijos make them (after phone calls to mothers and girlfriends) and it was worth every second that I almost helped them.  :)    It works kinda like this.  First of all, a patient's family brought me the yucca which kinda about made me cry.  Because this patient was REALLY sick and ended up getting 4 pints of blood, which miraculously was provided by our surgical team who MIRACULOUSLY had at least 6 people who matched this patient's blood type perfectly.  There's a God thing for ya!   So anyway, yeah- the patient is doing great right now (thanks be to Jesus!) and brought me yucca and grandules today.   Oh and then Santos, one of my favorite kids from the streets who stops in on weekends sometimes to grab a bite to eat since he is almost always hungry......he stopped in today not to ask for food...but to hand me a huge sack of mangos.  Ahhhhh humbled.  Humbled beyond belief.  Just freakin humbled.

Anyway, back to the aripitas.  So- you take the yucca which looks kinda like a long black root ...and you scrub off the dirt and then hand it to Monchi- who peels it...and then hands it to Emmanuel, who starts shredding it.  And when I'm finished washing them, I grab the other shredder and start shredding too.  Then Emma calls his mom and Monchi checks in with his girlfriend and they verify everything we need.  And we take the shredded yucca and Emma adds ani ( not sure what it is..but some herb...maybe anise?)  that we call Yeltsin to bring and he shows up and starts helping.  We add the anise and then 2 eggs and some salt and butter and a little bit of milk and sugar.  So it kinda looks like a thick batter.  Then you heat up some oil, and drop big spoonfuls of the mixture in the boiling oil and fry it.  On the other side- I'm making hummus in the blender,  Yecco and Monchi are working on some milk with lime juice and sugar, and Emma is now frying the aripitas AND the chuletas.   Oh and the macaroni salad is waiting in the frig that took me a while this afternoon to pull together.    And I cut up some carrots and cukes although i know I'll be the only one to eat them.

So it was a feast, a veritable feast.  I STILL can't walk.   But I'm thinking about how those folks came and brought me that food.  That patient.  And Santos.  How it never ceases to remind me how I got here and how open the hearts are of the people we take care of.    How these hijos mio help wash dishes after eating and scrub the sinks cleaner than I do.   How Margo and I sat and talked over coffee for a long long time today.    How freaking SCARED I was when that patient needed blood and needed it NOW.    How I have had the greatest meetings with my boss this week on Skype and never fail to appreciate the amazing people who support and guide us down here.   How this past team was here for the first time, every single one of them...and how EXCELLENT they were caring for folks and dove down into life here and threw down dominos with us and took it all in and hugged and kissed their sponsor kids.    How I rolled into a cockfight this past weekend and literally could FEEL the adrenalin pour out of my ears for the 2 minutes that I made it in that arena.    How it STILL feels like the greatest feeling in the world speeding home on the pasola after running at the track or on the way to Mogollon towards the mountains with some dembow blasting in my ears.    How we spent time at the most beautiful river in the world a few weeks ago and ended up winning at dominos over some locals there.    How people at church here know my name and always ask about Kari or Laura if they aren't with me.   How the blue truck usually has at least one flat tire and it took us 3 gas stations to day to find one with an air hose that worked to fill them up.     How we watch the Phillies online and talk trash while we whip up dinner together.    How I get invited to folks houses to visit and eat and end up lounging on their beds watching Prison Break in spanish with their entire families.    How the fantastic nurses in the clinic scrubbed instruments and wrapped them for me all last week so I could scrub into surgery and assist.    How Lily gently touches my shoulder when I'm stressed or worried in the clinic and reminds me to trust Jesus, trust Jesus, trust Jesus.....(and I watch her hold hands with our patients and pray with them before surgery).. All this love.....all this life together....

Right now.  I'm laying here right now thanking God.   Right now.  





milk with lime juice and ice and sugar.   Who knew?  It has a name but I forget what.


Aripitas!


More aripitas!


Me killing some aripitas!


Chuletassssssss


a little homemade hummus with some cukes


the limes we used for the milk and the hummus.


phillies online is a beautiful thing!  Thanks Dan for making it happen!


a feast!  


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