We arrived at our hotel and checked in. We were tired. Most of us didn’t sleep on the plane, so Mary Beth had spent more than 36 hours awake. This is not a tourist hotel either. The closest hotel where most Americans would stay is probably around an hour drive away. We are not by the tourist attractions but are closer to the slum areas of the city. We knew that our hotel would lack conveniences but this hotel has presented a few challenges that God has given us the grace to overcome. When we arrived, we slept for a few hours. Mary Beth woke up to find a bed bug crawling on her neck. We prayed that God would keep the bugs away from us and that they wouldn’t bite any of us, especially since Ezri usually breaks out with any kind of bug bite. Not long later the hotel offered (without any mention of bed bugs) to move us to a different room that was larger. They brought in two mattresses so that Nathan and Titus could have their own beds. We can see the “rust marks” that bed bugs leave on some of the sheets and pillow cases but we haven’t seen or found any bugs and by faith I believe that the Lord simply removed this inconvenience so that we wouldn’t be distracted from our purpose here.
Below you can see a few pictures of our hotel room. The funny part is that the toilet was marked with a warning label to sanitize if for your own safety. The shower is basically a wash bucket but if you hold the button you will get cold water from the shower head—Of course, it will only work if you are holding down the button. Knowing that we might have conditions like this, we brought disinfectant and we always bring Germx. We have a small air conditioner and a fan on the wall and we can continually hear honking horns and traffic both from the highway outside as well as the metro station behind us. We drink only bottled water and we brush our teeth with bottled water as well. Like most countries, the water here would most likely make us sick, so we have to be careful what we drink and what we eat. The hotel has food that is supposed to be safe for us and so far the two meals we’ve had here have set well with us. I have a tendency to get sick in foreign countries. When I was in Venezuela, I became so sick that I didn’t even recognize Mary Beth—At least, that’s what I’ve been told because I don’t remember it. I am being especially careful with food and we have brought some meal replacement and protein bars with us as meal substitutes. We’re rationing these to make sure they last the duration of our time here. We are also rationing our clothes. I know this might sound strange but we found a “Launderette” in the UK and washed our clothes before we came because we knew that it would be difficult to wash our clothes here—Our schedule is fast-paced and any washing will be done by hand and we don’t exactly have a good place to let things air dry. We have multiple days of clothing but are not putting anything in the “dirty clothes” unless it is truly dirty.
I am very proud of Nathan and Titus. They have grown into young men who don’t need a lot. I can imagine that many teenagers would complain about the circumstances here—sleeping on a mattress on the floor without all the conveniences of home but they have travelled a lot in their lives and have learned the importance of needing only what is truly necessary. I have no doubt that they could live under any circumstance with everything they need in a backpack. Jayden and Jaxon are the same. God has blessed us with amazing and godly young men who understand the importance of what truly matters in life.
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