A Man After God’s Own Heart

I met Alejandro while on a mission trip to the Talamanca region of Costa Rica about 8 years ago.  He was a young man who left the comforts of home, like the rest of us, to give gifts to underprivileged children in the jungle.  It was a long, exhausting trip that brought us to various groups of people.  It was equal parts joy and heartache to see the need but also the smiles of those receiving their gifts.  It was fun going down a river that bordered Panama in a dugout canoe type of boat. 

Alejandro and I sat in the back of the bus during our return to San Jose.  I was impressed by this young man.  He was still in high school but he WANTED to serve.  We have stayed in touch over the years.  He is now married and has a one year old daughter.  We joke she will marry my grandson. 

Today, Alejandro and his family are missionaries in Romania.  Today he and to other men he works with went to the Ukrainian border with some basic supplies and to see how they can help.  He told me what he saw broke his heart.  There is so much need.  I hope to share more soon about what they need and how we can help. 

#ukraine

Sick, Time Travel, Grandson

While I feel better than a few days ago, I feel I could sleep all day and all night.  Also, I just want to be warm.  Actually, I want to sweat.  Just to be hot and sweaty.  While I think I still can muster the strength for that, THAT isn’t what I mean.

I’ve noticed I crave salty foods.  Maybe it is some sort of electrolyte thing.  Hard to say.  I did get some Gatorade and Pedialyte.  I think I want some more. 

Sometimes when I am in bed I have moments like I’m lucid dreaming.  Actually, I had an episode a couple weeks ago where I dreamed about time travel.  (That has happened before and I even wrote a story based on what I saw in the dream.)  In this case, I my dream dealt with the fact that whenever we consider time travel, mind, body, and spirit must travel together.  What if we could leave the body behind?  That eliminates many obstacles to time travel. 

My grandson also has covid.  Poor little guy.  He just wants to be held.  I put him down yesterday and he slept in his bed for a while but awoke crying.  I went and picked him up and laid him on my chest for a while.  I could tell he was getting feverish.  Everyone once in a while, he would say something or make a noise.  I couldn’t see his eyes but I think they were open the whole time.  He is such a sweet little boy. 

He still makes more noises than actual words but his vocabulary is expanding and his understanding of the world grows each day.  For a couple months now, I would say his name (Silas) and mine (grandpa).  When doing this I would place my hand on his chest when saying his name and on my chest when saying mine.  Occasionally, I would point to our noses or some other part.  Also, I would use his hand to do the pointing.  Recently, when saying his name, he puts his hand on his chest.  I pray we recover soon.

Covid: Well, this is new

 If this post makes little to no sense, I sincerely apologize.  My head is quite foggy and my body feel charged.  It almost feels tingly.  I'm not sure why though.

Two days ago I finally joined the club.  That is, I tested positive for Covid.  Hurray for me!  I had been joking for a while now that my wife and I must be immune.  Alas, we have it.  Compared to some, I guess my symptoms are mild.  I've felt worse and worked but have stayed home. I feel bad my grandson must have gotten sick from us since we watch him during the week.  

Whenever I get sick it seems post-nasal drip is the first thing I experience.  The same was true with this.  After a couple days of that, I got tight neck muscles.  Along with that was very tense scalp muscles.  The top of my head literally hurt to touch.  Mind you, I didn't cry out in pain when I did touch my head but the sensation was painful.  

There was one day that I just wanted to sleep.  I did nap during the day and slept through the night.  I think the extra time in bed simply added to the muscle tension.  I took the baby for a couple laps around the neighborhood and they seemed to loosen my muscles.  I felt better but I could still feel something wasn't right.  

We spent time outdoors since the weather was mild and day was sunny.  We even took the baby outside to sit in the grass for the first time.  He enjoyed it immensely.  

With the extra time to ourselves, we have cooked and eaten soups, drank copious cups of tea, taken hot showers and epsom salt baths, and various other things to alleviate our symptoms.  As I sit here typing, I feel a mild pressure in the sinus directly behind my nose even though my head has been clear.  By that I mean my sinuses are clear.  As I said before, my brain isn't clear.  

Sometimes I can't think of words.  Sometimes I start to do something only to think I should do something else.  I had gone 2 days without coffee.  I sometimes take off a day just to do it.  Two off days wasn't major.  Most disappointingly, coffee hasn't tasted good.  Everything else is fine.  

So this is the novel coronavirus.  This is new

for me