If you feed an ant a crumb...

Before I can tell you what happened today, let me back up. When I first got to Haiti in May, I had to move a bunch of relief food that was shipped down to Haiti after the quake out of the room I was going to use for therapy. In the process of moving, someone spotted a rat that scurried away as a box was picked up. Fortunately, I was not in the room at the time, because rodents and I don’t do so well together. It was then discovered that this was a mama rat to a few babies. A brave man from the team disposed of the rats for me, but to say I had no hesitations about re-entering that room would be a lie. Every morning as I enter my therapy room, I have this ritual that goes as follows: knock, knock, “Get out! Get out! Get out! I’m coming in!” knock, knock, hand reaches in door to turn light on, knock, knock! Slowly walk in and hope that as I scan the room, I’ve given enough time for any creature in there to escape. I can say with great joy that since that first day, there have been no rats. However, we have had quite the array of other creatures. The first day I was in there to do therapy…

OKAY, AS I’M TYPING THIS, I KNOW I JUST SAW A CRITTER OF SOME SORT CRAWL UNDER MY CLOSET DOOR!…I’M NOT SURE WHAT TO DO- IT’S EITHER A MOUSE OR A COCKROACH…I’M NOT SURE BUT NEITHER IS OKAY WITH ME…I’M GOING TO CONTINUE TYPING AND PRAY IT GOES AWAY AND THEN PROBABLY SLEEP WITH MY COVERS OVER MY HEAD TONIGHT.

…there were many cockroaches. I did not appreciate them, but for the most part, they confined themselves to the stone wall that boarders outside. I reported this to Bobby who then fumigated the room for me the next day. Problem solved.

Next critter: at least 3 tarantulas. Once again, do not like them nor appreciate them in any way, but, they too, still confine themselves to the stone wall. I won’t bother them and will pray that they don’t bother me. I’m not sure where they have disappeared to, but I have not seen them for awhile. Thank you Jesus.

And the next: this critter revealed itself to me late last week. As I was working with a patient lying on my therapy table, I looked up toward the stone wall…

JUST SAW CRITTER SLOWLY MOVE OUT FROM UNDER THE CLOSET AGAIN. IT WAS DARK COLORED BUT I DON’T HAVE MY GLASSES ON SO I’M NOT SURE WHAT IT WAS…WHERE IS A MAN WHEN I NEED ONE??!?!

… which houses the box air conditioner. I saw something tan colored and fuzzy. “Hmm, that looks like it could be…”; take a step to the right and make eye contact, “Yes, that is a mouse.” I don’t like mice. A mouse is a rodent. Not okay with me. “But I don’t see it’s tail; that makes it a little better. Sarah, it’s almost cute.” No, not cute; never cute…still a rodent. Pastor Raburn notices my distracted eyes and inquires. (The dialogue between us is also comical but too lengthy to add to this blog.) I spotted this mouse again this past Monday in the same spot. Definitely alive but has not entered the room. This makes me feel better because it knows it is not welcome further in. But this scares me. Why hasn’t it moved? I don’t like mouse babies. Today, no mouse sighting….

OH MY GOSH, I SAW IT…IT IS A MOUSE!!! AHH, HEART IS RACING…BE STRONG…I’M A BIG GIRL…IT’S JUST A LITTLE MOUSE…CONTINUE…

Okay, today: I enter my room beginning with my usual ritual. I see no rat or mouse. Check. But there is an usual trail of black leading to the center of the floor. There is a highway of ants. What crumb was left on the floor I do not know. Who left that crumb, I do not like. But as unappealing as these creatures are, I have to admit they are quite fascinating and impressive. The way they work together to accomplish the same task; they are so organized…surely there is a spiritual application here. My friend, Christina was with me today. I sent her back to the dorm to get a bottle of ant killer. She returns and begins to fumigate, and the genocide begins. I tell her that they appear to be trailing along the floor of the stone wall, so she sprays there too. Mind you, I currently have a patient on my table that I am working with (sweet little Passianna). (This table sits parallel and about three feet off of the stone wall and I am on the side of the table facing the wall.) As Christina begins to spray towards the walls, a couple cockroaches magically appear from behind the stones. She sprays them. But they are feistier than the ants; they fall to the ground but don’t die so suddenly. This spraying action, however, causes more unhappy roaches to reveal themselves from behind stones. Thus, she sprays them, but this begins an unwanted cyclical pattern of more and more cockroaches coming forth. (NOTE: these are not little cockroaches but average 2 inches in length.) There are now cockroaches spinning in circles on their backs on the floor. The logical thing to do would be to step on them and kill them, but this I will not do because they are too big and that would be disgusting to feel the crunch beneath my foot. As she sprays the wall directly across from me and my patient, I see the cockroach fly off the wall. Then I feel something land on my leg. I drop Passianna’s arm, shake my leg, see a roach fall to the floor and stomp on it…DEAD. Victory! Now, I am overcome with a superSarah strength and killing rage. These roaches will not kill me; I will kill them! Any roach that makes its way towards me meets my foot. Stomp! Dead! Another and another! “Bring it on, roach!” This went on for about five minutes. There were a few on the wall that I know I couldn’t stomp. I grabbed my gun (aka. a crutch) and jab at it! Miss. Shoot. Jab again! Dead! Victory! Meanwhile, Passianna is lying on my table not completely sure of what all is happening, but she is laughing at the high excitement and emotion in the room. Finally, we are done. Pastor Raburn goes to find a broom. He sweeps the corpses into the center of the room. Probably 20 of them. I grab my camera; “Souri!” (“Smile!”) I say to them, and snap their photo. Pastor sweeps them into a bucket and disposes of them outside. Victory is ours. No, victory is the Lord’s! We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

IT IS TIME FOR ME TO POST THIS BLOG AND GO TO BED. I’M NOT SURE WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE MOUSE IN MY CLOSET. I PRAY I WILL BE ABLE TO SLEEP. I’M NOT SURE HOW I WILL GET MY CLOTHES OUT OF MY CLOSET TOMORROW MORNING. I WILL PRAY FOR THAT AND ASK FOR YOUR PRAYERS ALSO.