The following is a post from Karen, who is serving with her husband Ben in Iquitos:
I am always amazed by the kindness and care that the people of Iquitos show me. A little over a week ago, I got the worst sickness I’ve had since we’ve been here. I woke up one morning with horrible stomach pains and I couldn’t stop throwing up. Of course it was the morning that we were supposed to go paint a school in a little village called Manati. I wanted to go so bad, so I talked myself into feeling better, and I went.
Not long after I started working, I couldn’t pretend that I felt okay anymore. I found myself sitting on the ground with my head buried in my hands, just hoping and praying that I would make it through the day. Finally I was lead over to a shady spot where a few other sick people were resting. I laid down on a mat and started to break out into a crazy fever. There were a few Peruvian ladies sitting close by, taking care of all the sick people. They kept feeling my head and fussing over me, and making me drink water and take medicine. My fever wasn’t going down so they brought over a big bucket full of water, lemons, and some kind of leaves. They washed my hair in this mixture and continued to lay cold wet leaves on my forehead until my fever finally broke.
It wasn’t until we returned home later that day that I realized I didn’t even know the names of the kind women who helped me. They showed such love and concern for me, a complete stranger. They made me feel like I was home in the U.S. with my own mother taking care of me, even though I am thousands of miles away.
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