Widow-Maker

I have just had my first experience with a widow-maker. And yes, I’ve heard it is actually as bad as that sounds. Where Shayla, Kelsey and I are staying for the next 2 weeks in Antigua it is a bit like a really nice hostel. There are many rooms in the house which the family rents out (and what a beautiful house it is…) Currently there are six of us boarding here – a guy from LA making a documentary on immigration, an old man from Germany who is traveling through Central and South America, and finally another old man we have no idea who he is. He doesn’t speak great Spanish to begin with, matched up with my extremely poor beginner abilites, and he doesn’t seem to understand any other languages people use with him. And so he simply remains silent.
So, introductions made, back to my widow-maker story. I wanted to take a shower last night, the only bathroom being down a dark hallway, staircase, and finally through the garden (electricity is not readily available, so after 6 or 7 the house gets dark also). This can be a little frightening living in a place which a bunch of random people, and so Kelsey, Shayla and I took turns showering, and standing guard. To get warm water (and I am exaggerating by using the term ‘warm’ to describe the temperature) you must first turn on a switch on the widow-maker which runs electricity through 3 wires which when water runs through above your head, the water is supposed to warm up. Electricity and water are never a good combination to begin with, and if you do it slightly wrong, or accidentally reach up… well, many people have been electrocuted while innocently taking a shower, hence, “widow-maker”.
Antigua is really beautiful, and I do enjoy being here, but I still feel a little uncomfortable being surrounded by so many people. I am a country girl through and through, and I really do need wide open spaces! But this is definitely an adventure I would not want to miss. The noises here from my room at night are hard to explain… babies crying, car horn’s honking, motorbikes with noisy exhausts driving down the street, loud Guatemalan beats playing from cars going by… but the most comforting is the train that goes by every few hours. It’s amazing how much a simple sound scan create so many feelings and emotions, and make you feel so at home in a foreign place. Last night, as I laid awake, unable to sleep, it was the train that finally went by, and the noise that sung me to sleep.
God is working here. It is so humbling to see Him working through the lives of the people here. He doesn’t need us, but we are willing. I find that to be a really comforting thought. I have been praying for so long, ‘Here I am, use me’. I can sense He is going to be doing something amazing, even if I never realize what it is. Sometimes the most powerful ways I think He uses us are the times we don’t get to see the results. Simply knowing He has asked of us, and obeying is enough… He will take care of the rest.
I miss everyone back home, but slowly my homesickness is being comforted. I’ve never felt homesick in my life, but for some reason I do now. Please keep me and our Discover Team in your prayers. xo