I have been called "Suzy Sunshine", and I know I have a tendency to put a positive spin on EVERYTHING. Sounds like a good trait, but it can have it's down side. I would never want anyone to make a life altering decision based on how I view things (unless, of course, it's the decision to learn what the bible really teaches).
I live in a really nice apartment. It is furnished with what looks like nice furniture. I am going to buy a wicker chair and ottoman because I have been here a month and sitting on the love seat everyday has already caused the foam to squish down. I have no hot water. The landlord is going to install a hot water heater, but only in the bathroom. We have special soap here so that we can wash our dishes in cold water, but most times I am boiling water because it just doesn't seem right. The air conditioner never goes off in the bedroom. You can't sleep in the oppressive humidity. I am going to buy a big fan tomorrow so that might change things a bit. No one can complain about dust the way I can. I have to wipe down everything everyday. It doesn't help that there is a big construction site a block away. Don't come here if you can't climb stairs. Remember, I am on the third floor and we are always encountering stairs in our ministry.
I have been "sick" for a week now with what most would call "Montezuma's revenge". At first I thought I had gotten a parasite so I started to take the medication for that, but it should have gone away right quick, but it didn't so I am now taking my grapefruit seed extract with lots of lime juice and not eating very much. I have lost a lot of weight (the Suzy side of me) and can control things so that I can still be out in service then spend the rest of the day and evening close to the bathroom.
It's 6 am Sunday morning. I just went to make coffee and heard the big gate at the front of our property open. (Everything is behind locked gates here.) There is a big water truck out front which is really good news. Last night I was cleaning up after cutting up some fruit and there was no water. I had been warned that this could happen. Our cistern was bone dry and my neighbor was trying to get a hold of the landlord. We have a really good landlord. I know this because I have spoken with others who have had to wait for days for water.
AND Manta smells bad! Maybe not horrible all of the time (Suzy, again), and maybe I'm getting used to it, but when we go out of town, even just to the next town for service, when you come back you get a whiff of the fishy, port city that it is.
While trying to maneuver around my washer that I have to put in the bathroom to do laundry, I fell on the toilet seat and broke it. Oh well, stuff happens, but you don't think about how you have to get a new toilet seat and carry it home in the taxi.
There is always good news and bad news. Yesterday I came home and there was a new microwave oven waiting for me. Only problem is I spent an hour trying to find a manual on line because all of the instructions are in Spanish.
So, is life easy here? Am I just on an extended vacation? Is this really retirement? If that was the case I would have picked an easier place to live and I could even find that here in Ecuador, but I will tell you what makes it all worthwhile. Yesterday I got to stand out in the heat and watch hundreds of people get off of a huge cruise ship and mill around the open market that was set up just for them. I got to watch as they looked, with curiosity, at our literature cart. I got to talk with a couple from Niagara Falls, Canada and give them a tract. We talked about JW.org and they had not heard of it before. Then I met a brother and sister from Austria. They were on a month cruise celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary, but the brother wanted to tell us how happy he was that he was able to witness to people on the ship everyday. He was so excited to be able to help people know Jehovah. That's how I feel.
