Sacrifice of Praise

Hello!

We've hit the one month mark of being in Nepal. How does that happen??
3 weeks to go and then 4 weeks in Cambodia. And the last half always goes faster than the first half, and I've loved Nepal ever so much!

This week was marked with something new, and different, and unpredictable!
sickness.

Yes I did, I got sick. I'll keep the details to the minimum, for the sake of all, but I was out-of-commission for 3 days.
Bed-ridden, most pleased when I could lie unmoved in a collapsed heap on my bed, and surviving on water with some sugar and salt for nutrients.... yeah. It was painful.
My head felt so tight and pressurized, my body felt weak and vulnerable. And then there is the not-so-happy-gurgle-tune my intestines would sing to me.
The worst day, the pain in my head was so great, that it was too much to even open my eyes because I would have to use energy to focus on what I was seeing. I couldn't listen to music because it was too much energy to listen to the lyrics of songs.
So all I could do was wait. For time to pass. And focus on each shallow breath. Time passed in breaths that day.

In a moment of clarity, I flipped open my Bible and there was Hebrews 13:15. Which was exactly what I needed to be reminded and assured of.

"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name."

A sacrifice of praise.
It's very very easy for me to praise God when things are great. But should my thanks to God be any different when things are not good? Definately not.
Is my love of God conditional/proportional to how my body feels? No.
Even if my body is feeling a little out of kilter, God is still worthy to be praised. There is still so much to be thankful for, like how God made our bodies to fight diseases and germs and heal themselves.
It's in those times when things start to breakdown and fall apart that I get tempted to lose hope or lose trust. But it is exactly the opposite! These are the times when we get to see God's power because He can come through and heal my body and restore my strength!
It is a sacrifice to praise Him because it does not come easily, but it so worth it, because He is worth it all. He is faithful!

I'm feeling totally myself again, I'm on the mend and stronger for it! The mornings are a little questionable still, and after I eat, but now I've acquired and conquered more of the Nepali germs into my system.
We think it is probably a parasite, because a lot of people went to the doctor and that's what they had. So I'm going to go to the pharmacy to buy the pills (costs about 50 cents!) and send this parasite to the grave!!

I'm on some antibiotics from my leader, but turns out they're a dosage for a baby (very mild). But I've been getting better each day,
praise the Lord!

And the best news yet:
tomorrow we go the mountains! 10 of us are driving to a village close to the Tibetan border. (yes!!!) This is where the Sherpas are.
I expect it to be nothing short of amazing, I love this country.

Walking each step into better health, and praising God for it!

Love Fia