ENDURANCE: Mi Casa

There are times I wake up in the middle of the night panicking.  The full reality of where I am and what I'm doing hits me like a ton of bricks.  I should be dreaming, but I'm freaking out.  Its all I can do to go back to sleep and not start packing a suitcase.

God is so amazing.  He always gives me the strength I need to push through.  Even when I think I can't, he knows I can.  And in the morning, when the fear starts to come back, I remind myself God has a plan.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11


Mi Casa

I'll never forget the first day I walked into my new home.  My friend had warned me it was old and dirty, but assured me the size and cost of rent was worth it.  Well she was right!  It was old, falling apart and really dirty.  What I didn't know was that it was infested with roaches and only had running water twice a day.

I screamed a lot those next few months.  Roaches seemed to pop out of every corner and when the water was on, it was freezing cold.  God bless my friend Diana.  I don't know how she put up with me.

Eventually though, I grew accustomed to the eccentricities of my new home. I actually started to love the house!

I wish that were the end of the story but its not.  Living in this house has been a constant adventure!  Here are just a few examples of the fun I've had:

Missionary by day, exterminator by night.  I've worn this outfit too many times! There have been so many infestation problems it was more economical to buy the fumigating equipment.

The first few times I fumigated in shorts and flip flops. I've come a long way.






There was the craziest tick infestation.  They were EVERYWHERE.  In my

bed, on my clothes, on my kitchen counters and all over my poor dog.  I kept fumigating the little patch of dirt in my front yard but couldn't figure out where they were coming from.

Well, they were nesting in my walls!  THOUSANDS of them!  And after the first fumigation they all migrated inside.  It was like the movie Arachnophobia! I was walking around with tweezers and a cup of bleach trying to get as many as I could.

I recently found roaches nesting in my dresser.  I had to boil water on my stove-top (no hot water here) and wash every piece of clothing I had in warm water.  2 full days of boiling and washing.  I was so grossed out.

So now I'm a roach expert.  This is a roach sack.  They don't lay eggs like I always thought, but sacks that hatch with a ton of babies inside.  I found this sack stuck to my sock.

I wish I weren't so knowledgeable on this subject.  I'm finding these things everywhere!  And after a lot of time on Google, I've realized the roaches have already won.  Thank you Google.


Insects aren't the only visitors I get.  The neighbors' chickens keep getting into my house. It was funny the first 2 times.  Now not so much.

Then there are the toads.  These guys are poisonous to dogs.  I've had to launch a bunch of them over my 10 foot, razor wired fence.  I feel bad but...

There's so much more! This is just a little intro to Mi Casa.  But the rest will have to wait for another time.  Until then I still hope everyone comes to visit me.  I promise I have all the creatures under control :)