Wow! It’s hard to believe that the Feast of Tabernacles and the Eighth Day is over. You spend months planning, looking forward to, and preparing for the Feast, and just like that, it’s over.

I have hesitated to write this particular entry.

I’d love to give you a flowery entry filled with rosy views of this year’s Feast, but I can’t. This particular Feast has been one of the most challenging of my life.

At services on opening night I felt a warm flush start from my face and spread through my body, and that was the beginning of six days of vomiting and diarrhea. If I wasn’t in bed, I was in the “bathroom.”

Being sick is always challenging, but being sick whilst living in a booth and only having access to a bathhouse is even more challenging. Added to all of this, Lewis had to leave for Zimbabwe three days into my illness… I felt scared, and sad, and sick, and alone.

It should probably be noted that I’m a terrible sick person. I cry. A LOT. I mean, a lot a lot. I whine. I just don’t do well with being sick. And that’s in the best of circumstances… so you can sympathize with all of those that had to put up with me for those six days. 

I started feeling better on the seventh day of the Feast, and headed to services, only the heat was oppressive (over 103° F) and I started feeling queasy and went straight to bed. The same was true for the Eighth Day.

But, there are highlights to this difficult time. First, it forced me to call on God, and to rely on Him. Me having some gastrointestinal problem is a pretty small thing, and I was reminded that we should praise Him even if, well, even if anything (Psalms 34 and 42).

Second, so many people took such wonderful care of me. Nearly everyday a different group of women would stop by my booth just to chat and to check on me. People made extra trips to the village to buy me bananas or a cool drink. One of the deacons went to town and took the time to get me medicine and water. The other deacon (a doctor) gave me medicine and made sure I stayed hydrated. One lady stayed in my booth after Lewis left so I wouldn’t be alone. And two nights a lady washed my super gross dust-caked feet before bed so I could have something special at the Feast, and have clean feet before going to bed (I think she was kind of disgusted by me getting into bed with dirty feet).

So… this wasn’t my favorite post of this blog, but there are good things to focus on. I’ll post soon about our post-Feast travels.

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