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Sunday, January 01, 2012 Death Chalk: That Beautiful Blessing
Dear Everyone,
Good news, friends: I did NOT see a scorpion in my bathroom the other day. Whew. Turns out it was just a couple of ordinary lizards, looking dark and ominous and trundling along in the shadows, perhaps fat and happy with their latest kill. Generally speaking, I have a “no hunting” policy when it comes to lizards in my house; I see them as a valuable part of my mosquito control and malaria prevention strategy. But lately, the lizard population has been getting a bit out of hand. Normal, sensible lizards prefer to stick to the shadows, favoring the edges of the room or only coming out at night. Several days ago, however, a small, pink lizard brazenly darted through the center of my living room, playing chicken with my mop (and almost losing). Spotting multiple lizards in my toilet (which, you’ll recall, is a concrete box with a hole in it, positioned over a pit) has become a regular occurrence, which goes something like this:
Me: (lifting the toilet lid) Yikes! A convention!
Them: (staring—unblinking, unsmiling) We were here first.
Me: (looking stern) Well, I was here second . . . or fifth, and I’m sort of here with a purpose, so if you could please move . . .
Worse than the lizards, though, have been the ants. They, too, took up residence in my toilet, and, in addition to crawling on me while I’m sitting—they bite. They are only mildly discouraged by billowing clouds of Raid, and they don’t think the poison that I put out for them is delicious. That’s why my good friend Ali gave me a stick of her Death Chalk.
Death Chalk—or “Miraculous Insecticide Chalk—Made in China”—is my new favorite thing in the whole world. I immediately traced around the inside of my toilet-hole, then I traced around the whole toilet-box. Ali was right: Ants walk up to the line, but they do not cross it. And if they do cross it, they writhe and die (unfortunate for them, but happily effective). Now I can sit in peace inside my “safe zone.” Last evening, I traced around my whole front door so that my living room floor could be a safe zone too. I may also do my bathroom door and kitchen window. My entire life has improved drastically, AND, happy bonus: I’ve started finding dead cockroach bodies as well. (Dead cockroaches are my favorite kind.)
Today I am praying for the health of our entire team. Five out of our eleven children have been sick this past week, and no one can have peace when children vomit in the night. I’ve been tentatively diagnosed (via email, because that’s how we roll) with tendonitis in my right wrist; everyday tasks like chopping vegetables and washing dishes have become painful for me. My back pain, however, has recently lessened significantly, so I’m thanking God for that.
I’m also praying about my life and the next step for me. I am scheduled to return to the U.S. on May 3, 2012, and I am praying about whether or not to continue working with LBT. I would like God to show me which good work He has prepared in advance for me to do and then give me strength and courage to walk in it, trusting Him to make it all work out.
The children, Valerie, and I will begin school again tomorrow, January 2nd, after a very satisfying Christmas break. Since they will be going on furlough near the end of March, our last day of school is scheduled for February 24th. I’m confident that every child will be sufficiently educated to end our school year at that time (we did, after all, skip summer break, in addition to having class on Thanksgiving), but I’m praying for peace and good learning until then, as we prepare for this major transition, and as we experience any travel, scheduled and surprise, that happens to us between now and then.
Also, our home school co-op will be meeting for the last time this school year in March, when we will be performing our school musical, which I am directing. This will be my musical directing debut. It’s fun so far, but also . . . yikes.
Hope you are well.
Christina |
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