God's Sufficient Grace

barricades and ammunition

I would not consider myself a particularly aggressive or hostile person. In fact, I usually avoid conflict at every turn and would much rather let myself be wronged over and over again than having to address an issue. It takes an often repeated offense which deeply wounds or bothers me to the core for me to stand up and fight back. Well, I have reached that point. Catherine has gone to war.

I'm not sure when I actually crossed the line or when this deep-set hatred officially settled into my heart, but I think it happened a some point the week before last. If I had to name a time, it would be at 2:30 a.m. on Thursday morning when I sat up alert in my bed, scratching the bites that covered my arms, neck and face while watching several mosquitoes buzz around me tauntingly as if to say, "You can't catch me!" That was the second time that week that I was up for at least a 1/2 hour in the middle of the night- not to mention the rest of the nights which were all rather restless - and I woke up in the morning, exhausted, with spots of blood on the hem of my sheet and bites all over my skin. Something, I decided, must be done.

That afternoon my girl-friends came to the rescue. My dear, intuitive friend, Tara (from Jacksonville) had given me a mosquito net for Christmas which I brought back to Thailand but had not managed to hang yet. At first, I didn't see as great a need to hang it because when I returned after Christmas break, it was the cool season and mosquitoes seemed to almost have disappeared. Well, I have since learned that they were anything but gone. Apparently the cool season is time when mosquito eggs have been laid but are dormant. When the 2 1/2 week cool season left us and the heat began to increase again, it proved to be the incubation time for those mosquito eggs - otherwise known as "mosquito season." And mosquitoes have been everywhere. Especially in areas surrounding water or drains. Walking into the women's bathroom down the outside hallway from my classroom was like walking into a fog of mosquitoes. I now know how Pharaoh felt and why he let the children of Israel go!

Anyway, when I realized I did indeed need the net over my bed at night, I then had a difficult time trying to figure out how to hang it up. Basic items (like hooks and string) are still hard for me to find in Thailand, so it took me several days to find and purchase them. Then when I did, I realized the task of hanging up something like that with four corners and pieces of string going in four different directions was more than one person can do. Unfortunately I am only one person and all the friends I know that live nearby seemed to be busy all that week. So finally, after the previously described night of misery, I had my two prayer partners over to "pray" (truly, we did!) and asked them to help me hang it up. See photo below:



That night (and most nights since) it worked wonders. (Thank you, Tara!!) It has shown itself to be the perfect fortress against my enemy, protecting me from their pointed attacks. Now I lie (did I use that word correctly, Dad?) underneath, watching that "pestilence that stalks in the darkness" (from Psalm 91:6 - a verse I've found great comfort in this last year) land on the outside of the net and I get to say, "Ha! You can't get me!" : P It's also been a very fun, cozy little place to hide away in. Sitting and sleeping underneath my net takes me back to the days when Joanna and I shared a room and would makes tents or "boats" out of our sheets, tucking all our stuffed animals and pillows and important belongings underneath them to keep them safe from the impending storm above or crocodiles below. It makes me feel like a child again. Because it's one of the few (usually) mosquito-free places in my apartment and because it is so fun to sit underneath, I've started to read a lot under here and even work on my computer or talk on the phone. (In case you were wondering: yes, I'm typing this while sitting on my bed underneath my net. : )

Unfortunately, even strategies as good as setting up barricades are not fool-proof. A few nights in this past week a mosquito or two have somehow snuck under the net (probably as I shot under it quickly myself) and then seemed to have a hey-day there, as they had no other place to go except to me. This has pushed me to the offensive and I went out in search of better ammunition. I bought another mosquito batter/racket, which appears to be just about as worthless as the other different one I purchased last fall (I feel like I need to get a lesson in how to use these things from a Thai person - they use them all the time!). I also bought an "Electrical Mosquito Killer" (like a small, inside version of one you've probably seen before). The box says, "the killer can be used in bed-room, hall, hostal, office, chicken farm, animal huslardry, and any other places where needs killing mosquitoes" so I thought it would be perfect for me! In a matter of days, I counted 15 dead mosquitoes on the "killer" - which is very exciting, however there are more than 15 mosquitoes in and out of my apartment these days, so that alone has not eradicated the problem. But it does definitely help. My strategy of the week, after respraying the entire apartment, is to keep my shower and sink drains covered with a bowl or jar at all times. So far, a combination of all these things has helped tremendously. Katy came to my place yesterday afternoon and laughed at my net and drains and looked at me like, "is it really that bad?" A few minutes later, she killed three herself.

And where is Sam in all this, you may ask? Well, he has proven to be a fair-weather friend (er, gecko) in the midst of difficult times (either that or he ate his fill for the year after a few nights, then left.) I haven't seen him in weeks, which only affirms the wisdom of what my parents always told me: never let strange boys into your bedroom at night, no matter how nice they look.

As if this entry wasn't long enough already, last weekend my friend Amber (a first grade teacher who is very proficient at rhyming words) inspired me to write a lullaby about my experiences. If nothing else, maybe singing this to myself at night will help me fall asleep!

Hush, little Catherine, don't mind the bites;
Mama's gonna buy you a mosquito light.

And if those 'squitoes won't go away,
Mama will get you some lethal bug spray.

But if that spray doesn't kill every bug,
Mama'll get some to go in an electric plug.

But if the poisin still doesn't set,
Mama will cover you with a mosquito net.

And for those few that sneak through the crack,
Mama will strike them with a zapper-bat.

Then to grant your every wish,
Mama will buy you some mosquito-eating fish!

In case those bites disturb your calm,
She'll cover your skin with some tiger balm.

And if you will only pray and let go,
God will send you a small gecko.

But if none of these things work,
She'll understand why you go berserk!

Composed by: Catherine Rogers and Amber Vawser

posted by Catherine Rogers @ 5:44 AM