The plagues

2011 began with my usual collection of bugs in residence. There were the "no named many legged hard shelled" crawling bugs and spiders that I leave alone to help control the other bug populations.

January I began to notice my first scorpions a little larger than those of Comer Georgia, and I didn't know if they were more venomous. The spiders seemed too wrap them up like mummies so I found more dead than alive. I also noticed tiny grasshoppers in just one sector of the apartment. There always seemed to be a few, very cute, but they never seemed to grow, was it a grasshopper nursery?




Next the ants came, I could not leave a plate with a few crumbs in the sink because shortly dozens would be having a fiesta. One night I invited a few people over for dinner and games. To my embarrassment, I hadn't noticed, that the ants had invaded my apple crisp as it cooled. I banged the pie plate on the table and they came running out, it didn't stop some guests to ask for seconds!! That same night the flies invaded by the dozens. I was beginning to wonder if I was being visited by the plagues of Exodus.

At the time Joel and Lynn began to stay with me while they looked for a new residence. They were changing their mission site from Carmen Pampa to Cochabamba. Luckily Carmen Pampa is filled with bugs, so they couldn't find much difference, except when the flies began personal attacks on Joel, as he read at night.

I bought fly swatters and Doña Severina put ant poison at the front door of her apartment. My front door is on the back side of her apartment, and she has no back door. Thus my latest plagues of ants and flies were attended to.

The rainy season peaked during February, and mosquitoes took up residence in Tiqti for the duration until rainy season passed into winter (about June). For less than $5.00 I bought a beautiful lacy mosquito net and slept in peace knowing they could not get to me.

Mid February I began to have welts mostly on my arms and back, but sometimes my legs. I thought the mosquito net might help but to no avail. Fr Edwin said I probably had fleas from the dogs at the center. I thought maybe I had bed bugs, I woke up nightly scratching.

I moved to the spare bedroom with my mosquito net. I cleaned my bedding and room. My skin was improving and I decided to move back to my room. The day I completed my taxes (April 13th) I was jubilant! I attached to email and sent to Jill to print, write check and mail. I had washed my sheets in the morning and was excited to sleep on clean sheets, dried in the hot Bolivian sun and breeze. Nothing like sheets fresh from the line!!


"Many legged" is behind, hidding legs!

As I put the sheets on the bed I discovered 5 pesky vinchuca bugs clinging to the cording on the mattress bottom, fat from sucking my blood. The source of my welts confirmed. I captured them for the public health department. I went back to the spare bedroom where there were no bugs present.

Vinchucas can carry the disease Mal de Chagas, which effects many people in the Bolivian countryside. The disease weakens the heart, among other things and shortens life spans, especially when left undetected. To make a really long story short, it took five weeks to find exterminators and to schedule them to exterminate. They did come for an inspection 3 weeks before extermination.

After not one bug would stay alive in the apartment for almost 5 months! A second infiltration of ants (that had arrived two weeks before exterminators) was stopped in their tracks.

I had wanted to write a blog comparing my infestations to the plagues in Exodus. I realized I had more different ones but I still "faulted" on a few. We did have hail twice during that time, though not very damaging. I never had frogs, but then I have never seen one in Bolivia, because of location.




Cooking by Candles

Just recently I could complete some others such as darkness, when the pastor decided not to pay the electric bill for 4 months and the electricity was cut until payment was made over a week later. I felt I was back to early mission days, candles, drawing water from the "well". (My poor back) Water not just for me but for the lunch program, school program and plants.

I was visited by a new plague, mice! Which is not a good one when you don't have light! I could finally be thankful that I didn't have a first born or they might be in danger.

A special note for Dianne, Christy, Paul and my brother Jim, regarding the mice. My friend Dianne sent me a birthday card this year a copy below. A few weeks ago I brought the card to Doña Severina and her family saying I had taken a picture of the rascally mouse that is in my house. They were so amazed I got a picture of the mouse (believe me he doesn't stay still enough for his photo to be taken). They kept asking me about the helmet. Why was he wearing it? Where did he get it? and so on!! I said he was very smart and didn't want to die! By the way all our floors are cement or tile. Wood floors are rare in Bolivia, or more for upper class.