Day Four Diary Page ~ A Day of Unexpected Happenings

Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Today was a day of unexpected happenings, including: enjoying a stamp museum, discovering my purpose while sitting outside of a hospital room, an impromptu meeting with the entire school board, & my beloved & treasured camera deciding to die.

I woke up at 7:45, without an alarm. Showered. For breakfast I had granola, milk, & fresh squeezed orange juice (THANKS 2 Julie!)

We decided not to go on the cathedral tour yet, as we had planned, because of the enormous amount of walking involved. (I was still having altitude sickness symptoms & not yet used to the heat.)

Instead, I did Facebook, Flickr, & Blog until 11:20 with my feet up, to try to reduce the swelling.

We took the bus to a free stamp museum. (Free is the best kind!) I didn’t know quite what to expect. I had collected stamps for a time when I was a young child, but didn’t know if it would be worth the bus trip & walking… It turned out to be really VERY fascinating, especially the room with the world map on the cement floor & then stamps from all over the world on the 4 walls!

I found stamps from every country I have been & took pictures each. That was cool. I also bought 3 really neat bookmarks, made from used stamps from Mexico. They are stamps from like 40 years ago! Really neat!

Then, we walked to a local hospital for Julie to visit her friend… Along the way, I saw some interesting things ~ including walking underneath a lime tree & some cars & trucks I've never seen before. 

It was during this part of the day that I was reminded, “it’s not about me!” I was sitting outside the room, perfectly occupied with going through my receipts in my purse, then writing in my journal, then looking at the pictures I’d taken on my camera, then eating a granola bar… Then, I found myself wondering what to do next. My selfish brain even wondered what was taking so long. Then, KLUNK! It was like I was hit in the head with the reminder that this is NOT about me! We were there to visit someone in the hospital!!!! Even if I couldn’t go in, I could still minister to him with prayer! So, I began praying, first to thank God for reminding me that my life is not my own, it was bought with a price, & then for comfort for this man that I didn’t know & for wisdom for Julie as she talked with him. It was a good reminder to check myself.


We took the bus back to the house, arriving at 2:30. Then, we quickly left again for 3:00 Bible study at the school, with Julie, Lorri, & Nancy (2 teachers there at OCS). They were just beginning the Bible study in the book of Colossians that week, so they had invited me to join them. On our way TO the school, a phone call with David (the school’s principal) ended by him announcing that he wanted me to meet the school board before the Bible study. Oh my goodness gracious! Meeting the school board while sweaty from hours of being outside & on public transportation?? So, when we arrived ~ I met the entire school board! They were very nice & welcoming (considering how I looked & considering that they were in the middle of a board meeting).


Bible study was really good ~ it was a detailed introduction with a good amount of discussion. I learned quite a bit too, that’s always good! It lasted until about 5. I took 3 pictures of the 2 teachers, Nancy & Lorri, with my little handheld camera. It was School Spirit Week at the school, and that day was Twin Day. They looked so adorable, so I offered 2 take a picture & said I’d email it to them.

I was SHOCKED & DISMAYED to discover that only minutes later, the camera wouldn’t work! It would beep & give me this error message about the lens. I couldn’t believe it! I had only been in the country for 4 days out of a 7 week trip & already my camera had broken??? The whole ride back to the house & the rest of the evening, I kept trying it. I even took the battery & camera card out of the camera…still the same error message. I looked at the manual & looked at the Canon website, searching for answers. It said that this message would come on if the lens had too much pressure applied to it. So, I guess I squeezed it in its case too hard? All I know is I was really sad about it.


The loss of my camera, plus the way I was feeling, equaled me falling into discouragement. With tears in my eyes, I typed this as my Facebook status that evening:


Jenn Noll is trying NOT to be discouraged... Please pray for my STILL swollen feet & ankles, the rumbly in my tummy, & my handheld camera that I apparently broke today after taking a picture of 2 teachers I'll be volunteering with. :( Also, please pray for my visa application as I go to immigration WED morning! On a positive note, I got to see the school where I’ll be, met some staff, & enjoyed a Bible study there today.