Rats, ticks & other fun stuff

If you've been following along, you already know about  ALL THE RAIN and the flooding in the D.R. While we have had a little bit of sun here and there in the last week, EVERYTHING remains saturated. We've already talked about the mold. Mold is old news. (Not really, but a girl can dream!)

Like a dog on the street, the water has no where to go. And with that comes some *extra special features* of living on an island. Besides the the mold, there are *other* things that are thriving, multiplying and seeking higher ground with the *added bonus* of major breeding grounds for mosquitoes (NO!!!!!!!) And may I just add, unlike the Texas Gulf Coast where I grew up, where the mosquiteos are all plump and swarmy like, the mosquitoes here are dainty and few, but very, very viscious because they cause things like tropical diseases (read "and other fun stuff!" here): dengue fever, chikengunya, zika.  Who knows what new funny named mosquito causing problem will pop up next.

I don't want to alarm you - as if the mold post wasn't enough already, but if you are reading this you are still hanging in there with us: thank you! So our *newest special features* include thousands of ticks of all varieties climbing on our walls. We can't spray our yard because it is too wet. We've treated our pets but they are still covered, etc. The walls look like they are moving because, well, they are! Ticks are climbing towards the sky like our walls are an escalator to heaven. When I walk around the porch, I leave a bloody trail because I've popped ticks like I'm walking on bubble wrap. True. Story.

And then there are the SUPER rats . . . . that seem to have found a comfy and dry home under my kitchen cabinets. GROSS - on SO. Many. Levels. I am deeming them SUPER because they seem to be resilient to poison - what? I'm about to unload every peppermint essential oil vile I have onto cotton balls to see if what they say is true . . . that rats are offended by the strong smell of peppermint! Peppermint essential oil has saved me from critters on other occassions - so I am hopeful.

I am not sharing any of this with you as a complaint as I am truly grateful to be where we are and sharing the grace and love of Jesus with others. We live a life of daily adventure in the D.R. and I like it that way. Every one of you out there has *special features* and *other fun stuff* that you are dealing with too. It is my hope and prayer that whatever you are dealing with in your life - that you will struggle well. The struggle is real, but how well we wrestle through it is up to us, and often times the wrestling means surrendering it, laying it down at the foot of the cross. The Lord dispenses fresh mercy with the dawning of each new day so we are equipped to not just manage, but thrive . . . kind of like those SUPER RATS. Ha.