Signs from God

This post is about faith, and if that makes you uncomfortable, well, then, it makes you uncomfortable.

I am often asked if I am Catholic. I consider myself Catholic, but I suppose what one would consdier to be non-practicing. I was raised in the Church. I don't got to mass weekly. I have may reasons, but mostly I believe in living a full life with lots of love, patience and service to others which in my life includes animals.

God works in mysterious ways. Look for the signs. Ask and wait. He will provide.

When I had decided to fly out and help my friends Bill and Carol in Playa del Carmen, I lay in bed filled with doubt. How would I manage? I had a business to run, a life and husband in Oaxaca, travel plans in June (would there still be $ to go see my little sister graduate and become a doctor?), would I be useful? Why was I going? Would I just be in the way? I asked God for guidance, and immediately remembered something a friend's father told my sister about money when she told him she wanted to be a Doctor. She said she worried about money as a single mother, and he told her: Do not worry about money, God will provide.

So, I woke up the next morning and started to organize the trip, and in the afternoon, a friend went by my home with an envelope with some cash and an email that said it was to help with my trip.

I arrived in Playa del Carmen and while shopping for a few groceries, I thought - shouldn't Bill and Carol had a momento from Playa del Carmen? No, not a mug...

No, not a t-shirt with a saying that makes NO SENSE...

There were lots and they were 30% off. Not sure what that says about, well, anything...

wait a minute... YES!! The Vigin of Guadalupe, of course!!

Many times while I lay in bed trying to sleep or at least calm my crazy brain, I thanked God for giving me the strength to just keep going. Sometimes I might have a little cry, but in general, I always had faith that things would get sorted as they were supposed to.

Sometimes, God's signs are less than pleasant. Sometimes the signs frustrate you and make you angry and make you think: are you KIDDING ME? And yet, from that frustration comes a better, brighter, happier solution that you would not have thought of had God not slipped in that little meltdown moment. Once those are sorted, you treat yourself to a hibiscus flower water as big as your head.

Other times, little things show up when you don't expect them. Like this image of Jesus on my pear. I showed it to my friend Bill and he suggested I eat it up quickly otherwise the next thing I knew, the entire ward would be in our room and we would be more famous than we already are.

Jesus on my pear...

Jesus in Brazil. Same same.

When in doubt, pray. And then go for a run!

Playa Del Carmen - 2 friends, 2 busses, 2 taxis, 1 flight

On Wednesday evening, I got this text from my friend Carol, who lives in Oaxaca.

Just seconds before I had gotten an email informing me of about the same - that Bill and Carol had been in a terrible car crash and that they (and their visiting family from Canada, Bill's two sisters and his brother-in-law) were all in hospital in Playa Del Carmen.

Ralph and I had just gotten home from work, and I stood in my hiking clothes and looked at him and said: We need to go.

Here is all I knew about the Mexican medical system: If you are in the hospital, you need help. In Oaxaca, it is common to have someone from the family with you all the time. ( I exaggerate, I do know a tiny bit more, but you get the point - support is key.)

Ralph and I sat and talked about it. Our question was - if it was us, what would we want? We agreed, we would want someone there. Timing was good on our side, so we decided I would go. So many other friends had considered it but the timing was wrong - their own trip out of Oaxaca, family visiting, etc. I feel like I am here representing all of those other people who wanted to be here but couldn't. And Hilda. Of course. She was ready.

So, I spent Thursday morning arranging the trip, and I also wanted to do it somewhat cost effectively. I took a night bus Friday from Oaxaca to Mexico City, then a taxi to the airport, then a flight from Mexico City to Cancun, then a bus from Cancun airport to Playa del Carmen, then a taxi over to the hospital directly. I have a few travel notes:

Dear Backpackers: If you can't carry your monster backpack, get luggage, with wheels. Signed: the lady who caught you as you almost fell over from the weight of your bag.
Dear Cell Phone Users: When in a public bathroom, once in the stall - PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY. There are lineups of people who actually have to pee. Badly, sometimes. Signed: The woman who knocked agressively on your door in the CDMX airport while you "chatted" and the lineup grew longer and longer.
Dear Google: Is it too much to ask for you to indicate where roads are paved and where the municipality has thrown down river rocks in order to try to not have the entire road wash away? Signed: The girl with the luggage with wheels.

Questions Tanya's Mexico Taxi Drivers may be asked:
 - Is there a "real" market closeby?
 - Is it safe at night or early in the morning to run?
 - How do the taxis work, by zone or metered?
 - What time does the sun set? (For the record, he was WAY off on this answer.)

I arrive at the hospital. Begin farce: There is a door that says: Administration. Nope, they send me upstairs. There is a nice big reception desk. Nope. They directly me to tiny little desk over on the side with Francisco. I explain I am here to see Bill and Carol Watts. I appreciate the names may be strange, I say them slowly. Francisco asks me if they are patients here. (Because I guess they have TONS of folks who just rock up asking for people not staying in the hospital...) I explain that yes, they are. I say that the woman (Carol) may be in surgery and they may or may not be in the same room. He says he will go look. He returns. Asks if the man is in surgery and the woman is here to look after him. No, no, I assure him they are BOTH patients, and the last room number I had was 101. He excuses himself again. He comes back. He has located them. But visiting hours are over. I said that was nice but I jsut arrived from Oaxaca and I would like to see my friends please. He says sure, I am provided with a visitor tag, hand over my ID, and then he asks if I will be staying there and if he should arrange for a cot. End Farce.

Other than the above, the hospital has been great. My hotel is a 2 bedroom suite and very close to the hospital, and reasonably comfortable but new, so there are funny things missing, like matches to light the stove and mirrors anywhere. Maybe Playa del Carmen people don't use mirrors? Francisco was also very surprised I was leaving last night, and I felt, as I walked back over the river rock attempting not to break an ankle that I was somehow lacking in my Mexican Hospital Family Duties.

I was at the hospital today and will blog a little about that in another post, but now time to update everyone on today's developments and then have a nap before heading back over.

My cousin said there is a beach here. Really. I may just see that...