Not So Popular Perry

Perry...that was "his" name.  When I tell you who Perry is, you'll have two immediate thoughts: 1) That is gross. 2) Why on Earth would you blog about that?  Just bear with me while I explain...

Wren Matawaran

In the summer of 2011, I spent three weeks traveling through the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore with some VERY dear friends of mine to celebrate their wedding. 

 **Side note** I recently have been blessed with this little treasure, whom I now proudly call my Goddaughter.

On this trip, I traveled.  I ate.  I got massages.  I ate some more.  I got pampered.  I ate.  I was welcomed and served by my friend's family.  Have I mentioned eating yet?  I saw creation like I have never experienced it before.  I traveled and ate some more.  I rode elephants, played with tigers, visited temples.  All the while, continuing to eat.  Here are some photos of the events described above...

         

Upon returning to the United States, the last thing I wanted to think about was eating...but my appetite was insatiable.  I thought for a while that it was just because I had been away from American food for so long that my body craved it, but even after a month I continued to eat.  One would think that all of the eating I had been doing for almost a month would have caught up with me, but I was losing weight...a noticeable amount.  I just kept on keepin' on, until one weekend I woke up with a horrible stomach "bug".  Which I found out soon after, was just "Perry" making himself known.  

"Perry", if you haven't already made your own deduction, was a tapeworm.  A disgusting, sickening, vile, and not so popular parasite.  Ok, at this point you may have developed a third question:  3) Why in the world did I give a name to such a thing?  Well, I have two answers for you: 1) Because I'm weird and I often do things that are not "normal". (Makes for a funny joke these days!) 2) Not many people want to talk about tapeworms (even typing the word makes me want to vomit), so I had to come up with a "code" to use, so I could keep my parents up to date on the status of my newly discovered, and completely unwelcome, inhabitant.

Did I just decide today was the day to share all of this extremely embarrassing and personal info with you?  No. Did I consider the laughs and gags that would be had at my expense?  Yes.  All things were considered, trust me, but there is a reason for sharing.  "Not so popular Perry" cannot keep me in the dark and he cannot keep me away.  I'm going back to the Philippines, no matter how many "Perrys" I have to deal with along the way, but this time with another purpose...and I'm taking a detour through 10 other countries on my way.  Parasites, questionable meals, not-so-five-star accommodations, uncomfortable situations, body odor, dirty clothes, manual labor, "squatty potties", emotional stress, opposition...all of the above await me.  "Perry" is the least of my worries...but I'm going because He has called me.  He has called me back to remember and love the beauty I saw, as well as recognize and begin to restore the brokenness that I ignored.  I'm going back, with HIS purpose and 

I. AM. STOKED! 

 

Psalm 46: 10  "I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth"