Mission return

Yesterday, Dani took me on a tour of her mission in Portland, Oregon. We started with VooDoo doughnuts and being a little bit of a doughnut "snob", I was skeptical until I took my first bite of the pina colada doughnut !!!  I have now determined the last meal I eat in this life will be a pina colada doughnut filled with guava...this is if I do not meet with an accidental death but can plan it somehow...just like I like planning everything else. We took a pic in front of the "Keep Portland Weird" sign and suddenly I knew I had found my tribe.
We then visited a couple of her former apartments  and then she said she had a "surprise" to show me called a "Nutria". By this time the rain was coming down like cats and dogs although Dani called it a light "mist" cuz her DNA had switched to amphibian by living in a semi-aquatic Portland environment for 18 months. SO while I was a little reluctant to go snipe hunting after something that sounded like a granola bar...the lure of seeing a new creature intrigued me. 
Circling the wetlands pond, Dani suddenly let out a whoop and pointed to a brownish lump on the muddy bank. Slinking a long, a familiar rat tail flicked behind it and I suddenly realized this was the same creature I had witnessed outside the window of a patient room at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago many years ago. The patient and I shrieked and she relayed to me that the legend of ROUS (Rodents of Unusual Size) from the cult classic , "The Princess Bride" were alive and well in many murky waters. Here was this same creature alive and well in Portland! Of course because I am a science nerd I immediately read several papers on this invasive species from South America. It has reached unhealthy levels because of its ability to breed and produce over 3 large litters annually. The "nutria" problem has gotten so bad in Louisiana that there are governmental programs that give kick backs for restaurants who serve nutria on their menu. For any of my friends planning a trip to Louisiana..."Nutria is NOT a granola bar".  
We finished our wetlands tour by realizing the three eagles we had been admiring were really vultures.  Seeing them spread their wings and circle us overhead, we skeedadled out of there worried in our sopping state we resembled pure carrion! 
The highlight of the day, besides the ROUS and guava doughnut, was the opportunity to see a family that Dani had been teaching come to the waters of baptism. We had done a few ZOOM lessons with the family and it was amazing to see the change in them in just a few short months. Religion gets a bad rap nowadays, but the transformation this family experienced is undeniable. A recent convert Dani had taught was able to baptize the whole family and the feeling in the room was overwhelmingly sweet. 
 This year I have put my own spiritual and religious convictions in a backseat as I have been mainly in survival mode focusing on working in healthcare during a world-wide pandemic. Yesterday, the breath of newness and healing touched my heart at this family's baptism. I was reminded and relieved to remember everyday is a gift. Everyday is new and chance to start over. There is hope for all of us...maybe even ROUS's .

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