Blackmarket Medicine

Living in the hairy armpit often means that one makes . . . ur . . . adjustsments to one's expectations. For instance, we have an almost impossible time getting Brenda's epilepsy medicine. It is a prescription only medicine, and of course the doctor is 4 hours away in Greece . . . and finding a Greek pharmacy open is more difficult than shipping snowballs to hell. Of course the prescription is written in Greek and neither we nor the Macedonians can read it. Not only that, the Macedonian pharmacies don't even carry the medicine once we get the silly piece of paper translated!

So what does one do? Well the black market of course! One first of all discreetly asks one's friends, "Are there pharmacies who can get medicines from outside the country?" And then when one finds out the information, you then go to that pharmacy and ask for the medicine you are searching for . . . and of course they can't get it, plus you don't have a prescription they can read. Thus one stands there with a slightly urgent look upon one's face, and the person behind the counters says eventually, "We might could order it from our Greek source." "Oh could you try?" we ask. And so then one leaves a deposit and phone numbers to ensure that one will return for the medicine.

A week or two passes, and then a call comes. "Your order has arrived." and then you go and pay the remaining money and you have your medicine without a prescription, without a receipt, without any paper trail whatsoever . . . and you thank God for black market ingenuity! it's all about who you know. It's call connections. In fact you can't get anything accomplished in this part of the world without connections. It drives Westerners mad!

But I hate to say, yet it's true, that is precisely how God works. We are reconciled, justified, righteous and His children all because of connections. It is only when we are connected to the Vine that we are the children of God. Without a connection to God we would be in big trouble, just like trying to get decent medicine in the Eastern Europe without a connection is all but impossible.