Learning Patience by Being a Patient

Wow what a week it has been! Just 7 days ago I was wrapping up my time in Serukam visiting at Bethesda Hospital. It had been an amazing time and I was ready to head home to Salatiga for the start of a new unit of language school. This past week feels like it has taken a month! So much has happened in the past few days it is hard to keep track. Lots of challenges but so many blessings as well!

So my last post had us to Sunday afternoon, when I had been told I needed to head to Kuching, Malaysia to have a plate and some screws placed surgically There were a couple of complications though that were going to make that difficult but the Lord provided in some amazing ways, which you can read about more in this blog post.

On Monday afternoon we were blessed to find a boot in one of storage rooms that helped provide support and allowed me to put a little weight on it while walking. The other option was casting it but because of the large amount of swelling that was not a great option, especially since it was likely to swell more with the travel.

I was so blessed to have an amazing supportive community around me, when this happened! I was rarely alone in my days in Serukam. There was always someone bringing me food, helping me with personal things, and praying with me. There was also a chicken named Caspian (belonged previously to a missionary family who returned to the US in June) who would come every morning and hang around all day long. We had lovely conversations as I sat on my patio and he in the tree outside :)

After getting the boot on Monday afternoon I practiced walking with a walker and partial weight-bearing on the foot. I then headed to dinner at the hospital director's house, with our guests Pastor Bruce and Julie and a couple of other Indonesian teammates. Shortly after that we left for Pontianak. It was a long bumpy and very uncomfortable trip but we made it just before 1 am. We then slept for a few hours before getting up early to catch a 8:30 am flight to Kuching, Malaysia.

We went directly to the doctor's office in Kuching. He took one look at the x-rays and recommended surgery to have a plate put in. So I was immediately admitted to the hospital and surgery happened just four or so hours after we arrived in Kuching. There are many friends of the hospital in Kuching, including the Wong family. Mrs. Wong helped things happen smoothly, and it was during her prayer right before surgery that the tears started and were hard to stop. My cell phone helped me keep in touch with family, friends, and teammates during this time. It was such a blessing to know that so many were praying. The surgery took about 2 hours. They did spinal anesthesia with a little medication through my IV to help me sleep.

Keeping in touch - thanks to my iPhone!

Post-surgery - looking and feeling a bit pale. 

I come with a bit of new hardware these days! 

That first night in the hospital was a bit rough due to pain and not being able to get out of bed. I would definitely put it in the category of longest night ever :) I did get a couple of shots of IM Demerol which mostly just helped me sleep. At the visit the next morning with the surgeon, he suggested staying 48 hours after surgery but with a little sweet-talking he was ok with me leaving at 24 hours. So on Wednesday afternoon I moved to a hotel. It was more comfortable and gave me more control over position in bed, food, meds, and activities. That night was my first good night of sleep in almost a week and it was amazing!

Resting at the hotel and keeping my leg elevated

After a couple of days of recovery we were back in the Dr's office on Friday morning for a post-op check. He pronounced the incision good and told me I could do partial weight-bearing, which was way better than hopping to and from everywhere! He also cleared me to return to Indonesia. So this morning we flew back as far as Pontianak, Indonesia. I am blessed to be at the New Tribes Guest House with a lovely room and several friends around. I will spend a couple of days recuperating here and practicing using my crutches, especially on stairs. To get back to Salatiga on the island of Java I will need to be able to climb about 20 narrow stairs up to the 737 plane. I am looking forward to being home in Salatiga! There will be lots of friends there and since I am living with Paul and Becky Geary in their house I will have plenty of help. There is also a physical therapist in the community who has offered to help with my rehab. I will be partial weight-bearing and dependent on crutches for at least 6 weeks. I am also hoping I can arrange for one of the language school instructors to come to my house, so I can continue language school. So there you have the rest of the story.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and well wishes via email and Facebook! When I was discouraged and lonely all I had to do was read a few to encourage me. It will be a long six weeks ahead and means adjusting to a new normal but I know God has a plan for this time too!

As Long As You Are Glorified

So I wanted to take a minute to share some of the amazing work and provisions of the Lord in the midst of these difficult times...

One, I didn't have a current exit permit in my passport. Now that I have a KITAS visa that lasts for a year I also have to have an exit/re-entry permit to leave the country, so that I don't lose that visa. I assumed I had one and hadn't even checked my passport for one, because at the hospital the people who do our visas just always get one whenever we get a new visa. I didn't know I had to make a special request to the people at the language school, who did this visa. Normally, you have to apply at the office where you got your visa (which was on the island of Java and I was on the island of Kalimantan) and it usually takes three days. So the guy who does our visas at the hospital called his friend in immigration who called his boss, the head of immigration for our island and asked for a special permit. Our visa guy made the 5-hour trip down to the capital city at midnight on Sunday night, so that they could be at the immigration office at 8 am to meet with the head of immigration and the permit was given immediately and all the paperwork processed by 1 pm. Wow!

The second issue was how to best get me to Malaysia. So the island is officially called Borneo and is shared by Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia. The Indonesian part where the hospital is located is called West Kalimantan. The first thing to keep in mind is that roads are rough in this part of Indonesia. Second not much is disabled person friendly. At this point I was using a walker or crutches and could not bear much weight on my broken ankle. So we could choose a 12-hour trip road trip (with squatty potty toilets) or a 5-hour road trip and then an hour plane ride to Malaysia. Both had their negatives and positives but in the end we opted for choice B. So we left at 9 pm on Monday evening and made it to the hospital house in Pontianak, just before 1 am, where we slept for a few hours. It was a really rough road trip due to pain as we hit bump after bump but I had good friends along to make me as comfortable as possible. We also had a fabulous driver who had officially retired but knows that road like the back of his hand and is a good safe driver that drove for us.

We were up at 5 am to shower and leave for the airport by 6:30 to catch an 8:30 am flight. Once again this is not a disabled person friendly country, so negotiating the airport was going to be tricky and exhausting on crutches/walker. Once again though the Lord provided. As our van pulled up there was a Mr. Candra, a friend of the hospital. His son has thalassemia and has been treated over the last several years at the hospital. He works as a travel agent in the city. He was waiting with a wheelchair and escorted me through security and the check-in process. I still don't know who told him that I would be needing help and what kind of help exactly.

Throughout this time I have been cared for by my missionary team and Indonesian friends at the hospital. It has been a lesson in humility but I could not have made it throughout this week without them. On this trip I have been accompanied by Donda. She helps with the administration of MedGo at the hospital. She has been amazing in helping me take care of needs like personal care, to arranging things at the airport and in Kuching. What a blessing it has been to get to know her better, even if it was in such an unexpected way.

During our annual WorldVenture Field Fellowship just two weekends ago (feels like a month!) one of my teammates recommended worship music by Sovereign Grace Music. So before I left the conference I downloaded one of their CDs from iTunes called Come Weary Saints. I have listened to that CD so many times in the past week and it has been such a blessing to my heart! Several of the songs have been special but I think the one that rings so true in my life right now is the song As Long As You are Glorified. None of the events of the past week were part of my plan and at first it was hard to see through the pain, confusion and fear. Again and again though my community and my God reached through that pain, fear, and confusion and helped me feel secure and even joy. While it was not part of my plan I truly hope that God is glorified in this situation.

Here are the lyrics:

VERSE 1

Shall I take from Your hand Your blessings 

Yet not welcome any pain?

Shall I thank You for days of sunshine

Yet grumble in days of rain?

Shall I love You in times of plenty

Then leave You in days of drought?

Shall I trust when I reap a harvest

But when winter winds blow, then doubt?

CHORUS

Oh let Your will be done in me

In Your love I will abide

Oh I long for nothing else as long 

As You are glorified

VERSE 2

Are You good only when I prosper 

And true only when I’m filled?

Are You King only when I’m carefree 

And God only when I’m well?

You are good when I’m poor and needy 

You are true when I’m parched and dry 

You still reign in the deepest valley 

You’re still God in the darkest night

BRIDGE

So quiet my restless heart

Quiet my restless heart

Quiet my restless heart in You

© 2008 Integrity’s Praise! Music/Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)

Or you can hear it on YouTube:

A Change of Plans

Well this is not how I had planned to be spending this weekend but the Lord has been present even in these difficult times. I have really been enjoying the last week off from language school. I had team meetings, the chance to enjoy seeing some historical sites, and finally made a trip to the hospital where I will be serving shortly (more blog posts to come on all those adventures). Going to the hospital requires flying from the island of Java to the island of Kalimantan. The plan was for a short visit to reconnect with old friends and meet the current staff and talk with people about my arrival in February of next year. My new unit of language school was starting on Monday, so I was going to fly back on Saturday.

Friday night was my planned last night at the hospital. I was headed back to the room where I was staying, when I fell down some steps. I felt a pop and instant burn and was not able to stand on it, so I called my teammate, a doctor, Paul Geary. We quickly headed down to the hospital, which thankfully was only a football field away or so, for some x-rays. Unfortunately, it was pretty obvious on the x-rays that I had broken my fibula (the smaller bone of the lower leg) near the ankle. So we wrapped it up and I got a shot of pain reliever and headed back to my room for some sleep.

It is now quite swollen and since I cannot bear weight on it, it was decided I should delay flying back to the island of Java. It is about a 5-hour car trip over bumpy roads to the airport and unfortunately getting in an airplane here, requires walking across the tarmac and climbing a steep set of stairs. We are talking with an orthopedic doctor in Singapore who has reviewed my x-rays about options. His opinion as of this morning (our Sunday morning) is that it needs surgery for a plate to be placed. This will enable me to walk on it much sooner and increase the chances of having full mobility and better stability in the future. So we are working on the logistics of getting my paperwork together and transportation figured out for a trip across the border to Kuching, Malaysia. Unfortunately, I do not have a current exit permit in my passport, which is complicating things. 

Some big praises!

• This happened just a short distance from a place and people that I trust to provide medical care for me, which can’t always be said of medical care in Indonesia. 
• The community here is loving on me and taking care of my every need, from food to pain medications, to helping me take a shower. I have a steady stream of visitors :)
• Good crutches that fit appropriately and have all the rubber pads etc can be hard to find in this country, but one of our current missionaries has been working in our supply area cleaning up the crutches and getting the ones we have in good working order. He was able to find a good pair for me in just a few minutes last night.

Prayer requests:

• That the pain would decrease quickly and I would heal quickly.  
• That we can figure out the logistics of getting me to Kuching in the easiest manner possible. Things aren't exactly disabled person friendly in this country. 
• That God would give me patience with myself! It is never fun to be the patient, especially when you are use to being the nurse :) 

All wrapped up but still swollen. 

A gift from a a friend here. Sometimes chocolate does help make things better. 

Just got told my leg is broken and still able to smile (although I am not sure if this post or pre shot of pain medication!) 

Things are all set-up in my room. Everything is pretty much at arms reach or at least just a short hop on crutches away.

So How Hot Is It There?

Happy Summer! Yep that is right, here just a bit south of the equator we are in our hottest time of the year. So all you people talking on Facebook etc about enjoying your favorite autumn foods, stop it! You are making me miss the change of the seasons :) No, really it is just weird to feel it getting hotter, when I keep expecting it to be getting cooler. Partly because when I was in Indonesia before, things would be getting cooler at the hospital by now, as they are just a bit north of the equator. So there the hottest part of the year is over and the rains are coming almost daily now.  

On the map above, the hospital is just a bit north of the city of Pontianak (which is on the island almost right in the center of the map), which is located directly on the equator. Right now during language school though, I am living just south of the city of Semarang (look directly down from Pontianak), so we are south of the equator. 

Here is our forecast for Saturday (I started to write this blog post on Saturday but didn't get it finished) to give you an idea of what our weather is like right now. Pay attention to that "feels like" area which is a combination of the temperature and humidity, sometimes called heat index. Saturday afternoon for example it will feel like 100 degrees F. Our low at night is feeling like the mid-70s. 

The other interesting thing about living near the equator is that the sun rises and sets at about the same time each day throughout the year. So right now the sun is coming up around 5:30 am and going down around 5:30 pm. There is a little variation on that during the year but it is pretty much always 12 hours apart. So when those winter blues hit in late winter, come for a visit - our weather will be nice and with a daily rain to cool us off by then, it is always green!