Fresh Perspective

The week sped by.  Before we knew, it was Wednesday.  We started to hear back from doctors in America about Aubrey’s finger.  Yes, they would pin it.  We have a 10 day window before the bone would have to be re-broken.  Yes, it could impair fine motor movements such as playing the violin if we did not have it pinned properly.  We were asked to come up with quotes from the hospitals in Jakarta (no easy feat) and compare them to the hospital in Malaysia.  This would validate leaving the country.  Thankfully Stephanie spent a full afternoon getting all the grunt work of pricing and airline ticket prices all lined up for us.  Often the phone number listed for a hospital on the web page was wrong.  I can’t imagine the frustration she went through.  However, when we returned from town, getting pictures for our visa’s, Stephanie had all the quotes nicely presented for Darron’s boss.  He immediately approved the trip to Malaysia....

i The biggest Papaya I have ever seen.  This picture was taken right before Sunday night soccer. Sunday night soccer at the International School is a highlight of every week.  Aubrey and Andrew enjoy playing with other English speaking kids.  Though they also really enjoy playing soccer with their Indonesian friends most afternoons.  The Indonesian children are quite skilled with foot work, and all other aspects of soccer so the boys are thriving.    I enjoy Sunday night soccer, because I mingle with the Mom’s.  Tonight I learned that “Jody” spent many of her visits home (she was a Missionary Kid “MK”) to England.  So we enjoyed sharing our favorite English traditions.  Then I was talking with “Sherry” and we were discussing the Philippines (where she grew up as an MK) when Aubrey approached me with the “I need you now, look”.    Apparently, while playing goalie the ball somehow jammed his little finger, left hand.  It lo...

Driving in Indonesia is growing on me.  I no longer get knots in my stomach anticipating it.  However, my driving skills are changing.  If you were to be my passenger you would note that my hand is always resting on the horn.  Ready to peep at most vehicles or motor cycles that I am passing or to tell vehicles that they are driving way to close to me or 2 dozen other reasons.  I probably honk the horn 10 to 20 times a trip into town. In America I probably honked that much once a year.   I am also becoming a very vocal driver.  You can hear me gripping at the taxi driver for pulling right in front of me, or telling off the motor cycle driver that decided to pass me on the right hand side while I am trying to turn right.  Of course none of them can hear me….but my passengers can!  The other thing I have learned is to always be on the defense, on the guard for everything and everyone else around me.   When I first started to drive h...

Usually I dread the first day at a new institution, because it usually involves having to review many policies.  Many of you know what I mean.  Orientation.  However, we don’t write too many policies in the mission field clinic.  The dress code is quite liberating: modesty is good.  Street clothes fine.  Flip flops and wet hair work also.  There are no OSHA regulations and we keep all meds up to 5 years past their expiration date.  We can run our own CBC’s and Malaria tests.  We will sterilize all our own instruments.  In the space smaller then an average trailer in America we have most medicines a practice would ever need and most medical equipment ready to be lent out,  most basic tests (i.e malaria, pregnancy, strep, etc. etc.), suturing, IV’s, etc.  There is a great supply of reference books for diagnosing and prescribing.  In the 4 hours I was there we saw the variety of: a sty, blood pressure check up and follow up...

It is easy for me to assume that my blogs “tell it all” or think my readers should be able to piece it all together.  However, based off questions in emails I realize that much goes unsaid.  So my intentions are to answer some of those questions and let you know that more are welcome.  Weather: when we first arrived to Papua the weather was intensely hot.  From about 11 until 3 or 4 in the afternoon, we would just drip in sweat.  Now we are in a windy, rainy season (normally dry and windy).  It can still get hot; yet the wind and rain helps cool things down.  The rain is very tropical in nature and will often enter our house.  Many days or nights we are moving furniture away from windows in our house and mopping up floors where the water is literally standing.  This is because we are using the front and back porch as “living space”.  When we move to our new home this should not be so much of an issue. New home:  it is coming along...

I have the most awesome Dad.  He has always loved me with a pure heart.  He has guided and protected me in the best way that he knew how.  I have been so privileged to grow up in a home filled with love.  My Dad always worked hard so that my Mom could stay home and raise us, and home school us.  I have no idea of the sacrifices that my parents made to do that, but I am sure they were many.  Also to put me through private college and I only had to pay a fraction of it.  But more important then that was just knowing I had someone who believed in me and always wanted the best for me.  Wish I could pop over Dad and give you a big Birthday hug.  Just know that you are thought about often.  Not a day goes by that a principle you taught me or something you have said goes zipping through my mind.  I love you deeply.  

This weekend had long been anticipated and planned for.  Five of us mother’s had agreed that the junior high students that attend the international school along with the home school junior high kids deserved a weekend camp out.  So it was set in motion.  Usually at our monthly meetings about 22+ students show.  To our surprise 38 students expressed that they were going to come.   Indeed 37 students registered.  Despite the rain and having to rearrange many of our plans, the weekend was a great success.  Amy (the brain mother, behind the retreat) taught a Colorful Prayer, in three different sessions.  Many games were played, Smore’s (Indonesian style), great music, yummy food, a hike to the waterfalls, bonfire, kids playing in the rain, etc. etc.   What impressed me the most was the kids.  The majority of them are missionary kids and one could tell that these children all come from intact families, that had high values.  None ...

Perhaps 1 1/2 to 2 months ago I wrote of a different lady with breast cancer. This was the lady who did not have surgery due to fear.  Her husband is building our fence, at our new home that is being built.  Word came that she was in the hospital and not doing well.  I felt very convicted that I needed to go and visit her each day.  Many excuses flooded my brain.  Yet I could not shake the conviction.  So off I went to the hospital which is just behind the aviation property.  We can drive there in 3 or 4 minutes. I found Ibu (mother) sitting up in a chair.  Oxygen at 5 L.  IV flowing (every patient in the hospital appears to have an IV).  Pitting edema in her feet.  Every breath laborious.  Her lung x-ray was laying near by.  It was just filled with white matter.  Unsure if it was fluid or a mass, but it was clear that Ibu was struggling to get enough air.  So each day I made my little journey.  As the week...

  The sight and smell of the wound haunting my thoughts the moment I saw it…...lasting days beyond the visualization.   My brain was scanning files of wound care ideas tucked away in my brain.  Never in my 20 (gulp) years of nursing had I seen such a mess of decaying, dehisced, tissue.  Even with the abundant choices of wound care bandages in America and medicines, this wound seemed beyond bandages.  Never mind the fact that here in Papua it appears that the wound supplies are limited too: Betadine, antibiotic powder, thin stringy gauze and….well that about sums it up.  The doctor at the local hospital explained to the lady she needed a mastectomy.  The missionary family who knew the lady, just asked if I would come to evaluate the situation.  Before she even lifted her shirt, the breast was 3X the size of the other, the pooling blood in her lap and the stench of decay told me that her problem was in need of a miracle.  I urged her to...

The morning zipped by with Hannah and Aubrey playing Monopoly for as long as one usually plays Monopoly  (a very long time).  Elijah and Andrew decided to mow on the runway which now has extremely long grass.  They managed to mow for 2 hours until a messenger was sent (from the bad guys) that they needed to stop mowing.  By then it was almost lunch and today we would take the gang to the lake. No complaints were heard as we dropped in and out of hundreds of potholes.  The raised suspension was effective to soften the impact.  A boat was available when we arrived at the dock and off we journeyed to Aunt Jan and Uncle Bob’s lake house.    It was 3:30 when we arrived.  So we asked the boat man to return at 5.  It get’s dark by 6 year round here.  The children swam.  Hannah let the guys know she did not like the swampy grass that she had to swim through to get to the deeper water where there was none.  Then the boys were u...