Collarbone update

I just woke up from an hour and a half nap...I don't usually nap that long. I think all the events of the last weekend as well as a busier schedule now that I'm helping Scotty with both taking care of himself as well as doing some stuff that he used to do and now can't, has caught up with me. Scotty got out on our anniversary. They told him he could leave the following day but he ended up calling me on my way there (with a backpack loaded full of "hospital fun survivor kit 2007") to let me know the x-rays looked really good and they were going to release him early. The most exciting part of the day was when I went down to pay our bill, which they hadn't prepared us in any way for, and was hit with a much larger sum than I thought and the cheery smile of the accountant who explained "you'll need to pay all of this before you go". What would have been nice, and normal, was to let us know ahead of time around how much it would be and let us know it was policy to pay it before you leave the hospital. We have a great insurance plan, but the way it works is that we pay everything up front, file, and are reimbursed at a later date. I slowly made my way up the stairs to Scotty's room where he was happily waiting in matching army pants, a little too short (in my survivor kit, I had not put any pants, so our smaller friend Randy had to bring some so he wouldn't have to leave the hospital in his underwear) with Randy, wondering how we were going to pull together $7000 all at once.He and about 3 other people we spoke to on the phone all had the same reaction: drop mouth open saying loudly and slowly, "Seven thousand dollars!!??" We kindly explained to oblivious accountant lady that there was a slight impossibility that we could come up with that kind of money before we left the hospital (unless we wanted to hang out a few more days) and she made some phone calls. The surgeon graciously lowered his fee a bit, we talked yo a wonderful co-worker about floating us the money, and we had the bill paid within a couple hours. I guess we needed to learn that lesson!
So, we saw the surgeon last night and he felt that everything looked nice, if you can say a 7 inch incision with blue, ugly stitches looks nice, and that the sling can come off in another 6 weeks or so. The plate and screws can be left in forever, as long as they don't bother Scotty, and we're praying that it will work out to leave them in. I'm learning how to dress a very tall man, as well as giving shampoos and turning into a chauffeur. Scotty is catching up on a lot of email correspondence, one-handed of course, and we've spent more evenings together this week than in a long time. Last night we picked a chapter out of Systematic Theology and took turns reading and then praying about what we read. God has a lot of good things in store for this period of our lives, I know it, and a lot of challenges to our holiness as we learn patience, trust, dependence (in Him and each other) and are reminded again of what a good gift we have in marriage.

A funny thing happened...

...on the way to the hot springs yesterday. Scotty and I had planned an early anniversary trip with 3 other couples to camp out at a nearby (2 1/2 hours from town) hot spring. Upon arriving at the altiplano, the flat stretch of land about 1,000 ft. above where we live, we found that the major road running between La Paz and several other large cities had been closed off for a car race. We were somewhat surprised but mostly annoyed that they chose to close off this road, being the only one out of town in that direction. Well, like good 4x4 owners, we decided to search the backroads instead of accept a failed trip. The 8 of us, in our Landcruiser and a friends Patrol, excitedly took off into the fields to test out the ruggedness of our vehicles (and our bodies) on the rough dirt "roads". We wound our way through little villages and dry river beds until we found the correct road that led us to the springs. We stopped for a picnic and then took down the 3 bikes we had strapped on top to do the rest of the trip on bike, 3 at a time taking turns while the others drove. When it came to be my turn, I anxiously followed behind Scotty and Jason, not loving the fast, jarring feeling that came with very rocky, downhill paths. I had brakes on all the way, but still managed to enjoy the valleys below and mountains all around. Jason took off on a side trail and later met up with me, both of us still behind Scotty, whose dust trail I had seen quite a bit ahead of us. As we rounded one corner together, we saw Scotty standing still with his arms hanging at his sides, his head drooped (like Napoleon Dynamite), and his bike lying on the ground. My general sense was that something was not right, but it wasn't until we got closer that we noticed the bad cuts and scrapes and more blood that I was comfortable with seeing on my husband. I quickly removed his helmet to make sure there was nothing major on his head and we continued trying to ask him what had happened. After a minute he informed us that he thought he needed to sit down and we assisted him to the car where he sat in a daze. By this time, everyone was crowded around and trying to figure out what went wrong. Scotty was a complete mess and I wasn't totally OK with continuing on our journey, being so close to the end, but he encouraged us to press on, he'd be fine. As soon as I had him lying down in the back seat, ready to resume the trip, he casually mentioned that he couldn't remember anything that had happened that day. I called over my nurse friend, Sara, informed her that he had no memory, and she made a quick and good decision for us to immediately go back to La Paz. For the next couple of hours, Scotty continually asked "what happend?" "how long was I out?" and kept noticing with surprise, "my shoulder hurts". I patiently answered about 20 times that he had fallen off his bike, we didn't know how long he was out, and we would get him looked at soon. He endured a very bumpy, 2 hour long ride back into town without complaining. Slowly, as we continued to ask questions, he started to remember bits and pieces of the morning. By the time we got him to the hospital, he was ashen and in a considerable amount of pain and shock. He was x-rayed and found to have a very broken collarbone, almost a compound fracture, that needed surgery immediately. The poor guy didn't look so good and had to put up with a few more x-rays and a challenging shower before he was allowed his own bed and a few hours rest before the surgery. Friends came by and sat with me during the 3 hours he was being worked on, coming out just before 11pm that night, tired but taken care off. Today has consisted of many visitors, snoozing, eating, recapping the exciting events of yesterday, and prayers of thanks that things weren't any worse. The helmet he was wearing was cracked in 4 places, giving me a better picture of how hard he hit the ground and how fantastic it was that he had head protection. Tomorrow is our 2nd anniversary and we are celebrating our marriage and the grace God has given us that we are both well and alive together. It's kinda a bummer that he'll be in the hospital until Tuesday, but I've got a few ideas to make the day special. How grateful I am to the Lord for a godly husband who is patient and trusting when hard times come.

Team Retreat

About half of the team worshipping together.

Friday night we left our home with excitement for the upcoming weekend-long retreat with our church plant team. A house had been found in the country, about half an hour from town, with plenty of space to fit our team, play games, cook meals, and talk strategy. The first night was spent eating, talking, and figuring out where everyone was going to sleep, as well as how we were going to wash dishes and hands without any running water. The running water bit was unexpected, but we were assured it would be back on by the next afternoon. True to Bolivian timetables, we joyfully welcomed running water again by about 8 the next evening. The days were filled with reading and studying the Word together, talking and praying about the vision and core values of our church, and playing together. Everyone pitched in to prepare meals and clean up afterward- we feel like we are becoming more and more a family.

Scotty had the chance to speak on the importance of God's word and we both invested time in getting to know various members of the team more. Unfortunately, about a fourth of our members were not able to make it or had to leave early, but the time spent together in preparation was invaluable. Scotty and I led a group the last day that discussed particulars of how we would like to see small groups as part of our church ministry. We are planning on leading a cell group from our house as soon as the church opens, hopefully comprised of those who are new to the church and not already plugged in elsewhere. I love the idea of Scotty and I doing ministry together- a mix of hospitality and teaching- just what God has gifted us to do!

Pastor Edgar, Becky, Daniel and baby Samuel (have you ever seen a cuter baby??)

Scotty and I had the chance to talk to Edgar and Becky, our pastor and his wife, one evening and learn about their background and excitement for all that God has ahead. We remain grateful that God has brought them to us, impressed by the gifts they have and sure of the impact they will make in our team and in the community. Overall, it was a rich weekend and more great Spanish practice- what an exciting time in ministry!

I love dating my husband.

This is where I would love to go for date night, but I'm afraid no ocean access limits that option a bit. But, we did have a nice time last night participating in the only date night opportunities La Paz has to offer: dinner and a movie. For such a large, cosmopolitan city, there is a severe lack of interesting things to do. There are a few decent hikes, but those aren't appropriate for an evening date. There are sometimes dance or cultural shows at local theatres, but those are few and far between, and poorly advertised. So, Scotty and I are trying to sample every local restaurant in the city that fits our criteria: good food, moderate price, fun/interesting atmosphere. Last night we headed toward our old stomping grounds, the neighborhood of Sopocachi, because they boast a wide variety of yummy places to eat. We've heard about an Asian restaurant that serves food from China, Indonesia, and Thailand and thought that would be a nice change. And it well exceeded our demands for good food, price (it was a little more than we would usually pay, but still only $15 for a very nice meal), and fantastic atmosphere. I pretty much wanted to try everything on the menu, which is tough for an indecisive person like myself, but definitely good when you want to come back to experience more. We always get a kick out of how late everyone eats here, often being the first person in the restaurant (at 7pm!) with just a few more trickling in as we're leaving. The second part of our dates almost always includes renting a movie from our rental store where we're pretty sure we've seen everything that is worth watching. Last night we picked one up called "My Life Without Me". We usually will not rent movies that we haven't first researched to make sure they are both appropriate and highly rated (www.rottentomatoes.com), but this one sounded intriguing and had won many awards at various festivals, so we decided to go for it. It was a well done movie, focusing on developing one or two characters in particular, which Scotty and I enjoy in a flic. The premise was a 23- year old, mother of two, in a great marriage, living in a trailer, working as a janitor, finds out she's got 2 months to live. She chooses not to tell anyone and makes a list of all the things she wants to do before she dies. I must admit I was a bit depressed by the end of the movie, mostly because it exemplified what a life and death without the hope of Christ looks like. All her decisions were selfish and made with the thought that those last 2 months were all she had and so she should do all the "bad" things she's always wondered about, but never done. There were many thought-provoking moments and I really did enjoy the movie for what it was, as well as get a good look into the mind of a non-believer. I came away praising God for the hope I have in Him that this life is not all we have and, in fact, is not about us at all; thankful that my spouse is alive and healthy; and wondering how I might live if I knew these could be my last days. That is challenging!

International Dinner Party

We had the priviledge of eating dinner with Mirta and Gigi last night. The Ohnes' are a family in our church plant team with 3 adorable kids and another on the way. They are servants and are constantly opening their home to welcome anyone in. We were happy to receive the invitation to come and hang out and get to know them better. The Ohnes' are temporarily housing an Egyptian guy named Fadi as he prepares for his wedding in less than 2 weeks to a great Bolivian girl, Raimy. Fadi's friend, Fadi, came over during the meal, another Egyptian guy who is also dating a Bolivian (I think I see a trend here), but is only here for a short time. Gigi is half Bolivian, half German, and of course, Scotty and I completed the group, totaling 4 different nationalities respresented at this small dinner party. We had a blast sharing with each other in English, Spanish, and occasionally hearing a little Arabic. We were over until almost midnight, laughing and eating way more than necessary, but enjoying the classic Bolivian hospitality that we have come to love and desire to replicate in our own home.

The light at the end of the tunnel

Well, it has been a long, hard week, but we are finally starting to come out of the haze of sadness that has seemed to envelope us from time to time this week. Thankfully, Scotty had much preparation for the sermon he preached this morning to keep him focused on God's Word and we had a flood of visitors, flowers, food, and over 150 emails to remind us that we were not alone in the suffering. My homework for ESI was to read, study, and meditate on Romans 5, in which Paul expresses his views on suffering- which leads us through the path to perserverance, character, and hope...a hope that does not disappoint. We hold on to this hope, through Jesus, knowing that God is ultimately good and works that good in our lives through all types of circumstances. We've found opportunities, even in tears, to share the hope we have with many around us. We can't even begin to thank all of you enough for the numerous prayers and words of encouragement that were sent our way- we felt your love and were confirmed by the community God has established in our lives, providing relationships that we depend on to help us push through and walk out our faith as a body.

Scotty was assigned the second of the 10 commandments to preach on at La Comunidad this morning. We prayed all week and he worked hard to prepare a message that hopefully transmitted this law as well as God's great love for us in desiring us to honor him above all other gods or images, knowing that He alone is great. Scotty did a fantastic job and I continue to be amazed by the abilities God has given him to communicate, even in a language that is not his own. We're looking forward to a week filled with prep for a church plant retreat we'll have next week, and enjoying various friends in the home as well as visiting others in their homes. Little by little, we see God opening doors for more relationships.

Blessed be your name!

Blessed be your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be your name

Every blessing you pour out, I turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say Lord,
Blessed be your name

We find ourselves blessing the name of the Lord these past two days as we wrestle with the sadness of losing our first little baby. We went in for a routine check-up yesterday to find the baby's heart had stopped beating. We spent the day in the hospital- Scotty and I crying, praying, and resting togeter- knowing that in all things God is good. We won't ever completely understand His reasons for taking our baby, but we continue to trust in Him and await His perfect timing for a family. We have been showered with love and prayers from our friends and family here, as well as the few at home that know. It's been one of God's gifts of mercy to us in this time to see the outpouring of love and know that we are being taken care of. We know that you all will be praying as well, and can't thank you enough. We enjoyed being parents for a few short months and look forward to doing it again.

Happy independence day!

Yesterday was Bolivia's independence day and we were hoping to celebrate by enjoying a beautiful day outside, grilling out with our friends. We were invited to a teachers BBQ- the crew from Highlands International Christian School, which is located in Mallasilla, was giving the new and old teachers this year an opportunity to get to know each other and have one more vacation day before work started today. Because we are somewhat involved with the teachers at the school and hope to be a resource and encouragement to them, we were invited along as well. Our good friends James and Julie opened their lovely home for an all day meat-frisbee-dessert-movie fest, and we enjoyed every second of it. It was neat to interact with the new teachers and hear how God called them to be a part of this school in La Paz, as well as catch up with the old teachers who were all on summer break and listen to how they spent their time back home. As usual, there was a pile of steak, chicken and sausage- much more than we could all finish, but Scotty was up for the challenge of doing his part and maybe a little more. When we were all so stuffed, we didn't think we could eat anything else, dessert came out and we proved to have a few more rounds of eating in all of us. Then, to work off all that meat and ice cream, we chose to run around like crazy people for an hour or so, playing ultimate frisbee. I was quite impressed with everyone who had just returned to La Paz, knowing that the altitude is a very serious hindrance to any type of intense physical activity. But, everyone played their hardest, and "team Miser" ended the playoffs with a win- that felt good! We all crashed inside and eventually got around to watching the first, extended version, Lord of the Rings, which was a perfect way to end a super fun day.