In the last 10 days...

On Saturday morning (not this last one but the one before that), Vickie and I attended a seminar that an HCJB radio mission pastor was leading here near the school. We had our kids relaxing, studying, playing soccer with friends, etc. so we could focus on the meeting. About one hour into it, one of the school’s chaplain leaders came to find me. Yep- that is never a good sign.

We followed him out the iron door gate and headed toward the fence around the AAI school soccer field to see Kayla lying flat on the 1940’s vintage wood bleachers. Yet another thing that is never a good sign. The ice bag on the knee told the story. Knee injuries are tough to diagnose, and especially tough when they first happen and you don’t have x-ray vision. So, we chose the ice/rest/wait till Monday morning approach. After the taxi left to take her up the massive hillside street where we live, our attention turned back to the seminar. Vickie and I breathlessly hurried our way back in and tried to refocus. Of course the morning break began about the time we rejoined the group, so we thankfully had a cup of coffee to settle back in. It was then that I noticed I had missed a call on my tiny cell phone from an unknown number. Again, this is never a good sign. As I began writing, the phone rang again, and so I ducked outside to catch it. Our daughter Kelsey began with “Dad, we have a problem.”

Our son Karson and our two college daughters were slated to fly out to come to Quito, and they should have been leaving Birmingham that morning. We knew they had made it to the airport, and we were excited that by midnight we would see the three of them! The only problem now was that Karson’s passport was too close to expiration for him to fly. God gave great grace and miracles with friends in Birmingham, and with the government, and with the airlines for Karson to go that Monday to Atlanta to get a renewal. Delta allowed him to then be able to fly out that Monday afternoon to join us by around midnight.

So our family time together here (except for Kollin in Ukraine) began with a couple of glitches but then settled out quickly. What now? Well- it came to diagnosis time for Kayla and “the knee”. So this required an X-ray, then a doctor visit, then an MRI at 8:30 PM at night a couple of days later, then a report the next day… (all of this was in Spanish, all of this via taxi or walking, so keep this in mind as you casually think of your American doctor visits)

Now hold all those pictures in suspended animation while you change scenes. This scene involves our adopted son Kyle, age 19. He is here with us. It is no secret that kids from backgrounds of abuse, and neglect, and from birth parents that abused alcohol don’t always make the best decisions. He came to be with us between 12-13 yeas of age from an orphanage, and yes he came from a background like that. And, true to form, he has made several decisions lately that just don’t make sense. So, let’s just leave this poor judgment crisis running in the background for now while we tackle other issues.

So here we are on Monday, getting ready for some sports tryouts for the boys. The doctor in a routine physical exam for Kole and Kory shows me a funny heartbeat in Kory. This little discovery leads to an EKG, and then to a cardiologist visit today. This points to the need for an echocardiogram set for tomorrow, and then 24 hours of wearing a heart monitor. We’ll find out more later on this matter. Oh yes, and he failed the eye test on his physical too, so we scheduled the Ophthalmologist visit on the same day.

End result? He needs glasses. Should be interesting to strap some vision correction on this boy who climbs, jumps, grabs, throws, swings, runs, and flips on a moment-to-moment basis.

Now while these little events are going on, let’s circle back to Kayla’s “knee” and see how that is going. Off we go in a taxi with our films and MRI results to Metropolitano Hospital. Our very confident doctor takes a look. The verdict comes back for Kayla- it’s a blown ACL (I’ll spare you the medical jargon, but suffice to say that this is not good news). So now the dilemma is when to schedule surgery for her.

Okay- now you all know plenty of ways to pray: wisdom, grace, sustaining strength, and the opportunity to display Christ in all these difficulties.

Vickie and I obviously have been less than focused on normal work deadlines in the last few days, so we would seek grace for this as well.

Thank you for your help and prayers for us, we praise God for your faith!