IV

Well, despite having just written an update, I find myself with an excess of time to write another. Why, you ask? For anyone who hasn’t heard, I unfortunately fell while throwing a frisbee with friends, breaking my ankle in two places and stretching a ligament.

The good news is, I have lots of time to write updates, get ahead on readings, etc etc! The bad news is, this was literally the evening before leaving for Service/internship, and now I’m stuck in Nanchong for a good while. Verdict is a bad break, and surgery is needed/advised; we’re working through all the fun hospital and doctor questions now. I’ll likely continue updating this article as more things happen.

Bev and Dale, my leaders, have been incredibly hospitable and caring, opening their house to me and spending many long hours at the hospital as we work things out. It’s cool to see a little into their life as leaders — this is an extra host family of sorts :). They’ve really taken the brunt of this extra burden, and I am very grateful.

Two of our local coordinators, Pearl and Wang Ying, have also been instrumental in everything. They’ve provided support and incredibly necessary translation — things would be so confusing and chaotic without their help, I really don’t know what we would have done. More than that they are kind and concerned, and they’ve spent a ridiculous amount of their weekend and early morning days helping us figure out a lot of complications. They’ve also opened up their webs of connections (for example connecting us with an English-speaking anesthesiologist who has also been very helpful).

I also deeply appreciate the prayers and support I’ve received from many back at home (whether that be Goshen, Harrisonburg, the States generally, Ethiopia, or Kenya…). It’s really comforting to have people care :).

But also, this really isn’t that big a deal, and I often get flashes of realization that I talk about this a lot when I really don’t need to. I want to take the time to say that I don’t feel I need the attention, even though I appreciate it :). And I am reminded of the incredible suffering around the globe, for so many reasons that are far more horrifying than “I was playing frisbee with my friends while on an incredible trip to another country where I get a chance to study and learn.” Despite my fear of pain, which I’ve had to face (this has definitely been the most physical pain I’ve experienced, though that’s not saying a lot), I feel strengthened to remember the pain of others — and, since I’ve been memorizing 1 Peter 4, the suffering of Christ (“therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin”) and, as a tangential thought, of my ancestors and of the worldwide church, has come to mind fairly often. Not that there isn’t terrible pain elsewhere in the world, for there certainly is.

Update 10/18:

We’ve been told surgery is advised, so we began working out those details. I went into the hospital yesterday (Tuesday) morning for some pre-op tests, and we were hoping to do surgery this morning — but my swelling wasn’t down enough, so surgery has been postponed to next Monday. Lots more time for piano, books, prayer, and TV… oh, and we found a guitar so that’s fun :). We got thru a number of concerns regarding technique and practice here, so I’m glad to hopefully just wait until it’s over at this point. Unfortunately the delayed surgery means I will be even later getting to the classroom to teach, but there’s not much I can do about it at this point.