Wow! What a turn of events. We’re asking you to join us in prayer. "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." (Proverbs 16:9)
Today we were invited to ride an ATV up into the hills surrounding Ukarumpa. Having looked with longing at those hills for six months, and having never ventured out in that direction, we jumped at the opportunity. The ride was thrilling--very off-road; and 40 minutes later we were standing on a height overlooking Ukarumpa on our left and a vast green valley directly below us. Reminiscent of another Julie and The Sound of Music, Julie began to run down the 45 degree slope through the tall kunai grass. But she slipped and spilled and went splat on the slope; so far, so good--no harm done. However, the ATV driver running behind her also lost his footing and fell on top of Julie, resulting in a very bad chiropractic adjustment. She thought, perhaps, she had pulled a groin muscle.
Julie was somehow able to climb back to the top (about 40 feet), and we were able to get her to the clinic over very hard terrain without doing additional damage. The clinic staff here are very professional and attentive. And where else in the world could you be where the nurse and the doctor are your neighbors and friends? They took x-rays, blood and urine samples and checked her vital signs to determine the extent of her injury. Her pelvis was fractured in 3 places on her left side. Julie was completely alert and kept coming out with very funny one-liners, putting everyone around her at ease. She spent the night in the clinic under close monitoring.
After reading the x-rays, the doctors were concerned about the stability of the injuries and the possibility of additional undetected breaks. There is no MRI available here. To get a better diagnosis and just in case there is need for surgery or a cast, we are being medically evacuated. Instead of leaving on a tomorrow headed for a few days of relaxation in Australia, Guam and home, plans are being made for an SIL plane to take us to Port Moresby (PNG capital) so we can fly from there directly to a hospital somewhere.
Because of a force four cyclone (typhoon), both the airport and the hospitals in northern Australia are closed. This would have been the normal medical evacuation destination for us. Instead, we understand that we are to be taken to a hospital in Singapore for an unknown length of time to get further testing and treatment. After that we do not know if we will be able to continue recovery in Guam or if we will miss that precious family time and be sent directly home.
It’s all up in the air from our perspective; but we are thankful that God is in control. It's all in His plan, so it will be for His glory and our benefit. Humanly, Julie is very distraught about causing so much disruption for so many and for the resultant change of the plans that we’ve been looking forward to. She is still hoping that we can stay in Guam and visit our son and his family there. Please pray for her, both physically and emotionally.
That’s enough for now. Now i need to finish packing all our suitcases tonight (it’s 11:20 p.m. right now) and have them ready for leaving whenever they can schedule the plane, perhaps as early as 6 a.m. Pray that I can remain an encourager in the face of such uncertainty.
Jon
Julie was somehow able to climb back to the top (about 40 feet), and we were able to get her to the clinic over very hard terrain without doing additional damage. The clinic staff here are very professional and attentive. And where else in the world could you be where the nurse and the doctor are your neighbors and friends? They took x-rays, blood and urine samples and checked her vital signs to determine the extent of her injury. Her pelvis was fractured in 3 places on her left side. Julie was completely alert and kept coming out with very funny one-liners, putting everyone around her at ease. She spent the night in the clinic under close monitoring.
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| Friends from our Bible study |
Because of a force four cyclone (typhoon), both the airport and the hospitals in northern Australia are closed. This would have been the normal medical evacuation destination for us. Instead, we understand that we are to be taken to a hospital in Singapore for an unknown length of time to get further testing and treatment. After that we do not know if we will be able to continue recovery in Guam or if we will miss that precious family time and be sent directly home.
It’s all up in the air from our perspective; but we are thankful that God is in control. It's all in His plan, so it will be for His glory and our benefit. Humanly, Julie is very distraught about causing so much disruption for so many and for the resultant change of the plans that we’ve been looking forward to. She is still hoping that we can stay in Guam and visit our son and his family there. Please pray for her, both physically and emotionally.
That’s enough for now. Now i need to finish packing all our suitcases tonight (it’s 11:20 p.m. right now) and have them ready for leaving whenever they can schedule the plane, perhaps as early as 6 a.m. Pray that I can remain an encourager in the face of such uncertainty.
Jon
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