Thank you all for the prayers and emails on behalf of Elias, our friend who was burned earlier this month. He is still in the hospital but his burns aren't as serious as feared. He still has a tough road of treatments and recovery ahead, but God is at work and he's healing well.
He spent a little over a week in the intensive care unit, where I was able to visit him 3 times for a few minutes at a time, and tell him that you were praying and asking about him. That always brought a smile. The ICU is a small open room with four beds and a desk. One or two nurses were generally sitting there to monitor the 3-4 patients occupying those beds. Elias was the youngest in there, but off to the side was another tiny room with two toddlers in cribs. Heartbreaking.
Once I was allowed to spend a whole hour with him because it was dinner time (someone has to feed the patients so that they don't touch any items that could be contaminated), so I took my time slicing and feeding him the chicken breasts and drug it out as long as possible. He was excited because it was the first solid food he'd been offered after being there for 5 days. A feeding tube and IV's were providing him with constant nutrients, but it's always good to TASTE what's going in, right? During this hour, the poor toddler in one of those cribs cried, "Mommy," the entire time, which just about broke my heart. Elias told me then that the other patients' presence was one of the hardest parts about being in there.
The beds are only a couple of feet apart, and the night before, a badly burned young man (97% of his body) was wheeled in beside Elias, and he died a few hours later. A restless older gentleman was beside him on the other side. The doctors agreed that Elias's state of mind was important, a positive attitude that helped his body heal. So when he was no longer high-risk, they wanted to move him to a normal room where he wasn't so close to the high-risk patients, and where he could have normal visitors. But the state of cleanliness is a little different than what you'd imagine, and his best chance of staying bacteria-free was in the ICU. They decided to keep him there a few days longer, just in case. A few days ago, he finally got to go to a normal room.
As of now, the doctors don't think that he will need any skin grafts, which is just miraculous news. All of his burns were classified as 2nd degree, I'm told. His left hand and arm were pretty swollen still and I think they got the worst of the deal, as well as his abdomen, but everyone is hopeful of a full recovery in terms of being able to use that left hand. God surely had his eye on that boy!
Camille and Caroline drew him mini-posters to hang near his bed, but the nurses held onto them until Elias was more healed, so that he wasn't coming into contact with "germs." However, a pastor visited a few days later and the nurses allowed him not only to leave a Bible, but they are allowing Elias to pick it up himself and read it! His mom said he was very encouraged by that, and has been reading a lot. :) Yay, God! This has opened the door to opportunities to talk about the Lord with his family, and also to pray for the other patients and the nurses in ICU during my visits. Thank you for the prayers for this situation.
May 19, 2012
May 15, 2012
Happy 4th of July!
Okay, it's not really July 4th, but I couldn't resist that little stab at our ethnocentricity. You know we Americans tend to view everything through our own lens! ;)
What we're really celebrating is the 14th of May, Paraguay's Independence Day. It's been a rocky couple of centuries since they won their independence from Spain, including a slew of dictators, wars that stole big chunks of land and almost all of the male population, and a whole lot of oppression from within and from the outside world. But this country is like the little train that could. It just keeps on chugging. In the early stages of democracy, Paraguay is still struggling with what I can only describe as a form of post-traumatic stress disorder. They still deal with the after-effects of generations of struggles, but they are a strong, determined people we're proud to serve.
So how did we celebrate Independence Day? Well, we didn't roast hot dogs or have apple pie, but we did cook up a big pot of chili and invite a group of teens and young adults to help us eat it. Contrary to popular belief, Paraguayans don't eat like Mexicans. Most don't care for spicy food and don't even add pepper to their meals. They like it fried and salty here. So we went light on the chili spices and set out a bottle of hot sauce for the brave ones. Some even ate a second bowl!
Happy 201st Birthday, Paraguay, and may God bless you with many more!!!
What we're really celebrating is the 14th of May, Paraguay's Independence Day. It's been a rocky couple of centuries since they won their independence from Spain, including a slew of dictators, wars that stole big chunks of land and almost all of the male population, and a whole lot of oppression from within and from the outside world. But this country is like the little train that could. It just keeps on chugging. In the early stages of democracy, Paraguay is still struggling with what I can only describe as a form of post-traumatic stress disorder. They still deal with the after-effects of generations of struggles, but they are a strong, determined people we're proud to serve.
So how did we celebrate Independence Day? Well, we didn't roast hot dogs or have apple pie, but we did cook up a big pot of chili and invite a group of teens and young adults to help us eat it. Contrary to popular belief, Paraguayans don't eat like Mexicans. Most don't care for spicy food and don't even add pepper to their meals. They like it fried and salty here. So we went light on the chili spices and set out a bottle of hot sauce for the brave ones. Some even ate a second bowl!Happy 201st Birthday, Paraguay, and may God bless you with many more!!!
May 9, 2012
Meet Elias--and Pray for Him
Elias is a young man from this neighborhood. Around the beginning of this year, he began training for 5k races with Milciades, our next-door neighbor, AKA Superman of Maintenance for Hogar Ganar. Elias also began going to church and participating in youth activities, such as summer camp. He is by far the most shy person I've ever met, even more shy than my little brother, who had my mom ordering his Happy Meals till he joined the Army. Elias is the sort of guy who won't speak unless spoken to, and then he'll only respond if you repeat the question several times and stand by expectantly for his answer, which will come in one syllable. He's extremely intelligent, though--a year ahead in school and with great grades.
The more he came around to train, the more comfortable he became. In short time, he was helping out here every day with projects around the grounds, and basically moved in with Milciades. It didn't take long before he was an everyday part of our home, eating dinner with us, then having devotion, playing video games, or watching a movie. I'd like to tell you that we've had some great conversations about the Lord, but the truth is that he was a silent listener to all the devotions, as well as a silent dinner guest, a silent movie viewer. The only time I saw him open up was with Wii bowling and golf, or when he and the girls were having terere without "adults" around. Really shy, but a good fella and eager to learn about the Lord. He'd been studying a daily devotional on his own as well as participating with us.
Elias is always a gentleman. No matter what weird American-style food we put on his plate, he ate every bit, even if it meant thirty minutes of picking through it and slowly swallowing. It didn't matter if we said he could leave what he didn't like. Never wanting to offend, he was gonna eat every bite. About a month ago, I wanted to go to a special church service being held in town, on a night when one of the girls didn't feel well. Ken offered to stay home, but that meant I'd be taking the bus alone at night. Camille mentioned it to Elias, who hurried to get dressed so I wouldn't go alone. We got there and I was sure he'd go find the youth group, but he stayed by my side the whole night, helping me navigate the uneven sidewalks, the steps on and off the bus, and finding a place to sit that offered a spot for my crutches.
A couple of weeks ago, we threw him a surprise birthday party, and we were thrilled that his mom, little brother and sisters, and some youth from the neighborhood came. We took time to say a prayer for his life and to go around the circle telling about what we found special about Elias, or what we wished for his life. Speaking the blessing. Most of the kids said they hoped he was the fastest runner in Paraguay, or that he got all he ever wanted, but a few threw in things such as wisdom to follow God's plan and a Godly wife. ;) He was turning 16, after all!
Sunday night, we attended the quince party (Sweet 15) of a sweet little gal from church. Camille and Caroline were members of the ladies-in-waiting (think bridesmaids) and performed a group waltz with the young lady and her daddy in the middle. It was beautiful. Elias stayed glued to his seat throughout the party, declining participation in the waltz, of course. It provided great opportunities for a little joking and he actually talked more than I'd ever seen him do. We goofed off a lot and I mentioned how nice it was to see him laugh.
The next morning, he was starting a fire in a tiny little grill in Milciades's kitchen, when he bent down to add a bit of gas to the charcoal. I guess I don't have to explain what happened next. He is now in the intensive care unit at a specialized burn hospital in the capital city, with burns covering his trunk, neck, arms, hands, and upper legs. I can't begin to imagine what he's going through in his mind, not to mention his body. Please pray with us that the words of God he's begun to study recently will come back to him as he lies there alone, and that God will give him peace and comfort.
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| Elias leading the pack |
Elias is always a gentleman. No matter what weird American-style food we put on his plate, he ate every bit, even if it meant thirty minutes of picking through it and slowly swallowing. It didn't matter if we said he could leave what he didn't like. Never wanting to offend, he was gonna eat every bite. About a month ago, I wanted to go to a special church service being held in town, on a night when one of the girls didn't feel well. Ken offered to stay home, but that meant I'd be taking the bus alone at night. Camille mentioned it to Elias, who hurried to get dressed so I wouldn't go alone. We got there and I was sure he'd go find the youth group, but he stayed by my side the whole night, helping me navigate the uneven sidewalks, the steps on and off the bus, and finding a place to sit that offered a spot for my crutches.
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| Happy 16th! (Note the birthday brownies...) |
Sunday night, we attended the quince party (Sweet 15) of a sweet little gal from church. Camille and Caroline were members of the ladies-in-waiting (think bridesmaids) and performed a group waltz with the young lady and her daddy in the middle. It was beautiful. Elias stayed glued to his seat throughout the party, declining participation in the waltz, of course. It provided great opportunities for a little joking and he actually talked more than I'd ever seen him do. We goofed off a lot and I mentioned how nice it was to see him laugh.
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| Elias and Milciades at the 15 party |
The next morning, he was starting a fire in a tiny little grill in Milciades's kitchen, when he bent down to add a bit of gas to the charcoal. I guess I don't have to explain what happened next. He is now in the intensive care unit at a specialized burn hospital in the capital city, with burns covering his trunk, neck, arms, hands, and upper legs. I can't begin to imagine what he's going through in his mind, not to mention his body. Please pray with us that the words of God he's begun to study recently will come back to him as he lies there alone, and that God will give him peace and comfort.
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