As with
every month here, there is more to write about than I can possibly express. Charlotte
is continuing to grow and she is healthy over all; though she not nearly
sleeping through the night yet. Della, on the other hand, has had more health
troubles. Her infections have continued to grow and cause great pain. We knew
it would be best if we could come back early for better medical treatment but I
didn’t understand how we could get there. I went out and did studies with
Samuel when Della was feeling well enough to spare me. Then Lucky helped me
prepare a couple of short lessons in Spanish which I presented when I was out
with Samuel. The studies went well and I was encouraged and thankful for the
opportunity. Samuel is helping several new Christians through a book called Qué Dice La Biblia so I got my own copy
of it and have nearly completed reading it.
On Thursday,
the 13th, I experienced the largest earthquake I have ever been in. It
lasted about four minutes and caused the doors to swing back and forth and the
bed to slide. Thankfully, it wasn’t too
bad. About midway through the month, we had to take our teammate, Lucky, back
to the airport. We submitted the request for Charlotte’s passport on our way
and then had a goodbye lunch with Lucky. Lucky asked if I could take over
leading her ministries of bread and coffee and public reading while she was
gone. At the first bread and coffee, I had a minor fender bender but thankfully
there was no damage. Then at the public
reading, I managed to read a bit. Thanks to Lucky for patiently teaching me to
read Spanish.
But the most
happened in the last week of the month. Mom, Della’s mom, Leanna, Christina,
and Dan came to visit! Della’s infections continued to worsen and it was
decided that she needed to travel back to the States with them for medical
treatment. By this point, we had been wrestling with the decision of making our
return permanent. Della has been unhealthy since mid-July and there has been
another major issue that has led us to the conclusion that it would best to
conclude our involvement with the Ataco congregation. When I spoke with our
mission committee, who were planning a visit, they encouraged us to come back
and get treatment. The week then became a scramble to get everything ready for
our departure. We were able to get Charlotte’s passport a day early and get
tickets on the same plane as our family. Della had to have an aspiration two
days before the flight and it was just enough to make her travels bearable. I
made rounds and said many tearful goodbyes; sadly Della was not able to join
me. We had been hopeful for the opportunity to say goodbye to the church as a
whole on our last Wednesday night but the church was split and we found that
there will be no more Wednesday night service for a while.
When we
arrived back in the States, we had no insurance and had a major medical issue.
But praise be to God, we have been taken care of. We arrived in the wee hours
of the morning on Sunday and had a doctor appointment on Monday. The doctor
said that it was serious enough that it needed to be aspirated again right away
and we needed to see the surgeon the next day. On Tuesday, the surgeon saw us
and decided that Della needed to have surgery that day and he removed a pocket
of bacteria that he said was the size of an orange. The surgeon believes that
no further surgeries will be necessary. The costs were affordable and I am
thankful to God for this and the support that we have received.
This is our
final report.
