From the Field

Stab wounds are pretty common.  Lots of people have and carry around knives with them, most commonly a machete.  Many use the knives for gardening and for cutting down weeds in the bush, but there are times when they also use them for weapons. I was called to the ER for a stab wound and was very surprised to find a boy sitting on the table.  The story is this kid and his cousin were fighting over the knife.  The other kid got a hold of the knife and then used it and stabbed this kid.  He spent a day at home, but came in the next day with his mom complaining of pain and some shortness of breath.  On exam he has a small knife wound just to the side of his spine.  The entry wound itself was pretty small, but it did damage as he had quite a bit of blood in his chest when we put in the chest tube. I really enjoy the process of putting in chest tubes, there is just something about putting my finger in between someone’s ribs and getting to feel their lung.  It doesn’t seem like something that anyone should really be doing, especially not in the ER and especially not to a 10 yo kid, but that is what we had to do.  10 yo are too young, ideally they should be more innocent, they should be out playing with their friends, not fighting with knives. Pray that kids can…
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No, none of these are Ronald. These are some Regional leadersRonald has returned from his travels, but he has left behind 2 of our young people who are staying on in Mozambique and finishing-up with the Africa Region Mission Immersion. Mission Immersion is a time for young people who feel perhaps they are called into missions to experience some ministry-related training and experiences first-hand. It is a 2-week experience, so it is not for the faint-hearted. However, they are surrounded by other like-minded young people, and I am sure they are having a great and challenging time.Ronald has returned home tired, as I knew he would be. We had a really low-key weekend and he’s rested and ready for the week ahead. There is so much work to catch-up on. Our own children are getting ready to finish their school year this week. Abigail missed 3 days when she broke her arms, so she is 3 days behind her brother, but both will finish in the next 7 days. Abigail will finish with 4th grade at the age of barely 9 and Malachi will finish 2nd grade at the age of 7. They will start their new school year after Easter because I’m a slave driver like that :). Ha!This week, Ronald has many administrative tasks to complete this week. He’s also playing a bit of catch-up with his master’s classes through NNU. Thankfully his professor is understanding of our situation and gave him grace on a few assignments that…
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I used to host a Mom’s group in my home.  It was a season of life where several women, who had just had babies, needed encouragement and a place to meet, so I opened my home every Tuesday to them.  I can remember the day I had a very important conversation with one of the moms.I was talking about my fear of putting our son into 1st grade (in the public school system), which is the big transition year from “virtić” to “škola”.  I was so focused on the fact that he was an outsider, a foreigner, that I saw his needs as special.  He needed a special teacher, a special classroom, special friends that would accept him, give him grace, attention, etc…   This kind friend looked at me and said, “I’m afraid of the same things!  I have to pray too!  I pray for the right teacher. I pray for the right classroom for him.  I pray for the right friends in his life.”  Of course!  We both pray for our children in the same way! We put our son in public school not because of a missiological strategy.  We did it because it was the right thing for him.  He needed to understand the language and really be given an opportunity to naturally relate to his peers.  Our fear of our son being treated differently because he’s a foreigner just didn’t become a reality.  Has it been perfect?  No, but you tell me what Elementary age kid has had a perfect…
Source: <a href=same prayers title=same prayers target=”_blank”>same prayers