Thursday, March 29, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
November 30 Dombai Medical Point
This medical facility was something out of a cheap movie. It was one room with all kinds of bottles and boxes. The room was dimly lit and I was skeptical. First, my doctor Edward, cleaned the wound. He tore into my knee, trying to make sure infection would not set in. Then, he took a scalpel and trimmed away the dead and mangled skin. This created a clean cut for him to stitch together. Finally, he made four big stitches across my knee.
The picture on the left is Edward looking at the wound. The Next picture is Edward cutting off the dead and mangled pieces of skin.
This is what my knee looked like before he stitched it up. He made some huge stitches.
I just had to lie on that dang table while he wove my leg back together. I can't say that my knee looks good at this point.
Since that fateful day, I have now been to nine doctors. My knee became swollen and infected. I got my stitches taken out in
This has been the evolution of my knee wound.
As you can tell, my whole leg is swollen. At that point, I was having trouble walking. This last picture was taken on January 19, 2007. As you can tell, I still have a long way to go.
After I got back to the states, I went to see a doctor and was prescribed heavy antibiotics. This helped but at some point something popped. I could not put pressure on my leg at all. For three days I could not walk. It was really weird, something popped again, and now I can walk again. I have a huge scab on the top of my knee cap. It is about two inches by two inches. It constantly oozes thick puss. I am not sure that it is healing correctly. I do still have pain. I can walk fine, but I can not run at all. Please pray that I don't have to have reconstructive surgery and that the infection and wound would heal.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
November 29, 30 Dombai
The next day is a day that I will never forget. For some reason half of us were not feeling well. Jason, Ethan and Amelia took off early for base camp on Mount Mussa Achitara. Matt, Heidi, Jamie and I met up with them at a restaurant for lunch after the gondola ride (pictured on the Left). The gondola starts at 5412 feet above sea level and travels to the first base camp of 7415 feet. This base has several restaurants, café’s really and a weird hotel like thing. We all had lunch together in a place with one of the most spectacular views I have ever experienced (pictured on the right). After lunch, the two girls went off snow shoeing. Jason, Ethan and Amelia went back down the mountain, and Matt was getting really sick. He waited at the café while I went on my journey to the top of this mountain. I really wanted to go to the top of the mountain and peak this thing. I decided to go off on my own.
First of all, I did not realize how cold it was going to be at the top of this Mountain. Second of all, I should never have been by my self. Regardless, I took a chair lift up to the second area of café’s and shops. This second area was 8200 feet about sea level. From there I took another chair lift. As the chair lift got closer to the top, I realized that I was not adequately dressed. I normally do not get cold, and my legs were starting to get numb. Now I was 9857 feet above sea level. I could see the summit and I was determined to peak this Mountain. I started off at a good pace. After about ten minutes, I was tired (To the right is pictured the second haft of the assent.) I decided to count my steps. Every fifty steps, I would take a sixty second break. After several of those, I made it to the top. The view was spectacular. I took a bunch of pictures and then started to head back.
As I went down, I wanted to get some more shots of the ski hill and the town of
Map of the Mountain with details of where stuff happened.
November 28 Travel to Dombai
November 27 Travel to Naltchik
When I arrived in
November 20 – 25 Voronezh
Peter and Masha started a ministry called OrphanGrad. Their work is gauged towards orphan graduates and village kids who were studying at the local technical schools. These kids were the toughest of the tough. No one was working with them. For several years, Peter strived to implement all of the programs and knowledge that he learned in school. Nothing seemed to work. Some kids made professions of faith, but their lives did not change.
Finally, they gave up. They were getting burned out. They needed a new plan. Honestly, I have never been apart of such a ministry. They totally changed their approach. Their daily regiment looks something like this. First of all, they sleep in. After they get up at about 10, they eat and spend two or more hours in devotion, worship and time with the Lord. Then they have some of the people in their live in program come over and they have a devotion and some more worship. After waiting on the Lord all morning to show them what to do, they then go out and do whatever it is the Lord was saying. Every night of the week, they spend with the kids from the technical schools. They follow the Lords call as far as what activities to do.
I was shocked and amazed at this format of ministry. This goes almost directly against what I was taught through my Christian Education Minor. I am used to management and SWAT analysis partnered with preparation. I was bless to see believer trusting in the Lord at such a deep level. Kids lives are being changed. Kids who used to huff glue and worship Satan are now striving to know Jesus as a personal friend.
One afternoon, Peter, one of his assistants, and I went out to find a young man who was starting to make changes in his life. Egor had missed several meetings and the Orphangrad ministry did not know where he was. The three of us set out to find him. He was rumored to be staying with his grandmother. We headed in that direction. When we arrived, Egor was home. He was waiting for his grandmother to come home from court. His brother had been arrested for missing parole. This was a great opportunity to pray with Egor and his grandmother. Egor has stuggled with addiction for many years. We encouraged him to stop using and pursue Christ.
While I was in
We had stuffing, mashed potatoes and many other delicacies. What I remember most from this night will be then time of thanksgiving. We went around the table and said several things we are thankful for. Now, in my family we do this every year as well. I blessed by the candid answers of the orphans.