grace upon grace

Well, we're just kicking off the year a bit hard, aren't we.

On the way to the first day of new student orientation yesterday morning, Jodenel was in a terrible motorcycle accident. The roads are so horrible that cars are forced to weave all over the road to find the smoothest path.  Large trucks, wherever they are on the road, always have the rightaway, and one such semi on the complete wrong side of the road almost hit an oncoming motorcycle....who swerved out of the way and smashed into Jodenel.

It was a scary morning...Gertha passed him first coming here, got him on a taptap for the hospital and brought us his backpack. Everyone on the way here stopped, and by the time Matt got there, half our staff was standing on the side of the road staring a the mess of tangled bikes, praying for Jo and remembering what a miracle it is, day in and day out, to come and go and arrive again safely.

Several frustrating hours trying three places to get an x-ray and still unsuccessful, his family finally came and took him back to his hometown, and this morning an xray finally showed that his leg isn't broken, only some damage to the tendons and muscles bad enough to have him in a cast for four weeks.

Dear, six month pregnant Esther was beside herself, of course and has gone home with him for the four weeks, their apartment in town on the second floor and both of them needing some extra help.

Not two hours after the accident, we had our first staff meeting of the year, and Louzanne, one of our kitchen ladies, pulled up in a taxi.  She's been off for three weeks due to being in a motorcycle accident and I kept thinking she really should be back by now!  I knew things weren't ok when she pulled up in a taxi.  Two young men helped her out, and she leaned heavily on one.  Pouring sweat and in obvious pain, I greeted her and asked about how she was doing.

Not very well, she needlessly said, and my head spun when she showed me her leg...not only pouring, but also crawling.  Crawling.

Three weeks, friends, and the main public hospital in town sent her home with her leg wide open taking her money and saying there was nothing they could do.  It has since become badly infected, still open, and uncovered, as they told her to keep it.

Put her right back in the taxi and sent her to the clinic in Vaudreil and called the doctor we'd just seen in church on Sunday to tell him she was coming, angry at all the injustice, angry at how much suffering everyone has to go through, unnecessary.  The roads are not annoying, they're INJUST.  The lack of good medical is not frustrating...it's INJUST.

I've been fighting with it since, and have now determined to leave it with Him.  I'm going to keep doing all I can, but He promises time and time again to be the one in whom justice will be found, and I'm leaving all that I CAN'T, with Him.

Needless to say, my beautiful, first week finally out of the finance office was short lived.  Jodenel's brand new replacement is not ready and now bewildered, and Carol's month here to train Jodenel in my work just got cut quite short.  This week is all our financial orientation for our students, and I'm praising the Lord Jodenel is alive and well and home and resting and very well could not have been, and I'm back in.

Sharon reminded me the Lord knew and will keep on giving us each what we need.

So I need His help back in the finance office, and healing for dear Jo and Louzanne, too. We need His help getting things going again at Emmaus without one of our main men, we need His help working through a lot of other little things...from registration issues to scheduling issues to maintenance issues to chair issues to funding issues to all the first few weeks of getting everyone settled in issues!  Lots of transition needs lots of grace, and grace upon grace He offers.

Praising the Lord for the vibrant Bible study Matt continues to be able to teach down the road for quite a few non-believers on Monday nights. Praising the Lord for protecting our children and family and friends daily. Praising the Lord for the help that is here and faithful. Praising the Lord for being big enough to wrestle with. For overcoming.