Broken Ankle

Well, my parents had their first experience with a Jordanian hospital. My dad broke his ankle a couple days ago. He was alone when an iron gate fell on him. I am grateful that he was able to get out from underneath and make it home. I feel like this could have been much worse.

See below for a section of my mom's journal entries and some pictures:

Thursday, June 28, 2012
Dennis took off for a while and when he came back he walked in with no shirt, his shirt was held to his head and they was bloody, his pants were torn and blood on his knee and he was limping. He had been at the church trying to fix a huge iron gate and it fell on him—yes I warned him before he left that it would be good if he had some help from someone. I took him to a small hospital close to our house. Things are not the same as in the US. The radiologist has not finished school and no one helped him onto the table and they couldn’t make it low. He finally crawled on his knees up some steps to get to the table. It took a total of 1 ½ hours for x-rays with showing the doctor that showed up an hour later. No one washed his wounds. The first doctor was the plastic surgeon. Then a bone doctor came and said his ankle was broken in 2 places and he needed surgery and bolts and a plate put into his ankle. We called Maurad to give him a blessing and swore him to secrecy about Dennis being here because we didn’t want a lot of people up here. The guys taking blood did not use gloves and he had to be stabbed 3 times. Even a lab tech that came to stick his finger didn’t wear gloves. It will be a miracle if he gets out of here without some kind of infection. Here they have classes of rooms. If you are in a private room that is first class and the doctor charges more. Next is second class with 2 beds and third is third class with 3 beds. I was told that 3rd class had no one else in the room so Dennis was fine with that. Then it took forever for the doctors to get around to the surgery, so Dennis got very worried that they wouldn’t do a good job because they would get less money so he insisted on first class. Then there are the elevators. They wouldn’t come. I was told that here in Jordan if the elevator is above your floor you push the down button to call the elevator down to you even if you are going up. If it is below your floor you push the up button so it will come up to you, even if you are going down. Crazy. I am glad I was finally informed about that. I went home and collected things for him for the evening and tomorrow morning and then threw the bloody clothes in the washing machine after treating them. I have to spend the night here because Dennis has so many allergies. The doctor said he cannot walk on his foot for 6 weeks. He doesn’t want to. It is really hurting him. I brought all sorts of things up to work on tonight and watch to keep me busy.

Friday, June 29, 2012
I spent the night in Dennis’s room on a very hard fold-out chair. It reminded me of sleeping all night in the airport in Damascus. Rachel and I ended up with bruises that night. I got some sleep and Dennis didn’t wake up hardly at all. This morning we waited for the doctor to come, but he didn’t come until about 10:30 to tell Dennis he could leave. There were old LDS wheelchairs all over the hospital. We left at 2 PM after one problem and then another. I think the biggest problem is that no one understands what the other persons are doing or are supposed to do. The male nurses upstairs said that another doctor had to give permission for him to leave so they ate lunch and didn’t do his papers. Then the accounting office said another doctor had to clear him and so didn’t do their job. We waited at accounting for 2 hours with Dennis in a wheelchair. We had to pay cash for the surgery before we left because our insurance won’t pay the suppliers in other countries. Thus, it was about $3000 that we had to pay cash. I kept running back and forth to our house and the church to get money, open the church, eat breakfast and finally we were settled with them and left. Dennis had a very hard time getting up our 2 flights of stairs. Now he is bored to tears. I have to constantly get things for Dennis because he can’t walk on his foot for 6 weeks.

Picture of my dad's ankle after the surgery.

An encouraging smile.

Poor ankle and leg.

I'm sure my dad will be just fine, but if you want, you can keep him in your prayers. I'm glad this was only an ankle surgery and not something with organs after reading the description of the hospital. Still, poor guy.

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Today I went to IKEA with my brother's family. On the ride home I got serenaded by their sweet boys. Here was my favorite song:

Yup. I have an awesome family :)

Yes, Your Car Breaking Down CAN be a Miracle

It is amazing how God knows us so well that He can calculate which experiences we need when.

It has been so long since I have written on this blog, but feel like I should. This past Sunday I was having a rough day, but it ended with a few little miracles that reminded me God loves me. Sorry it's kind of long.

Miracle 1: After a rough afternoon I went to my brother’s house for a family reunion. This family reunion was just immediate family (which is quite large for me even if not everyone attends – 8 siblings, 34 nieces and nephews, 3 great nieces and nephews). It was so nice finding comfort in their hugs, listening ears and guidance. My family is really close and they always know what to say or do to help me.

I ended up staying over at my brother’s house pretty late (9:30 PM or so . . . which is late for me J ) and then I ended up hitting traffic on the way home. My niece, Alisha, had offered to have a sleepover at my apartment with me (she is my same age), but I was tired and had decided to cancel my sleepover because I just wanted to be alone for a little bit. 

Miracle 2: After traffic ended my car suddenly seized on the freeway. My engine, oil and battery lights all came on. Even though my car was dead it was still able to coast until the next exit (there was no shoulder where I was at), off the exit and onto a side street. 

Miracle 3: At first I figured that the oil was the problem because of the oil light. I had recently gotten an oil change so this seemed strange, but I decided to check. I checked – lots of oil. Thankfully I had stuff in my trunk to wipe off the oil stick with, so I didn’t need to get oil on my clothes (or I guess I could have used the grass).

Miracle 4: By this time it was 10:15 PM or so and I was on a side street by no open stores or houses (basically a factory neighborhood). A truck drove up and stopped. I didn’t feel like I needed to go inside my car and lock my doors, even though the truck only had a man in it. He came up and happened to work at a nearby auto store. He asked if I had checked my heat. I told him my heater was working fine, but not my AC. Obviously, he smiled and said to check my engine temperature. This brought a laugh to me. I found that my engine temperature was at the very top of the meter. Usually I am really good at keeping an eye on this, but I hadn’t even thought about it that night.

I said I would just let the engine cool-down and that I would be fine, so the man left.

Miracle 5: Just in case my engine didn’t cool down I decided to call Alisha because she was probably the closest in time due to the traffic coming from the other way. She said that she had coolant in her car and would come get me. After hanging up I realized that I had coolant as well. I ended up having plenty. I started my car and it was begun working beautifully :)

Miracle 6: By this time it was probably 10:30 PM. Another car had driven by and parked in a parking lot close to where I was at. I figure this person didn’t want to be evasive, but wanted to check and make sure I was okay. Right as I was pulling out another car drove up and parked right next to that one. Not saying that this was a drug deal or anything, but regardless, I was very happy to leave when I did.

Miracle 7: I called Alisha up to let her know I was fine. She was already partly on her way to where I was at (and my apt. was in the middle of us), so I just decided to have the sleepover and have her meet me at my apt. The sleepover was so much fun and really lifted my experiences. Thank you Alisha for knowing how to make me laugh! :)

Miracle 8: This entire time was my phone was freaking out because the battery was so low. Even with this, my phone lasted through a couple calls and being used as a flashlight for quite a while.

When my car first started having problems I was so bummed, but the timing for it was absolutely perfect. God helped me see my dependence on Him, all the little things I should be grateful for, and how much He loves me. I hope I can continue to see God’s hand in my life. I hope you can as well.

Mission in Jordan

I figured it had been a while since any of you have gotten an update on my parents. I am so proud of them and all the service that they are doing. Here is an update so you can see how they're doing.

For those of you who don't know, my parents are serving a 21 month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Jordan (the country). They are volunteering as representatives of LDS Charities and simply doing service work in the country, not proselyting. They are loving the service that they are doing.

Here are the types of projects they have been working on since their arrival in Jordan January 2012:

- Clean water stations
- Wheelchair distribution
- Children hygiene education
- Children safety education
- Church service within the LDS Church

Much of their work has been coordinating these projects between the government, service organizations, and LDS Charities. I feel much of their work has revolved around helping the disabled.

I don't have many pictures from the service side of things:

This water factory was donated by LDS Charities, costing $56,000

Even though they have been working very hard, they have also been able to see some sites while they have been there. Here are some other pictures from them:

Aqaba

Bedouin Tent

Karak Castle

Karak Castle

Samson

Amman

Amman

At a "Linger Longer" church activity.

Sheep, sheepherder and sheepdog

I hope that you have enjoyed this update! Please keep my parents in your prayers as well as other missionaries across the world. I am so proud of you Mom and Dad!

Worth of Souls

"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.

For behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him." (D&C 18:10-11)

Our Father in Heaven and our Savior, Jesus Christ, are aware of us and our happiness and our trials and sicknesses. They love us and want us to be happy. I am so grateful for this knowledge.

"I testify that no one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another. I testify that He loves each of us - insecurities, anxieties, self-image, and all. He doesn't measure our talents or our looks; He doesn't measure our professions or possessions. He cheers on every runner, calling out that the race is against sin, not against each other. I know that if we will be faithful, there is a perfectly tailored robe of righteousness ready and waiting for everyone, 'robes made . . . white in the blood of the Lamb.' (Revelations 7:14) May we encourage each other in our effort to win that prize." (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland see also 1 Cor. 9:24-27)

Jesus Christ offers us His Atonement. A way to come unto Him and find peace in our lives. I have felt the peace from the Atonement in my life, especially during trials.

You can find this peace too by praying to our Father in Heaven and asking for the Atonement to work in your life. He is aware of you and wants to help. I have tested this and know it to work. Have faith and carry on. 

Meeting the Shaffers!

I visited the Shaffers two weekends ago!! And no, none of my nightmares came true :)

I could rave about my trip for quite a while (so yes, that means I think it went well!), but instead here are some pictures for you to enjoy...

I was greeted with beautiful flowers and my favorite treat, wasabi peas in the guest bedroom. The Shaffers could have won my love with this act alone :)

It was so much fun to see Curtis wrestle his two younger brothers, Trevor and Casey.

Notice how Curtis is on the bottom of the pile in this picture...

Look where he is now... yeah, that's my man!! (Well, I did tickle Casey a little to help, but he has got some skills!)

Both Trevor and Casey were so much fun and so funny!

While in Nevada we got to go to two of Trevor's basketball games. He is a champ and I surprised myself with how into the games I got!! They were way fun.

We went 4-wheeling and none of us died :)

Creg, Casey and Curtis got to feel manly chasing wild horses (can you see the horses?!).

Amanda and I chilled at the top of the hill hoping that the men wouldn't chase the horses our way and unintentionally cause us to be trampled.

Later Creg and Amanda hunted down the wild horses on foot while Casey, Curtis and I chilled by a mud hole and Casey found a meteor rock.

On Sunday Curtis and I drove up to Lake Tahoe. The water was really clear and the drive was beautiful!!

And the pine cones were all huge! Pretty sure those could knock someone out if they fell on you. Watch out coconuts, you have some competition!

All the Shaffer kids and I played Just Dance. The men impressed us with their skills and basically won every game. Don't worry Amanda, we'll get them next time ;)

During church Amanda graced us with her drawing talents. Notice the pictures of Curtis below...

...And the picture of me. Man, how did he get so lucky!! ;)

Our awesome parting picture from Amanda :)

The trip was so much fun! The Shaffers are coming to Utah this weekend and I am so excited to see them again. Drive safely :)

Valentine's Day Two

Luckily my friend Cara is a better blogger than I and a better picture taker. I stole some more Valentine's pictures from her blog.

Curtis and I doubled with Cara and her husband Andrew the Friday before Valentine's Day and went out to eat at Brick Oven. Thanks for the invite and idea, Carandrew!

After we went to a 20s-themed big band dance. It was so much fun!

We ended the day with me sobbing to "The Notebook."

Yay for more Valentine's Day awesomeness!