December 6, 2007

Greetings once again from Franklin! Due to the fact that it is already Thursday, I'm only going to write a quick up-date today and then I will write again on Monday with more details. However, I do have a couple of things on my mind.

First of all, thank you so much to all of you who prayed for my trip to Rockingham County. I had a wonderful time visiting friends. There were very few people that I wasn't able to connect with. I am tired, but feel that the trip was very fruitful! One of the highlights for me was the chance I had to talk with a friend of mine. She was actually a student in one of my inclusion classes, my first year of teaching, and graduated from high school the year I left to go to Bolivia. We have kept in touch and I get to see her or talk with her occasionally when I am in town. This time was different, the Lord blessed our conversation in a very strong way. We were not only able to learn many things about each other that we didn't know, but we also had a great conversation about Spiritual things. Please continue to pray for her, that the Lord would get ahold of her heart and call her to Himself.

The other big news that I have for today, is not quite so encouraging. This morning I was awakened at about 6:00 AM by mom asking me if I was using a hammer on something?!?!? I thought that was a strange request, but only minutes after asking me, mom discovered that the noise she heard was coming from Grandpa Pickles' room and was accompanied by a call for help. She called my dad and he went in to see what was the matter. Without making this much longer, he had fallen and was unable to get up. After getting him to the emergency room (via ambulance) and many examinations and x-rays, the doctors determined that he had fractured his hip. He will be having surgery tomorrow at about noon and would appreciate your prayers. This will be a very long recovery road for him and he isn't one who enjoys sitting still for very long so I anticipate that this will be hard for him. He is currently on a morphine drip so his pain is minimal and his spirits are positive (which isn't a surprise for anyone who knows him). I will include more details with an up-date on Monday.

Thank you so much for your support and prayers! It is so encouraging to know that people are praying not only for me, but for those whom I love who are hurting! Blessings to each of you!