“Kelli, Robbie, come quick! Haven just fell off the porch and hurt her arm!”
We had been playing games at a birthday party when Gabriel Palacios called us to come outside for an emergency. We ran outside and found Haven standing by Alina. Her forearm was dangling in an unnatural position, and she was screaming and crying while Alina tried to comfort her and keep her arm steady. Upon examining Haven’s arm, Kelli initially thought it was dislocated at the elbow, but there was no one who knew how to put it back in place. Kelli wasn’t willing to try herself and thought it would be best to take Haven to a hospital to get her arm checked by a physician.
Leaving Hope in the care of our partners Chris and Shannon, we packed Ephram and Haven into our van and drove quickly to the university hospital. “Where does your arm hurt? Can I please see it?” the doctor asked Haven. Haven’s only response at first was to scream and cry. After several minutes, the doctor tried again. “Does your arm hurt here?” She pointed to a spot on her arm. Haven shook her head no. “What about here?” The doctor pointed to another location near Haven’s elbow. Haven nodded.
The doctor ordered x-rays of Haven’s elbow, and Kelli and I accompanied her to the x-ray room. Haven was very frightened and said it was painful to move her arm. Kelli stayed outside the room while I stood by Haven’s side and tried to calm her during the x-rays.
Then the staff wheeled Haven back to the examination room where several orthopedic doctors and doctors-in-training peered at the x-rays and discussed among themselves where the break was and what needed to be done about it.
Finally one doctor came up to us. “Your daughter’s humerus is broken near the elbow. We will need to perform surgery and reduce the fracture. Then we will use some K-wire to hold it in place. Are you willing for us to do this?”
We consented to the surgery and signed the forms. Kelli went home and brought back some things Haven and I would need for several days’ stay at the hospital. Then she took Ephram home for the night. I waited with Haven until they wheeled her into surgery around 1 a.m. They allowed me to stay next to her until the anesthesia took effect and she fell asleep on the operating table. I had the most helpless feeling as I stood looking at my daughter lying there on that table.
During this whole ordeal, I had been praying for God’s help and watchcare for Haven, knowing that He is able to do abundantly more than all we can ask or imagine. I prayed for the doctors to have wisdom and skill as they operated. I prayed that Haven would have no complications or lasting disability from her injury. I prayed for her quick recovery. I prayed that God would be glorified, even through this trial.
While Haven was in surgery I continued to pray as I walked around, not having anything else to occupy my time. As I was walking and praying, I noticed a piece of string tied up on the wall. It was the kind of string Thai Buddhists use to invoke spiritual protection and healing for sick loved ones. I looked at the string, and I thought about the cultural scrapbook our team is currently compiling. I wondered what stories from the Bible might correspond to these strings that Thai people use to ward off evil. Immediately, the story of Rahab and the scarlet cord came to my mind. I could see how a Thai person could possibly understand that story and the importance of that scarlet cord.
I hope that someday soon the Thai people will be able to see that their own strings and attempts to protect themselves are futile. I hope to be able to use this example of the scarlet cord to help them understand that only Jesus can truly protect and save us. He is the scarlet cord we can put our trust in.
After a couple hours, Haven came out of surgery, and we went to spend the rest of the night in the post-op ward. The doctor said the surgery had gone well, and there were no complications. Haven was discharged the next day. Now, six weeks later, her arm has healed completely. She has recovered full motion, and the only marks of her ordeal are two little scars on her elbow from the surgical pins.
We praise God for protecting Haven from worse injury. We also praise Him for showing us new insights into the Thai mind and bridges we can use to connect our Thai friends and community to Jesus. We praise God for you, our supporters, who continually lift us up in prayer and give us encouragement for this work.
