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Prayer and Praise

Too sick for the doctor? and other weekend adventures

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I have a feeling some of you have been praying, because we had a great answer to prayer last week.  We were able to make an appointment with a new doctor for Nathanael.  Actually, this doctor was recommended to us by two other doctors, and we were able to get an appointment on Saturday.  She had already been briefed on Nathanael by his previous doctor, so that helped a lot.

The long-awaited appointment was on Saturday.  But Friday night we found Nathanael tossing and turning in bed with a fever.

Boy, this guy has had his problems lately!

As for me, I had a major migraine attack at the same time.  None of us got that a lot of sleep that night, though, as we tried to help Nathanael.

The next morning I was still sick, and Nathanael said his stomach was bothering him.  I had been planning to go to the doctor on Saturday (for something else), but it was starting to look like we were both going to be too sick to go!  With Nathanael’s doctor all the way across town (and we didn’t know exactly), we weren’t sure how he’d do in the van.

At least we were going to the right place – we decided to risk it.  We drove around in circles for a while across town, and finally Shari ran in to a large building and was told the doctor’s office was there.  We parked, and I carried Nathanael to the building, and one level up the very cool spiral staircase.  Then we waited on the comfy leather couches in the doctor’s office.  Nathanael looked awful (I probably did too!).

When the receptionist came in, we found out we were in the wrong office.  In the wrong building (it was a doctor with a similar name).

Down the very cool spiral staircase, out of the building and across the street we went, wandering around looking for the office.

Finally we found it, and rang (it was closed and locked).  At last, the right doctor let us in, and saw Nathanael.

It was a good visit (even though poor Nathanael was falling asleep) and she gave us some suggestions for his fever (sounds like it was probably a cold bug).

He and I both improved as Saturday wore on (though I haven’t made it to the doctor yet myself).  We decided not to take him to church the next day, so I stayed home with him.  It was a good thing – he spent a lot of the morning sleeping off and on, and wasn’t feeling great.  A slight fever even came back (it was a shame because it was our church’s 5th anniversary party.  But don’t worry, Hannah and Shari brought home some cake.).

Sunday night, once again the fever returned (though never as bad as the first 24 hours), and he had trouble sleeping.  That was last night, so we let him sleep in this morning – he’ll take today off school and hopefully will be well enough to get back into a normal schedule tomorrow.

We’re "playing it by ear" at the moment.  Shari is at the school for a meeting.  I was supposed to be taking our van in for repairs – hopefully I still will, but right now I need to give Nathanael some breakfast.

So that’s what our weekend was like.  Never what we expect! 🙂

Nathanael’s feeling better.

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After a rough start to the night, Nathanael was eventually able to fall asleep.  I think there was a fair amount of tossing and turning (they have a very squeaky bed – you can’t miss every toss and turn!), but he slept and most of the hives were gone this morning.

He was pretty tired, but we decided to send him to school anyway.  He said his teacher let him have a little rest, and now that he’s home again he seems to be doing ok.  It may be a rough day (he’s not the only one who’s tired!), but I think we’re on the upswing.

Thanks for your prayers!  🙂

Nathanael’s feeling miserable.

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Poor Nathanael.  He’s got hives.  Over a good portion of his body.  No fun.

We’re going to put him to bed pretty soon, but if you happen to be reading this in the next day or so, we’d appreciate your prayers for the itchy guy.  Thanks!

The tax man adds it all together

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Months.

For months we’ve been trying to find out what taxes we owe.  We’ve been in the unusual position of wanting to pay our taxes, but not being able to!

You can read the start of this whole story here if you like.  And the follow-up here.  And the next follow-up.  Finally, on Christmas Eve 2007 the Canada Revenue Agency finally figured out what we actually owed (from 2006) and sent us a notice.

We owed a lot.

Once again, this is really both a praise and a prayer.  The praise is that we had enough cash in our Ministry Expense Account, and the money is on the way to the CRA.

The prayer request?  Well, that money really should have been for … well … ministry!  That was money that could have help fund our ministry expenses in 2008.

We’re changing our lifestyle in 2008.  In 2007 we stuck around home a lot (after all, we’ve been going to school – all four of us).  In 2008 we become a little more nomadic – taking frequent trips as we get to know different people and ministries in Mexico, and learn more about the language and culture.  That gas money is on its way to the Canadian Government at the moment.  😉

So we would appreciate your prayers that the Lord would provide for the many ministry expenses we’re expecting in 2008 – and that we would be wise as we set priorities.

God does have a way of providing what we need when we need it – through His people and their prayers, and many unexpected surprises!  We’re so thankful that we have a God that doe provide!

Van break down in Mexico

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It happened a couple of times in the past year and a half.  And not at the greatest times.

We were working ourselves to the bone trying to get out of our apartment in Calgary, and our van died – no power, battery dead.  We blamed it on bad electrical work in a trailer, got a boost, and were fine.

Fast forward a year later or so.  In one of Cuernavaca’s busiest intersections, the van died.  No power, battery dead.  This time, I wasn’t pulling anything.  For a few minutes I blocked traffic (I imagine everyone I know must have driven or walked by) until a friend came and gave me a boost.  The van was fine for a few more months.  Afraid of complicated electrical work, we decided to wait and see what would happen.

Fast forward to December, several months later, in the midst of Christmas preparations.  On my way home with the turkey, the battery started to die.  Armed with experience, I wasted no time and made it home.  Now what?

I decided to drive it (downhill) to a Christmas party, knowing that there were people there who could help if I needed help.  I did.

This time, though, the boost did little good.  I just barely drove it out of the gated community, and it died again.  I had a couple of very generous friends to help, parents of Hannah’s classmates.  One gave my family a ride home, while I talked to the other.  He (Alberto) suggested I leave the van there for the night, near a 24 hour store and the securities guards at the community gate.  We talked to the store owner and the security guard, and I do believe I saw some "thank you money" pass hands.  Everyone helped me get the van to the side of the road.

The next morning, on advice, I pulled out the battery and took it by foot and bus to the store, and had it replaced.  Via a lot more walking up and down hills and another bus, I got the new one back to the van.  From the symptoms I figured that, even if there was a cable or alternator problem, the battery was likely part of the problem.  It gave me enough juice to drive it a little, but it was clearly not the whole problem.

I called our landlord to see if he could recommend a nearby mechanic, but he didn’t call back, and it was now the weekend – Sunday, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day…

I saw Lisandro (our landlord) on Boxing Day (26 December).  He generously went with me to a little shop where electrical work was done – a typical, greasy place with pin-ups on the wall and a big wooden skeleton to hang things on.  Oh, and some guys that seemed to know their stuff.  They tested the obvious things, and this morning we went back (before Lisandro went to work).

After hanging around for an hour waiting for the owner, watching another guy get his car fixed and chatting with him and a mechanic, we found the owner and talked to him.  Lisandro left, and after about 45 minutes the owner (maestro) took a look.  Maybe the alternator – let’s take a look.  We talked about new engines, Calgary, and the Winter Olympics that Calgary is still remembered for.

I hung around and watched the whole procedure – it was the regulator in the alternator.  I helped him replace the belt (why not?), started up the van, and voila!  I mean … ¡que bueno!  It worked.

After a bit of driving today, it looks like it still works.  So far so good.  It’s nice to have a van again.

Tonight I’ll probably swing by and thank the guy in the 24 hour convenience store and the security guards.  Maybe I’ll give them some Coke and cookies as a thank you.

So that’s a van break down in Mexico – generous friends, a few interesting experiences, and even a few more Spanish words.  Not a bad holiday season so far…

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