ISAIAH 65:24

 "Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear."

Isaiah 65:24

Is God good, kind, merciful and gracious,

or what?

Yesterday, we were feeling pretty desperate.  The Dermotone, a very expensive and absolutely necessary tool for Daniel's leg to heal, broke.  

The lightbulb on the endoscope went out.  

Tim was stung by a hornet or a bee or something right next to his eye, and not only did it hurt, the swelling has also been pretty impressive.  

And that was all in one day! 

A few days prior, the water pipe burst in our house, flooding two closets, the hallway, Sam's room and the bathroom, spreading rusty water (rust was about 1/8" deep in every shelf in the closet and on the bathroom floor) everywhere.  

We prayed for the Dermotone and the endoscope.  We asked you to pray.  And, before 24 hours had even passed, God fixed a seemingly unfixable situation.  When Tim told me the news that he had located another Dermotone machine, along with a fabulous lightbulb for the endoscope, I was overwhelmed - the kids and I sat at the dining room table, speechless, and wanted to hear how it happened. 

Turned out, yesterday morning, after surgery, Tim decided to call every clinic and hospital within a day's driving distance to see if by chance any of them had a Dermotone.  None did.  In the afternoon, as he was puzzling and praying about it, and coming to grips with what this meant for Daniel, he suddenly had an idea that he should look everywhere here in this hospital.  Because this is such an old mission hospital, there is a big storeroom, full of random donated materials from over the years, which are sometimes given at times when there is no doctor or nurse who knows how to use the devices.  At such times, the donated items are safely stored in the storeroom, in case a doctor or nurse should come sometime who knows how to use some of the items.  The items in the room are not catalogued, because often times when they come, no one even knows what some of them are.  

Anyway, Tim tried to describe, through the language barrier, what he was looking for, and he recruited some hospital workers to help him search.  After an hour or two, a couple of the surgery assistants, both of whom speak some English, found Tim and started helping to search.  This was a big help, because they were able to explain to the other guys what they were trying to find.  

Suddenly, Tim came across a bunch of lightbulbs for the endoscope!  Not what he was looking for, but good news, none-the-less.  They ended up searching the entire room, and never found the Dermotone.  

But then, one of the surgery assistants suggested Tim go look in the surgery store room (a different, smaller room).  Tim didn't have much hope about that, but he went anyway, with the two assistants.  After looking a while, all of the sudden, he found a box about the right size!  He looked inside, trying not to hope too much that it might possibly be the Dermotone.  Imagine his excitement when that is exactly what it was!  A new Dermotone machine, with blades and everything!  

They plugged it in, and it turned on.  Praise God! 

As I write this, Tim is probably operating on Daniel, doing his skin grafts.  This is such an answer to prayer.  This is such a gift.  He still needs so much more prayer, but it is beginning to feel like God is telling us, "I have big plans for this boy.  I will carry him through this.  Do not worry.  Just keep praying, and keep working, and keep caring."  I also feel He has been trying to teach us how much He wants us to walk with Him, in complete dependance, every hour of every day.  

"Call to Me and I will answer you, and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."  - Jeremiah 33:3.  

Yes, Lord, we will keep calling to You, if You keep reminding us.  We are dumb sheep, and we easily forget.  Thanks for the wonderful reminder of Your continual care for us in the way you have been preserving Daniel's leg.