It can be rebuilt...

You won't believe all that God has done in the last few weeks. Don't worry I will share it all with you in hopes that your faith will grow and all of it will glorify God.

Many of you are aware that I feel over 6 feet from a ladder last April and broke my left kneecap and have had trouble ever since. Well, another missionary here, Kristy Engel who is a nurse, has also experienced knee trouble and she told me that there was an Orthopedic Surgeon coming to work with her In La Romana and she gave him my contact info and visa verso. I started emailing back and forth with Dr. Price and he felt that he may be able to help me. So Greg and I began to pray for several things...

1. The money to pay for the surgery and all that entails

2. The money to stay at either the mission house that Kristy has or a motel without stairs because I would not be able to climb them after the surgery.

3. That it would be worth having the surgery...would it really do any good

Let me tell you...God blessed our socks off! Not only did the surgery go smoothly but it did not cost 1 peso! Dr. Price and his hardworking team brought everything from the equipment to do the arthroscopic surgery to the anaesthetics and pain relievers for use after the surgery. Amazing! Now...that means that the surgery would not cost us anything except the gas money to get to La Romana and lodging and food, right? Wrong! God took care of our lodging and food as well. Let me tell you how He provided.

Friends of ours, the Speegles, work with Crown Financial Ministries here in the DR and the President of the board for the DR has a house in Casa de Campo that he said Jason & Mandie could use for the weekend. It is a 4 bedroom house so they asked if they could have us join them and he said yes!

You need to understand that Casa de Campo is one of the most beautiful, secluded, self sufficient areas/neighborhoods on this island. It has a gorgeous golf course, marina, and beach as well as it's own shops, restaurants, grocery store, etc. We saw yachts from Puerto Rico, Florida, and several from Delaware. There are 5 golf courses at Casa de Campo the most famous is The Teeth of the Dog.

It was an absolutely beautiful house with its own pool and plenty of places to lounge. Incredible view. Soft green grass to walk barefoot through, large bedrooms with air condition (a rare treat for us) and big comfy beds. It was an awesome way to spend the weekend before I had surgery. I know that we say it time and time again but God is so faithful to us and continually shows His love for us and His abundance in so many ways. I cannot tell you enough how much we needed that little mini vacation especially since we had not had a solid nights sleep since the robbery and with a surgery on Monday it was more than we could have thought or asked. Thank you Father God!

The surgery went well. We actually arrived early to the hospital and spent some time watching Kristy greet and speak to many different patients who came into the hospital looking for help with things like nerve damage, tumors, a growth on a young boys' face, hernias, etc. I could see the love of God coming through Kristy as she spoke with some in Spanish and others in Creole and told them if and when she would have someone there to help them. I was in tears seeing people through the eyes of Jesus and with His compassion. I just wanted to lay hands on every person there and pray that God would heal each of them.

My surgery went well. Dr. Price was able to clean up a frayed tendon, remove some small bone fragments, and clean up some stuff on the back of my knee cap. I am so thankful! Now when I am back to exercising I will know that the pain I am experiencing is for my gain and not making things worse. I am recovering, slower than I would like but recovering nonetheless. =)

We share all of our victories, blessings, and difficulties in hopes that your faith will grow.

Until next time...may you rest in God's protection and peace.

In His Love & Service,

Melynda