Chicken Heads and Healed Hips

(On my FB feed for today was this post from 2 years ago when we first moved to China and were living in Taian. It is a fun memory and picture.) Yesterday we went to the Dao temple here in Taian.  Peaceful. However, I was surprised at the idols in a communist country. We stopped at a corner shop for lunch. As always, how do you decide when you can't read the menu? Not even any pictures this time. I told the lady that I can't read. She paused a minute and turned to a patron and told him to help us. He spoke enough English to get us a grated p otato dish and a spicy chicken one. The spicy chicken one seemed to be a whole chicken with all of its parts cut up and cooked. Lots of bones to chew on. Along with a foot, we also found a complete chicken head.....I mean a complete head in the bowl. One of the stranger things I have seen. Tried for a picture, but it is not clearly enough defined to make sense. But for the first time in China, I really would like to post a pictu...

FB Surgery Posting for the Past 3 Days

Surgery Jan. 9 I report to the surgery center at Chambersburg, PA tomorrow (Jan. 9) at 8:30 a.m.for my hip replacement. They need to do the MRSA test first, and then I don't know what time the surgery is. Please, your prayers for the surgery and also that the MRSA test is negative. Thank you for all of your support. Post-Surgery, Home! Jan. 10 I am home to Purity's apartment! PTL. I did spend the night in the hospital. That was a good decision as I had pain issues in the night which would have been difficult to manage at home. I doubted that I would be able to pass the "stair" test to get out today, but the bad left knee was helped a great deal from the pain meds (side effects haha), and so I could assure the PT that I could manage the 15 stairs into Purity's second floor apartment. The mobility and pain issues have not surpassed pre-surgery levels yet, but I am very confident that it will resolve itself within the next few days. Please continue to pra...

A Miracle! My Miracle!

I just received a call from the Dr. My surgery has been rescheduled for Jan. 9. Hallelujah! I was told that I would be 7th on the standby list and that there would be very few cancellations since it was such a long wait for surgery!! I did not ask what had happened to move from Jan, 30 to Jan. 9. I am just so thankful. I know it is all of your prayers! Now, they will retest for MRSA the  morning of surgery and if it is still positive they cannot do the surgery, but they were very confident that this is a common thing to happen and that it would be fine. (I obviously have a very limited understanding of the horrors of MRSA.) So please pray that it truly is all gone. We are in SC with Peter's and will go back to Purity on Monday in preparation for surgery. I cannot tell you what a relief this is. I still wonder why God put this caveat in the way and I may never know this side of glory, but trust Him. Thank you.

Miracle Needed!

I just got word that I tested positive for MRSA!!! I cannot believe it. Where, when, how? Anyway, I have to have been on the nasal medication for 7 days before they can do surgery and nothing is available on January 7, when my 7 days would be up. Nothing until Jan. 30 at the earliest. I need a miracle on some level. Either that the test is wrong (but I have been taking the anti-MRSA nasal ointment for 3 days and thus retesting does not seem reasoanble) or they have a cancellation immediately on Jan. 7 and I can still get it done within a time frame that would let me return to China in time to use my tickets for February 11 and teaching on February 18! I also have been in bed for the last 2 days because of the pain. How do I manage even a few more days, much less a few more weeks. I don't even know how to ask for prayers for this or how God can work it out, but I know we need a miracle.

Getting Ready to Travel

No matter how short or long, traveling takes at least some prep. We fly out of Beijing at 6:30 p.m. tonight. We have to leave our house at 2 p.m. Normally we would drag our suitcases through the metro to get to the airport. It takes about an hour, and involves a couple changes, but really is not too bad and costs about $5 apiece. However, this time we are going to take a taxi.   I have had to come off all my   herbal supplements which are blood-thinners in preparation for my hip replacement on January 3 in Pennsylvania. I am in quite a bit of pain with no recourse to relieve it and walking is very hard, even with a cane and/or walker. I just could not face the metro ride. Instead it will cost about $30 in a taxi, and the amount of time is a bit more questionable because we are at the mercy of traffic rather than the very well scheduled metro. When we get to the airport, I will request a wheelchair and use it the rest of the trip. We arrive in LA at 3:30 p.m. It will stil...

Christmas around the World: Presents

I was touched when one of the students in our Friday night study group turned to another one of the members and said, “This is the first time anyone has given me a Christmas present.” That is incomprehensible to us in the West, but would be very true within this culture. It was a felt Santa head filled with fruity gummy candy thingeys. She brought one for each of us, which was really thoughtful of her. Rick had 3 English study Books which he was very anxious to give away. He had brought them with the thought of sharing them here. (I think he was also wanting to have an excuse to buy some more to bring back after break.) Last week he had brought them and given them to the 3 students. They were thrilled. We also had 3 Christmas story Chinese/English books to give….but forgot them at the apartment. We will give them in February. I am reminded how different cultures handle presents. Within Zambian culture, if someone admired a piece of clothing or jewelry, etc., as long as it was not...