Tim tried going back to work on Tuesday to see how well his ankle would do without being elevated, but it was too much. He was in a lot of pain by the afternoon, and is back to working from home for at least the rest of this week.

Tim is now able to “walk” on his feet without pain! He hobbles around pretty slowly, with an interesting limp that is most reminiscent of a zombie walk (bwaiiiins!), but we are very encouraged that he has at least this much pain-free motion with his bad ankle.

Continue to pray for a full recovery!! We go back to the doctor on Thursday for some x-rays to see how well it is healing. He is still having trouble getting comfortable at night because he is so sore; we are hoping that the rest he is able to get is enough to help with the healing process, even if he doesn’t feel rested. (But, it is hard to ever feel rested with a new baby! :))

Again, thanks for the prayers and we will continue to update with new information on his progress and our anticipated return to Spain.

Last week Tim was in a motorcycle accident on the freeway driving to work. While no other vehicles were involved, his bike lost control and tipped, throwing him off and breaking his right ankle in the process. After two nights in the hospital and ankle surgery involving the addition of metal plates, he was sent home with crutches, a prescription for generic-brand Vicodin, and a soft cast/splint to begin the healing process.

It is very difficult for him to find a comfortable position for his leg, and while the pain pills help, he still constantly feels a weird stretching sensation from a nerve in his leg. He’s taken over our comfy recliner chair for himself and uses that to help elevate his leg. If he does not keep it elevated, it swells up even more. Moving around has gotten easier for him, although at first he felt excruciating pain every time he put his leg down to move anywhere.

We go to the surgeon this Thursday to hopefully get a better idea of what happened and a projected recovery time. Thankfully, Tim’s boss is allowing him to work from home while he is recovering, so that will help a lot.

Please pray for a quick recovery and for his pain levels to go down each day as his leg heals. Pray especially for me to be a loving, caring, and understanding wife to him during this difficult time, and that God would give me the stamina I need to take care of two boys each day.

Tonight Tim will be away at an all-night video game party (or evangelistic outreach, if it sounds better!) with a bunch of kids from the youth group of a nearby church. The youth group kids who come usually invite some of their friends, who don’t attend the church, so it is a good laid-back opportunity for an outreach. Imagine getting saved because you were invited to play video games all night! I’m just waiting for a great testimony to come out of it - God can use all manner of things to accomplish His will.

Since Tim will be gone all night playing with the guys, I’m taking the opportunity to host another Girls’ Sleepover for the MMC missionary kids! Since the last time I did it, I’ve gotten numerous requests for another, and let me tell you, at least one little girl I know is VERY excited! Every time I’ve seen her this week she’s said, “I can’t wait till Friday!” When we joke, “Why? What happens Friday?” all we get is a glare, of course. She’s been looking forward to bringing her glowsticks…although for what purpose, I’m not sure. I guess I’d have to be 9 to understand entirely. On the schedule for tonight is Cola Cao batido smoothies, some x-box games, and a movie! Followed by pancakes and homemade syrup in the morning. We’ll see how it goes. Odds are, the girls will all have fun. At least, that’s the goal!

I’ll end by saying, TGIF. Thank God it’s Friday! Bring on the fun.

Here’s an update on a Monday for a change!

• A team from Sherwood Bible Church in Kansas City is here for a little over a week, and I’m to be working with them on putting some ideas together for a “recruitment” video. Today I spent time brainstorming with them and exploring some possible ideas, although I’m hoping we will have a few more tomorrow. There are six from the church college group (whom I am working with) while another four on the team will be doing other odd jobs around MMC, such as fixing the door to the video building. (YES!)
• Tonight is MMC’s annual New Years Eve party, with the famous treasure hunt. I think we’ll mostly play games and have snacks until the big countdown at midnight. The Spanish New Years Eve tradition is to eat twelve grapes - one with each toll of the clock striking 12 - and have them all in your mouth by the end of the twelve strikes! It’s not really as hard as it sounds.
• Tim and I went back to the pharmacy this afternoon and picked up the results of his blood test from last week (they said it would take a week or two but it was ready the next day!). We had quite a surprise when we saw that his hemoglobin test (the big test for diabetics that measures blood sugar levels over the past three months) came out much lower than expected - his last test showed it as being 9, while this one said he was 4.7! We’re not really sure what this means, but hopefully when we go back to the doctor he will have some idea.

That’s about all for now, I’m headed to the auditorium, where we’ll be having a time of prayer for Larry and Gwynn before the party starts. They are leaving MMC next week to go back to the States and work for Avant there.

Have a good week!