A not so normal day...and one I'll never forget

Today was quite a day. It is a day I will never forget. Everything about our experiences today made me so thankful for the blessings God has given us here and our resources to be able to help others that come directly from His hands.

This morning, as every Tuesday morning, we left the house about 8:30 to head to the weekly prayer time. We had a wonderful time of prayer and then Matt and I and the kids headed to Jazmin for discipleship with Katerin. We arrived a little late, but got started and finished just in time to get her off to school. We always drop her off at school on our way out of Tejarcillos on Tuesday mornings. Today, her mom, Jessi, came with us so she could take lunch to her oldest daughter, Jazmin, who has a scholarship to a private Christian school. We stopped at the corner by the school to drop her off. She had her youngest daughter, Monica and her son, Jose ("HOE-say"), who is just a year old. Jessi got out of the car holding Jose. Monica then got out and as she did, she slipped and fell on the ground next to the car. Jessi set Jose down right next to her to pick up Monica. Within a few seconds, Jose had walked a few steps and was near the edge of the sidewalk. As I looked at him I saw that he had walked right to the sewage drain. I yelled "Jose!" just as Jessi stepped towards him.

**As a note to those who've never been here or to a third world country: sewage drains, manhole, and other service type things that create holes in the ground generally are NOT covered! This one was NOT covered that was near Jose.***

Just as Jessi neared him, Jose slipped down into the hole. I cannot express to you the dread that filled my heart at that moment, let alone the fear I saw in Jessi's face. She immediately jumped down into the hole, which was at the least waist-deep. I jumped out of the car to help her in whatever way I could. She and I were finally able to wriggle him out. She sat with him and held him as a crowd began to gather. This was actually very encouraging for me to see. So many gathered around were generally concerned. Two older gentlemen were very concerned. One was giving Jessi advice about not moving Jose too much and brought over a rag to clean him up. Another brought out two glasses of water for Jessi and Jose. The first one got a policeman from somewhere, who unfortunately was reluctant to help in any way. They were both advising Jessi to get Jose to a clinic quickly. I left with Katerin to get lunch to Jazmin as they tried to figure out what to do. Before I left with Katerin, I made sure Monica was okay. She had been standing back by herself and I went to pick her up and she just burst out into tears, sobbing out of sheer fear, I am sure, of what she had just seen. She got calmed down and then Matt took her and held her while Katerin and I took off. When we came out of the school, Matt was waiting on us at the front gate. We then dropped Katerin off at school and headed back to Jessi's house to get Jose's papers she would need to have him seen by a doctor. Then we headed to a nearby clinic where he could be seen by a doctor.

I was so shook up myself from seeing what had happened, but the look on Jessi's face was a look I will never forget. To see your child slip away from you like that is something I hope to never experience. But I was glad that I could be with my sister-in-Christ at this time in her life. I asked her if she'd like me to come in with her and she said yes. Matt stayed with our kids and Monica while we went inside. Jessi got right in, but I couldn't go with her so I stayed outside and prayed while she was in there. She came back out after not too long with instructions to go to another clinic to get x-rays done. So, we headed over that way but encountered an accident that had blocked traffic so we had to turn around and go another way, which added about 20 minutes, at least, to the trip. Once we got there, we found the cafeteria and got Monica and our kids fed while Jessi went to get the x-rays. She wasn't gone long and we ordered her some food and then took off back to the first clinic, so she could see the doctor and he could look at the x-rays. Once we got back to the fist clinic, Jessi had to wait a little bit for the doctor to get back from lunch. Matt and I and the kids hung out outside and had a wonderful time with Monica. She is such a sweet little kid. She is only four, but she speaks as if she is much older. She is super smart and has a quick wit that keeps you on your toes and laughing most of the time. She reminds me so much of our niece, Samantha.

After about an hour, Jessi got in and saw the doctor. He looked Jose over and looked at the x-rays and determined nothing was broken or wrong with Jose. He is bumped up and bruised pretty bad, with several large goose-eggs on his head. But, he was back to his normal cheery self by the time it was all said and done.

We got back to the car and Jessi was overwhelmed with the day's events. She thanked us over and over again for taking care of Monica and staying with her throughout the day and taking her to the different clinics. Of course, for us, it was no big deal. God blessed us with this van and it is a huge help to the daily ministry. What a blessing it was today to be able to take her around today. The whole process took about 4 1/2 hours, but if she had to do it alone- who knows how long it would have taken with the bus and traffic and all those factors. She said she was thankful I was able to be with her and I, too, was thankful that God allowed me to be part of her day. Although, I didn't have many words of comfort, I was able to just be there for here and I am forever thankful to God for that. Again, the terror on her face will not be something I forget.

Matt and I were talking on the way home about how much worse it could have been for little Jose. It was not raining today, praise the Lord. If it had been, he could have been caught and swept down the sewer pipes in a flash. The hole itself had re bar and jagged metal sticking out from it and it is so hard to believe that he suffered no broken bones or anything worse than what he did from the fall due to the jaggedness of the hole and the rough edges.

We also remembered being down here in Costa Rica on what was really our vision trip with Mark and Meg. We spent about 6 hours in the emergency room of a local clinic with Mark and a family from Los Guido. One of the girls had really messed up her ankle and Mark took the mom and three girls to the clinic so the oldest could be seen. Matt and I hung out in the waiting area with the two youngest girls and we remember that night still to this day. We had hardly any Spanish, but God used that night to weave our hearts together with those two girls and to this day we still have a relationship with the youngest, Michel, who is now a leader in the church.

Of course, that night, we never imagined we would have a similar experience three years later, but God works just like that. Today, while very scary in what happened, was a wonderful opportunity to grow our relationship with this family. The time spent with Monica was priceless and my only hope is that we were able to be Christ to Jessi today. And, it appears, that Jose has only some nasty bumps and bruises, which is a miracle in itself.

Here are a few pictures of Jose and Monica from earlier this year.


Brooke and Monica


Jose and Monica


Jose


Jose

When we sat at dinner tonight, Isabelle prayed before the meal and she prayed a sweet prayer for Jose. Then, Ethan shared that he had the girls praying for Jose as the whole event was going on. The girls had, thankfully, stayed in the car, like good girls. Isabelle said that she had told Audrey she thought they should stay in the car since it was kinda dangerous right there. (We were stopped on the corner of a busy intersection and she was right it would have been dangerous for them to have been out there at that moment. So, while they were sitting in the car, they were praying for Jose and Jessi and the whole thing. Is that not the sweetest thing you have ever heard? :) I told Isabelle and Audrey how very much that meant to God that they took the the time to ask him to take care of Jose and that he would be ok.

If our children learn one thing from life as missionary kids, I can only hope that they learn reliance on our Lord, Jesus Christ, and to do just what they did today, go to him at all times: times of fear, times of happiness, times of anger, times of need....in all things. Praise you, Father, for your mighty hand of protection today with little Jose. Praise you Father, for a day spent with our family in Christ. Thank you Father for your many blessings, like a vehicle that allows us to minister in times of immediate need. Thank you for children who come to you in times of uncertaintity or fear. thank you for working in my children's heart. Keep and watch over Jose tonight, Father. I love you, Lord. In Jesus Name, Amen.