James 2:2
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Trials from Heaven.
The past 10 days have been probably some of the toughest we have been through in many years. Many have been asking what is going on and I have yet to be able to get to a computer to put this all down. But will try to put down in words what happened to our family.
1. Maria has seizure
At about 3 in the morning, our baby girl woke up with uncontrollable breathing, a frightening sound from the lungs that cannot be put in words. An hour later she was having a seizure and we went into a frenzy.... It has not slowed down until this moment. Maria was taken by ambulance to a German hospital who simply put her in a bed next to 2 other very sick children who were in bed with their mothers. After a complete night and day into another night, the doctor finally decided that she might have Pneumonia...no tests...no medicine. We were introduced to socialized medicine. I now have a clear picture of what it is like. We got her out of there and drove 90 minutes to Landstuhl American hospital. They not only took our daughter in, did x-rays, took blood gave her an IV, but they gave the parents TLC with water and simply listening to our issues. Dr. Acevedo took great care to ensure she had all the medicine needed.
2. Larry and Mona collapse
2 days later, Mona and I were feeling very sick and trying to entertain the three little ones as the teens were gone for awhile. We were having a hard time standing up and moving around. Finally, I started the car and started getting the kids ready for another 90 minute drive, but collapsed and felt very week. Mona did at the same time. I happened to have a phone on me and was able to dial the church and neighbors, Jon and Irina for help. They came over and called the ambulance. The doctor arrived with the ambulance, gave us IVs, told us our lungs sounded like Pneumonia and she sent us to the hospital. The kids were curious but taken care of.
The Socialized medicine hit again. We were told that we had slight infections and to "go home and drink some soup and tea."
So Michelle and Ron came over to help. We had to take a taxi home and walk up our mountain with Pneumonia because of the snow....
3. Brandon has severe pain
The next day, we receive a call from the youth center. Brandon is vomiting and is in extreme pain. A nurse happened to be there. We
4. Larry and Mona get checked
Finally, the following day we visit the ER at 4 a.m. since our son was there. The doctor freaked out and said, "Your lungs sound terrible." We had Pneumonia. Remember, drink tea. We were put on severe antibiotics. The church families, Niel and PJ and Tammy and RJ took care of the children and we simply stayed there for 2 days.
5. Car accident
Brandon was doing better so we decided to go home. 10 minutes on the Autobahn, we saw sparks and then a tire fly in the air. I tried to get out of the way, but the tire flew up and smashed Mona's side sending her into shock. She was taken back to the American hospital by ambulance as we tried to figure out what to do with the car and the police and everything. Every German we met went overboard to help us. It was perfect. People were praying. The car was towed by ADAC, a gate guard at the base found a taxi with a late night rental place. The truck company that lost the tire...well, the owner was gracious and told us whatever we needed they would take care of it. Finally, we were able to drive home at 3 a.m., discover that our son had the key to the house...an hour later, we got back, opened the door and collapsed in our bed.
6. Church
Today, the church...Calvary Chapel Wiesbaden...brought us up and prayed... There were prayers with tears...everyone suffered with us and for us. It was a true picture of the bride of Christ. We became a close famil
7. Divine appointments
In the middle of all the chaos....all of the heartache, God sent OKINAWA. As many know, if we could go back to Okinawa today, we probably would. Our hearts are there. Well, a lady walked into Brandon's hospital room with a dog...Red Cross dog. His name was Ken Chan... who was registered in Okin
So, the trials were many, but God still gets the glory. I had some thoughts coming through this. When visiting the book store here, they have a religion section. There are only real Christian books there. The rest are from New Age people or from false prophets like Joel Olsteen. Their books sell because they have titles like "Your best life now" or How to have a happy life. Satan sold these same bill of tricks to Jesus. He told Jesus that He could have the whole world if he would bow down and worship him. Well, Jesus is God and bows to no one. Jesus, simple said "IT IS WRITTEN..." That means the Bible has power...it is God's word. Our bible tells us that true Christians will face trials and tribulations...but through th
Thank you all for your prayers and kindness and support. We are truly blessed to be here among a great Christian family who supported us all the way through this... forgive me if you were not mentioned above, but supported.
And as always, if you have not prayed to receive Christ and you know that He is speaking to you...do it now before it is too late. He loves you.
ALL4Good