Not just another taxi driver

It was a few weeks before Christmas and I wanted to find some Christmas ribbon.  I had already found some solid-color ribbon, but I really wanted some ribbon with a Christmas pattern to decorate the Christmas baskets we were making for the La Fuente staff.  So I headed to El Centro and the San Pedro market.

Outside of San Pedro market, there is a row of stores with fabric and lots of things for sewing.  And yes! - I found some Christmas ribbon in one of those stores - yay!  Since I accomplished my task so quickly, I decided to reward myself and walk to Starbucks for a cup of coffee :)  I had come prepared for just such an occasion - in my bag, I had a book that I was reading (Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God - thanks Nan B.!).  A cup of yummy coffee and a good book - one of my favorite things!

So I headed through the arch . . . 

and walked the few blocks to . . .

Starbucks!

After placing my order, I settled in with my book and coffee and enjoyed some nice quiet time.  Alas, too quickly it was time to head back home.  I gathered my things and headed downstairs and outside to look for a taxi.  It didn't take long to find a taxi and tell him where I wanted to go.  I hopped in and settled back for a quiet ride to Santa Monica (where we live).  Usually when I get in a taxi, I greet the driver and ask him how he is doing.  I'll give him directions and such, but that tends to be the extent of the conversation - which is generally fine with me.  Most taxi drivers that I've ridden with will respond to conversation, but they don't generally initiate it.  However, that was not to be the case today.  Apparently, I got into a taxi with a very talkative driver - which meant that I was going to have to listen and talk!  Many of you know that I struggle a bit with the spanish language.  So, when the driver started talking to me, I was a bit terrified!  My first thought was - Oh dear, I'm trapped in this taxi and there's no one else but me to talk.  So . . . I listened (very carefully :) and then . . . I responded . . . in spanish . . . and the driver understood me!  Thus began a conversation that lasted the entire taxi ride.  After I began talking, it really didn't take me long to warm up and just talk.  The driver talked slowly for me and graciously repeated things for me when I asked.  I know that my grammar wasn't always correct and I sometimes used the wrong words and phrases.  But - what I also recognized - was that the taxi driver understood me and that we were having a back-and-forth conversation!  We talked about Cusco, Peruvian holidays (there are a ton of them!), our families, and (of course :) the reason I was in Cusco.  As we neared the apartment building where Ike and I live, I realized that I was actually enjoying the conversation.  I also realized that God had provided just the taxi driver I needed that morning.  He used a taxi driver - a stranger to me - to encourage me and give me the courage to talk - in a language that my tongue struggles with.  He used a taxi driver to refresh my heart and remind me that God's grace is, indeed, sufficient for me.  

"My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness.
---  2 Corinthians 12:9a

Adventure in Perú

Curahuasi, Perú

Well, it's rainy season in Cusco.  That means - lots of clouds, rain during the day or night, and damp coldness - b-r-r-r!  So maybe this is a good time to begin blogging again :)  Okay, let me catch you up on life in Cusco :)

This is from July of 2012.

"Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge.  I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed."  --  Psalm 57:1

I awoke to the sound of lights blazing in the hallway and Ike's voice on the phone.  A bit disoriented, I glanced at the clock on the bedside table and saw that it read 1:00.  Still trying to wake up, I stared at the clock until realization sunk in - it was 1:00 AM.  Now, fully awake, I jumped out of bed and walked into the hall.  What was going on?!  Ike was on the phone with Ask-A-Nurse in the U.S.  He had awoken a short time earlier with searing pain in his left side and back.  Having experienced a kidney stone about 7 or 8 years ago, he was pretty sure the pain might be from a kidney stone.  Well, Ask-A-Nurse agreed with what he was thinking.  AND, they said that he needed to go to a hospital.    So, I called Nathan W. (thankfully, he sleeps with his phone next to the bed!) to ask which hospital we should go to.  So, off we went to the hospital.  We had to wake up everyone when we arrived :)  But we were impressed with the doctor in the ER.  She started Ike on pain meds (of course, first I had to go to the pharmacy and wake up the lady there so that she could give me the meds:) and they got him settled in a bed.  I do have to say that their idea of medicine to control pain in Perú is vastly different from medicine to control pain in the States.  Basically what they gave him, was something along the lines of Advil - not very strong at all!  And of course, we couldn't see a urologist or have any x-rays, cat-scans, blood work, etc. until the doctor and other technicians arrived at their regular scheduled work time.  Needless to say, it was not a good night!  Even with the "advil-type" pain meds, Ike was in tremendous pain and he moaned and groaned most of the night.  Well, I certainly couldn't sleep either- even though they told me I could sleep in one of the beds that was not in use.  I stayed by Ike's bed much of the time and would go wake up the doctor from time to time so she could give him more meds in his IV.

In the ER - notice Ike is still wearing his coat :)  

Nathan W. arrived at the hospital about 7:30 am, so he was there when the urologist came and was able to talk with him.  They did bloodwork, an ultrasound, cat-scan with contrast, and an x-ray.  This was all completed by about 11:30 am and they moved us from the ER to a regular room.  

Getting Ike ready for the CT scan

The regular room that we were moved into.  It was a huge room, and even had a bed for me :)

Everyone was pretty much in agreement that the problem was a kidney stone.  Later that afternoon (well, actually it was probably close to 6:00 pm), the urologist returned with all of the tests that had been done.  Thank goodness, Nathan W. and Mark D. were both at the hospital with us at that time!  We already knew that the left kidney was swollen and inflamed.  Well, the urologist showed us why.  The kidney stone was in the kidney at the opening to the ureter and was blocking the opening and causing the kidney to back up with urine.  He recommended that a stint be placed at the opening to allow the fluid that was being retained in the kidney to pass through.  So then the question became - Where do we have the procedure done?  Nathan and Mark began making calls to our agency physicians in the U.S.  David came to the hospital during this time and Nathan H. called about the hospital in Curahuasi.  After much discussion about options, it was decided that we would check out of the Cusco hospital, take Ike home, and control his pain overnight with some stronger oral pain meds.  And then early Tuesday morning, we would head to the German hospital in Curahuasi.  Nathan H. is on staff at this hospital and he goes there a couple of times a month to perform surgery (opthalmology).  Thankfully, he was headed there Tuesday morning, so we were able to follow him in our car.  

Curahuasi is about 80 miles from where we live in Cusco.   It takes about 3 hours to drive it because you are winding through the mountains.  Curahuasi is a small village and, basically, it's in the middle of nowhere :)  The hospital is actually a mission hospital that was built about 6 years ago by a German couple.  It is staffed with medical volunteers (many of them from Germany) and paid Peruvians.  Compared to many of the hospitals in Peru, it is a state of the art hospital.

The drive from Cusco to Curahuasi is rugged, yet beautiful.

Snow-capped mountains in the distance.

The hospital at Curahuasi

 View from the front doors of the hospital.

When we arrived at the hospital, they immediately did an ultrasound and settled Ike in a room with pain meds via IV.  On Wednesday morning, Dr. Brady performed the procedure to place the stint.  Ike could tell a difference as soon as he came out of the anesthesia!!!  Yay!!  We returned to Cusco later that day with instructions to return to Curahuasi the following Thursday so that Dr. Brady could remove the stint.  We did return the following week and the stint was removed.  And still - no pain!  Evidently, the stint widened the kidney opening a sufficient amount to allow the stone to be flushed out.

Ike eating his soup after having the procedure to place the stint.  This is the first thing he's had to eat since Sunday night.

Though we experienced some difficult days during this time, it was sweet to see the Lord go before us and provide for us in so many ways.  From providing a doctor and hospital to providing a place for me to sleep while we were in Curahuasi, we have experienced God's faithfulness and the comfort and peace that come from that.

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."  --  Philippians 4:19