One Small Blow for Victory

The last couple of weeks have been dedicated to fixing things around the house for the home inspections, cleaning out storage spaces and selling things, visiting family and getting the necessary last minute supplies we need to pack before leaving.  In the whole selling our house process there is so much that seems to be out of our control.  So much is left in the hands of others while we have to sit and wait for their decisions. One thing that is in our control though is the city inspection that we had to go through. This happened a few weeks ago and they gave us a list of some things they wanted us to fix or bring up to code. We have been chiseling away at this list with the help of my wonderful in-laws. We finished everything with the exception of a citing on the wiring for our air conditioner.  We were worried that this would be the most expensive and involved repair and wanted to make sure that it was done right the first time.  Dan and I went down to the city inspection office and were able to talk to the electrical inspector ourselves.  At 4:30 on a Friday afternoon he stopped what he was doing and came over to our house to take a look at our question.  After looking over the wiring again he decided to change his mind.  Nothing needed to be repaired after all!  He signed off on the electrical part of the inspection right then and there! I cannot tell you how relieved we were by this one small act.  This is one of the first things that has gone relatively smoothly in this whole process.  Such an encouragement! The building part of our city home inspection will happen tomorrow.

We also have had another offer on our house which is wonderful. Dan and I have signed the paperwork and are now waiting for the private home inspection and the appraisal.  The private home inspection should happen this Friday.  We could use a lot of prayer for both of these.  Our experience with our last buyer has shaken our confidence in the selling process and we know that either of these things could delay our progress or close the deal completely.  Please, please, please be praying for us.

Washington DC

We just got to spend this last weekend with my brother, Kevin in Washington DC.  He is living here and going to law school.  It was so fun to see where he lives as well as his school and exchange stories of post graduate school woes.  I am so thankful that God got me through medical school, but I would definitely never want to go back there again. I feel his pain with classes starting again tomorrow.

Between his summer internship and the school year starting he gave us his only weekend off to play tour guide. I don't know if he will ever forgive me for making him walk all over DC to see the different sites.  We were all sort of limping the next day. 

As we went from site to site and relived the roots of our history here I could not help but feel a sense of pride and also a sense of sadness.  This One Nation Under God has come so far and done so much and yet, at the moment, seems so confused.  Rereading the words of our forefathers and the language they used there seemed to be much less confusion then than there is now. It was very clear in their own minds why they were working to overthrow their current government, why they put their lives and the lives of their families in the balance.  They knew exactly what they were fighting for and the promises they were making to each other and to this new nation.  They were on the verge of something great though the odds were sorely stacked against them.  It was sheer determination, will, faith and I believe Divine Providence that brought them through it. I still cannot believe that a few trained men and a bunch of rebel rousers were able to take on the world's superpower at that time and overcome them.  There were some very dark days during those 8 years of the revolution, but in the end we were not defeated.  This nation was born on a miracle.

The last line of the Declaration of Independence says this-

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our Sacred Honor."

No doubt! They knew what they stood for. They knew that it was divine providence that was going to hold them together and they knew what they had to promise to each other to make this work. "our lives, our fortunes and our Sacred Honor," --that was a united group.  Rough roads were ahead and they knew that on no uncertain terms. Shouldn't this serve as a model for us as Christians? Isn't this the code by which the disciples lived? As Christians the Bible promises that rough roads are ahead.  Doesn't that mean that our dedication to each other with a reliance on God should be even more at the forefront of our existence?  These are some of the things that have been swirling around in my head over the last few days at our nation's capitol.  Our founding fathers were some incredible men and I truly believe that God blessed them for their faithfulness.  I just wonder if we could learn a thing or two by looking back at our starting point to see where our success really came from.

"Prayer at Valley Forge" by Arbold Friberg

Depicting George Washington praying for his men before battle.

 

New White Coat

Dan and I are definitely going to a rural hospital. The water is not drinkable out of the tap, the hospital has backup generators for the many times that the electricity goes out and our nearest grocery store will be two hours away. However, this is nothing compared to some of the hardships that some of the other Post Residents in my class will be facing.  We will at least have electricity (spotty though it may be), we will also have access to hot showers, we won't be the only ones from our country on our team and we aren't bringing young children and toddlers who want to crawl on the ground and put everything in their mouths - I stand in awe of what some of the others in our class are setting out to do.  We will have it easy compared to them.  Yet, many of them have been to these countries and hospitals before.  They know what they are getting into, they know what sacrifices they are making and they pursue this new life with joy.  Wow.  A new level of crazy? Maybe. I think, however, it is more of a deep rooted dedication toward loving the Lord and loving the people they are going to serve. I admire them for this and I hope that we will be able to stay in touch as God leads us all on similar, yet different journeys.

Last night at dinner the SP staff handed out a gift to all of the physicians. They had gotten us all personally embroidered white coats.  I nearly cried.  Long white coats are an almost universal symbol of a physician.  This will become a daily part of my uniform as I trek to the hospital.  Almost every medical school has a "white coat ceremony" when the new medical students start their classes.  It is a ceremony that is not insignificant and is often attended by the student's families.  It is a way of recognizing the journey you are about to embark on and the often life changing challenge of medical school and residency that lies ahead. The symbol of the white coat is significant, not only as a symbol of occupation to the outside world, but also a type mutual understanding between those that wear them of the battles they have gone through.  Medical school and residency are definitely their own unique battle fields.

At Kapsowar, it is important to the staff that the physicians wear their coats.  I had one left over from residency that is definitely showing some wear and it also has my maiden name still printed on the front.  This is now my first white coat with my new name as well as the logo of Samaritan's Purse.  What a symbol of a new chapter of life! What an honor to serve in this way!

Our Post Residency Class of Physicians

SP

We are in North Carolina finishing up our 10 day orientation.  It has been some really wonderful days. We have met some incredible people and been given some great resources and advice.  Every time I turn around I am again amazed at how well organized and supportive Samaritan's Purse is for those of us moving overseas with the Post Residency Program.  My hat is off to those that have gone before us and pursued medical missions on their own.  I don't know how they could have done it without the backing and support of so many wonderful people back home.

Yesterday we received a tour of Samaritan's Purse.  It was so wonderful to see the nuts and bolts behind the operation that has done so much for us. Unfortunately, there were no Franklin Graham sightings on our tour :-), but we have felt so loved and supported by every one of the staff members that we have encountered.  Every morning devotions for the entire organization in Boone are held in the cafeteria.  At the end of the devotions all of the employees break up into groups of two or three and prayer for different staff members all over the world.  It is so incredible to know that we will have people back here in North Carolina that may not even know us, praying for us on a consistent basis.

One of the things that has struck me is how all encompassing being an overseas missionary will become.  Not only will we be doctor/IT, we will learn to be Martha Stewart-cooking everything from scratch, master handyman because there isn't anyone else to fix things when they break, students of a new language, an expert in foreign current and voltage for our electronics, scientific inventor as we trouble shoot medical equipment in the face of limited supplies, cultural anthropologists as we work to assimilate into a new culture, local Bible experts, family to the other missionaries on our team, writers through blogs and newsletters that get published, and business managers as we work to raise support and manage our overhead and expenditures. Whew...it becomes a lot to keep track of!

No Longer Homeless :-(

I have taken a couple of days to blog about this as I gather my thoughts and work to try to reign in my emotions. Dan and I received a phone call on Tuesday that made my heart sink.  The buyers for our home backed out.  It is incredible how much that one sentence feels like a ton of bricks sitting on our shoulders.  Tons of prayer had gone into the selling of our home, prayer by many of you that read this blog. Our home had sold incredibly quickly and everything was falling into place for our September 8th departure. Our plane tickets had been bought, the travel arrangements made and we were in full swing of getting things ready to move overseas. Ufff....now what?

It is sort of ironic that the thought of not being homeless makes me want to cry. As I sit here and think over these things it is hard not to be angry or frustrated. One of our speakers this past week at our Samaritan's Purse orientation was talking about different cultural frustrations when working overseas.  She defined frustration as, "the feeling that results from not getting our way."  This is sort of funny and also sort of humbling. As I thought about her words more I could not think of an instance of frustration where this definition did not apply.  It sure doesn't put the emotion of frustration in a very good light. It makes it sound like a little kid throwing themselves on the ground screaming because someone took away their crayons. It is almost like frustration is an adult version of a temper tantrum.

Needless to say, I have had a hard time not having an adult temper tantrum over the last few days. Dan and I have prayed about it, talked with our realtor and have decided to put our house back on the market. We are continuing to pray and ask for prayer from all of you regarding this.  We are hoping for a miracle, to sell our home quickly once again.  I truly believe that God was apart of our first home buyer process and will provide again.  It is so hard, however, to sit and wait while putting the future on hold.  I know that there is reason in this even if we can't see it in the moment. One of our speakers last week made a comment, "Our God is the God of our tomorrows before we even get there."  Those words have echoed through my head over and over again as we take a step back, take a deep breath and wait to see how the Lord provides.  Thank you for walking with us through this process, for praying and for continuing to encourage us in this journey.