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Two Steps Ahead
The following story is one
that helps us to understand the great care that Father has for those that choose
to allow him to care for them. First, a brief overview, the majority
of which will appear to be the dark side of the saga and
will help you to understand why the month of July 2011 was not my favorite month. Then the
last half will shed some much appreciated light onto this story. 'It
was the best of times and it was the worst of times.'
The end of June brought a
huge change into our lives. One morning, sitting at the breakfast table in
Germany, we both--almost simultaneously, declared that we knew it was time
to leave. Sitting for sometime, we wept many difficult tears over what
we knew to be the will of Father. That was the first event in a long string
of happenings that caused me to want to party on August 1, declaring the end
of July.
After the realization of
what must happen, then came the task of telling our German friends and partners
of our decision to leave, which triggered several weeks of heartrending tears
for everyone involved. (This, of course, is essentially a good thing when folks with
whom we had been working and partnering are sorrowful at your leaving.)
Soon after this came Linda's first surgery which revealed cancer
(that dreadful word which no one wants to hear in connection to ones
own body); therefore ten days later came the second surgery.
This slammed us (Wade's words) with a huge debt which we had no way (in
our own power) to pay. And last, but certainly not least, there
was the untimely death of a dear, dear friend who was like a niece to
us. Yes, July was a dark month for us both.
So now that you have a snapshot
of the month of July, 2011, let me move on to the the amazing part of
the story. There were so many great things happening at the same time to counteract the
negative that was swirling around us.
One of the first miracles
was the issue that caused me to end up at the gynecologist, which resulted
in detecting the cancer at such an early stage. Having some unrelated
issues for several years, I had almost given up on finding an answer that made sense.
After having been given several unsatisfactory recommendations (such as, "Wellll,
I could prescribe something, but at your age it could cause a heart attack."
Hhmmm, that did NOT seem to be an acceptable risk.) I had almost given up finding
a satisfactory answer. So, out of the blue, I decided to ask about
it one more time and was sent to a doctor that recommended something I thought was
an acceptable answer. It was during that surgery that a tissue sample was
taken and the cancer was detached, which was in the very early stages.
If I had not decided to ask (one more time) for a solution to the long-term issue,
the cancer would not have been detected until much later--in a much more advanced
stage.
Next there was the doctor
that actually performed both surgeries. You must understand that our town,
Bad Langensalza, is a mid-sized town. For most intricate surgeries one must
go to a larger city. This would mean that each day Wade would have to pay
to board the train and travel to be with me. And many other things would
have been more difficult also.
It just so happened that
several months prior, the head of a hospital in a large German city decided
he was tired of hospital politics and wanted to go somewhere he could simply do
what he was called to do--practice medicine. Guess where he landed and guess
what type of doctor he was? Three months before I needed him (just enough
time to get settled in) a gynecologist with 35 years of experience in
exactly what I needed, moved to Bad Langensalza to set up his practice!
Another testimony of Father
seeing ahead and making sure that everything is in place for our success...
The doctor wanted to do an MRI (MRT), which would minimize the surgical procedure
(therefore not having to take samples of kidney, bladder, etc. during surgery).
We were told that in most places there could be up to an eight week wait because
the machines are so very expensive not many places could afford them. Here
in our little town, Bad Langensalza, there are three MRI machines! He
ordered it and the next day I was in that very large tube.
Then there is the insurance
side of things. For several months we did not have any medical insurance
coverage, which is actually a visa requirement. Because it was so
very expensive, we had to drop it.
At this point, please allow
me to backtrack--prior to July, thinking we would be here in Germany for a much
longer time, we had been in the process of renewing our visa. To
obtain a visa we were required to have medical insurance. We
shopped around and found some inexpensive (ha!) insurance; actually just enough
to make us legal again. So because we decided to return to Texas, we
stopped the visa process, but kept the insurance. It paid $3,200
toward the over $14,000 hospital bill and we had only paid three months
of premiums.
Now comes another interesting
part of this equation. When all this happened we immediately began to meditate
on several scriptures that brought comfort and help. One of those scriptures
that brings great peace is Psalm 112:7, which declares we have no need to fear
bad news because our heart is fixed, trusting in God. I decided to look more
closely at this scripture. In studying, I saw the verses above it spoke of
being generous and lending when folks ask--which defined the person that did
not have to fear bad news. Well, Father even makes sure that we are set in
place to be completely qualified for whatever scripture we will be standing on.
How did he do this for us? There is a family here in town that over the last
months (year?) had been asking to borrow money and even though we did not really
have the money to do this, we lent them each time they asked and at times giving
into their need. Later in that chapter of Psalms, it also spoke of scattering
abroad and this we have also done over and over.
Each one of these testimonies
are powerful and reveal the undeniable hand of God in the lives of his people--but
please allow me to share another chapter in this amazing story.
A few weeks ago, one of our Pioneer students gave us a gift. Since I was not
able to attend the meeting and the person specifically said it was for both of us,
Wade waited until he got home to open it. Inside was a nice red wallet but
when I opened the wallet there was 1,500 euro--exactly what was needed to pay for
the first surgery, which was due the next day! Now here is another super part
of the story--the note that accompanied the gift said that God had spoken to
her in June to invest in our lives as we had invested in her life.
She began the process of drawing the money out and just at the right time the money
arrived.
Now remember this time in June was before any of us
knew anything was going on. We didn't even know we were leaving at that point!
Some other dear friends had
money set aside for a mission trip; when it was discovered this person could not
make the trip, they sent the money to us for the hospital bill. So God had
even people saving money for us!
Thank you to both our
American and Deutsch friends for helping us through this crisis! Some
gave large amounts and others gave what appeared to be small amounts, but each
sacrifice is appreciated so very much.
There is no doubt that a
loving, caring Father is watching over us, speaking to his folks ahead of the need.
He is two steps ahead of us!
Let us fast forward
to just a few days before we fly back to the US--current day. The
good news is the hospital is completely paid! The last portion of the money
was wired this morning, so the bill will be paid before we leave, which is
what we had been asking Father to do, leaving no loose ends. At
this writing there is just one more issue--the end of the year utility bill--which
can be extremely expensive. But "He will have no fear of bad news because
his heart is fixed, trusting God!"
Our wonderful Father sees
our lives from a different perspective--he sees the end from the beginning.
Whatever comes our way might surprise us, but it never surprises
him!
Below is a section of our downtown area.
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