A Hike, An Ankle and Frustration

This is officially my first post from Africa. Jill has been the diligent one since we arrived. And now, there is so much on my mind, I don't know where to start.

Yesterday, we went for a hike up into the hills behind Scott Theological College, where we are staying. The first part, all four of us did together. Once we reached a primary school, Jill and Dade, along with another family turned back, while the rest of us went on. Dara made it all the way to the top of the mountain - she was such a tropper. A girl named Marcy (or Mercy) grabbed her hand as we walked. It was a very different culture and one that we may not see again while in Africa. Imagine 30-40 little barefooted kids running through the forest laughing and just enjoying life. We reached the top and there was this village/town up there - not at all what we expected. I promise I have pictures of all of this, but they will have to wait until we can get a little better signal to post.

We headed back down and stopped at the local watering hole (again, pics to come). That was about 15 minutes into our walk back down. I put Dara on my back and started walking, when I slipped and turned my ankle pretty good. I could feel the swelling start right away, but there is no other way down except to walk. I limped along until one of the ladies found a walking stick that helped a little. It took about another hour to make it back to Scott - I think my ankle went numb after the first 10 minutes, so I didn't feel any pain until I got back and sat down.

We're still not sure the diagnosis yet. Our leaders are pushing for an xray this afternoon. I guess they have something similar happen before and it ended up being a broken ankle. My guess is that we will go into Machakos this afternoon and get an xray just to be safe.

All that to say......frustration is beginning to rear up. I know this was just a freak accident and couldn't have been prevented, but when I let the enemy attack, I think about not being able to play with the kids, not being able to go on walks around the area, and then begin to let my mind wander to how in the world we would make it through the airport with me on crutches. I know many of you won't read this until after the x-ray, but please pray anyway. Pray that it isn't broken. Pray that it is only a deep sprain and that it will just require some down time to heal. We were not able to go to the church we had planned on this morning, but Jill and the kids still got to

This is Jill now...Joel's on his way to the local hospital to have an xray done. Tomorrow a doctor is coming from Kijabe and will bring a boot and crutches. Even if it's not broken, it is sure a nasty sprain. My prayer is that nothing is torn. Joel is very frustrated (as you may have guessed). Partly, he hates the attention and the humility that comes a long with all of this. I am so grateful that he'll have 2 weeks to let it heal before we do have to go through an airport with 9 big pieces of luggage and 6 carry-ons. God is good - all the time.

The kids and I went to a local 6-8 grade Sunday school class. They played games and had a "test" over what they have been learning. It was fun. I hope the kids realized that kids are still kids even they make look and talk different. We'll try to post later about Joel's ankle.