Monday, July 2, 2007

God is good

Yesterday Daniel and I were on our way to Bahia de Caraquez where my friend´s in-laws live. We met a Christian at the bus terminal who was helping us get through the routing to go to Bahia. We talked with him on the bus ride and decided to go to church with him that night.

Church was great and we loved hanging out with the brothers and sisters there and had a great time with the kids. One of the ladies said we could camp in her yard, so we went home with her and pitched our tent and went to sleep.

About 2-3 in the morning, I woke up to the tent shaking. Daniel was sitting up yelling at whoever was shaking the tent. I don´t remember what he was saying, but it was something like ¨hey, hey, go away!!¨ I heard a loud pop in front of me. The shaking stopped and Daniel said, ¨I just got shot.¨

We spent the next several hours trying to get an ambulance, waiting at a public hospital where there were only interns and no doctors, then waiting for another ambulance. We ended up putting Daniel in the back of a police truck and taking him to the best clinic in town where he finally received the proper medical care.

After 5 hours of surgery, the doctors informed me that ¨he is very lucky¨ and I told him it wasn´t luck, but God. The bullet fragmented after entering Daniel´s abdomen and perforated 5 different places in his intestines, in the ascending and transverse colon and in the jejunum. The surgeon was very professional and competent.

Daniel is now in a private room with cable, AC and a private bathroom being taken care of very well. He is stitched up and has a breathing tube [CORRECTION: it was a nasogastric tube that was draining his stomach] that he hates and a drain in his abdomen to help keep the wound clean. He isn´t saying much because his throat is dry and he can´t drink water yet. Finally, some peace and quiet on this trip. =)

There is an extra bed there that I am sleeping on. We have had many visitors from the churches here and the American consulate has contacted us as well. God is taking care of us. Your prayers are appreciated for rapid recovery and no complications to the initial injury. The body of Christ here is very loving.

Daniel´s parents will arrive here on Friday night. Email is the best way to send greetings or questions. doctorbaldwin@gmail.com

I need to get back to the clinic because I told Daniel I wouldn´t be more than an hour. Grace and peace to you all. One of the brothers down here got to share his testimony with a guy working in the ER last night... God is always working.

2 comments:

Shelly said...

Ohhhh Ross---praise God that you were both "protected" and that Daniel's injuries were able to be treated and that he seems to be in good care. Praying for Daniel's complete recovery, that it would be miraculously quick with no complications. We'll continue to pray for your safety and that God will use this (as I'm sure He already has) for His good. Not that I have to ask, but please keep us updated on his recovery. I hope you are doing okay---it has to be kind of a blur right now. Love you---

~lady j said...

(wow.)

i could hardly believe this when i read it. i too, am so grateful to God for His protection over both of you... and in addition to asking for continued safety and healing, my whole house is praying for both you and daniel's physical, mental, emotional strength through every bit of this trial. I'm confident that God will show Himself powerfully through this, and sustain you both as you continue to put your trust in Him.

thank you for the prompt update. and i think i just said everything shelly said... but where two or more echo the same sentiment-- He is there indeed. :) love you.