The Leg, Classes and A Spectacle

Hello, hello!

I would like to start off by saying thank you very much for your notes and prayers. They are appreciated very, very much! 

The past couple of weeks have been interesting to say the least. I have had my ups and downs. Sitting around and lying down gets kind of old really fast, I must say. I am definitely ready to run around. I guess it's  building my patience-- I thought I was a pretty patient person, but now I'm beginning to wonder. I trying to keep a positive attitude and look for all of the silver linings and keep a thankful spirit. Some days are harder than others. Especially when I have too much time on my hands to think, which can get me into trouble. I do have some really good news! I had my first follow up appointment on Sunday, October 6th and the doctor thinks I'm progressing well. The wounds are looking better. He's not happy with how much swelling I still have, but other than that, he seemed pleased. He removed the staples too! It was a bit scary!! It hurt a lot less than I thought it would for which I am most definitely thankful!! Erika took a picture of my leg when we (and by we I mean she) put vitamin E and lavender oils on the incision to help prevent too much scaring. I am very, very thankful I am healing! I'm trying to remain patient and looking for all the life lessons that I can learn from this whole experience. There are many of them and some are harder than others besides patience, humility is a BIG one.   

We finished up our first semester of classes a week ago. Nathan and Mrs. Howell proctored my finals so I didn't have to hobble out to class, which was greatly appreciated especially considering all I wanted to do was sleep as I was taking drugs. I finished grades this past Friday and am pleased to announce all of my students passed! This was very exciting! It's interesting being on this side of the table during finals. I start to think about my Finals weeks and tests. I'm still not sure which is more difficult.

So being that the first semester is over, I'm sure you all know what that means. Well, I guess it could mean a variety of things. 1. School is half way over for the year. 2. I've been here for nearly half of the time. 3. I'll be home in 4 1/2 - 5 months and see all of you smiling faces! 4. I'll be in Thailand for another 4 1/2- 5 months!  I believe this list could go on and on, so I'm going to spare all of you and stop there! I think you get the idea. 

Alrighty, I MUST leave you with a funny story. Tonight Erika, Ben and I went to the Sunday market. (I'm getting much better at using the ol' crutches!) We were looking for gifts for people and it was a chance to get out. Ben dropped us off so I wouldn't have to walk a long ways to get to the market after parking the truck. (Enough details, I know.) Anyway, as we were walking, people are just staring at me. In my head I'm thinking haven't you ever seen a person on crutches before. It was pretty funny and we had a good laugh about it. It gets better though! Besides all of the staring, smiling and snickering, there were a couple of Thai guys who snapped a couple of photos of me. Really? They are taking pictures of me walking on crutches. Too funny! Maybe they've not seen a farrang on crutches before. Who knows! It was definitely an interesting cultural experience. I thought I'd share with all of you. Maybe this will bring a smile to your day. Whenever you see someone on crutches, you can think of me being a spectacle. 

Alrighty, I think that's all for now. I'll post some photos of the ol' leg so you can see the progress it has made on my next blog. 

Hope you are all doing well!

Those of you who are heading off to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, Have a very HAPPY FEAST!! I know all of us are looking forward to it in Thailand. 

Lots of Love,

Lainy