Never a dull moment

As we prepared to leave for our English classes the other night, we began hearing loud noises and crackling sounds outside our window. We looked out to see flashes of light and sparks flying everywhere. By the time we all ran out onto the lawn, there were flames leaping up the side of the house and neighbors were running from all over. We happened to have 4 visitors from the States with us plus the 7 people that always live in our house. There was quite a crowd that gathered to watch. A neighbor ran with a fire extinguisher and they stopped a taxi to get another one since the flames kept coming back. Black smoke was pouring through the neighborhood and into our house. When all was said and done, our electric box and all the wires were burned to a crisp and of course we had no power. Fortunately we know people in the electric company who came running to our rescue and before we returned from English class, we had temporary power hooked up. It is a thin wire that won't carry our heaters but at least we have lights and hot water. We are just entering 4 days of the Muslim holiday so everything will be closed. Hopefully we'll get straightened out by next Monday. Recently our electricity has been extra terrible and we've spent many nights with only candles. We've been told this is temporary while they change all the old wiring in our area? Who knows?

continued...

I was in the middle of my story when the power went out and I lost the rest of it! Let me see if I can reconstruct it. After watching surgery for quite awhile, I asked my doctor/student friend if I could go over to the burn unit and get an update on the women we had visited a few days ago. He went with me and I was impressed with his level of compassion for the women. We both gowned up and went into the ward to find one woman walking around (the one whose 17 year-old daughter was burned to death trying to rescue her). Another young girl who was 6 months pregnant was breathing her last breaths. Her baby had already died and she was not far behind. The fire had not only burned her on the outside but completely destroyed her lungs and internal organs. It was so sad to see her family standing outside her window waiting and weeping. While we were there, they wheeled in the woman who had just undergone surgery for skin grafts and she was writhing and screaming in pain. A very ironic note is that this woman's name is "happy heart". Nothing could be further from reality! It took me a couple hours to get rid of the sick feeling in my stomach. There's nothing more difficult than to observe human suffering and not be able to do anything about it. One thing is for sure, it made me more determined than ever to learn this language so that I can share the love of Jesus with these women.

No words to describe...

I was utterly unprepared for what I experienced today. One of my English students is a plastic surgeon at the burn hospital where I went the other day. He mentioned that he often does skin grafts on these women and I said I'd love to watch him do that one day. Last night he asked if I'd be ready to go with him today? Of course there is nowhere I love to be more than in the hospital and especially the operating room so I agreed to go this morning. My student called at 9AM to tell me that I should hurry as the patient was already under general anesthesia and being prepped for surgery. I arrived and quickly changed my clothes into hospital scrubs and went right into the operating theater. I didn't think there was anything that could shock me or take me by surprise in a hospital setting; I've really seen a LOT in my lifetime. But what I saw this morning pretty much took my breath away and left me speechless. I wanted to say "forget it, I change my mind, I can't do this" & run out of the room. I was disturbed to think that I no longer had the guts to face such gruesome sights. But I quickly gained composure and tuned into what was going on in the room. The woman on the table looked like a huge slab of raw meat; the sight was repulsive to say the least. I began to imagine the frightened, lonely woman inside that body and my heart went out to her. What circumstances could be so desperate that a human being would douse themselves with kerosene and light a match? I became engrossed in the whole skin graft process. Thin layers of skin were shaved off her only unburned leg and put through a process of stretching and "meshing" and then laid carefully on her severely burned torso. From her neck to her thighs, there was not an inch of healthy tissue. It all had to be removed and replaced with this new thin layer of skin. I was impressed with the skill of the doctors and told them so. They seemed very happy for the encouragement, something I'm sure they rarely get in this culture. The chief surgeon put both arms up like Superman because I called him a hero. After watching the skin grafts for awhile, we went to another room where I observed a major operation underway. That one didn't bother me near as much. Perhaps it's because I had talked to these burn victims a few days ago and knew their stories; their life of pain has just begun and will never end until they die.

Crying for help

This morning I visited the emergency hospital where all burn victims are sent. I accompanied a journalist friend who is visiting from the US. She wants to set up a website where Kurdish stories can be told. One of her passions (and mine) is to document the plight of women in this country and the desperate measures they go to in order to get out of their miserable circumstances in life. I had heard that many women here commit suicide by burning themselves. The sad thing is that many of them do not die! We visited 8 of those women today and their stories are heart-breaking. Because of huge family shame, they all have a story of how it happened but everyone knows the truth. The first woman we met was swollen beyond recognition and wrapped in bandages from head to foot. We learned that her 17 year-old daughter had tried to rescue her as her body was enveloped in flames; she was also severely burned and had just died this morning of her wounds. Doctors told us that every day they carry away 3-4 women who succumb to their severe burns. Those that are more than 60% burned have about a 100% chance of dying. For 3 hours we went from room to room, listening to lies & fabricated stories, trying to piece things together to get to the REAL story. At times I would stay outside with the family member, usually a mother or a sister of the victim, while the journalist and translator (who's my best friend)went inside and talked to the patient. Often the story I got from the mother was totally different from what the burned woman was telling. By the end of the morning, we learned the questions to ask that would bring out the truth. Rejected, lonely, helpless & without hope, these women feel they have no other recourse than to end their lives. One mother told me that her daughter lived in her husband's family's house. He was an only boy and adored by his mother. They hated her because she wore pants and refused to cover her head. Right there, I could imagine the whole scenario and how awful her life must be. She is only 21 and has 2 children, married when she was 14. Her mother asked me if the scars would go away. When I told her NO, big tears welled up in her eyes. Her poor daughter is covered from the waist up with huge, oozing bandages and she thinks she's going to avoid having scars for the rest of her life. Someone told her there's a cream that will make them disappear! Another young girl, 6 months pregnant and burned over 48% of her body. The baby survived but it's still not known if the mother will make it. Another very young girl, 2 months pregnant...she was itching all over as her wounds began to heal. I told her she should put cream on her stomach to keep from itching so badly. She said they told her the baby would be deformed if she put cream on her stomach! I gave her a tube of lotion that I had in my purse and told her to cover herself with lotion and nothing would happen to her baby! Oh the lies and old wives' tales that they feed one another; it makes me crazy. The statistics are daunting; 90% of burn victims are women. In the past 10 months, there have been over 200 women who have been admitted to this one hospital with severe burns and the doctors all know they are suicide cases, though the truth is never voiced because of FEAR. One lady told us that they once had 3 women admit to trying to kill themselves and when they went back the next day, they were all dead. We were told that the family most likely poisoned them because they brought shame to them. It is truly a hopeless situation because those that survive are kept hidden in the home for the rest of their lives; never allowed to be seen in public with their scars lest someone find out the truth and mar the family name. If only we could go to those women, shut away forever, and tell them that there IS hope. If only we could put our arms around them and let them know that they are loved & still beautiful in God's sight. I pray that the loving heavenly Father will come to them in a dream and let them know how much he loves them. I pray that somehow they will reach out to Him and find the hope they so desperately need! I dare not include photos here as they are too gruesome for most eyes to behold. Just PRAY for these women.

A perfect day!

After a week of much-needed rain, we were very happy to see the temperatures rising again and bright sunshine covering our land. Friday we had 3 visitors here from the US and they joined us on a picnic to the Kurdish countryside. It was an absolutely picture-perfect day; mid-70's and warm sunshine. With young men along to do the barbecue and make the tea, I mostly sat and watched and relaxed. After setting up "camp", we noticed that we had front row seats to a Kurdish wedding that was about to begin. After climbing the high mountains behind us, our group decided to go down and check out the wedding. Before long, I noticed from afar that Elise was in the group dancing, then I saw Sarah also & DJ leading the dance procession! The people were overjoyed that these Americans had crashed their wedding party and joined them in their celebration. It was such a fun, relaxing day in every way. It may have been the last of this season but you never know; last year we were picnicking into December.

busy days

I really thought I'd be a great blogger but I'm finding out that I stink at it! Almost every day I find a blog from my sister-in-law Katie or my colleague Rachel and I'm lucky if I get out one a month. I'm pretty sure all those that have followed me in the past have now given up and quit checking. I would say that I'll promise to do better but I don't dare say that! Anyway, it's not that I'm sitting around with nothing to do these days. Adding to my already-busy schedule has been a non-stop stream of short-term teams from America. While we love having these visitors with us, all the help they give & the goodies they bring, it does add a whole new dimension to our busyness. We also have 3 one-year interns living with us and a 13 year-old boy and our Napali house helper so always 7 people to feed. The empty nest didn't last long for us! I like living life in the fast lane but once in awhile one must take time out to reflect in solitude. That is what I plan to do on Monday! I'm heading for the mountains all alone and spending a quiet day with God. I am SO looking forward to this day. I've been planning it for a awhile. It's been too long in coming. This is the only window of opportunity I have before the next visitors arrive. I have blocked this day off on my calendar and am determined that nothing will interfere with it. The coming months will be just as busy as the past have been; I don't want to go through them in my own strength - I need His strength and help. I want to "run and not grow weary". I want my youth to be renewed (now there's asking for a miracle!)so that I can serve my King for many years to come. I pray that the spirit of Mary will come upon this Martha and give me a heart to worship and to sit at my savior's feet for awhile. There I will find rest for my soul and be renewed to run the race.
Always a heart-felt thank you to those of you who have run with us all these years. We couldn't do it if we didn't have you by our side! What a winning team.