Javen's Accident Update

   

  One month ago, Javen, his dad and another missionary were in an accident in the bush. Some of the men fell from 13 feet high and others from 19 feet, as they were nailing trusses onto the church they were building. After hitting the ground, the truss that took 10 men to carry (because it was so heavy), fell on top of them, burying the men from their chests down. Javen, unfortunately, landed on his feet with all of his weight on his left heel (he is still having difficulty putting weight on it), before falling onto his tailbone. His head landed 6 inches from a huge rock. His leg was then impaled by a nail as the pieces of the truss rained down on them, and the other missionary working alongside of them also fell on top of him. Steve (Javen's dad) fell on his back, slamming the back of his head onto the ground. They suffered scrapes and bruises, but miraculously, all involved were able to walk away from the scene.

     It took us two days to travel home out of the bush (on very bumpy, dirt roads) to get them checked out. They had x-rays on their backs, necks and Javen's foot. Steve also flew to Dar Es Salaam to get an MRI (yes, you literally have to get on a plane to get to a place with an MRI scanner), due to the concern that he had a possible fracture in his neck after seeing the x-rays. There was not a single broken bone, but they did find bulging discs. Doctors urged Steve to go home to the States to receive therapy for his neck and ordered Javen to completely rest with no work, no travelling on bumpy roads, just absolute rest until his back gets better. Unfortunately, I don't think that he could do any of those things right now, even if he wanted to. He is taking a muscle relaxer/pain reliever that helps but still has to lay down a lot. He is not the type of person to baby himself when he is sick, still staying up half the night to work on his truck, even if he has a fever. Rarely a day goes by that I don't seem him planning out, piecing together or improving his latest project or helping someone else work on theirs. I know that he must be in a lot of pain for me to have not seen him working on anything for a month now. I so look forward to the day when our property is again filled with the noises of hammering and sawing and flashing with the glow of the welding machine. Yet, despite all of this, we are so grateful for every bit of healing that he has already experienced, and so thankful for everyone's prayers that have carried us through.

Praise Report: The villagers told us that this moment is going to go down in their history and in the history of the entire area. They said that every time they look at that building, it will serve as a reminder that God saved the lives of the men who fell- all of them miraculously walking away from the scene.

To hear further testimony read our post: "Smash The Mirror"