Last week before Spring Semester begins!‏

Dear Family:
What a week this has been - all the weeks are unusual in China. These are weeks like I have never before experienced. Just when I think that I have seen it all, or that nothing could "top' what just happened - it does.....

Sunday afternoon when Roger came home from church, carrying his huge bag with all the church files , he complained that his back really hurt. He spent a sleepless night in terrible pain. Monday morning, he could hardly stand on his feet. The only relief he had from back pain, was to lay on the living room floor.(The living room floor is wood and it is cold!) I was concerned, especially when he was in such pain that he could not go to Jimo Market with us. I went to the Market with the girls and called him several times to see if he felt any better. When I returned home, he was still in pain. We had everyone over for dinner Monday evening and the men gave Rog a blessing and that night he slept well.
Tuesday morning, he still could not stand up and would crawl to the bathroom, as it hurt too much to stand. I was concerned, but he still felt like it would get better. Tuesday night, the Home Teachers came and he decided that we should see a Dr. Our waiban, Shirley called and made all the necessary arrangements for our visit to Qingdao Municipal Hospital on Wednesday morning at 9:15 a.m. Another sleepless night.

Wednesday morning we went with a Chinese student, Leon, to the hospital. Roger rode, laying down in the back of a van, to the hospital. Terry Miller , thankfully, went with us.
It cost us the equivalent of $3.00 in RMB to see the Dr. . He checked Rog over and ordered an MRI and a CT scan. By the way, the Chinese hospital required that we pay cash for
all services rendered, at the time of the service! The CT scan and the MRI cost us the equivalent of $57.00, which was 390 RMB. By the time we returned to the 4th floor, where the Dr. was, the results of the CT scan and the MRI were on his computer screen! Hard to believe.... He said that Rog has a pinched nerve, between the vertebrae, causing much pain. He prescribed 2 pain killers and a muscle relaxant. It took 15 minutes for the prescriptions to be delivered to us - they cost us the equivalent of $20, which was 138 RMB!!!! All in all, the Doctor, the tests and the prescriptions cost us $80 !!!!! Can you believe that???
We came home from the hospital, he took the prescriptions and I went back to Jimo Market to shop !!!!!

Today is Thursday, February 23, 2009 and he is much better. He is very sore and still in some pain, BUT nothing like the pain he had before. I feel very blessed and thankful that is all that was wrong with him. It could have been something very serious. Heavenly Father is watching over us and blessing us and we feel so thankful.

Wednesday as I returned from Jimo Market, I stopped at RT Mart for some groceries. As Victoria and I waited to board the bus, we saw a sight we could not believe...
On the streets in China, there are various fruit and vegetable vendors selling their wares every day. And as we waited for the bus, we looked at the pineapple vendor and watched him peel a pineapple. There were also 2 different vendors selling bananas. We were talking and laughing, when we heard a commotion behind us. When we turned around, we saw 5 or 6 policemen apprehending one of the banana vendors and taking his weight scales away from him. But, the 2 pineapple vendors were running as fast as they could, pulling their carts behind them into the alley. Both banana vendors had their scales apprehended and they had to pay a stiff fine to reclaim them. We just stood there with our mouths open, staring in disbelief. Something we have NEVER seen before, and are not likely to see again. We felt so sorry for the poor vendors - people of the street. People who make their living, selling fruit on the street, having to pay a stiff fine.

This morning I went to a Medical Department staff meeting, to find no one at the appointed place! I called Aron Chen to check on the time and place and he apologized and said that the meeting was on Saturday morning, not Thursday morning! I wondered if I was loosing my marbles and he said that he had told me the wrong day and apologized. Typical China, where we learn patience and understanding and who we really are....


We love all of you very much and miss you. We thank the Lord every night for all of our blessings and for this beautiful country that we have come to love and appreciate.
Mom