An Unexpected, Negative Break Through

Ever had an unexpected break through? Maybe you finally understood how to  _???? that you never could understand before.Or you could finally relate to a person that you had been having trouble connecting with and now you finally could, or it could be any number of things. Well, that is not the kind of “break through” this is refering to. This is refering to the time not so very long ago when I was getting up to head to the outhouse on one of my, all to common trips, in the middle of the night, to go to the bathroom, and it was a little more, shall I say, eventful, than normal. Before I get out of our mosquito net, I try to always use my head light to check the floor for any unwanted “pests” that might have found a spot to sit as they are traveling around our hut, such as a snake, rat or scorpion, before I step down. Nothing noted, which I was thankful for, I then grabbed my toilet paper roll and my glasses and I was off. I opened our “door” and stepped down onto the little porch like step made of bamboo that we use to get in and out of our hut. It is made of about 9-2” inch in diameter bamboo poles laid length ways about 10 feet long. One of the bamboo poles tends to bow upward and it is a bit uncomfortable to step on since it is only about 2” wide and can put quite a bit of pressure on your foot since it is not supporting a very big area, so I try to avoid that particular pole when stepping in or out of our hut. It is quite a big step from out of our hut to this step and then again to the ground so you can build up a pretty good momentum by the time you transfer your weight from one surface to the other. 

Our step after I broke the bamboo pole.

So as I was heading to the outhouse bathroom, and because I had to go quite badly and was rushing, I dropped my weight down to take this step and the next thing I knew I had fallen noisily onto this step because my left foot was caught in one of the bamboo poles that has deteriated from age but it is not so rotten that it just breaks, it brakes but pinches my foot in it’s grip. 

The broken pole right in the middle of the others.

First, I checked to see if I woke anyone up with my loud crash. No one seemed disturbed that I can see or hear.  The closest hut to ours on that side is Thra Da Boo’s hut with his wife who is expecting. No sound came from their home, I was glad. Didn’t bother anyone in our hut either, so that was good. Then I had to figure out how to release my foot. It was quite painful so I was hopng I hadn’t cut it. Just that day, one of the students along with quite a few of the big boys, Miles, Laren and some teachers were up on the mountain cutting bamboo for a new hut when one of the bamboo poles came crashing down, deeply cutting under his big toe. We still aren’t sure how it cut underneath his toe but it did. Thankfully, Gayle was here and put in 5 or 6 stitches after Miles, finally, with a lot of time, got the toe to stop bleeding. So that was fresh in my mind as I tried to figure out how to release my foot and get it out. 

The cut toe

Once I got up on my knees, I was able to sort of pull the bamboo apart and got my foot out. Then, finally I could finish my journey to the bathroom. My foot was scraped a little but not cut which I was very thankful for. But it was and still is quite sore. It was swollen and now is turning a purple

color. But no snakes, rats or scorpions were seen going 

going either direction, which made me happy. But we all have to be extra careful when we go in or out of our hut because of the broken pole which hasn’t yet been replace. 

Micah assisting his mom, Gayle, suturing the toe.

There is always a lesson we can learn in everything we experience and this is no exception. We must be careful where we walk. We depend on whatever we step on to hold us up and bear our weight. I trusted the bamboo step to hold me, but just one out of the 9 poles was rotten and I still came crashing down. We each need to be careful where we step or who we depend on, because it probably isn’t as it appears. Jesus promises to carry us, to protect us “lest we dash our foot against a stone”, He will never let you down! But we need to make sure we are stepping where He has trod, following in His footsteps every step of the way so we do not fall through rotten 

bamboo poles, step on a scorpion or even set off a land mine. Bad things could and will happen, as we have been promised. If we walk where He walked working through Him, He promises to hold us and carry us through whatever situation the results of the sin of this world takes us through. He promises and I believe Him. How about you?

Gayle, working on the "porch clinic"

Thara Sub Let, encouraging the student and blocking his vision during suturing.