2019- Week 8 (18-24 Feb.)

Cyclones Week 

Here are some of the emotions we experienced this week:

 We arrived at the airport Sunday night ( Feb.17) and we got a report from the area medical chief advisor who got there in the afternoon and saw the scans and spoke with the doctors in New Caledonia.  There is a lot more going on than what we were told when we left Vanuatu for each missionary, especially Elder Champoux.

Okay time out.  We heard about a missionary struggling on another island, and we are also waiting to hear from some other missionaries concerning their health.  

A million questions arise. The transfer in New Caledonia has to be rearranged.  What are we going to do? Where will they go? What now?  When will the injured missionaries come out of the hospital?  Are there anymore surprises with their health?  How are the people in the other car doing?  How can we help? And many more...Where to start?  We do not have answers.  We feel helpless. 

We have a prayer constantly in our heart to receive direction, answers and thinking of the welfare of all affected by this very difficult situation.

We finally see the missionaries Monday morning, then again in the afternoon.  They are pretty beat up but they are smiling.  Elder Champoux tells us he feels peace.  He sleeps a lot and we know his body is working hard to get better.  A sigh of relief!  

Elder Kimball has an injured eye.  He can see but because the optic nerves got shaken quite a bit, his eye is kind of lazy.  It follows the other one but it is not aligned with the other one, which causes a double vision.  Elder Kimball will wear that patch and then alternate with putting the patch on the other eye.  

His bladder has a small tear that should heal on its own.  Contusions to his lungs and minor vertebrae chips and fractures. So far the news is that all will heal without surgery.

Elder Hable, the driver, has some tears in his spleen that were repaired last Friday.  Broken ribs and same injuries with the vertebrae as Elder Kimball and the other two missionaries

Elder Temaiana, has the contusions to his lungs and some amnesia.  An MRI was done last Thursday and some small bleeders were found.  He will have to rest about 2 months and so he has to go back home to Tahiti where doctors will help him get better.  Friday we received a call that he was leaving the hospital in one hour.  What a blessing our senior couple, Elder and Sister Hunter, is for us and our missionaries !!!

They went to hospital to get him and brought him home with them.  He is leaving next Saturday for Tahiti and Elder Hunter will accompany him.

We could not take a picture of Elder Champoux.  He was sleeping a lot and needing it.  We got some great news from him.  He called us Saturday afternoon.  He was not attached to anything anymore;  no drains, IV or anything.  He was eating solid food, had started walking around the room a little and taking pain medicine orally as needed.  A week ago, at the same time, he was waiting to have surgery to repair multiple tears in his abdomen.  The bone under his right eye has been broken and part of his nose but he will not need surgery.  The convalescence will be a few months also.  We are sad to see these two missionaries go home, but we are so thankful for the miracles surrounding all four missionaries.  Elder Champoux should leave next Sunday accompanied by the area medical chief advisor, Elder Saunders.

We still do not have all the answers but we too feel peace.  Everything is going to be all right.

So we had been dealing with cyclone Oma on top of it all.  But Heavenly Father is good.  He kept it far from us.  No one was hurt.  It followed the path slowly and hit the north part of New Caledonia.  

We were in the south: Noumea

This road to Kone is flooded.  We have missionaries there but they were with us in Noumea for some interviews.  They stayed a little longer before going back to their area, until it was safe to drive back.

Interviews were good, better, best.  

And after all these emotions, we were pretty beaten.  

Especially President/papa/grand-papa

And so we will