Experiences of Wilmer and Marilyn: More Play than Work

March 29, 2009 This week was filled with various experiences and feelings. We have enjoyed the beauty of the sky so often on our trip but sometimes the clouds can seem ominous. That is the way our group felt this past Monday. That morning one of the men of RVICS fell several times and seemed to be tracking poorly. Other men noticed that his work was so unlike him, it just wasn't meeting the standards of what the work required. After some time and effort the team project leader finally got the man, John, in his pickup to take him to the doctor. After many hours of waiting in the ER he was taken to a bigger hospital in Gainesville and diagnosed as having bleeding in the brain. He did fall off a ladder about 6 weeks ago, Dad saw him fall, and hit his head. John did not think it caused a problem and did not want medical attention. That fall must have caused the bleeding but the bleeding had stopped. They drilled several holes in his skull, inserted drainage tubes so that the blood could be drained off. They did many other tests but the fall of 6 weeks ago seems to be the problem. However, we wonder why he fell in the first place. Many here had noticed some difference in John lately but I don't think the doctors have diagnosed anything else at this time. He will be under the doctors care here for awhile before heading home for West Virginia. RVICS is out for them for now. Our project here is over as of Tuesday but the project leader has promised to stay with John and Lola until they can go home. We did see John who is back in his RV now at Park of the Palms. In spite of his shaved head and staples on the incision on his head he looked good. He is very weak but the lameness on his left side seems to have improved. He was in good spirits this morning and is looking forward to getting back to West Virginia as soon as he gets doctor approval which might be several weeks yet.

On Wednesday we went to see I-TEC, (Indigenous People's technology and Education Center) the company started by Steve Saint, and I think his son Jesse, to make dental, eye, transportation products,etc. to help people in indigenous settings. However, his approach is different then what we normally think of when helping the people in these countries. He is the son of Nate Saint, one of the five missionaries killed by the Auca Indians in 1956, and Jesse is his son. He wants the people to become independent so his company makes products which they can ship and easily set up and then teach the people how to use them with their own people. The only dependence they would have would be for more products, etc. Steve sees this as the way for all missionaries to work. Work and teach until the missionary works himself out of a job because the people of the country can take care of their own needs. Steve has a book out called The Great Omission which details how Steve sees it working. One guy took us on a tour of more then 1 1/2 hours and really helped us see the start to finished process and the vision of making the people of the land independent. He is the one who suggested the picture of me drilling a tooth in dad's mouth. You will notice that my mouth is as wide open as Dad's. Do dentists do this too? The chair dad is sitting in is a v

ery efficient dental chair that folds all up and fits in a back pack.

The contraption dad is standing by is, literally, a flying car. It has been streamlined to be light and is called the Maverick. If you want more detailed information there is much on the Internet at I-TEC. They are already working on one that is even better. They both hold 4 people. The tour was extremely interesting. They believe the meaning of the Great Commission is to establish churches that are self-supporting, self-governing and self-propagating. Great Goal!

Then on Thursday we set sail from Port Canaveral for Nassau Port in the Bahamas. We sailed all the time except Friday from noon to 5 the

next morning when we were able to go ashore. We did not take a land tour so walked around for awhile in the "tourist trap" of shops and got back on the Carnival Sensation, our tour ship. It was a wonderful change of pace and, of course, an adequate supply of food available at all hours. The weather was perfect and just a couple of hours we could notice a slight problem with walking a straight line. We docked Sunday morning and were back at the RV by noon. We are now heading toward home. Plan to make it by April 9th. Us seniors are really slow!

The smile on th

is little face is a joy to see. Smiles do not always come easy these days but she sure works at it and manages to do surprisingly well.