appendix...as in appendectomy

The show went great last night, though the night was only beginning as we took Charlie to the emergency room at 1am before leaving Vallejo, CA. He had been feeling somewhat miserable all evening and had terrible pain sinking in as the hours moved along. We brought him to the emergency room, and he had the typical long ER wait. Finally they started checking on him, and by 6am a surgeon had been called in and was going through all the information before moving into surgery to remove his appendix. I finally called it a night at that point after calling home and calling his wife Sonja to let them know what was going on. I had been awake, with the exception of maybe an hour on the plane, for 28-30 hours...the bunk was marvelous:)

I woke up around 10:45, and found the showers to get cleaned up and try to get the day going. Though I was still tired, I didn't want to sleep the day away and really mess my body up. Instead of going to Atlanta on a red eye flight tonight, we'll miss that show and just travel back to a hotel near the hospital for a day off tomorrow. Charlie should be released by mid-afternoon, and we'll drive to LA overnight for the Billy Graham Crusade at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. Everyone is bummed to be missing out on Youth Specialties in Atlanta, as they are a great organization that serves youth leaders well in training as well as rest. We love to encourage people working with the youth in churches, as they have special gifts and hearts that are not easily found...and they often work a lot more than they rest.

We raised about $2400 last night for yet another well. God is opening our eyes up to greater and greater things, and we are thankful for the opportunities to share this privilege and desire with others. He is the only answer to the HIV/AIDS issue, though it is hard to approach God about the existence and purpose of suffering. We pray that we continue to learn in this and that we take advantage of opportunities to walk with others along the way.