My Hysterectomy in Siberia Part 5

Sparrow in a snow covered tree in Novosibirsk, Russia

"I was really startled when they brought you in, you were so pale," Joey said.  He was half-sitting, half lying on the couch in the corner of the room.  It was around midnight, and I was just beginning to feel coherent after my surgery. 

"Is that why they kept looking at my hands and you kept massaging them?"

Do I Miss God's Messengers to Me? - Mark 1:1-8 Post 6

John's call to prepare the way for Jesus, to make straight paths for You, does not stop being relevant in my life once I meet You (Mark 1:1-8). I need You to come in new ways, to places in my heart that I am still unaware of, to places in me that aren't completely introduced to You.  I want to know You in deeper ways. 

My Hysterectomy in Siberia Part 4

8 am in Novosibirsk in December.

Tuesday 17 December

I opened my eyes and remembered. I was lying in my hospital room in a clinic in Siberia, and it was the morning of my surgery. Natasha, the nurse had come in at six to wake me and help me put on the T.E.D stockings.   After that I lay in bed for awhile.  Not much to do between six and eight in the morning when you are waiting for surgery.  Can't exactly eat breakfast.  But You are still with me here.  You are my God.  And I am having surgery today.  In Siberia.

I Am Just the Messenger - Mark 1:1-8 Post 5

As far as getting involved and introducing people to Jesus, there are 2 extremes I can go to. 

I don't care enough to get involved or

I want to be too involved.

John was pointing people to Jesus, not to himself.  He was willing for one more powerful than himself to come.  He was willing for Jesus to come after him - willing to be "replaced" by one greater. 

My Hysterectomy in Siberia Part 3

Semi Shumshinikh Street on the way to the clinic in Novosibirsk

Monday 16 December

"You know how people say, 'I left my heart in _____?'"  I joked with Joey Monday morning, "Well, I'll be able to say, 'I left my uterus in Novosibirsk.'"

"Are you thinking about David Livingstone?" he asked.  David Livingstone's heart was buried in Africa, and his body taken back to England.

"I was thinking more about just leaving it behind here, but that'll work."  I wouldn't exactly bury my uterus in Siberia, but it would be staying here.

Making Introductions - Mark 1:1-8 Post 4

I can introduce myself to someone I don't know, but being introduced by someone else has its usefulness.  They can tell me a little something about the one I am meeting, help me get acquainted, dispel any doubt or question about who the other person really is or their trustworthiness.  Someone making the introduction can help me to understand why I should know this person - what connects me to him.

My Hysterectomy in Siberia Part 2

Clinic Ваше Здоровье - Your Health
where I had my surgery in Novosibirsk, Siberia.

Because we are technically foreigners here, we use a private clinic and have been very happy with it.  However, our clinic doesn't have a surgery department.  My doctor gave me a list of reputable places that would accept me for surgery: the regional hospital (government run but also accepts paying patients), the hospital connected with the railroad (for people who work for the railroad, but they also accept outside paying patients), and two private clinics.

What I Must Understand About Jesus - Mark 1:1-8 Post 3

Did all these people going to John to be baptized realize their need for forgiveness?

Did they all realize that the system of keeping the law wasn't working for them?

Did they know that they were doomed if God didn't intervene?

Did they really understand what they were doing?

Could they understand, if Jesus had not yet come?