i'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

well howdy!

as of yesterday at 9:30 pm, i am a peruvian again!  it is such a blessing to be back here in lima, and i am definitely not going to take the rest of our time here for granted.  i feel like i have a lot of catching up to do with so many people, and i'm really glad to be getting back here during Semana Santa (Holy Week), so that i can be involved with all of the activities and gatherings.  but first, i'll catch y'all up on my adventures in physical therapy (aka pain) land and my time in texas.

i just completed three weeks of therapy in rockwall, and i have recovered full range of motion!  this is really exciting, because it's now just a matter of time until my bone is fully healed, and i can have complete confidence that i will recover full use of my shoulder and arm again.  it will be september or october before my bone is completely healed, and i'll be able to do whatever i want in terms of physical activity, but it's just nice to be able to use my arm.  God gave us two for a reason, i figure.  i had my last appointment with my doctor on wednesday, and while i have gotten fantastic reports from my therapists, my latest x-rays showed that my bone is about 60-70% healed, which is slower healing than expected.  so, i got fitted for this cool ultrasound bone stimulator thing that i wear once a day, which will hopefully help my bone heal a little quicker.  long story short, my arm feels pretty good, i can use it again, i just can't lift too much weight. not a bad deal, all things considered.

my last several weeks in rowlett were great!  over my time at home, we got to go some great concerts (sister hazel and yonder mountain string band), some great games (a couple of mavs games, including the first playoff game), and eat some great food.  i definitely got my fill of all of my favorite foods, everything from chile rellenos at pancho and lefty's, to fish tacos at flying fish, and loads of bbq and burgers from all over the place.  it was so much fun getting to spend so much time with my family at home, both mom, dad, and matthew, and my church family at heritage church of christ in rowlett.  it's been since high school that i've spent so much time at home, and it's always good to be back.  i got to make several trips to college station also, to see folks and go to aggie baseballs games.  i love it down there!  also, last monday, my grandmother audrey westbrook (my mawmaw) passed away at the age of 80, and we had a graveside service for her last wednesday in foulke, arkansas.  it was really difficult, but i was so glad to be home for all of that.  she was an amazing woman, and i am looking forward to spending time with her again someday.

my flights yesterday went very smoothly, which is always nice.  actually, there was one interesting thing that happened.  i was really excited about the flight from miami to lima, because i figured that i would be able to hear lots of spanish conversations and stuff like that.  but, it turned out that there were about 40 middle schoolers from a catholic school in quebec on a weeklong mission trip to lima all around me on the flight, and those kids could rapid fire speak that french.  so instead of spanish, i was surrounded by crazy french-speaking kiddos.  it was very strange.

anyways, thanks so much for all of your prayers over the past few months.  it was challenging to be away, but God took care of everything, and i'm just happy to be here now!  if you could keep us in your thoughts and prayers over the next two months, we would appreciate it.  thanks so much for everything that you do!

hasta luego!

-kyle w.