Team "Xh"

If you have read our last couple of e-newsletters, I've had a recurring prayer request for a teenager, Xh, in the mountain village of Darshen.  

Life in a mountain village like hers is not easy.  Add a case of severe scoliosis -- where your shortness of breath is not just from the elevation but the result of a spinal column shaped like a question mark collapsing down on your lungs -- and life could be quite miserable.

The only solution for her condition is surgery. Given the severity of her need and the lack of specialized medical personnel in this country I think I was pretty much like everyone else who knew her and thought, "That's so sad.  It's unfortunate that nothing can be done."

A couple of years ago a Dutch woman named Annemarie visited Darshen with Mandi and was introduced to Xh. But she didn't give up so easily. 

She went so far as to research the cost of surgery in her home country of Holland. The price?  It was in the six figures (in dollars/euros).  And that was if Xh's father would give permission.  And he wouldn't.

More than a year passed when Annemarie heard about a missionary kid, the daughter of her friend Jorid,  who left Albania in December to go to the States to have corrective surgery for scoliosis.  She received care at a Shriners Children's Hospital in Chicago where they provide free medical treatment for individuals under age 18.  

Annemarie contacted Jorid and asked, "Do you think God could use the pain and trial of your daughter's back surgery to help another teenager, just on the other side of Mt Dajti?"

"Team Xh" grew from Mandi and Annemarie to now include Jorid and her family.

E-mails were exchanged and within a short while they had word.  Yes.  Shriners in Chicago would treat Xh.  When would she turn 18?  May? Can you get here that soon?

Dad still had fears.  Could anyone guarantee that this surgery would heal her? 

As a parent, one can understand his fear. Sending your daughter across an ocean, to an unknown place, where they speak another language and trust complete strangers to subject your daughter to not one but two serious surgeries...

No, he was told.  There can be no guarantees.

But in the end, when faced with the reality that it was this or nothing, he finally consented.

All of a sudden the reality of her 18th birthday deadline set in. Documents had to be lined up.  Xh needed a passport, vaccination records, medical tests for contagious diseases, an MRI... As soon as the snow melted, this mountain girl and her father were whisked down to the big city of Tirana, driven around by Mandi to attend medicals and get her documents.

Tests came back clear.  Her vaccination record was satisfactory.  The passport would be in hand mid March.

But there were other needs.  Who would serve as her host family in Chicago?  Where would we find a translator?  Enter Nathan and I.  The Americans.  We've got friends in that area, right?  We could make some inquiries, yes?

We couldn't refuse.

Team Xh grew by two more.  

We started beating the bushes in January.  Two individuals responded to the first prayer request in our newsletter pertaining to Xh (add two more members to the team). My friends Elisabeth and Terri wanted to do whatever they could to help. One started e-mailing colleagues in the western suburbs about finding a host family.  The other e-mailed contacts at the University of Chicago languages department to track down a translator.

Progress seemed to slow with the cold.

Then it was discovered that Shriners would only consent if Xh had a guardian present with her for the duration of her treatment -- not a team of adults (like Mandi, Jorid, or Annemarie who could take the duty for a month at a time) but one person with power-of-attorney to make decisions from the beginning to the end of the process and they had to be present with Xh at all times, not just drive in when needed.

Jorid was sharing this latest hurdle over morning coffee last Monday with her husband and an Albanian friend 'H'.  It seemed impossible.  Who in the world could put their life on hold for three or four months, for an absolute stranger, and at such short notice? After work 'H" returned to Jorid's house, "I will!  I will! Can I go with Xh?"

Confessing her desire to change jobs, not to mention join the growing team of people rallying around Xh, "H" started listing all of her qualifications: fluency in English and Albanian, years living overseas, being of an age old enough to have the maturity to make medical decisions, yet young enough to relate to Xh as a friend, no family responsibilities to tie her down...

Team Xh grows even bigger.

But one problem remained... we still didn't have a host family.

Wednesday "Team Xh" gathered in our living room to discuss the latest.  The news of "H" was definitely a boost of encouragement.  The Lord seemed to be lining up all the pieces.  Surely He would also provide a host family!

We discussed details of the timeline, the need to line up visitors to see Xh while she lay in traction in the hospital for 8 weeks, and the biggie: the need to obtain a US visa for not just Xh, but now also H.

All of a sudden Nathan's phone gave the familiar Skype ringtone.  Daylight Savings Time hadn't yet taken effect here in Albania so his weekly accountability meeting with his buddies in the States was an hour earlier than he expected. He excused himself.

To be continued...