by Warren Heckman.

Donna and I want to thank all of you for your prayers, encouragement and concern over the past couple of weeks. My decision to walk down a steep hill in Kampala, Uganda, rather than walk around to the path was an unfortunate choice. I skidded about 15 feet, hitting the bottom with a bang, twisting, jamming, pulling muscles, ligaments, joints and really hurting my lower back. Then I looked at my right ankle and saw my foot turned around and facing backwards.

I groaned, and the pain hit me like strikes of lightning over and over. An hour later, I began my week in the Kampala International Hospital. There was surgery (I watched Dr. Mauluba put in two steel plates and screw them into my bones), followed by casting, recasting, lots of shots, unbelievable pain, uncertainty, and anxiety.

They would not let me out of the hospital until the bill was paid–about 6,000 U.S. dollars. We were not prepared for this. Missionary Ron DeVore had to scramble and try to gather up this amount, while I lay in bed Monday evening. The banks were closed by then–yikes. Bless Ron and his staff, they got the money together, and I got home to his mission about 9 p.m. (I owe Ron DeVore big-time). The doctor, on the other hand, trusted me to pay his bill. I just sent him a bank transfer of $5,000 (US).

God worked a miracle through Donna and the Raptim Travel Agency to get me on the same flights as Bob and Sue Forseth, only in first class where I could lie flat and get my leg up to prevent blood clots. Bob and Sue were like my traveling guardian angels.

So thank you, FCA family, for your prayers, love and support.  What a blessing to have friends who care.

P.S. A little business:

In my overseas trips, I often notice our missionaries are not listed in our annual FCA Directory, and they don’t have a current copy of the Directory. This means they don’t get the notice to send in their forms, or they get them too late, or their forms get lost in the mail, or they can’t download them from the Internet, etc.

Pastors, I beg you to fill out a form for each of your missionaries! We’ll soon be getting the 2010 notice this fall. Fill it out, send in the appropriate amount of money, and get them listed. Then when we all get our new directory, send one to each of your missionaries. They are doing a great job. Let’s be sure they get included in the directory.

Warren Heckman is the U.S. National Coordinator for Fellowship of Christian Assemblies.