First we didn't have water, therefore could not have our baptism on Sunday --no water to fill the baptistry. That is reprogrammed for this coming Sunday.
Since Susanna already wrote the news, I'll let her tell it. It is a bit long - skim and delete. Pictures will come separately.
We had a lot of.. well, it wasn't exactly excitement, it was more like adrenalin, on Tuesday. I had tied the horses not far from our house. I generally tie them with a long rope where there is good grass so that they can graze and get out of the yard. So I did that like normal Tuesday morning. My dad had gone into town around noon and drove past them. On his return trip, he didn't see Victoria. He looked around and saw her ROPE running along the ground. He followed it.. and then it disappeared down a HOLE like a well! Victoria had fallen into a 15ft hole! Dad rushed home and called me.
I took off running while Mom, Dad, and the rest who might be of some help piled into the car and followed. I arrived first and it was horrible ...just to look over the field and see.. nothing. I ran over to where her rope disappeared below and looked in. Right when Victoria saw me she neighed joyfully! She was stuck in a bit of an upright position, sitting on her rump. She kept struggling to get her legs under her but to no avail. She was so sweaty and dirty. Her mane was thick with mud. She was bleeding on her knees, had a gash on her forehead, and was breathing heavily. Her rope was still attached to her halter.. if her rope had been just two feet shorter... She wouldn't be alive. God is so good in His mercy. Wow, I am still amazed and so thankful.
We called Ali, a Lebanese man who owns some horses in this town, and who has lots of connections. He came right away and after looking into the hole, called a truck with one of those hooks and cables on the back (an engine mount). As the truck arrived, I was lowered into the hole with a rope with a girth attached, to try to get it around Victoria's girth. It was not easy. It was hot down there and within minutes I had sweat running down my face. The walls were slick and moist; the only real footholds were where niches were carved into one side to form a ladder. So being careful not to get in the way of Victoria's hooves when she struggled, I managed to get it around her. I came up out of the hole, and we attached the rope to the hook on the truck and tried to raise her out. The rope slipped over her neck and head and came off. I went down to try again. After the second failed attempt a guy went down. We tried six or seven times; each time the result was the same. The rope just slipped over her head and neck. By this time Victoria was exhausted. She let her head lay limply to one side. She was covered in sweat.. it didn't look good. The men (there were quite a few of them around by now) were all discussing how we were going to do it now. Finally something clicked in my brain. I think God was trying to tell me before but I wasn't hearing Him. I told them to put the rope around her girth like we were doing, but instead of bringing it out the back, bring the rope through her front legs that way it couldn't slip over her neck. it would catch on her elbows. They did it and we again tied the strap (we had switched over to car straps by now) around the hook. The truck started lifting.... and Victoria started coming out! It was working! Victoria's neck sagged to one side so we yelled a halt! The man was again lowered, he reattached the rope to Victoria's halter (we had unattached it during all of our maneuvers), came back out of the hole, then held the rope to keep Victoria's head steady and in line. The truck raised the hook.. and then she was out!
The truck man moved her slowly around then laid her on the ground. She was so hot! I called Joseph to bring me our mug of lukewarm water and dumped in on Victoria's shoulder to relieve the heat. Then we dumped more water from a jug of water from a neighbor's house. Victoria sat up a bit when she saw the water. She was so thirsty. We gave her some water, but not too much, then continued to dump it on her. She tried to get up a couple of times but couldn't get her legs under her. Finally, she tried to get up again, and I jumped behind her to help support and steady her hind legs.. then she was up! Nothing seemed broken.
I took Victoria home, gave her a bath, gave her all the water she wanted, massaged her muscles, then let her and Koda loose in the yard. Later that night, we decided that we would super glue the gash on her head shut. It needed stitches, but super glue is our preferred way. However, Victoria wouldn't hold still for it. So once she was lying down in her pen that night, I pinned her head and pushed the gash together, Isaiah and my mom held the flashlights, it was about 10PM, and my dad glued. We also attached a piece of tape over it to help protect it and further hold it together. It is working well.
Wednesday morning, Victoria couldn't get up. Her muscles were way too stiff. My dad, my mom, Stephen, and I went out there, and after much sweat and strain got her to her feet. She was again unsteady, but she was up. She continued to drink a lot of water but didn't really eat anything. She would mostly just stand in one place, her body being to painful to move. I was only down in the hole for 15-20 minutes and it seems every muscle in my body aches. How much more severe for her. So that was yesterday.
Today she is doing better; still sore and not walking or eating much, but doing both to some extent. Poor baby. She is so cute. It hurts thinking of her pinned, panicked, in that hole. Awful. Well, we are praising God. :) He really is the God of Miracles. I don't want to forget what He did and continues to do for us. He is so great.. I can't even express it. I want to learn a lesson. I want to stop being so concerned with little things that don't really matter, and start remembering the things that do. Life. It's not about material things or possessions. So we are so thankful for the miracle of having Victoria back. :) So thankful.
Well, I probably wrote more than I needed to. I probably should have just given a quick summery... Oh, well. Please keep praying for us. Prayers on earth can move angels in heaven. :)
I am reading one of the Brock and Bodie Theone books. It really challenges what we deem important in life. The people that lived during those wars.. they lost everything... literally, even down to their lives... And here we are with plenty, demanding more.. It makes my heart sore. I wish our land would return to the faith of our forefathers; and indeed, that is what I pray for. It's hard, but our nation -the world- needs revival.
Well, I'll be off. Sorry for the essay. I'll try to keep it shorter next time. :)
Love,
Susanna
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