The Hulls Family Serving in Lesotho Africa

Serving in Haiti

2010-04-03T02:13:00.003+02:00

I arrived in Haiti at noon on Saturday March 27th. Since arriving I have kept extremely busy helping the program here operate smoothly. Here are some of the highlights of the last week.

* Helped distribute 11,000 boxes of MRE's to people living more than 50 miles from the capital city of Port Au Prince. These are distributed to Church's, missionaries, orphanages, and to many others. We deliver this food via airplane or use trucks.
* Last Sunday we went to a Haitian church and then for a afternoon trip to the ocean.
* MAF received 6 flights through Missionary Flights International (DC3 and Cessna Caravan), delivering people, cargo, cement mixers, food, Bibles, tents, water filters, and anything else that will fit in the airplanes. I am responsible for taking these items and making sure they are delivered to the intended missionaries and organizations.

I spend another week in Haiti and then next Saturday I depart for Orlando, Florida. I will spend a week at Sun N' Fun representing MAF at the airshow. Please continue to pray for me, and especially for Leslie as she takes care of the family back in Arizona.

Off to Haiti...

2010-03-26T01:00:00.003+02:00

Wow, it has been a long time since I updated this thing. I guess life just seems a little more boring here than life is in Africa. I have had great intentions of resuming our family blog but, life has been a tad normal these days I guess.

Anyways, we are well. Leslie is very pregnant and the due date is approaching, only 2 months to go (May 31st). Tomorrow morning I leave to Haiti for two weeks and then to Florida for a week to represent MAF at Fun N' Sun, a large air show.

As I get to Haiti I will be sure to update this blog and facebook to let people know what I am up to. Please keep Leslie and the kiddos in your prayers as I am gone.

Back in the USA

2009-11-15T14:56:00.003+02:00

Our family has officially started our first furlough. We left our home in Lesotho on Thursday the 14th at 6:30 AM (Lesotho time). We drove to Johannesburg, flew on to Washington, Denver and then on to Boise, ID. If you figure it out we spent 43.5 hours making the long trip to the states. The kids did great and mom and dad didn't do to bad either. We are still working over jet lag. On Saturday morning I woke up at 1 AM and on Sunday morning I woke up at 4 AM.
Now that we have begun our furlough we have decided to work on updating the blog once again. It has been over a year since the last entry. The kids have grown a ton in the last year and are very excited to be back at home for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

so long

2008-11-16T13:35:00.004+02:00

Yes, I know it has been a long time since our last post. And like always I can use the excuse that life in Africa is very difficult, there is lots going on, our internet only works some of the time, and any number of things. But in reality I just haven't gotten around to it lately.
Things are going well at work and in the last 2 weeks we have had a family return from furlough back to Lesotho and on Friday the Thiemann's arrived. They are new to Lesotho and it was great to meet them.
Below are some pictures I took last month while we had three airplanes flying at a small airstrip called Lebaking. There are no roads and everything for the clinic has to be flown in. The building you see is not yet finished and is one of about 4 that are being built. All of the supplies are flown by airplane.

Update

2008-09-11T20:53:00.005+02:00

We have enjoyed the fact that the weather is starting to get a little warmer here in Maseru. The kids have started to enjoy the outdoors a little more and and still having a blast with our two dogs.
Work continues to go well and is probably the biggest reason for the lack of blogging recently. Things have been very busy. I am currently in the shop responsible for maintaining all 5 of our airplanes in tip top shape. I have also had the chance to have 4 Mission Aviation college students from LeTourneau come to visit and see what Mission Aviation is in the real world. It was a blast and we enjoyed having visitors. We would love to hear from all of you so please keep in touch.
I will have to go back to America in February for three weeks of specialized training to be an instructor pilot in Lesotho. As a result of two break in's in our house over the last year and multiple other break in's and robberies we have decided that Leslie and the kiddo's will go to Flagstaff while I am in Nampa. After my training I will return to Flagstaff for a week and a half before we return to Lesotho. For those of you in Flagstaff we cant wait to see you in February.

Methelaneng Lesotho

2008-07-11T14:45:00.002+02:00

Here is a video of Bob Dontje landing a Turbo 206 at Methelaneng.

After a cup of Coffee and a few words with Merrill the missionary in Methelaneng Bob was off to somewhere else in Lesotho.

Nohana Lesotho

2008-06-26T19:39:00.001+02:00

Often after we land at the village of Nohana there are several small kids that come to the airplane to get a closer look at what the pilot is bringing to the village. Often I have two little girls who come and sing for me. I don't know the words but the other day I was able to capture it on video. I will try to get a translation and post it soon.

Queen 2 Hospital - Lesotho

2008-05-25T19:14:00.002+02:00

Today Evi and I took a trip to the hospital to visit Rorisang and the rest of the children in the children's ward. What a great experience it was for Evi. We spent about an hour visiting with all of the children in the hospital. We became quite the attraction with a croud following us as we went bed to bed. Below are some pictures of Rorisang and some of the other kids we visited.

Crime Triangle

2008-05-18T20:56:00.006+02:00

Lately there have been a large number of robberies, muggings, etc around Maseru. Last week the U.S. Embassy hosted a meeting in which several people shared their thoughts and concerns of the current situation. Two leaders of the Lesotho Police force shared for a while and spoke of a specific high crime area in Maseru.
In one corner you have the China Garden Restaurant, in the other you have the World Food Program headquarters, and the final corner in the Peace Corps house. This area was referred to several times. I took this map off of Google Earth showing these three locations. If you look at the map there is one house right in the middle of this triangle. You guessed it that is where Leslie and I live. The only building right in the middle of this triangle.
About two weeks ago we were finally able to get a couple of Labrador's. They have been great and are excellent with kids. Please keep praying for our family and for our friends who have been personally affected by violence in Lesotho.

Rorisang

2008-04-27T21:19:00.003+02:00

Another day and another urgent prayer request.
Several weeks ago a precious 9 year old girl was flown from Lebakeng to Maseru in order to go have her leg examined at the hospital. She has a tumor on her knee and thigh that is about 6 times larger than the diameter of her leg. Doctors were afraid that the tumor has spread throughout her body and needed to amputate her entire leg as soon as possible. The mother decided to wait and flew back to the mountains in order to talk to the father about amputating her leg.
We flew Rorisang and her parents back to Maseru on the 18th of April, just in time for the scheduled afternoon surgery. The doctors are not excited about this surgery and as of yet it has not happened. Every day is another excuse about why it has not happened yet. One time the doctor had to go to the bank, and the next time she needed blood before they could operate. Every day is something different.
I have been sharing with Evi about this little girl and told Evi that Rorisang had to have her leg amputated. Evi said that Rorisang would feel better after the surgery because the hospital would give her a nice baby doll or barbie to play with. I told Evi that this hospital was different than Texas Scottish Rite Childrens Hospital and that the didn't have toys for the kids. Evi went to her room and picked out one of her favorite barbie's, a stuffed animal and drew two pictures to hang next to Rorisang's bed. On Thursday I took Evi to the childrens wing of the hospital to meet Rorisang. Evi was a huge hit and the kids along with their mothers loved little Evi. The could not stop talking to her and touching her long blond hair.
Today my friend Justin had a chance to visit. She is still awaiting surgery and her leg is severely infected. Pray that we would have wisdom as to what we can do next to help. Pray for Rorisang, that she would receive a peace that only the Lord could give.

Sick, Sick, Sick

2008-04-22T15:51:00.004+02:00

Wow, Things have been crazy around here lately. Almost 2 weeks ago Evi came down with some sort of Flu virus. Eventually as it normally happens the other kid, Caleb came down with the same thing. As a result of Caleb feeling bad he always wanted dad and mom to hold him. That then led to mom being sick for a couple of days, and then last but not least dad is now sick with the same stinkin flu. Actually it has been 6 days and Caleb still is sick. poor thing. Oh and did I mention the circus that went up across the street from our house? normally that would sound like fun; who wouldn't want to live across the street from the circus? But as we are all recovering it would be nice to get some peace and quiet.

Evi playing with her friend after dance class at school

This little boy could not walk after an error at the local hospital that left him with a knee that couldn't bend. These crutches allowed him to walk without scooting around on his hands. Justin (a fellow pilot/mechanic) and I modified these large crutches to fit this boys very small arms and height

A Week in my life

2008-04-03T19:07:00.002+02:00

Sometimes while living overseas it is hard do describe what we are actually doing over here in Africa. The adventures are so exciting that it is easy for me to write about what is happening here in Lesotho, but often it is just easier to leave out some of the more challenging and difficult situations that we find ourselves in at work. I have no pictures but I want to share a few of my experiences from the last week.

First I want to share a little more about how we work in Lesotho. Our day begins with a schedule for each airplane that is flying for the day. The only sure thing about the schedule is that it will change multiple times throughout the day. We also have four categories of patients that we transport:

Code 1: Urgent medical condition that requires immediate transport (Life and Death)
Code 2: Medical condition that requires transportation sometime the same day.
Code 3: Previously scheduled flight for routine Dr. visits, surgery, etc.
Code 4: A patient returning to the mountains after receiving medical care in Maseru.

Last Friday on March 28th I was scheduled with a busy day making 12 landings throughout the country. I had planned on leaving by 8:30 so that I could make my last landing in Maseru by 4:30 later that afternoon.
My day and that of the other pilot flying started with a couple of broken airplanes, I then switched to mechanic mode and worked on the airplane until almost 10:30. Thankfully three other pilots prepped their trusty steeds and took to the air to cover all of the flights that we couldn't do in the morning. Before long we had all five of our airplanes flying all over Lesotho just to meet the needs of the day. As the day progressed we received code 1 after code 1 for a total of 8 Code 1's before the end of the day.

Mid-afternoon I flew to a village called Nkau to pick up one of these patients, a little girl who was 2 years and 4 months old. Although you would of thought that she was only about 6 months old based on her size and weight. She was severely malnourished and was having a very difficult time breathing. I loaded the baby's grandmother (I am assuming that the mother has passed away), oxygen bottle, and IV fluid in the airplane. I then handed the tiny child to the grandmother so that she could hold her for the 30 minute flight back to Maseru. After loading the baby we proceeded to load another code 1 patient with Stevens Johnson Syndrome; A severe drug reaction that caused the skin of the entire body to slough off. She was wrapped in a bloody sheet and had a hand towel in her mouth that was soaked in blood.

I departed Nkau and climbed to 9,500 feet the lowest I could fly on my way back to Maseru. After taking off I radioed ahead and requested to have immediate medical attention and a Dr. available as soon as I landed. As we climbed away from Nkau I spent my time glancing back to see how she was doing and praying for her as we were flying. After about 10 minutes of flying, I noticed that she wasn't moving like she was before and I could not see her breathing. My front passenger climbed back into the middle seat to take a closer look and confirmed that in fact she wasn't breathing anymore. I radioed ahead and spoke to Dr. Jen and verified that they would be waiting for me on arrival. 20 minutes later we landed just as another airplane took off to collect 2 more Code 1's in Mokhotlong. After stopping we sprung into action taking the child to our patient waiting room that is most often used as our emergency clinic. After about 5 minutes, she was officially declared dead as we continued to clean up and prepared the child in a somber silence.

Now we were awaiting the arrival of the other airplane bringing 2 critical code 1's to the hanger. Dr. Jen, Justin (another pilot) and myself stayed to assist. Once again as the airplane showed up, we donned our gloves and rushed to remove and quickly examine the patients. One had severe head trauma, and the other had some major intestinal problems. They were stable at the time, so we loaded them into the ambulance and watched as they headed for the hospital. Of the 8 emergencies that day it is hard to keep track of how they are all doing. I do know that there are several who did not live through the weekend.

Fast forward to Yesterday April 2nd:
Another busy day here in Lesotho with multiple code 1's. I arrived back in Maseru at 4:00 PM ready to go home and relax after a long day. After landing, as soon as I walked inside I was told of another code 1 at Manamaneng; the place I just returned from. I thought they were joking until I saw them fueling my airplane and putting a stretcher inside. I grabbed a coke, something to eat and ran back to the airplane to leave once again. Normally I would call Dr. Jen to have her go with me if some care was needed, but I had to leave immediately or I wouldn't be able to land back in Maseru before sunset. 40 minutes later (our longest flight) I was circling overhead Manamaneng and saw a large crowd next to the airstrip. I landed and was immediately surrounded by people as they quickly transfered the nineteen year old boy into the the stretcher in the airplane. He was obviously in pain from the single stab wound he received the day before in the bowels. His breathing was heavy and I tried to ask if someone could go with me to keep an eye on the patient. They assured me that he was OK, and would have no problems on the flight. After departing at 5:05 PM I called Leslie on the radio and requested that Dr. Jen meet me at the hanger when I landed at 5:45 PM. Once again I passed the time by monitoring the patient and praying for them. His eyes were open and although in extreme pain he seemed to be OK. At 5:10 PM I glanced back and saw him as he was experiencing convulsions and vomiting, after which he stopped moving at all. I put on a pair of gloves, cleaned off his face and began to give him chest compressions the best I could from the pilot seat. I called Leslie once again and had her warn Jen that I had a patient who appeared to be DOA. I spent the rest of the flight doing some more chest compressions and praying all while flying the airplane back to Maseru as fast as possible. Once again I landed with tee sight of Dr. Jen and Justin waiting so that we could immediately remove the patient to our own emergency room. Dr. Jen, along with Justin and myself worked for about 10 minutes before confirming his death at 5:53 PM.

I share these stories so that maybe through reading them you will have a better idea about the needs of the Basotho and the work that we are doing here. I share these stories so that maybe you can know how to pray for us a little bit better.
I am privileged to have a large number of people praying for me around the world. Please continue to pray as we work with the sick and dying of Lesotho. Often it feels like no matter what we do or how hard we work we can never make a difference. Please keep praying. Pray for myself and the rest of the MAF team. Pray for our families as they stay at home and take care of the kids. Satan has a stronghold in this country and people are dying ever minute without knowing about the one thing that can bring them eternal peace. Pray for Dr. Jen, she deals with this every day here in Lesotho. Pray that MAF Lesotho would take the time and listen to what God would have us do. We have never been as busy as we are now, and we are growing like crazy. We have two new families coming in the next 12 months, and more airplanes on the way. The bottom line is that we need your prayers. Life here can be emotionally and physically challenging. Please... PRAY - PRAY - PRAY

Hluhluwe

2008-03-30T15:46:00.000+02:00

Vacation

2008-03-07T21:19:00.000+02:00

The last week has been keeping us busy. The last week of February I was involved in a course to become a certified VSAT installer. My parents also came in on Thursday. Thankfully my friend Justin (a fellow MAFer) graciously took one of my vacation days and went with Leslie to pick up my parents in Johannesburg so I could continue my course.
On Saturday I celebrated my 30th birthday and had a great time with my parents and grandmother here to visit. This last week I was able to take off of work for most of the week and was even able to take my parents on a flight to the mountains so they could see what we are doing here.
Tomorrow the adventure continues as we head on a grand vacation of South Africa. We are visiting the Indian Ocean and Hluhluwe; a big 5 game park. I am leaving my computer home so I am not tempted to try and get some work done. After we get back in 8 days I will be sure to update with some pictures of our adventure. Evi just loves going to dance class every friday afternoon at the American International School.

Thlanyaku, Lesotho

2008-02-24T11:29:00.000+02:00

Sometimes you get the chance to go and use the airplane just to do something fun. Earlier this month I had the chance to go and pick up Dr. Jen from Thlanyaku on a Saturday. Instead of going straight to the mountains and back I thought it would be fun to take Evi and one of our new pilots Justin with me and enjoy a nice morning in the mountains of Lesotho. Justin and I both have Radio Controlled model gliders that we took with us. Actually I just built mine and it (or myself) has ever flown before. Here are some pics of our day in the mountains. It was a lot of fun and kind of funny that we took a real airplane to fly somewhere where we could fly our toy planes. Because I was on call for emergencies we used a satellite phone to make sure there were no emergencies while we were out playing.

2008-02-05T19:36:00.000+02:00

My how time has flown the last month. It is hard to believe that we have been back here in Lesotho over a month. Things are going great and we are keeping busier than ever.
Please continue to keep praying for us and we will keep you updated on life here in Africa.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY:
Leslie turned 30 on January 16th. We had a nice dinner and cake at home. We enjoyed spending the evening underneath the grapevine in our backyardEvi is also doing great and still is walking better than ever. She is loving her jungle gym and doing great on this climbing wall that I made for her. Even in the midst of the business of Lesotho we still ahve time for a little fun and games. Before we came back to Dallas in October I found a pair of "fun-noodles" in the hanger and had fun directing the airplanes on the ground with the noodles. The Lesotho military in the hanger next door though we were completely insane, but I did have fun. While back in Dallas someone broke into my locker and put the following sticker on my flight helmet. I had to get a pick with the helmet and my "fun-noodles" before removing the sticker. Although I did forget and it wasn't untill a passenger mentioned it that I remembered to take it off.

Lesotho at last

2008-01-03T07:05:00.000+02:00

Here are a few highlights of the last couple of days:
1. 31 hours of travel from Dallas, Texas to our home in Maseru.
2. Celebrated the new year somewhere around the 37th parallel according to the captain.
3. One lost bag who's whereabouts still are unknown.
4. Two happy kids who are happy to be back home (At least Evi is excited, Caleb has spent more time in Dallas than he has here in Lesotho)
5. Two cats who are 4 times bigger than they were when we left a couple months ago
6. A summer in Lesotho, the last time we were here in the summer was two years ago.

We look forward to keeping you updated to our adventures in Africa. Stay Tuned...

Evi's new foot...

2007-12-08T18:13:00.000+02:00

Well after over a month and a half of surgery, recovery, and the making of Evi's new foot we are almost to the finish line. Yesterday we received the final copy of Evi's new foot. We will wear it for all of next week so that she can make sure there are no problems before we return to Lesotho. Scottish Rite Childrens Hospital has been absolutely fantastic. Dr. Rathjen; Evi's surgeon went above and beyond to take care of Evi. She is healing magnificently, and the wounds are almost completely healed. Evi's Prosthetist has given us enough supplies to cover almost any problems that we have with Evi's foot the next couple of years.

Lesotho News:
You may remember that we had a break in to our house just a couple of weeks before we came to the states. That time they were able to steal $350 from my wallet without ever actually getting inside the house. Last Sunday we got word that our house was broken into again, although this time it was much more serious. Praise God that David, who is house sitting for us was safe. Here is my understanding of what happened.
They climbed a telephone pole next to our fence and was able to clear the barb wire on top of the fence. They then managed to break into three of our storage and tool sheds and even ripped some of the doors completely off the hinges. They then used my tools to remove a small window next to my front door. They then reached through the window, and opened the window above the small window. They then used a hacksaw from the tool shed and cut through two 1/2" burglar bars and pryed them back so one of them could crawl into the house. Once inside they attempted to bypass the security alarm by cutting all of the wires going into the alarm box. They also cut and removed a motion sensor and a door sensor above the front door. All of these should have set off the alarm, but the alarm appears to not be working properly. They then attempted to try and remove the sensor above the kitchen door to the outside and the alarm finally went off and they took off.
The alarm should send a signal to the security company but this was not working as well. It took over 30 minutes for the security company to get to the house after they were eventually called. The police came as well and showed up a long time later because they had to walk to the house. At first it appeared that nothing was stolen. But now it looks like either a tote of clothes was taken out of the storage shed or they removed the clothes and left the trunk, we aren't exactly sure yet. It also looks almost all of my power tools are missing that I just bought about 4 months ago. In the midst of all that was stolen we are extremely thankful that David was safe. MAF has hired a night guard to watch the house at night until we return later this month. The scary part for us is that there was somebody actually inside our house, and no alarm ever went off. Right now it looks like the best way to secure our house is to purchase a couple of dogs to watch the house. So when we return we will be shopping for a couple of dogs.

Dallas...

2007-11-12T05:08:00.000+02:00

Sorry for the delay in posting an update. We have been busy since arriving in Dallas. Here is my quick list of things that we have done since we have been back...
* Adjusted to jet lag
* Visit with my sister beth and Nephew Kaden from Flagstaff
* My mom has helped us out taking care of the kids for the last 3 weeks... Thanks Mom
* Visited the Dallas childrens museum
* Surgery and recovery for Evi
* Gained about 10 lbs each for Leslie and myself..... Lots of good food here

As you can see we have been busy. We have had a great time with my mom and are sad to see her go back to Arizona on Tuesday. Evi is doing great and can't wait for her new foot. We have made a mold of her foot and they are now in the process of making the first socket for a test fitting on Wednesday.

Back to Texas

2007-10-22T16:43:00.001+02:00

Well, we are almost finished packing and we leave tomorrow morning for the return trip to Dallas. Things have been busy in our household as we have been preparing to leave. On Saturday the 20th Evi celebrated her 4th birthday... We had a great time with Evi and 22 other youngsters who came to celebrate with us.
We are almost packed and are almost ready to leave. We have an 18 hour flight to Washington, and then a 3 hour flight to Dallas after clearing customs. Praise again for those of Park Cities Baptist Church for taking care of us and making all of the housing and living arrangements for us in Dallas.

Back to Dallas

2007-10-08T20:00:00.000+02:00

Another little update on our lives here in Lesotho. We are preparing to leave for Dallas two weeks from tomorrow. I am busy at work trying to get a few more airplanes in the air before we head back to Texas. Currently I am installing a new engine in one of our airplanes. I hope to have it in the air and flying by the end of the week. We also have airplanes that need new cylinders and two others that need some major work on them before they can fly again.

We had an exciting weekend with someone getting through our security fence, breaking a window and stealing what amounts to $350 out of my wallet at 5 AM in the morning. It took a few hours and a detective wife to figure out what had happened. Unfortunately it was the one day of the month that I actually had more than about $10 in my wallet. I just withdrew money for gas, electricity, househelp and a number of other things.

We are still without a camera and we have officially given up and realized that our camera has been lost or stolen somewhere between Flagstaff and South Africa. It is a bummer because now is the time that Caleb is starting to walk. We hope to have a new camera bought by the time we get to Dallas so hopefully we can update pictures soon.
Danny Hulls

Evi Update

2007-09-26T20:37:00.000+02:00

It's been a few weeks since we last wrote and things have changed a ton since then. Last Tuesday Evi had an appointment with her orthopedic surgeon in Bloemfontein, South Africa. To make a long story short, we are currently in the process of planning a return to Dallas in order to fix some concerns that we have regarding the way that Evi's bones have been growing since the amputation a year ago. Her Fibula is way outgrowing her tibia making it difficult for her to wear her foot for any period of time.
After some research and talking to her doctors we are in the process of planning a trip back to Dallas in order to surgically "repair" her leg. Please pray as there are many details and items that have to be finalized before we leave for Dallas.
We are still waiting for our camera to arrive after being repaired in the states. It was suppose to be here several weeks ago and it appears to be lost in the mail between Arizona and South Africa. hopefully it will arrive soon.

Kiddo news

2007-09-11T18:40:00.000+02:00

Caleb has been due for a haircut for a while now. His hair has grown long but we wanted to wait until we had a camera. So we are now borrowing a camera and are able to get a before and after picture.

Evi has been going to preschool now for a couple of weeks. She is having a blast and wished that every day was a day for school. She always pics out her item the night before for show and tell and always comes home having a great day. We are happy that she is able to get some extra interaction with kids.

Speaking of Evi we ask that you continue to lift her up in prayer. She has been having some issues with her leg that are really limiting the time that she can wear her prosthetic leg. Right now she only wears her leg for about 4 hours a day when she goes to preschool and for church on Sunday. Everyday it is looking a little worse. Next Tuesday we are going to get some x-rays to try and determine what is going on. Please pray as she spends the next week without wearing her foot much at all. She has been having a great attitude, but she really wants to go outside and play every afternoon.

Hungry People

2007-09-05T20:22:00.000+02:00

As you may remember me saying earlier Lesotho is in the midst of the worst drought in 40 years. More than 400,000 people are in immediate need of food aid. We often see trucks full of cement, food or a variety of other items that are not tied down. On Sunday on the way home from church we happened upon this accident just seconds after it happened. Luckily I am borrowing a friends camera and was able to take some pictures. It is sad to see this food go to waste when so many people are hungry.

Photos

2007-09-02T08:36:00.001+02:00

Dallas Morning News

2007-09-01T23:08:00.000+02:00

Check out this great article by Elizabeth Langton from the Dallas Morning News. We spent a lot of time between January and April with Elizabeth and the photographer Cheryl Meyer. Here are the links to the story and to the "audio/visual" presentation.
Story
Audio/Visual

August 31st, 2007

2007-09-01T23:07:00.001+02:00

One year ago today at 10:15 in the morning marks one year since the accident at Ladies Bible Study. So how do you mark something such as that? I truly have no idea, other than to praise God for how Evi's life was spared and the celebrate the fact that she is running, playing, climbing like any three year old should be able to do.
I took Friday off of work so that we could spend the day as a family. We didn't do anything exciting and mostly we just hung out around the house playing with the kids. We want to thank all of you who played a vital part in supporting us as a family this last year. But unfortunately most of you are in America and we are in Africa. So a thank you via e-mail or this blog will have to suffice.
We have been working on some special projects around the house. The best thing Evi can do is keep physically active and this will help her in her mobility, balance, strength and general comfort in her new foot. Because this is not Dallas and I can't walk around the corner to take the kids to a nice playground I have to build one myself. And I am going all out. Wood is a little pricey here (Think over $50 for a sheet of plywood), I am using every last bit of wood that I can from our crates that we shipped our belongings in. I also purchased a slide and will make a swing, climbing wall, ladder, and other things for her to do.
Evi and I have also been making some "Water Rockets". Its some cheap entertainment and she loves the see how high the rockets go. Although her request for our rocket to go to the starts has not yet been fulfilled we are trying to make it go as high as we can. Although I must say that I am enjoying this as well, and trying lots of designs to see how high it will go.
Once again you see that there are no current photos. Sorry for the continued delay. But I know have word that my camera is repaired and is back in Flagstaff. So it should be mailed off soon and I can have it in a couple of weeks. I will then update with some photos of our rockets, jungle Gym and the family...
Thanks for praying.
The Hulls Fsmily

Still Waiting

2007-08-27T06:46:00.000+02:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I am still waiting to get my camera back from the states. The good news is that Sony says it is now repaired and is under warranty. Now I just have to wait two more weeks to get it in the mail. We are doing well, and this last weekend I have been building a jungle gym for the kids. It will have a slide, climbing wall an other things that will keep Evi active. She is very excited, and cant wait for it to be done. I will send photos soon... Also be on the lookout for an article on Evi in the Dallas morning news next Sunday. I will post a link once the story comes out.

A Full Team

2007-08-16T21:22:00.000+02:00

For the first time since we left last year we finally have a full team here in Lesotho. Two families who were on furlough returned to work this Wednesday, meaning that all eight staff families are here in Lesotho. It is great to have everyone back and to share some of the workload that we have been maintaining recently.
The family is doing great and we have recently added two 5 weeks old kittens to the mix. Evi and mommy love the kittens and have named them Biscuit and cookie. Caleb also loves the new family members but loves to pick them up and squeeze them or throw them.
I am borrowing a friends camera this weekend and hope to get some pictures up soon.

Our weekend

2007-08-06T20:12:00.001+02:00

Leslie and I just returned from Family conference. We had a great time at the game lodge and enjoyed spending time with some of the other MAF families and the ministry team from the states. We spent all day last thursday driving to the conference and today (monday) we drove back to Lesotho. We were able to view a variety of African wildlife such as Giraffe, Wildabeast, Blesbok, Baboon, Impala, Eland, Kudu, Zebra, Warthog and other wildlife.
There were some great photo ops, but that wasn't possible due to my broken camera. After Evi's accident I purchased a new digital camera. It worked great but about two weeks ago I noticed a dark spot on all the pictures due to dust on the lens. No big deal I thought and took it to a Sony service place in South Africa. They were not able to fix it but in the process broke the flash, and when I received the camera back from them it wouldn't even turn on anymore. So now I have an almost new camera that wont even turn on. The team from the states is taking it back with them to Texas, but from my conversations with Sony it doesn't sound like it will be fixed under warranty. Oh well, maybe it's time for another camera.
Anyways, that is the story as to why I don't have any amazing photos of African animals from our family conference.

Family Conference

2007-08-02T05:09:00.000+02:00

IT is 5AM and we are off to family conference. We appreciate your prayers for safe travels (about a 8 hours drive) and for a time of renewal and refreshment. There is a team coming from the states to lead our conference.
Love,
The Hulls

Changing windsocks

2007-07-29T20:45:00.000+02:00

We have been keeping busy here in Lesotho. It is also the beginning of windy season, and because of the extreme wind and climate our windsocks don't seem to last that long. We have a bunch of new ones coming but someone gave us a couple windsocks to use at our wind sensitive strips until we could get a permanent replacement. So here are some pics of me replacing the windsocks. There may not be any pictures after today. My camera that I bought last September has a big piece of dust in the lens, that the local Sony repair place couldn't fix. So I will have to send it to the states and hope to get it fixed there.

Merry Christmas!

2007-07-22T21:19:00.001+02:00

Merry Christmas!! Well at least it feels a little like Christmas as it is the middle of winter here in Lesotho. Dr. Sarah, whom you may remember as the same doctor who flew with us to America is leaving Lesotho and moving back to Dallas. Before she left we had a big Christmas in July party after church today. It was a lot of fun, and the kids had a blast. Evi even enjoyed singing a Christmas favorite. "Santa Clause is coming to get you"

Evi's first flight

2007-07-21T20:21:00.000+02:00

Today Evi took her long awaited first flight with daddy. We always promised her that after she turned three I would take her with me. Well, we were in America when she finally turned three and she has anxiously been awaiting her first chance to fly with me since we came back. She had a blast copying my radio calls, singing and looking out the window. She also had a chance to take over the controls and be my little helper pilot. She had a blast turning the airplane back and forth. Who knows, we may have a future MAF pilot in the works! She is already asking when she can go again.

Baby update...

2007-07-18T19:31:00.000+02:00

No this is not a big announcement that we are expecting another bundle of joy. Rather I wanted to update everyone on the twins that I flew out of the mountains on Wednesday. Today I found out that both twins are still alive and doing much better. This is great news as we didn't even think that the girl would survive the airplane trip to Maseru. For now they are staying at the hospital in Maseru and will probably be returning to Nkau after they are released. Praise God that all are doing better and that they would continue to grow.I also wanted to enclose a picture of the latest "shop" in front of my house. You never know what they are trying to sell as I am coming home from work. They have sold a variety of things such as, fruit, phones, newspapers, carwash fluid, condoms, powercords and a wide variety of other objects. This photo is taken right out my front gate.

McDonalds & Prosthetists

2007-07-17T07:22:00.000+02:00

Yesterday we had what the missionary community here in Lesotho call a "Bloem day". This occurs about once a month or so and is about a hour and a half drive from Lesotho. Bloemfontein is a larger South Africa city and people travel to Bloem for most purchases other than food. We had a busy day planned and Evi's highlight was the fact that for dinner on the way home we would stop at McDonalds and she could get a Happy Meal. We also were able to find a great prosthetist in Bloem who will be able to repair Evi's foot as needed and make her new one next year, this is a huge answer to prayer. We also took the kids to their pediatrician for their checkups and to visit all of the doctors taking care of Evi after her accident. They were all thrilled to see us back in Africa and were so excited to see Evi walking and playing.
Today we are back in Lesotho but it is the King's birthday so it is a public holiday. SO I will be busy doing some projects around the house and working on our car.

Here are just some random photos of the kids over the weekend after their bath.

My Day

2007-07-11T17:57:00.000+02:00

Although today is not typical of all my days, it does show a little bit of what a day can be like for me.
At 6:30 AM Melvin (another pilot) and I got to work so that we could have a 7:00 AM departure to take the program manager and his visiting family to Methelanang to visit one of the missionaries in the mountains (Merrell). I promptly returned to Maseru to take the doctor team of four to a village called Kuebunyani. While en route we got a code one call (the highest priority life or death medical emergency) for Nkau. I hurriedly dropped the doctor team off and was at Nkau about 10 minutes later. I never know what to expect when I get a code one.
I saw about twenty people approach the aircraft bringing with them a lady on the stretcher and two newborns only a couple of hours old. The first baby was breech, and had one leg out and one leg inside. Dr Jen was able to deliver the baby and he was ok, considering he is 2 1/2 months early. They then realized that there was another baby who was breech as well. She did not fare as well, but was still alive as I showed up. Dr. Jen brought the baby over to the pilot seat and continued to do all she could the keep the baby breathing and the heart beating. We waited about 30 minutes for a nurse to run to the clinic and grab a shot of adrenaline. I spent this time praying and trying to secure the mother to the floor of the aircraft, she was bleeding and not able to sit up. The stretcher was to big so we left her on a small mattress and put that on the aircraft floor. I then used two straps to secure her to the floor. The shot gave the baby a fighting chance to make it back to Maseru where she could go to the hospital. The entire flight I was praying and looking back at the nurse who was taking care of the precious little girl. We were giving the baby oxygen and I hurried as fast as I could to Maseru. After the 40 minute flight, the baby was still alive but not doing well. We landed in Maseru where the mother and babies were loaded into the ambulance and taken to the hospital. I still haven't heard if the girl made it or not and so I'm still praying.
Fifteen minutes later, I was loaded up with over 400 pounds of medicine and 330 pounds of coal and took off to Nkau. After unloading this cargo, I got another Code 1 call for a lady from Kuebunyani. I landed about 15 minutes later and loaded up the patient with a doctor. She was also on a stretcher and I had to strap her to the floor as well. I then took off for Methelanang in order to pick up two of the eight people at Methelanang with my program manager. But after only 6 miles, the other aircraft said that it was two windy to land there. I returned to Kuebunyani in order to pick up two more doctors who needed to go to Maseru.
After returning to Maseru, I loaded up with more wood and coal and headed for the village of Tebelong to pick up another missionary who was heading to Maseru. We then headed back to Kuebunyai to pick up the three remaining doctors and passengers to Maseru. I landed at 4:27 just in time to head home and take a well deserved break. I flew a total of 5.5 tach hours and made 12 landings. Now I am ready for bed.

What were they thinking?

2007-07-08T19:19:00.000+02:00

These are some pictures that I got via e-mail the other day of my dad and my nephew. Sometimes you have to sit back and ask "What were they thinking?"

FLY FLY FLY

2007-07-07T11:50:00.001+02:00

That seems to be the extent of my week with a little bit of paperwork thrown in for fun. On Monday I started the week by completing our month end paperwork, this is an all day process and you spend most of the day correcting errors here and there. For June we flew over 150 hours in Lesotho with only four airplanes and three pilots for the whole month. I was able to fly a little over 50 hours for the month. Our days our busy with two or three airplanes flying every day. So on days that we fly, we average between 3.5 to 5 hours of flying with anywhere from 8 to 15 landings in a day. This can make for a very tired pilot by the end of the day. In between landings we are fueling, unloading, loading, preparing passengers and numerous other tasks that have to be completed, usually getting back to the airport just in time to go home.

This is a picture of the clouds last week over Lesotho. Unfortunately I couldn't find any holes to get down to the airstrip, so we ended up going back to Maseru. It was incredible view flying over the snow and the clouds.

In Maseru there were no clouds but they started right at the mountains and continued as far as the eyes could see.

This is a picture of Fran landing just a few hours after the last pictures were taken.

Happy Birthday Caleb

2007-07-01T11:45:00.000+02:00

Caleb's first birthday was on Friday. We had a lot of fun with the other MAF families and their kids. Caleb enjoyed his first cake and mom enjoyed making it, staying up until 11 PM the night before making sure it was perfect.
The rest of the weekend was busy as well. On Saturday we had a 4th of July celebration with other Americans and Leslie spent the rest of the time doing most of her cooking for July.

Snow Day

2007-06-27T21:08:00.000+02:00

Here are a few pictures from work today. We didn't get much done except catch up on some paperwork before the end of the month. The mountains were completely covered with clouds not allowing us to do any flying. Even if the weather is better tomorrow we don't know how much snow is in the mountains, and how long it will leave many of our mountain airstrips closed.
In other news on Friday we are celebrating Caleb's first birthday. He has been such an incredible baby this first year. He is so laid back and took the moves and living in the hospital in stride.

Africa Snowman

2007-06-26T20:46:00.000+02:00

So here it is. Actual proof that it snows in Lesotho. After a month of complaining about the cold, here is a video of us playing in the snow.
This has been a busy month and I have already flown over 45 hours this month. In Lesotho where everything is so close I have already had over 135 landings so far And after every stop it means that I am unloading passengers or cargo, and then putting more passengers on who are returning to Maseru. It makes for a busy days work. Yesterday I took the 4 people on the doctor team to a village called Matekane. I couldn't pick them up in the afternoon because the airplane was being shaken around in what I would call extreme turbulence. I tried again this morning but could not even make it to the airstrip because of low clouds and not wanting to get closer to the ground in the turbulence. Well tonight they are snowed in and we are hoping that we can get the military helicopter in there tomorrow to get them out. They will have much more snow in the mountains than we do in Maseru and it will probably be a week before it melts enough to land at some of these airstrips.

Smile for the camera

2007-06-24T15:07:00.000+02:00

Last week was probably one of the busiest weeks I have experienced. Of the eight families that are in Lesotho there were only three of us working last week. Furloughs, deputation and vacations had taken everyone else out of the picture. So Tim and I had the task of doing all of the flying for a week. We had Ron from MAF in Nampa come to take new video footage for MAF as well. We had a great time and he was able to join us on a lot of flights to the mountains...
On Friday I flew a "corpse" as the Basotho call it to the mountain village of Nkau. I was hoping to hear more of the story about who had died. Upon arriving at Nkau and unloading the casket two young men were at the plane and I asked them who had died. It was a 14 year old girl who had meningitis and TB. Last week we flew her to Maseru to go to the hospital and after three days she died. The men who collected her then had a long journey ahead of them to carry her up the mountain to the village she was from.
I wish I had some pictures for you of my busy week, but Leslie wants the camera for pictures of the kids at home and I want it to take pictures out in the mountains. We usually end up trying to compromise a little bit.

Countrywide curfew

2007-06-20T21:12:00.001+02:00

Since last Friday our evening plans have been extremely limited. Because of some political problems as a result of the elections in January the government imposed a statewide curfew starting last Friday for the entire country of Lesotho. From 6PM to 6AM there is to be nobody out on the streets of Lesotho. If you get caught is is a guaranteed trip to the local jail for the night. Even with the curfew there have been some shootings, carjackings and some kidnappings. These have been focused on government officials and not at the general public. Leslie and I feel extremely safe at this time, as long as we remain locked in our house during the curfew. Pray that the issues would be resolved quickly and that the violence would stop.

I have been doing a lot of flying this week. Here are a few shots of some herdboys from the mountains that I met this morning at an airstrip called Matsaile. You can see the traditional Malumo fighting sticks that most of the boys and men carry with them all the time. These boys take care of a large number of cows and donkeys while wandering around the area around Matsaile.

What a week...

2007-06-17T20:11:00.000+02:00

Last week will defiantly be a week to remember. First of all we are keeping very busy flying. And there always seems to be more flying than we can realistically do. Praise God that in about two months we should have an additional three staff members that are either returning after furlough or are coming to Lesotho for the first time. There are also some airplanes that are currently in Idaho at MAF headquarters that are getting fitted for service in Lesotho.

On Wednesday after an early flight I returned home to help as some carpet was installed in our house. (Thanks to those who helped out with this) Evi is very mobile but was having problems getting around our our linoleum tile floor partly because it was hard, falling apart and bitter cold as it is the dead of winter now. With the carpet it helps to solve all of these problems and she can actually walk around when she is not wearing her foot. It is a huge blessing for us, and really increases Evi's freedom. She is now able to get out of bed by herself and move around on her own without her foot. Ad a part of the process I had to move all of our furniture out of the house including my desktop that I brought from America. After I moved it back to the front room and plugged it in I got some major errors and upon some research and disassembling of my computer I found two pins on my CPU that were broken off. I am hoping that I can find a new processor here in Lesotho and hopefully get my computer running again. That is the reason why there are no new pictures or updates on the Blog.

Today all of us MAFers went to the top of the Berea (plateau overlooking Maseru) to have a picnic lunch for fathers day. I took a kite and we had a blast playing with the kids and eating Kentucky Fried Chicken. Yes there are a few American conveniences here in Maseru.

Next week is going to be a busy one with only two pilots flying all week. The rest of them are gone on furlough or are off on a well needed vacation. You can be praying for safety as we will be doing a lot of flying this next week.

Brrr its cold

2007-06-13T11:57:00.000+02:00

Many of you have heard me talking about it being very cold in Lesotho. And I am sure just as many of you snickered behind my back as I left, because who would of thought that it got cold in Africa. I had an early flight this morning and took this just before I took off from Maseru. We are probably the only MAF airplanes around the world that has to defrost our airplanes before we can leave for the day.

Hulls Family photos

2007-06-11T00:41:00.000+02:00

A Busy week

2007-06-10T15:15:00.000+02:00

Hello – Well it’s about time for an update on our arrival and first few weeks in Lesotho. As you can imagine, we are keeping busy here in Maseru. Here is a brief update of the last couple of weeks.

- May 17^th we arrived in Lesotho about 3:30 PM. (6:30 AM in Flagstaff for those of you who always calculate the local time). At 4 we left and took Evi to the Baylor clinic. She ended up with a bout of pinkeye and her eyes were so crusty it was hard for her to open them. We spent the next few days unpacking and trying to get the kids and us adjusted to the time difference. There has been lots of unpacking, cleaning and projects around the house that had to be completed.

- May 28^th I returned to work. I had Monday to get organized at the hanger and prepare to begin my flight review so that I could start flying again.

- May 29^th I started to fly with Dave Lepoidivan (MAF pilot from Mozambique). We finished up my flight check and spent the rest of the day and the next day doing some airstrip checkouts and new airstrips I haven’t been to yet. Leslie and two other MAF’ers were all extremely sick with a 24 flu bug. Leslie was able to find someone to watch the kids so that she could rest and I could go fly. (Thanks Tonya and Barb!!) After work the US Embassy here in Maseru was also having a welcome back reception for Evi. Leslie couldn’t come, but it was well attended by embassy staff and the missions community.

- May 31^st I was volunteered to complete month end paperwork, I worked most of the day at it but I am still not done. Our printer is not working so I can’t finish until it is fixed.

- June 1^st My first operational flight with MAF since I last flew in August over 9 months ago. Praise the Lord!!! We have a lot of work to do and are short on staff and airplanes to get it all done.

- June 6th & 7th I was down with the flu. Leslie was taking care of me and the kids.

Were Back!!!

2007-05-25T17:09:00.001+02:00

Back in Lesotho that is. We finally arrived after almost 40 hours of travel from my parents house in Flagstaff to our house here in Maseru. I would like to tell you it was a fun trip and we enjoyed traveling in the airplane, but we didn't. I suppose anyone traveling that long with a toddler and a 10 month old would tell you that. Overall everything went extremely well. The first flight from Phoenix to London went great with the kids sleeping almost the entire time. Daddy doesn't sleep well on planes but did get a couple short cat naps in. Mommy fared slightly better, but still not enough.
The second flight was a little tougher with the kids not really wanting to be on an airplane anymore. Evi started to get pinkeye that kept getting worse as time went on. Within the first hour after getting home we took Evi to the Baylor clinic and got some eyedrops. The next morning they were gone. Two days later Caleb also developed a bout of pinkeye and is just about recovered. The kids and I are also fighting a little bit of a cold. I think it is the trasition from Arizona to Africa.
We moved into our house with beds made Anthracite heater started and a warm meal in the kitchen. This was great and as soon as it got dark we all headed to bed. We arrived just in time for winter, with it already snowing in the mountains this last week.
This last week has been busy with moving back into our house, unpacking, buying groceries, dealing with passports, border passes and a myriad of other things that had to be done. On highlight for us has been the addition of "high-speed" internet to Lesotho. This is great, as it is cheaper that we used to pay for our monthly dial up account, Although for our 512K connection it is still over $100 a month. Because of this we hope to do a better job of adding photos to our Flickr photo site and updating our new blog. Tomorrow I hope to find my camera and have some pictures from the trip back.
Thanks for praying!!

Next stop: Lesotho, Africa

2007-05-15T22:10:00.001+02:00

Well, we are on the way out the door. We are driving to Phoenix, Arizona and then hoping on a British Airways flight to London. After a 4 hour layover we will depart from London to Johannesburg. Please pray for us while we travel and next time you hear from me will be in Lesotho.
The Hulls Family

Next stop: Lesotho, Africa

2007-05-15T22:10:00.000+02:00

one more week

2007-05-08T00:45:00.000+02:00

We are finally beginning the final preparations to return to Africa. In only seven more days we hope back on the airplane and make our return trip to Lesotho. Leslie and I were able to have an awesome vacation and short break from the kids. We really needed to spend some time with ourselves.
For those of you in the Flagstaff area there is also an open house/farewell for us on Saturday the 12th at the home of Danny and Amanda Finney. We would love to see you anytime between 3 PM and 7 PM on Saturday. Check out the link to their address on the right hand side.
We also have a huge praise for Evi. Yesterday was the first day that she did not have to change her bandage. After 8 months of daily dressing changes we are very excited that her leg is almost completely healed. Please continue to pray that it would not open up again and that there would be no more major wound issues.

We look forward to seeing you Saturday,
Danny, Leslie, Evi and Caleb

Vacation Time

2007-04-27T06:12:00.000+02:00

Leslie and I are fortunate to be able to take a little vacation before returning to Lesotho. Evi and Caleb are staying with my parents and are going to have a great time with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We are going to be taking a cruise on the Mexican Riviera. We are looking forward to the break, but it is difficult to leave Evi and Caleb at home after everything we have gone through these last 8 months. Please pray that we would be able to relax and spend some time together as a couple. We look forward to sharing about our trip when we return.
Danny & Leslie

Countdown to our return....

2007-04-23T20:02:00.000+02:00

It is hard to believe that almost 8 months ago we began our journey from Africa to the hospital in Dallas, Texas. We can look back now and see how God has provided for and blessed our family in so many ways. Here is a list of just a few amazing things that God has done since Evi's accident
1. He saved our precious daughters life.
2. He provided a instant church home and a place to live for our entire stay in Dallas.
3. He provided the worlds best place to be for pediatric orthopedics, to accept Evi as their patient.
4. He provided an army of prayer warriors around the world to pray for Evi and our family
5. He provided a vehicle for our entire stay in Dallas
6. He provided a great Sunday School class who adopted us and helped us out in so many ways

As you can see, we have a God who is our provider. As tough as this experience has been, he has held our family is his arms and held us close. What a mighty God we serve!!!
We leave for Africa on May 15th, and are anxious to return to Lesotho. Please keep praying for us and praise God for the miracles in little Evi's life.

Farewell Dallas!!!

2007-04-14T06:01:00.000+02:00

Hello – We are writing this on the eve that we leave Dallas and begin our trip back to Lesotho. Well, at least we are almost on our way back to Lesotho. We will be traveling to Arizona for the next several weeks and will be departing for Lesotho on May 15^th. This last week has kept us very busy.

On Easter we were spending the afternoon with some friends. Evi was having a great time eating some cake and a chocolate chip and walnut cookie. The trouble started about an hour later when she started to feel a little sick. We left and in the car on the way home, Evi started to experience some major wheezing and breathing trouble. We assumed it was asthma because of some previous problems. We hurried home and gave her a puff on her inhaler and were able to get her breathing under control. Shortly after that she began to itch, and it got worse and worse as the time went on. We took her shirt off and noticed that she was almost completely covered in a rash of some sort. We then made a trip to the emergency room and spent 3 hours on Easter at the hospital. After a shot of Benedryl and some steroids, she started to feel much better. Yesterday we took Evi to the doctor and she was tested for allergies. We learned that Evi is allergic to walnuts, pecans, pistachios and hazelnuts. We are very thankful that we were able to determine what she was allergic to and that her reaction on Sunday wasn’t even worse.

The rest of the week has been stressful and busy as well. On Monday I awoke to write all of you an e-mail. I turned on the computer and all I got was an error message. After a couple days of troubleshooting and the advice of others, I was able to locate the culprit and was able to replace the broken parts. Then I had to reinstall everything on my computer. We have spent much time saying farewell to new friends, packing our bags, and numerous other things. This morning we also got word that our cat in Lesotho got run over by a car. Leslie and Evi were very much looking forward to returning to Lesotho and seeing our cats again, so they were of course saddened by the news that Calico had died.

We look forward to visiting with all of you while we are in Flagstaff and are planning on a farewell get together on May12th, the Saturday before we leave. We’ll pass along details about time, location and other info once we get it all planned..

Please continue to pray for us this next month.

Evi’s leg still has some wounds and needs some additional healing.
Travel from Dallas to Phoenix on Saturday
Plans as we prepare to return to Lesotho
Finances to cover our return airfare to Lesotho (let me know if you have any questions about how to help us raise money for our airfare back to Africa)

We once again are reminded about how God has blessed us with a group of people committed to praying for us. As we prepare to leave Dallas I am thankful for the abundance of prayer on our behalf.

March 23, 2007

2007-03-24T04:13:00.000+02:00

Hello from Dallas. Our family is enjoying the warmer weather and the many things to do in Dallas. Evi is also continuing to do great with her new leg. She is progressing to the point where she can almost wear it all day long. This is great news and means that we are close to being able to leave Dallas. Yep, after over 6 months in Dallas, we are now beginning to plan our departure to Africa once again. Our current plan is for the hospital to release Evi for good sometime in early to mid April. We will pack up and fly to Arizona in order to spend some time with family and friends in Flagstaff. Then we are hoping to depart for Lesotho sometime in mid May and are already looking for our tickets. God has continued to bless our family and our time here in Dallas. Leslie especially has had lots of time to get involved with women’s groups at Park Cities Baptist Church, and we will both miss all of the new friends that we have made here.

For those of you in northern Arizona, we can’t wait to visit with you before we return to Lesotho. We are anxious to return to Lesotho and return to some normalcy in our lives. Lately we have enjoyed spending time with the Westom family. They are an MAF family in Lesotho that are currently in Dallas for furlough. They have three young girls and it has been great for Evi to play with some friends from Africa. We also covet your continued prayers during this next transition.

Prayer:

Evi’s leg still has to heal completely before we can leave Dallas. There are still several small open wounds that have not closed up yet.
For travel to Arizona and then to Lesotho. We have to purchase airfare, pack our bags and complete many other miscellaneous tasks.
Finances to help cover our return airfare and cover other costs related to returning to Lesotho.
Health of the entire family. We have all been sick this last month.

Praises:

Evi is able to wear her foot longer every day.
Park Cities Baptist Church has been a HUGE blessing to us; thank God for their willingness to adopt us while in Dallas.
We have already located two prosthetists for Evi that are within a two hour drive from Maseru. Scottish Rite Hospital will also be helping us out while we are in Lesotho.
A great apartment that has tons of places for Evi to play and walk so that we can do her physical therapy.
A great team of people standing beside us lifting us up in prayer when we are weak.

Evi's New Foot!!

2007-02-22T16:33:00.001+02:00

February 21, 2007

2007-02-21T17:26:00.000+02:00

February 12, 2007

2007-02-13T04:48:00.000+02:00

The last few weeks have been extremely busy. We drove 1000 miles with the kids to Tennessee stayed for a couple of days and ten drove 1000 miles back to Dallas. We enjoyed spending some time with Leslie’s family and visiting friends in the area. Once again we are in a holding pattern here in Dallas as we continue to wait for Evi’s leg to heal. There are still some areas from the skin graft 5 months ago that are waiting to heal. We are continuing to pray that these spots will stop fighting and begin to heal.

Last week the Orthopedic Surgeon, physical therapist, wound specialist, Prosthetist and others met together with us to talk about how they are going to proceed. They were able to talk about Evi’s leg and the best path to take for her ultimate healing. As a result, they decided that maybe we should go ahead and make Evi’s first prosthetic so she can begin to use her knee that has been kept straight in a cast for over two months. She is so excited and can’t wait to get her new foot, and has already asked if she can paint her toenails. After getting her new foot, we are scheduled for physical therapy twice a day until she learns how to use this foot. We also have to wait until her wounds completely heal, as this will change the size of her leg. After these heal we will make Evi’s next prosthesis and hopefully leave Dallas for good. As much as we have enjoyed our time here in Dallas and have made some great new friends we can’t wait to get back home.

Please continue to pray for us and for the MAF family that is in Lesotho continuing the work in Africa.

1. Pray that the wound would heal completely
2. Pray for Evi as she learns to use her new foot
3. Praise that the end is in sight
4. Praise for how God has provided friends, a car, an apartment and met all of our other needs.
5. Pray for Lesotho, Elections are held on the 17th of this month
6. Pray for Lesotho, only two pilots are in Lesotho to fill the flight needs
7. Praise for Evi’s spirit during the last 5 ½ months

We so appreciate the love and support from everybody. God has truly blessed us through your prayers and love of your families through this experience.

January 29, 2007

2007-01-29T18:36:00.000+02:00

Hello – Leslie and I are writing you from Leslie’s sisters house in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Because Evi’s wounds had to heal, we were given a week break before we can think about fitting her for the prosthetic. We decided that this would be a great time to visit family and friends in Tennessee, although it was a little last minute. We left Saturday morning and arrived in Tennessee on Sunday afternoon. We had a safe trip, and the kids did great throughout the journey.
Please continue to pray for Evi. The bandage changes have returned and Evi is struggling with the open wounds. Evi is still doing great and practically running everywhere she goes. The removable “cast” that the doctors gave her has improved Evi’s spirits dramatically. We will be departing Tennessee for Dallas on either Friday or Saturday of this week. Please pray for safe travel for the entire family.
On Friday we had a chance to visit with Brad and Kristian Westom, fellow missionaries with MAF in Lesotho. They have three little girls and it was great to see Evi playing with them again. Please continue to pray for MAF Lesotho over these next several months. There are currently three of seven MAF staff that are out of the country. This is leaving the four remaining staff with high workloads and keeping them extremely busy. Once again thank you so much for your prayers and your commitment to lift up our family before our Lord Jesus Christ.
In His Service,
The Hulls family…

Evi Update: Jan 17th

2007-01-18T05:49:00.000+02:00

Yesterday Evi went to the hospital in order to remove her cast and begin the molding process of her “little foot” in order to fit her for a prosthetic. When we first got to Dallas on the 4th her wound was looking great, although a little bit dry. Because her skin was very dry, the doctor put some petroleum embedded cloth underneath the cast, on top of the skin to keep it moist. We have often used this in the healing process. As we removed the cast yesterday the leg looked much worse than it did a week and a half earlier. As a result we will still have to wait until we can fit her for the prosthesis socket. We think that Evi may have had some sort of allergic reaction to the petroleum cloth. But once again we have reason to praise God that we are here in Dallas. Evi’s surgeon and prosthetist were both able to visit with us together as we make another plan to help Evi’s leg heal. We are going to be making a removable cast for Evi to wear at home and when she wants to walk. We are also going to begin twice a day physical therapy. They will be able to remove her cast, while working with Evi getting used to seeing her leg and gradually being able to touch it. This will also open her leg up to open air, and allow the wounds to heal faster as well.

The rest of the family is doing well. We are keeping busy keeping track of Evi and enjoying our time together. Leslie and I are both anxious for me to get back to work. =) The latest news of Evi’s leg turning back into an open wound is discouraging, but we are thankful that Evi is doing so well in her cast. She continues to await the day when she can wear her new foot, but amazes us every day with what she can do without it.

Please pray for the MAF team that is currently in Lesotho. We have two families that are on furlough leaving only four out of seven families there. We are anxious to return and help with the workload. Pray that God would encourage us as a family as we continue to wait for Evi’s new prosthetic.

Evi's Dolphin Foot

2007-01-06T06:21:00.000+02:00

Hello and happy New Year!! Our family made it safely back to Dallas after two days of driving. And once again the Lord has provided housing for us while we are in Dallas. We want to thank all of you who have helped us to secure this new apartment. And speaking of our new housing, what an incredible place it is. Evi has her own room, and Caleb gets to sleep in the large walk in closet. Today Evi and I were walking around the 2 lakes that our apartment borders and spent a while watching the ducks and squirrels, and even got to feed the ducks. There are miles of walking trails that will be perfect as Evi learns to adapt to her new foot early next month.

On Thursday Evi took her 15th (and hopefully last) visit to the OR. This involved removing her cast, manually stretching her knee and then putting her in another cast. Praise the Lord that Evi is making progress and the doctor thinks that she will not need additional casts after this on is removed on January 16th. The doctor was able to stretch her knee to 5 degrees of deflection. This is almost perfect and she should be able to gain the last 5 degrees after getting her new foot. Also, for the first time in 4 months we no longer have to continue her daily bandage changes. The leg has healed to the point where there are no longer any open wounds. This is a major praise and we are so thankful to be making progress.

You are probably asking about the title of this e-mail “Evi’s Dolphin foot”. Over the last month Evi has talked a lot about her new foot. Her main concern was that her new foot would match her other foot. Leslie and I were unsure exactly what Evi meant by this. Someone let us borrow their prosthetic foot so that we could take it home to Evi. We came home and showed Evi a sample of what her foot will look like. She was very excited and wouldn’t stop thanking mommy and daddy for showing her this foot. She then proclaimed loudly. “Look at my dolphin foot!” Leslie and I were a little shocked and unsure what Evi was talking about. We figured out that several weeks earlier Leslie was trying to describe what Evi’s foot would be like by telling her that it was like a dolls foot. Evi didn’t quite understand and figured it was a dolphin foot. Well, maybe that was why she was so concerned about it matching. =)

Evi continues to make progress walking on her cast. Our prayer is that this will make it easier to adapt to her new foot once she gets the prosthetic. Please continue to pray as there are still lots of steps to be accomplished. While in Flagstaff we were blessed to be able to visit three of our supporting churches, and to spend some quality time with family and friends. Thank you once again for praying with us and standing beside us on this journey with Evi.

Evi Walking!!

2006-12-27T08:03:00.000+02:00

December 11, 2006

2006-12-12T05:36:00.000+02:00

Thank you to everyone who prayed for Evi and her surgery today. Evi did great. We arrived at the hospital at 6 AM. We checked into the hospital as an inpatient for the day, and we were even assigned to our old room where Evi had spent almost 6 weeks. We praise God that Evi was not frightened by the whole process. She woke up from the procedure in a good mood, ready to drink some apple juice. She was excited because the doctor was able to make her cast bright pink. We are so thankful that Evi didn’t have any pain from having her knee stretched and straightened. The plan is to change the cast on January 4^th then every week thereafter until Evi’s leg can be completely straightened.

We also got some good news today. Members of Park Cities Baptist Church were able to find us housing when we return to Dallas. It’s a wonderful answer to prayer and a huge blessing.

We’re looking forward to celebrating Christmas with family and friends in Arizona. We will be leaving Dallas on Thursday morning and arriving in Flagstaff on Friday evening. Please pray for safe travel and also that the whole family will travel well. It’s a long trip!

God bless and Merry Christmas,

The Hulls Family

Please pray

2006-12-11T06:02:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow morning we check into the hospital at 6 AM to prepare little Evi for day surgery. This is not a huge deal, but because of the possible pain involved it will be better if Evi is unconscious. They will be putting her entire left leg in a cast in order to stretch out her knee. Her knee must be able to have full movement so that she can properly use her prosthesis. Please pray for Evi as she will spend the next month or so in this cast. We will then visit physical therapy on Tuesday and Wednesday before we leave for Arizona. We will keep you updated on what we learn on Monday.
Thank you for praying...

December 8, 2006

2006-12-09T06:00:00.000+02:00

Hello, here is our latest update on Evi and our family. We spent a lot of last week visiting with the doctor and the physical therapists. Our goal was to stretch Evi’s knee so that she would be able to have full deflection of her knee. Unfortunately after several weeks of this, there was no change in the knee deflection. As a result Evi will be checked into day surgery on Monday in order to put a full cast on her left leg that will force the leg straighter than it was and hopefully gradually stretch the scar tissue that is preventing her from putting her leg straight.

Even with the discouragement of putting Evi in a cast, she has made some great progress in the last week. The wound on her shin is looking remarkably well, and is getting close to the point where it can be fitted for a prosthesis. This is a huge encouragement after two months of setbacks. Please continue to pray that it will heal completely before we return back to Dallas on January 2^nd for further castings or prosthesis fittings. Evi has also learned to use her walker this week and enjoyed showing it off to some friends this afternoon. She still prefers to use her bottom to scoot around but will not be able to scoot with her cast.

We will leave Dallas this next Thursday and will arrive in Flagstaff on the 15^th. We are looking forward to spending some quality time with family and friends while visiting. We would also love to invite you to come and visit with us on Sunday December 17 between 3 and 7 PM or the 19^th between 5 and 8 PM. This will be an informal time to meet and share about our time in Lesotho and our present adventure in America with Evelyn. This will be held at my parents’ house in Flagstaff. Please contact me if you are interested for directions. We are looking forwarding to spending time with you, and thank you for your fervent prayers for Evi during these last 3 months.

As a family we are doing well and adapting to the many changes in our life. Caleb is growing and we are amazed that he is almost 6 months old. Two weeks ago we began to feed him some baby food, and he can’t get enough of the stuff. Mom is tired and has a lot on her plate as she prepares to move once again. She looks forward to the day when she can move somewhere and know that she can stay for a while. I miss flying and going to work everyday, but I’m keeping busy helping to care for Evi and Caleb.

December 1, 2006

2006-12-02T06:31:00.000+02:00

Friends and Family,

We returned to Scottish Rite for Evi’s check-up today. We started off the visit with a visit from the Child Life Department. Evi was nominated earlier in the year for the “Hero of the Month” award from the Kid’s Wish Network. They met her with some balloons, a T-Shirt and a gift card. Although Evi had no idea why they were taking her picture or why they gave her balloons she had a good time. Now for the medical side of things: The doctor agrees with us that the wound on her leg is healing. Evi’s knee is also slightly improving, but not significantly enough. The scar on her knee has slowly tightened all of the skin tissue behind the knee, causing it to hurt when the knee is straightened. Beginning on Tuesday, we will begin physical therapy at the hospital 2 or 3 days a week. We are also meeting with Evi’s doctor twice next week. If Evi is not able to straighten her knee by next Friday, the doctor is going to take her to surgery (she will have to be put under) and put a cast on her leg to straighten her knee. Please pray that the physical therapy will be successful and that a cast will not be necessary. The good news is that even if Evi does require a cast, we will still be able to visit Arizona during Christmas for a couple of weeks. We’ll have to return to Dallas the beginning of January for more doctors’ visits and the making of Evi’s prosthetic. If all goes well, Evi will hopefully have her prosthetic and will begin physical therapy sometime in February. February is a little later than we had originally planned which creates a few difficulties, but nothing God can’t handle. For one thing, the mission house that Park Cities Baptist Church has so generously allowed us to use for the past few months will be occupied starting in January. The church is currently exploring other options to help us out with housing, and we’re praying that God will provide just as He always has. We’re so thankful for His provision during this tumultuous and traumatic time. We’re also thankful for all of you who have supported us with your gifts, surrounded us with your prayers, and encouraged us with your love. Please keep praying for our family, specifically for mobility of the knee.

Evi Video

2006-11-29T16:46:00.001+02:00

November 28, 2006

2006-11-28T16:43:00.000+02:00

Friends and Family,

We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Danny, Evi, Caleb and I had lots of fun celebrating Turkey Day with Danny’s aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandmother who came in from Flagstaff, AZ and Fort Collins, CO to celebrate with Danny’s cousin in Allen, TX. Danny and his uncle spent most of the day helping Cousin Steve put up a new fence. Danny enjoyed working again. Visiting with Danny’s family was great. We even took a trip to the Dallas Zoo earlier in the week. We had a great time, but we also missed all of our friends in Lesotho. Last year we celebrated Thanksgiving at our house in Lesotho with about 50 other friends.

Speaking of Lesotho, we would like to ask all of you to pray for that country. Normally Lesotho is fairly safe and politically stable, but with the upcoming elections sometime around January or February, things are become a bit worrisome. Last week a Dutch aid worker with the Clinton Foundation was shot and killed during an assassination attempt on the Minister of Trade in Lesotho. Please pray for the safety of our friends in

Lesotho

and also for peace for the entire country.

Thank you for all of your prayers for Evi and our family. We went to the doctor on Wednesday for another checkup. The doctor said that the wound is behaving atypically, but currently it is improving. The open wound on her shin continues to improve and get smaller. We are holding our breathe and praying that this trend continues and we don’t take anymore steps backwards in the healing process. The doctor, however, was very, very concerned about Evi’s knee which was broken in 3 or 4 places in the accident. Her knee has become quite swollen, and Evi cannot straighten her leg completely. We were given some physical therapy homework and a leg brace that Evi wears at night to help straighten her knee. Danny and I were afraid that this would become a big battle with Evi, but miraculously she doesn’t seem to mind very much at all. What a blessing! The doctor will re-evaluate her knee on Friday and possible do X-rays if things haven’t improved.

We are still battling with Evi’s weight, but fortunately she hasn’t lost anymore weight this last week. Hopefully we’ve stopped loosing and can start gaining. Evi’s always been a tiny little girl, but now she’s so, so small. Even her 2T pants are falling off of her, and I bought most of her pants before she lost so much weight so I purchased 3T.

We covet your prayers during this time and really appreciate all of your support. The love we’ve received from all of you is one of the things we are most thankful for this holiday season. God bless all of you.

November 27, 2006

2006-11-27T22:10:00.000+02:00

Today we were able to take Evi to the Dallas Aquarium. It was a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed themselves, well at least Evi did as Caleb slept the entire time. Evi had a lot of fun watching fish, monkeys, snakes and tons of other critters all over the place. When the weather is nice and we have time it is really nice to get Evi out of the house. This week will be busy with doctor visits for Evi and hopefully by the end of the week we will have a plan for the next few months. Below are some specific prayer requests and praises:

Praise:
* A great thanksgiving with Family
* Evi's leg is starting to heal back up again

Prayer:
* Pray for Evi's scarring on her knee. There is severe scarring on the side of her knee, and this may be limiting movement and causing discomfort when she straightens her leg. X-rays will probably be taken Friday to further look at her knee swelling and pain.
* Pray for health for the entire family, as everyone has been a little sick these last couple days.

It's hard to believe that this week will mark three months since the accident. Sometimes it feels like it was yesterday and other days it feels like it was years ago. We are so blessed to have the assurance that God is in control. I often wondered why Evi was so strong willed and determined. Well, I guess I know now.

November 20, 2006

2006-11-20T21:31:00.000+02:00

The last few months have been a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. Evi's leg was looking better, then worse, then a little bit better again. We are praying that we are now at the end of this cycle. Evi's leg is starting to look much better. The wound is gradually beginning to close up and the mysterious black spots covering her leg are starting to disappear as well. God has blessed us with such an incredible little girl. Through the struggles of a hospital stay and loosing her foot she remains strong beyond her 3 years.
Please continue to pray as there are still things that have to happen before we begin to fit for a prosthetic. A few months ago we were concerned that her leg was always straight and that she would never bend it. Now that Evi is scooting around everywhere she always lifts her leg up to avoid it hitting anything. Now she has a constant bend in her knee and it is painful for her to straighten it. Her knee is also swollen. We have fitted her with what we call a "leg warmer" to keep her leg straight all night long. We are amazed that she has not complained at all about wearing this at night.
Yesterday her Sunday School teacher told me that Evi was talking about getting her new foot and couldn't wait to "run, jump and play" again. We are so excited, and look forward to the day that Evi can walk on her own again. These pictures were taken last week when we went to the Dallas Zoo with my Uncle, Aunt, Grandma and cousin.

November 16, 2006

2006-11-16T17:41:00.000+02:00

As many of you know we have been concerned about a large spot on Evi’s shin that was not healing like the rest of her leg. On Tuesday we took her to the doctor and the wound specialist at the hospital. They are concerned about the leg and are unsure exactly what is happening with her large open wound. There are large black spots on a lot of the lower leg that is close to the shin. The fear is that all of these black spots will open back up and become more open wounds. We are using a different kind of bandage and are praying that the leg will close up over the next couple of weeks. Once again the option to go back to the OR for another skin graft is a strong possibility. Please pray with us that her leg would heal without having to have another skin graft. Our next appointment is on Wednesday the 22^nd.

Evi has really made progress and can’t wait to get her new foot so that she can “run and jump” again. She even talks about the rock that fell on her leg. We are very proud of Evi and she is being such a strong little girl. Once again thank you so much for your prayers, phone calls and words of encouragement. You have truly blessed us during this experience. Leslie and I are discouraged that we taking steps backwards. We were fully expecting to be fitted for a prosthetic before Thanksgiving. Now we are praying that we will be able to do this before Christmas. But God is in control, and we are truly blessed by the generosity of Park Cities Baptist Church and particularly an adult Sunday school class that has adopted us during our stay in Dallas.

November 13, 2006

2006-11-14T00:15:00.000+02:00

Friends and Family,

Thank you again for all of your prayers. Danny is doing very well. He has a little bit of a black eye from the surgery and a few headaches, but has otherwise healed very well. He’s also very excited to be able to breathe so well. He said he didn’t realize that it was possible to breathe just through your nose without opening your mouth. He had a follow-up appointment with his doctor on Thursday. His doctor said Danny’s deviated septum was one of the worst cases he’d ever seen.

Evi also had an appointment on Wednesday. The doctor was a little baffled by the worsening condition of her leg. He called in a wound specialist who recommended a foam type bandage. The best part was that we didn’t have to give her a bath until yesterday. Usually we have to give her a bath everyday. Yesterday’s bath was not a good experience. Her wound bled a lot, which really scared Evi. Danny and I were disappointed that the wound didn’t look any better, but at least it didn’t look any worse either. In fact, except for the one open wound, the rest of Evi’s leg is looking really well. We are most disappointed that extra time the leg is taking to heal delays us being fitted for the prosthetic. Evi’s next appointment is Tuesday, so we are hoping that the foam bandage begins to help by then.

Evi continues to make progress with her mobility. She’s not only scooting, but also crawling now. She even used her walker a little bit over the weekend (something she had up until now completely refused to even try). Evi’s also enjoying visiting with other kids now. We’ve even taken her to Sunday School twice now. She continues to sing, play, and even dance. Every day I’m amazed by her beautiful spirit. She has started to talk about the “big rock” that fell on her and gave her leg an owie. After that she gets a big grin and shrieks with excitement about the fact that she will get a new foot. She can not wait to run, jump and kick balls again.

Caleb is doing well. He’s still my angel baby, and most of the time he sleeps at least till 5 AM or so. I can’t believe how fast he’s growing. He’s already 4 ½ months old (though he’s beginning to wear 6-9 months clothes!) I feel sorry for him though because Evi requires so much time and attention, taking away from the time we could spend with him. He’s such a wonderful baby and a true joy to be around.

I’ve enjoyed getting to know some of the ladies at Park Cities Baptist Church whose mission house we’ve been staying at. I’ve been attending the Ladies Bible Study and MOPS group. It’s been a lot of fun. I’m still exhausted, but Christ continues to give me strength.

Blessings to all of you,

Leslie & Danny

November 3, 2006

2006-11-04T00:13:00.000+02:00

Friends and Family,

Thank you for praying for Danny and his surgery today. We checked in at the surgery center this morning at 6:30 and arrived back home around 1:00. The doctor said Danny’s surgery went well. On the way home, Danny said he already felt like he could breathe better than he has in a very long time. Danny is resting in bed right now. He’s having some pain, nausea, and bleeding but is otherwise doing well. Please continue to pray for a quick recovery.

Also please continue to remember Evi in your prayers. Danny and I are concerned about the shin area. The area had almost completely healed up. There were 3 spots about the size of nickels that were still open wounds. For some reason these areas have stopped healing and started getting worse. Now the three spots have grown and merged into one large open wound. Please pray that Evi’s leg would heal completely and quickly.

I would also like to ask you to life me up in prayer as well. The last two months have definitely taken their toll on me physically and emotionally. To say that I’m exhausted would be an understatement. I’m currently battling a bad cold while trying to care for Evi, Caleb, and Danny. Please pray that God would give me the strength to carry on and take care of my family and also that He would comfort my anxious heart as I struggle emotionally to handle Evi’s traumatic injury and difficult recovery.

Thank you for your prayers,

Leslie
www.flickr.com/photos/hulls

October 24, 2006

2006-10-24T23:07:00.000+02:00

Friends and Family,

Evi celebrated her third birthday on Friday with a fun princess party. We had princess plates, napkins, decorations, and of course a princess cake. Evi dressed up as Cinderella complete with a new diamond tiara and earrings. She had a lot of fun playing with the Vennell girls. It was great to have a visit from their family. We all enjoyed seeing some faces from back home in Africa. Thank you to everyone who sent cards and gifts for Evi. She really enjoyed them.

Today Evi went in for a check-up. Her orthopedic surgeon said she is doing so well that he doesn’t have to see her again for 2 to 3 weeks. If her leg has healed enough during that time, we may be able to begin fitting her for a prosthetic! We are a little concerned about Evi’s weight though. When we left the hospital last Tuesday Evi’s weight was up from 11.4 kg to 11.8. Today she was back down to 11.2 kg. The dietician is not extremely worried, but we really need to pray that Evi will eat very well and gain weight.

Overall, Evi is doing great. She’s playing, laughing, and even singing again. She is also scooting all over the house on her bottom. We are still praying that she will find the courage and motivation to use a walker, but are overjoyed to see her getting around independently. We are changing Evi’s bandage and giving her a bath daily. It is the worst part of all of our day. Evi cries all through the bath, begging us to stop. She says that it doesn’t hurt but it scares her to be in the water with her leg uncovered and unprotected.

We also ask you to pray for Danny. He went to an ear, nose and throat specialist today because he was having another sinus infection. The ENT said his nasal polyps had grown back and along with his deviated septum (crooked nose) the problem has become severe enough to require minor surgery. Danny has a CATscan scheduled for this Thursday and surgery scheduled on November 3rd. Please pray that the surgery goes well and that Danny recovers quickly. We are happy that this surgery will correct or at least help with Danny’s chronic sinus and asthma problems, but obviously this adds more stress to our already stressed out family. Please pray for our family.

God bless,

Leslie for the Hulls Family

October 17, 2006

2006-10-17T23:05:00.000+02:00

Good news. Today we went back to the hospital to have the doctor check Evi’s leg and to check in with PT and dietary. The doctor said Evi’s leg is looking great, and as of now Evi doesn’t need another skin graft. Evi has also gained a pound since last Friday! In fact Evi is doing so well that they officially discharged her from the hospital today. Even though she’s been home from the hospital on pass for a week now, it’s great to make it official. After 6 weeks it felt great to tear off the hospital ID band on Evi’s ankle.

We will be taking Evi back to the hospital once a week for check-ups. Our main challenges now are continuing to get Evi to eat well and getting her to move independently. Evi is fully capable of scooting, crawling, or even hopping but refuses to do so. Overcoming Evi’s stubbornness and motivating her to channel her strong-willed determination towards her recovery remains our biggest challenges.

Tim and Tonya Vennell (our fellow MAF missionaries from Lesotho) and their four little girls will be visiting tomorrow. We are hoping Evi’s friends will motivate her to move around by herself (maybe even use her walker). We are also excited to have the Vennells here for Evi’s birthday on Friday.

Thank you for all of your support and prayers. Please keep praying!

God bless,

The Hulls Family

October 10, 2006

2006-10-10T22:57:00.000+02:00

Friends and Family,

Evi continues to make progress everyday. It’s great to see her smiling, talking, and laughing again. She seems to be doing better with taking her medicine, combing her hair, and getting dressed. Yesterday we got some great news. Evi’s doctors allowed us to bring her home on pass till Friday morning! We are very excited to have a break from the hospital and spend time together as a family. Evi was allowed to come home in hopes that she will eat better here than in the hospital. Her appetite has been very poor, and her nutrition levels low. Things were further complicated when Evi pulled out the central line in her chest on Sunday. Without the central line Evi cannot receive the nutritional supplements. Please pray that Evi will do well here at home, especially with eating. If she doesn’t’ lose anymore weight over the next few days and her nutrition labs look okay on Friday, we may be able to bring her home to stay. But if things don’t improve, she will have to return to the hospital for a while longer and the OR to have another central line put in.

Here are some specific prayers and praises:

1. Praise that Evi was allowed to come home for a while
2. Praise for a vehicle (A member of Parks Cities Baptist Church is allowing us to borrow a vehicle while we’re in the States)
3. Praise for Parks Cities Baptist Church who has provided housing, meals, and lots of loving support
4. Pray for Evi’s nutrition and that she will eat well. We are really hoping we don’t have to return to the hospital.
5. Pray for Evi’s skin graft (still looks like she will need some additional skin graft procedures. We are praying that this will not be necessary)
6. Prayer as Leslie and I change Evi’s dressing every day and as Evi observes her leg and missing foot while we do this.
7. Pray that Evi will be able to sleep better at night. She seems to wake up almost every hour crying.
8. Pray that Evi will meet her physical therapy goals by learning to move around on her own. She needs to be able to pull herself to a stand, hop around while holding on to furniture, and possibly crawl or scoot on her bottom. The therapist believes she is physically capable of each of these tasks, but Evi is understandably scared to attempt any of these things. That means that PT sessions (no matter how fun we make them) usually turn into screaming sessions.
9. Pray that God would give Evi courage and comfort.

Thank you to all of you for your prayers, gift and financial support. You have truly been a blessing to us during the last month and a half. Here is our contact information for us at the church.

3917 Villanova
Dallas, Texas 75225

October 3, 2006

2006-10-06T22:51:00.000+02:00

Hello – Thank you so much for your continued prayers for Evi and our entire family. Evi is doing well and is slowly starting to feel better. After four weeks in the hospital, Evi’s nutritional levels are very poor. The last five days she has been on a constant nutritional IV and taking multiple supplements. On Monday she had her thirteenth visit to the O.R., and today they did her first daily dressing change in her hospital room. We are so excited that we will be able to do this in the hospital room from now on. Evi did great and tomorrow we are going to try and do it without any medicine. Please pray for her skin graft. There is one spot on her shin that does not appear to be healing like the rest of her leg. There is a possibility that she will have to have a second skin graft surgery in about 4 to 6 weeks. One of our biggest prayer requests for Evi is that she would be able to accomplish basic things like take medicine, brush her hair, get dressed, brush her teeth and those types of items. These basic tasks that used to be everyday items now are surrounded by crying and screaming. She has been touched for so long by everybody and wants nothing to do with these items. She has new combs, toothbrush that lights up and all sorts of cool things that do not help at all.

Evi’s started physical therapy last week and it is going fairly well. She has regained some strength in her “trunk” and can now sit up again. We have a little wheelchair and she loves to have daddy push her around the hospital. This week we are helping her to sit on a bench and working towards putting weight and standing on her good foot. There are a lot of milestones that we have to meet in PT before we can leave the hospital. So please pray for Evi and us as parents as we work hard to reach these goals. (Doctors say it will be at least two more weeks)

Thank you so much for your calls and e-mails. It is so encouraging to know that you are standing behind us during this journey.

I have also updated our photo web site at www.flickr.com/photos/hulls there is a section of photos of Evi’s journey this last month.

Love,

The Hulls Family

Sep 27, 2006

2006-09-27T22:45:00.000+02:00

Thank you all very much for your prayers. Evi is recovering from her 11th surgery this morning. They changed her dressing again and also put in a buried central line (her original line has been leaking). Hopefully now she will be able to get some IV nutrition. She has already lost a lot of weight and is not eating very well. We go back to the operating room on Friday for another bandage change. We will probably be in the hospital part if not most of next week, until Evi heals enough to have her bandages changed without sedation. We began physical therapy on Monday. Right now we are mostly playing games that get Evi moving and trying to get Evi comfortable with her leg. She wants her bandaged leg covered by a blanket at all times. We also need to get Evi able to sit up on her own. She has lost much of her trunk strength and balance. Evi’s also still in a lot of pain from the skin graft donor sites on her upper leg and especially her bottom.

Here are some things that you can be specifically praying for:

Please pray that Evi’s skin graft heals quickly and that her pain will be as minimal as possible. There is one spot on the shin where the skin graft isn’t taking very well, so pray specifically that this will improve so that we don’t have to do another skin graft.

Pray for Evi’s appetite, that she will eat well, and gain weight quickly.

Pray for Evi emotionally and spiritually. She is scared to have her leg uncovered, and becomes frightened when she tries to sit up. Pray that physical therapy will go well and be fun for Evi. Also please pray that will feel God’s peace and comfort throughout this time.

Pray that Evi will take her medicine and allow us to wash and comb her hair. Evi screams and cries and thrashes about the entire time we are doing these essential things. It literally takes 3 people to perform these tasks because it takes 2 people to hold her down. It’s heartbreaking and exhausting for me.

Pray for Caleb that he will continue to be such a pleasant and easy baby. He really is such a blessing. I just pray that he will soon learn to sleep through the night. Oh, and that he will stop spitting up so much.

Pray for Danny and I, that we will continue to experience God’s comforting presence. We continue to need His strength during the long and difficult road of recovery that lies ahead. Pray that Danny and I will remain close and united. We are apart every night and much of the day with Danny staying with Evi at night while I go to the mission house with the baby.

Pray for a semi-permanent vehicle for us to use while here in the States. We have a car to use for the next few weeks, but we are hoping to find a larger vehicle to use for the next six months. We need a vehicle large enough for a family of four to travel back and forth during the next several months that can carry all of our luggage, the baby’s bed and stroller, and Evi’s wheel chair and her walker.

Thank all of you for your gifts, words of encouragement, and especially for your prayers.

Sep 21, 2006

2006-09-21T22:04:00.000+02:00

Hello, once again thank you so much for your constant prayers for little Evi and our family. Evi went through the skin graft surgery great!! We were fully expecting her right leg to end up bandaged just like her left leg in order to get enough skin to cover the left leg. We specifically prayed that God would give wisdom for the doctors and provide enough skin on her left leg and her butt to cover the entire damaged area. He did just that, so her right leg is without bandage. So now Evi has been confined to her bed for a full three days and has four days to go. She is being a little trooper even though she is obviously in pain. We were hoping to delay her next surgery for next Monday, giving her skin a full week to develop a good graft. She has had excessive seeping from the wound so it was decided that tomorrow morning she will go into the OR for a dressing change to replace the wet dressing with new. Pray that Evi will recover quickly from this short procedure. You can also pray for Evi’s little body. On Monday morning she had lost over 6 pounds from the time we checked into the hospital, and she hasn’t eaten anything until Wednesday night. Pray that she would eat and get the nourishment that she desperately needs. We are looking forward to next week as we will get to see Evi out of her bed again. She will also be starting physical therapy on Monday or Tuesday.

Thank you so much for your calls, e-mails, letters and prayers. Our family greatly appreciates everything that you have done for us.

Love,

Hulls family

Sep 11, 2006 Amputation

2006-09-11T21:49:00.000+02:00

Leslie and I want to thank you all for your fervent prayers for Evi and our family the last week and a half. We have had many emotional, physical and spiritual high and lows since this has happened, and it has made a huge difference that you are covering us with prayer. Sorry for the delay in updates as it has been difficult to find internet access here at the hospital in Dallas. I hope to be able to send regular updates more often as things slow down.

We arrived Friday afternoon and were met by two vehicles from the hospital waiting to pick us up. This was a welcome relief after over 40 hours of traveling from Maseru to Texas. Leslie never even had the chance to go home and pack, so I am held responsible for forgotten items =). We also had the privilege of having Sarah, a pediatrician with the Baylor clinic in Lesotho travel with us to help make sure Evi was OK while we traveled. This was an incredible blessing as the trip would have been impossible without her loving and caring help. We never even met her until we picked her up to take her with us. The trip was hard for Evi as it was difficult for her to move at all and she could never get comfortable. As a result it was very difficult for her to take her pain medication, and get any sleep.

We Arrived at the hospital, and was met by a young lady named Heather that has spent the last three days sorting out dozens of phone calls and e-mails regarding our arrival in Dallas. We had over 40 offers of places to stay all around the Dallas area. She narrowed down the search to about 4 places that were a reasonable driving distance from the hospital. We are going to be staying at Park City Baptist Church’s missionary guest house. This is a huge blessing and we are thankful to have a great place to stay. We will be moving into this house tomorrow. We are currently staying in a Doctor’s room that is located in the hospital.

Evi went into surgery on Saturday morning, where the doctors determined the damage and helped to clean out the wound. We then scheduled surgery on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and the following Monday where we would determine if the foot was viable to save. Today Evi went into surgery at 1:30 PM and it wasn’t long afterwards when the doctor came out to talk to us. The foot’s damage was getting worse, and was continuing to die off. He made the decision today that he had to amputate the foot immediately. This came as a shock because we were not prepared in the least to expect a decision like that today. After the initial shock and tears God began to comfort us once again. There was an incredible team of Christian surgeons and nurses that were looking after Evi (Isn’t God good!!). One of the top surgeons in the world for Pediatric amputations scrubbed in for the surgery as well. Evi is continuing to sleep even now at 10 PM. This is still the beginning of Evi’s hospital stay in Texas. This week she will still go in for surgery on Wednesday and Friday in order to clean the wound and remove the rest of the dead soft tissue in her leg. On Monday the 18th we will begin her first and hopefully last skin graft.

We appreciate you continued prayers and e-mails of support. I have not even had time to read through all of the e-mails. Continue to pray for us as we determine our plans for the next several months. We have a temporary vehicle for the next 3 weeks, but are unsure about what vehicle we will have after that. But God has answered all of our needs, and has truly blessed us with friends and family in Dallas. The Christian community has greeted us with open arms.

Love,

The Hulls Family

Sep 9, 2006

2006-09-09T22:09:00.000+02:00

We are just getting settled into the hospital and into life back in America. I have already had Taco Bell, and a cherry Limeade from Sonic, Yummy... the hospital is fantastic!!! check out www.tsrch.org for more info on the hospital. There are toys and wagons everywhere for the patients to play with. Their also is a doctor's room, that we are able to stay in for the first few days until we get settled into our house. I also spent about 3 hours this afternoon getting a large knot out of Evi's hair after the plane ride from Africa. My parents met us at the hospital and are a great help in taking care of baby while Leslie and myself take care of Evi. Please continue your prayers for our precious little girl.

Love,
Danny for the Family

September 6, 2006

2006-09-06T21:39:00.000+02:00

Hello – Just a little update on little Evi. On the advice of many doctors we have prayerfully decided that the best thing for Evi and her future is to fly her to America for treatment. God has done some amazing things in this process. Lesotho has 10 doctors with the Baylor AIDS clinic in Lesotho, some of who are very close friends with Leslie and myself. Some of those doctors have connections with Texas Scottish Right Children’s Hospital in Dallas. They have been e-mailing and calling the doctors trying to get Evi accepted as it is open only to Texas residents. We are praying to have an answer before today’s operation at 1:30 Africa time so we can plan what has to be done to get her ready to fly. This hospital specialized in Pediatric Orthopedics, which is exactly what Evi needs!!!! This is the current plan but is open to change at any time for many reasons. Please pray for the following things that have to happen so we can fly to America:

1. Evi gets more stabilized
2. Evi’s diarrhea is gone (caused by trauma, medicines, etc)
3. Airline tickets home
4. Acceptance by Texas hospital
5. A place to stay for about 6 months or so in Texas
6. Transportation in Texas
7. Strength and energy for Leslie and I as we take care of a two year old and Evi
8. God’s wisdom as we continue to make decisions.

Your prayers now are just as important as last week and we have been encouraged by the thousands of people that are praying for us. I just got e-mail access today so I should be able to send additional updates as I know what is happening.

Thanks for your love and prayers

The Hulls Family

September 2, 2006

2006-09-02T21:22:00.000+02:00

Hello – Leslie and I thank you for your fervent prayers. There are thousands of people praying for Evi all over the world before and after her surgery. Evelyn was with the two orthopedic surgeons and two plastic surgeons for 2 and a half hours. The doctor said that the change in her foot was amazing, it showed remarkable improvement. She still has blood flow to three of her toes and the only major dead tissue is on her heel. They removed the dead tissue and are giving it several days to heal. She is now scheduled for additional surgery on Wednesday afternoon here in Bloemfontein. Please continue to pray. We look forward to see what God is going to continue to do!!! During the surgery we had a lot of friends drive to Bloemfontain from Lesotho to pray for us and to encourage us. What a huge blessing that was. Thank you for your prayers and don’t stop!!

Love,

Danny, Leslie, Evi and Caleb

August 31, 2006

2006-08-31T21:13:00.000+02:00

Leslie and I just want to let you know about an urgent prayer situation regarding Evi. On Thursday, Leslie was attending Ladies Bible Study and the kids where playing outside. Evi and three other small children were playing on a hammock that was strung between two concrete pillars. One of the pillars broke, falling onEvi and crushing her leg. Evi's entire left leg (bone, skin, muscles, tendons) was severely injured and her foot was completely crushed. We immediately took her to the nearest hospital in South Africa, which was completely incapable of treating such a major injury. A local doctor came to bandage her leg for the ambulance ride to
Bloemfontein about an hour and a half away. We even stopped halfway for 45 minutes as a Trauma paramedic met us on the side of the road to help getEvi stabilized. We arrived in Bloemfontein 4 hours after her initial injury at 10:15 AM. Evi was immediately X-Rayed and the orthopedic surgeon took her into surgery to access initial damage. The surgeon is fairly confident that he can save her knee and the leg above the knee, but isn't sure below the knee. The surgeon told us that this was the most horrific injury he had ever seen.

On Friday we took additional x-rays after the doctor installed initial pins in her leg during the first surgery. Surgery is now scheduled for 12 Noon (Saturday September 2) here in Africa. (That is 3:AM Saturday morning for those in Arizona) We are encouraged by the fact that there are thousands of people praying forEvi and the doctors as they prepare for surgery. After sending her x-rays to doctors at Boston Children's Hospital and Shriners hospital it looks as
if Evi's foot is beyond fixing. Pray that the doctor performing the surgery (Dr. Nel) will have wisdom as he repairs Evi's little broken bones. He is also very concerned about the soft tissue damage in her entire leg. There will be a plastic surgeon with him during the entire surgery.
God has performed many miracles in this process. If the pillar had fallen on anyone's head or chest, it would have killed them instantly. None of Evi's arteries were severed (an absolute miracle considering the extent of the injury) and that was the only reason that Evi made it to the hospital in time. The care we have received in Bloemfontein has been great and the doctors are top notch. We also have a large extended family of the missionary community in Lesotho. Please continue to pray for us as we deal with this situation. As parents we are devastated about our energetic daughter possibly losing her leg and probably losing her foot. We know that
it is going to take extended rehabilitation in order for her to walk again. But God is good and we are still praying for a miracle. We would love to hear from you and you are free to e-mail or call.

Love,
Danny, Leslie, Evi and Caleb