Buddies

Last Saturday, when our family was down in Florence, I got a text from my friend Kim.  Her husband, Ben, works for Caterpillar here in Bologna, and over the past two years, they have become dear, dear friends. We have so much in common and just really enjoy them.  Their friendship has been a real gift of FUN for our family.  An especially sweet gift has been their almost six-year-old son Drew.  He and Gavin hit it off from the beginning and have loved doing together all things boys love doing.

So Kim texted on Saturday to ask us to pray for Drew, who had broken his arm really badly.  They had gone to one hospital and were on their way via ambulance to another hospital.  The break was so bad they were going to have to do surgery. 

On Sunday when we got back to Bologna, we made a huge Get Well poster and put together a bag of goodies for Drew and went to see him.  It was our very first trip to an Italian hospital!  He had been transferred to the orthopedic hospital in town (the best in Italy), where there was a brand new pediatric wing.  First word was they would do surgery on Monday.  Monday came and the doctor determined his arm hadn't been put in the correct position.  They would have to reposition it and wait for the swelling to go down before they could operate.  

The surgery finally happened on Thursday.  As Drew killed time in the hospital waiting for surgery, Gavin was so concerned for him.  Almost every night he asked if we could go see him.  Visiting hours are very limited, so we could only go between 5:30 and 8pm.  We made a couple of trips before the surgery, I went and hung out with Kim and Ben during the surgery, and then we made a trip back on Friday, as soon as he was able to have visitors post-surgery.

Drew and Gavin in the play room at the hospital

Trying to help Drew learn to do a puzzle one-handed for awhile

There is a toy here popular among boys called BeyBlades.  They are kind of glorified tops (and available in the States too).  Drew had been wanting to get one, but ironically Kim told him he couldn't until he learned to ride his bike (how the accident happened that caused the broken bone!)  So on the first night we visited, Gavin had to bring one to him.  Gavin is obsessed with them, so it was one more thing these Buds could do together.  

To begin with, Gavin would hold the launcher and Drew would pull the rip cord to send it flying.  But then, as all boys would, they decided they had to battle each other (this is what BeyBlades do--they "battle"). 

After a week in a foreign hospital and surgery to insert three pins in a ugly broken bone, there were two normal boys battling BeyBlades.  What a joy!  Obviously, we are so, so grateful for this great friend God has provided for Gavin, but we it was just as much a blessing for us to see Gavin's tender heart expressed in wanting so much to be with Drew this week.  We treasured being able to help Gavin love on Drew.  And we treasured being able to love on Kim and Ben during the week too.  

God has (and is continuing) to build a great community for us.  We find ourselves with relationships in a multitude of different realms, and yet each meets such a different need in our lives.  It was just right this week to be able to really walk beside some of those who have become so dear to us here.