A Reason to Share My Life with Internet Strangers

Well, here it is. After much kicking and screaming, Jen Unander has a blog... and apparently refers to herself in third person. Wow... what a start!

I finally agreed to having one after this last week when some things in my life and in the lives of my Christian brothers and sisters got a little turned upside down. Prayers have been requested (and answered!) but sometimes facebook isn't the most convenient for much detail, so getting a blog proved to be a practical decision.

So to start all this off, I will bring up two important prayer requests.

The first is for my dear friend Rachel.

Rachel is an exchange student from Zambia who has been here for a year or two. She was in the first car of the Metrolink accident last week, suffered a cracked skull and pelvis and skin lacerations.

She was rushed to the USC trauma center immediately following the crash. Through last weekend, she had a few brain surgeries to stop the bleeding in the brain and reduce swelling. She was in a 72 hour medical coma. As the days have gone, her swelling has gone down and she had a fever at one point... a good thing because it means her body is fighting. Monday, as she was brought out of her coma, she responded on command by wiggling her toes, squeezing hands and helping the nurse by lifting her arm. She has experienced some other minor complications but God in His faithfulness has only been using these to show His glory even more as He pulls her through... and all the while pulling the rest of us closer to Him and each other.

I had the opportunity to spend some time with her on Friday night as her family was being ministered to at church. My new and lovely friend Lena and I got to read cards to her from some of her classmates. During that time we saw her as she readjusted her arm, stretched her neck, and reacted to the touch of the nurses. She is slowly becoming more aware of what is going on around her.

Keep her in your prayers as she continues to heal. Also pray for her family. We hope to have her sister come here from Zambia this week if all goes well.


The second prayer request is for our friend Fennie. I don't know a lot of the details about this but she will be going into open heart surgery tomorrow. Please pray God's hand is on her and guiding the hands of the doctors.


"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised."
-Job 1:20


Finishing my first blog. Signing out. Oh and more to come on the car crash and Lima Beans... I know it was invigorating!