Glen's Fainting Goat

Have you seen the Youtube video of the fainting goats?  There is a certain breed of goat that faints when they are startled!  It's actually quite funny, they just flop over on their backs with their little legs up in the air!

Glen sometimes calls me his "Fainting Goat" because occasionally when I am in pain, I've been known to pass out. That happened to me twice this past Spring, in Honduras and Ghana!  Each time it was due to tummy troubles.  The theory is that pain causes a drop in blood pressure which results in a brief loss of consciousness, known as a Vasovagal response.

In March, toward the end of a wonderful ministry week, I was waiting to go up to the podium to give the final message (the last of 5) for the conference in Honduras.  The women were on their feet singing when (without any warning, except for a wave of fatigue) I suddenly slumped to the floor.  I woke up with many concerned women calling my name.  In God's sovereign provision, the woman immediately behind me was a physician, another a trauma nurse, and another a medical aid.  They helped me to a couch and determined that I was severely dehydrated. The nurse's aid began to spoon feed me electrolytes. Even though it was a Sunday evening and most pharmacies were closed, the Lord miraculously provided the medications the doctor ordered and I did not have to be transported to the hospital!  Needless to say, I didn't close the conference. God's plan for that meeting was a quiet personal reflection of how the women would respond to the Lord's ministry to their hearts that weekend. (For a full report of the time in Honduras, check out the blog post titled March in Honduras).

Miraculously, I was able to travel on the bus the next day (although very wobbly) and participate in the leadership meetings that followed!

Fast forward five weeks to Ghana, West Africa, and another bout of travelers' tummy.  After the morning message, with one left to go, I was sitting at the lunch table and shocked everyone (including myself) by passing out--several attendees kept me from falling.  I woke up laid out on the floor of the restaurant!  Once again in God's goodness, a surgeon was attending the conference as well a physician's assistant and they immediately jumped into action. 

Since then, my doctor and I are trying a different protocol, hoping to eliminate further instances of my "Fainting Goat Syndrome"!  Please pray for strength and health on further ministry trips!