Merry Christmas

Gratitude

Last week I helped give a ger (a felt tent) to a widow. She works as the cook and "house maid" for a Mongolian family. She is grateful that this family permits her 31-year old daughter to sleep on their kitchen floor. The kitchen floor is in a 2-room shack. There is not enough room for the widow to sleep on the floor also so she sleeps sitting in a wooden chair with her head on the table. Her daughter is dying of cancer. They expect her to die in January.
JCS received donations to buy gers for poor people. This widow and her daughter will have their own ger, two mattresses on wooden bed frames, a coal-burning stove and two stools. The local Mongolian church set up the ger and will provide coal and food for several months. The widow and her daughter are grateful for these tangible gifts showing God's love.

Blood

Stood in line yesterday afternoon at a Russian clinic behind teens in black dresses, white pinafores and huge white hair bows. We paid $4 each (up from $3 last year, then took turns sitting in chair right next to the receptionist's desk. As we rolled up our sleeves, the desk was suddenly surrounded by a dozen people coming back for their results. They all seemed eager to see what foreign fore arms look like. Glad it was just a blood test. We've heard there isn't much more privacy for other procedures. We visited with our tutor for 15 min in the hall and then had her go back in for our results. She was told Jim's PSA was 0 but Liz's WBC was way too high and she needs to see a dr. The number was the same as it has been since her CLL diagnoses. Praise the Lord. All is well.