April Details

Thanks for praying.
Liz's sister, Dee Anna, is in her 5th week of recovery and doing well. She is obeying doctor's orders & healing.

About 3 weeks ago, we got a call from a woman asking if we could use a caregiver. Trying not to act tooo quickly, we met with her over an hour after the phone call. She is a wonderfully warm, compassionate, & gifted servant. Joanne has spent a few hours with Liz's mom and is proving to be a gift from God. We are resting more easily knowing she can help. God is amazing as He provides for us.

Last week, we proceeded to purchase plane tickets (finally). Before we did so, we wrote to our Mongolia contact to confirm dates & were told that we have plenty of time to get our student visas, in theory. However, he also said that the language school we have chosen may not have a summer session. Most likely the school will not be able to enable a visa for us a full 2 months before class would start. This could mean another delay of our departure. Perhaps we can sign on with another school for a survival crash course until Sept. Even Liz thinks September is too far off. We feel a bit foolish for not thinking through these details but are proceeding in prayer trusting that things will work out.

Jim has 13 days left until he retires and is feeling ready for that transition.

As we get closer to leaving, it is easy to be overwhelmed with the details. This morning I was thinking that I too often worship the god of worry. God is obviously the designer of details. I need only look at this month with Dee Anna's 'no cancer' story and Joanne, a loving caregiver appearing out of the blue, to be reminded that the Lord will provide. I want to worship the Lord God Almighty, not the worry-god.

"Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies." Philippians 4:8-9 the Message
Liz

Mongolian post office challenges

Missionaries in Mongolia mail items made by Mongolians to other countries. The following is a conversation at the Mongolian Post Office when they tried to mail a box:

PO: Your papers are all in order BUT Your box is too big.
M+M: How big is too big?
PO: Your box is too big. You should use two boxes
M+M: But exactly what is the maximum size or dimensions or volume?
PO: Smaller than your box!
M+M: When we put the box on its side it does not look so big
PO: That's true, but maybe it is too heavy
M+M: It's only 24 kg
PO: Well that's the problem
M+M: But your notice allows for packages much heavier than 24 kg
PO: That's true
M+M: And the Chamber of Commerce wrote clearly ONE box so we cannot change it
PO: Can't you squash the slippers and make the box smaller?
M+M: No, this is a strong box for good shipping
PO: What to do?
M+M: How about you ship it this time and we bring a "not too big" box next time?
PO: OK, we'll do it BUT remember boxes should not be TOO big.
M+M: Thank you ...

Daughter gets fulltime job:

Today our daughter got a fulltime job as Adult program librarian. The commute is a little longer but she will have full benefits. We were hoping she would have a fulltime position before we left, and now she does. We are blessed.

No Cancer!! :)

Liz's sister, Dee Anna's, surgery took only one hour today. They found absolutely no cancer, everything was benign. Today has been tough for her, with lots of pain but we trust a balance of meds will get worked out before long. Thank you so much for your prayers. We are all greatly relieved. Dee Anna has had some agonizing moments today but she has regularly announced, 'No Cancer!'

Praise the Lord who answers prayer!

Sister's Biopsy

The biopsy report came back 'inconclusive'.
Doctors plan to consult on the phone tomorrow, 3/5 to decide whether a soon to be planned hysterectomy should be performed by an ob/gyn or by an oncologist.
Not bad news. . .
Would appreciate your ongoing prayer support.

Dr. Update

Dee Anna's appt was rather inconclusive today. They took a biopsy and have to wait until Monday or Tuesday for the results, determining whether there is cancer. In any case, they will do a hysterectomy as soon as possible. She is told to expect 4-6 weeks to recover. If there is cancer, of course there will be other treatment.
Jim intended to submit his letter of resignation today, making his retirement official. He decided not to do that until we know more about Dee Anna.
Please pray :
1. That there is no cancer
2. For wisdom for treatment
3. Wisdom for our moving plans
4. Peace in the process
Thank you so much for your support.

Prayer Alert

Yesterday Liz's sister, DeeAnna met w/ her Dr to review tests.
It is the Dr's opinion that she has a tumor on her ovaries and other indicators that she has ovarian cancer.
DeeAnna meets with an oncologist on Friday, 29Feb. DeeAnna had breast cancer 2 years ago.

DeeAnna has a 21-year old daughter, Alisha. DeeAnna is also the primary care giver for Liz's mother who is raising 2 teenage grand daughters.

This could affect our plans to move to Mongolia at the end of April.
Please pray for DeeAnna, the doctors and Liz's family as we trust in the Lord.

Liz's sister, Dee Anna

Yesterday Liz's sister, DeeAnna met w/ her dr. to review tests.
It is the dr's opinion that she has a tumor on her ovaries and other indicators that she has ovarian cancer.
DeeAnna meets with an oncologist on Friday, 29Feb. She had breast cancer 2 years ago.

DeeAnna has a 21-year old daughter, Alisha. DeeAnna is also the primary care giver for Liz's mother who is raising 2 teenage grand daughters.

This could affect our plans to move to Mongolia at the end of April.
Please pray for DeeAnna, the Doctors and Liz's family as we trust in the Lord.

2008.02.19-Good news blood test

Another good news visit to the oncologist. (Sounds like an oxymoron?) Liz's white blood cell count has not increased since the last test, in fact it is less than it was at diagnosis 18 months ago. It would be bad if the number of WBC doubled in 6 months. So, the fact that they have stayed about the same is really good news :)

The Dr. recommends retesting every 6-months and reviewed the warning signs. He recommended one last test the week before we leave so we can postpone the 6-month test 2 months longer.

Thanks for your prayers.

2008.08.18 - Mongolian Green wall photo

One of the challenges with the Green Wall project is keeping the open-range camels from eating the seedlings!