We will always remember Ellie for her love for others, her creativity, sensitivity, and delight in life! Ellie's light has spread far and wide... may it continue to shine in our hearts.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

My brief foray into the working world

I just wanted to let you know that we're still alive and kicking... Things have been so busy! I did not end up getting the job that I wrote about, and have since had another lead on a job that looks promising. In the meantime, I've been doing a little decorating and catching up with friends and family.

I did have a quick two-day job filing at a doctor's office. They don't have a need for full time help, but I have a friend who works there and she knew of a temporary need that they had. So I worked today and will go back tomorrow. It's been kind of nice to be "out there" in the big world. And I must say, I have a new appreciation for what goes on behind the scenes in medical offices. I don't believe that I will ever complain again about sitting in a waiting room leafing through magazines, or waiting to be called back by a nurse. Because there's some little person in the back running up and down ladders or sitting in a corner on the floor trying to turn herself inside out to match a file with a name! And way more than that, I will envision the nurses at their stations with the mountain of file folders of prescriptions to call in and people to call back. Do you know how much paperwork doctors have to deal with? A LOT. There is a doctor who was not in the office today, and when he gets in tomorrow, he will be met with a mountain of folders on his desk that I personally hefted there! I'm just hoping that I can move without groaning when I get out of bed tomorrow morning.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Sorry for my lack of posting...

I know I've not been on here much lately... I've spent the last week running around and doing things... seeing people, going to church, shopping a little. All the things I wanted to do during those two weeks of sickness. My house is mostly together and I will be taking photos and posting them soon.

I have a lead on a job that I'm hoping will pan out. We are currently in the "phone tag" stage of the game. It is a receptionist position for a large lawn maintenance/landscaping company. It would be wonderful, as it is close to our house and is the type of work that I can do! The owner of the company called me Friday afternoon, but I was driving down the interstate at rush hour and it had started to rain. I asked if I could call him back when I arrived, but by the time I wasn't driving anymore, his office had closed and I had to leave a voice mail. See - phone tag. So now it is Monday and I'm hopeful that I will be getting a call. Of course he will call back when I'm driving again. I can feel it.

John had two teeth pulled last week, so he's spent the week in pain and eating soft food. He got the stitches out this morning, and we are hopeful that he will heal quickly and be able to eat solid food soon!

Ethan is spending the morning at the beach with Stan, Pat, Ginger, Russ, and Maddie. I'm sure he's going to have a great time, but he was rather freaked out before he left because he's sure that his toe will be bitten by a fish. (The last time he went to the beach, Ginger was holding him and felt a fish brush against her foot.) I'm hopeful that Ethan will return with all toes intact and will be raring to go the next time!

We were finally able to spend some good time over at Mom's house on Friday. I had only seen Mom, Gary, my grandparents, and Chad, Janeene and boys only once since getting to Florida because I got sick and was trying not to pass the bug along. So it was great to get the chance to spend some time playing and catching up!

Unfortunately, because of the timing of my sickness and my sister, Jenn, being out of town in between, I have not seen her family yet. I can't wait to see them all and love on my nieces again! I just know that Mady, Libby, and Emma have grown up while I was gone... I can't wait to make up for lost time!!

I hope to have some photos for you soon... house pics, nephews, nieces... YAY! :-)

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Thanks for the prayers...

Thank you so much for the sweet comments on my last post! We really appreciate all of the love and prayers...

Something I failed to mention in my last post is that the reason Chad and Janeene came back to the U.S. was because of some chronic pain that Chad has been having which ended up being completely unrelated to the tumor. The only reason the tumor was found was because of all of the medical tests to find the cause of the pain. I thought that I would share the latest update with you in Janeene's words. This is the update they just put out to their family, friends, and supporters:

"We have some good news and some more for you to pray with us about.

First, the good news…the pathology report came back, and although Chad’s tumor was malignant, it was the non-invasive low grade variety, which means that since the doctor got it all, we won’t need anything like chemo, but only periodic checkups. Praise God with us for that!!!

He said that normally he would have Chad checked again in 3 months, but since we are, Lord willing, planning on being back in PNG before that time, then he would recommend that we get Chad checked in 6 months. So at that time we will look into the possibility of a trip to Australia or another nearby country with good medical facilities to have that done and then a quicker return to the ministry in PNG.

Which brings us to our prayer item: For us to return soon to PNG, we still need to get to the bottom of what’s causing Chad’s pain. We have seen a neurological surgeon who looked at the results of the spinal MRI, and though a synovial cyst was found, it does not appear to be linked to the area of pain. But he decided to try putting Chad on some medication to see if there is enough improvement to warrant more treatment on his part. It’s only been a few days now, and thus far results are fairly inconclusive. We will continue to consult with doctors and weigh further options. So far this has been a real mystery, but God knows all, and we can rest in that—and in His great love for us. Thanks for your prayers—they are much appreciated these days!

Please pray for:

~Wisdom for our doctors here, as they search for answers and a course of action to treat Chad’s pain.

~Grace for Chad as he deals with the pain on a daily basis. Many of you live with pain and know how chronic pain can wear a person down over time. Please pray for the grace and the peace that passes all understanding.

~Contentment, as we have had to adjust to this abrupt interruption of the work we’ve been doing in PNG. We know that this is what God has for us now, but it is still a struggle for us at times, especially knowing that we’ve had to leave our partners the Williamsons alone in the village and have left the young church in the middle of teaching through the great book of Romans. But we do know that God will work all this out for His glory and our growth—ours, our co-workers, and that of the Tobo believers as well.

We just need to go back to that again and again and choose to rest in God.

~Guidance in the future as we will need to find a good place for followup on Chad across the big water six months from now. Pray for all the finances, paperwork, and other travel logistics, as well as a good doctor and medical facilities."

Chad & Janeene
Elijah & Zekey

Photobucket

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

A Prayer Request

I know I have mentioned before on the blog, my brother and his family who are missionaries in Papua New Guinea. Well Chad, Janeene and their boys have made an unplanned trip back to the U.S. for medical reasons. The doctors here have found a tumor in Chad's bladder, and they successfully removed the entire tumor today. The surgery went well, but we will not know any of the pathology for about a week. We would so appreciate your prayers that it would not be malignant! I will let you know how things go... Once again, thank you for your faithfulness in standing with our family in good times and in bad!