Stepping Out of the Boat: Updates and Blessings!

Monday, September 28, 2009

Updates and Blessings!

Hi Everyone!

It has been a while since I posted an update here and so many of you have asked "How are things going with....?" Truly, there are so many ways to fill in those blanks right now it almost makes me dizzy! I thought this would be the easiest way to update everyone on everything. :-)

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Clara-We still have no word yet on the results of her biopsy. This Wednesday will be 7 weeks since she had it, and they said it would be 6-8 weeks, so we are hoping for word any day. Thank you for all of your prayers up to this point! Please continue to pray for speedy results and for healing of our sweet girl.

She is doing very well right now! She has had less pain than ever in the last month or so, and we think this is a good sign! She started with a new physical therapist (Ms. Susan got married and moved away) and she is wonderful. Her name is Ms. Lee and Clara already calls her "Lee-Lee", which I think is hysterical. :-) We are meeting with another physical therapist on Thursday to see if we can get her qualified for HIPPO therapy, which uses horses as a tool instead of balls, etc. We have been trying to get her going on this for about a year now, so please pray all goes well and that God would provide the funds needed. Insurance covers all of the therapy fee, but we have to pay $25 a session to "feed the horses" if she is accepted into the program. Right now, that might as well be $1000, but we know God will provide if that is His will for her life.

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Life Action- We are still as excited as ever about our ministry! As frustrated as we get that we are not in Michigan, we also know that God's timing is perfect and that He has us here for a reason. Right now, we are thankful to be near Clara's doctors and depending on what treatment is prescribed for her upon learning the results of the biopsy, we may need to raise more support before we go. For that reason, I am thankful we are still here. It would be VERY hard on our budget to try to pay for expensive treatment on what we have already raised to live on-a very modest yearly salary. We have not had many people look at our house recently, so we continue to pray that God's will would be done and that our house would sell in HIS time. :-) We did show the house last Sunday for the first time since July. The market is still slow, but God is most definitely still God!

Some months ago, we talked with some of our friends about the remote possibility that we could move to MI without selling our house first. Since many of you have asked about that, I thought I would go ahead and address that, as well. There are some families already in Michigan, waiting for their homes to sell. There is very limited space at the camp for these families. If God led us in that direction, we would surely obey, but for now, that does not appear to be His plan. Additionally, the salary we have raised for ministry is less than what we currently live on. There would be no way we could maintain our current house payment, living expenses, and Clara's medical bills on that income. We are anxious to get there, but would never want to go ahead outside of God's timing.

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We have a new nephew!! Diana had her baby on Friday night. She gave birth to a GORGEOUS 9 lb. 3 oz. baby boy named Noah. He is absolutely perfect and such a gift! THANK YOU LORD!!