06.29.07
Posted in General News at 1025 by quitomandie
We have been in the process of moving this week. It started last weekend with packing and planning. Then, on Monday, we hired a group of teenage boys from the youth group to help us move. (We offered them all-you-can-eat homemade pizza as an incentive - I ended up making four, but they only ate three. I learned that putting leftover pizza in the fridge AFTER it rises but BEFORE it bakes doesn’t turn out very well - I baked it for lunch the next day, and it came out like cardboard.) Since then, we have been unpacking (slowly) and getting the handful of things that didn’t get transferred on Monday. We were told we had until July 13th to be out, but once we moved the bed the land-lady started getting very impatient, so Mike stayed over there until 11:00 last night getting the last of the stuff, mopping the floors, cleaning the sink and bathroom, and just generally giving everything a last “once-over.” He stayed late by himself so that I could go to bed at 10:00 - he must really love me! The school still has some things in there (the oven and fridge, a couple wardrobes) so we haven’t officially handed our keys over yet, but all of our stuff is out.
It has been WONDERFUL to be back at church. That was one of the hardest parts of being on bed-rest. Mike always found something on-line for me to listen to on Sunday morning (usually Pastor Rick from our home church in Beavercreek). But listening on the radio and being there in person, as part of the community, is NOT the same thing. I now have first-hand experience to back up what I’ve been hearing for years - you really can’t “do church” at home as a substitute for being involved in a local body of believers (the communion of saints, as the creed would say).
Our pastor leaves on Saturday for a short trip to the States, and our associate pastor is also on a summer furlough, so for the next few weeks the deacons and various lay-preachers are going to be filling the pulpit. Mike is preaching on July 8 at the evening service. Pray for him if you think about it. In addition to getting his sermon ready and helping me at home, he has also been very busy at work preparing for the transition into his new job on Monday.
I haven’t been back to the doctor since my last update, but so far everything looks/feels fine. I get hot and tired very easily, which is making moving go VERY slowly, but I’ve passed the initial “caution advised” period and am now supposedly able to get back to my normal routine. Our next appointment (the normal 5th month visit) is scheduled for July 10, and will include such fun attractions as another blood test (to check for downs syndrome, not optional here), finding out the baby’s gender, and strawberry smoothies from the juice bar outside the clinic. Our insurance year ends this weekend. We sent in the paper work for Mike’s appendectomy, but when we added up all of my hospital bills we realized that the ones the insurance will cover (hospital stay and blood test) don’t add up to enough to cover our deductible. Since on most of my visits, the only thing I pay for is the required ultrasound, and our American insurance company doesn’t cover ultrasounds, that is all out-of-pocket. But, for $20 a month, it’s not a bad deal. My “emergency ultrasounds” were free.
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06.16.07
Posted in General News, Prayer Updates at 806 by quitomandie
Thank you so much, everyone, for your prayers! I started bleeding a third time Monday morning, but it was very scant and brownish, so we decided to just stay in bed and hold off going to the doctor to see what developed. When it hadn’t stopped by Tuesday, we called the English-speaking head nurse, which is what we’d been told to do first if I had a problem. She said we didn’t really need to worry, but since I was close to time for my check-up, anyway, to go ahead and come in that afternoon.
The doctor announced that the baby is fine, developing normally for dates, and looks pretty healthy - especially considering all that has happened. He also was able to check the problem area in the placenta via. ultrasound and declared that it is no longer a problem and we are out of danger for the time being. It seems that the tear is near the top of my uterus, so some blood from the earlier tears was trapped inside and is now slowly working its way out. I have been allowed off of bed-rest (with some restrictions - mostly common-sense) and also been cleared to go back to work in the fall unless something else happens in the mean-time. However, I have also been warned that there is a good chance that the problem will repeat itself. Therefore, I’ll have to be careful and watch for symptoms for the remainder of the pregnancy.
Right now, we are praising God that the crises is over for now, and that both baby and I seem to have come through in good condition. With the tear near the top and blood trapped inside, things could have gone very badly (we might not have known there was a problem until it was too late to do anything, or until I was very sick) - so we are thankful for God’s protection.
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06.01.07
Posted in General News at 1058 by SeismicMike
I realize that some of you are very much in the loop while others are somewhat not in the loop, so I’m going to try to cover all bases. We have not produced an official prayer letter in a while because of how crazy everything is. I think the last thing we sent out was a very general “We got back from the Philippines” note. I still intend to send out more personalized thank-yous to those who financially supported us, but that won’t happen until Liz sends us the list.
So, I’ll start a while back. While we were on the trip, we discovered that Mandie is pregnant. This is very exciting for us, but is going to make life very crazy - and it already has. Life continued pretty much normally until May hit. Now, everyone here told us that May is the busiest month, but I’m not quite sure if I can accurately evaluate that statement, because a lot of what has happened in our May has been abnormal - non routine. It started with my appendectomy very early on - which put me a bit behind on my work. Then I got home and back to work and such and then last Tuesday (a week and three days ago), Mandie discovered that she was bleeding. I took her to the hospital and they said that the placenta had begun to separate from her uteris - which was not an actual miscarriage, but has put the pregnancy in danger. They ordered her to bed rest and that was that - until this Tuesday when she started bleeding again - this time more so. The doctors say that the tear has advanced - though the baby is still ok at the moment. So they admitted her to the hospital on a provisional basis to make sure she heals up.
So that’s where we stand. She’s coming home today, which is good news. Needless to say, my life has become extremely busy in the last few weeks. Through it all though, the Lord has shown His blessings. He has placed us in a vibrant community of believers who have rallied around us in love and support. Not an hour goes by that someone doesn’t ask how we’re doing and if they can help, and they have helped! The news of Mandie’s initial bed rest was about two hours old when I was told that meals were being organized for us, and people have done laundry and such for us.
Please pray for us. This summer is going to be extremely stressful. My job is going to be changing significantly. I’m going to be given much more responsibility next year. Also, we’re supposed to be moving - and I have no idea when exactly this is going to happen. We think Mandie may very well be on bed rest for the duration of the pregnancy. Please pray for our baby. We are trusting God’s Sovereign care and Providence. I think that this may be one of the most intense trials I’ve experienced in my walk with Christ. Please pray for our spiritual growth. We know that without God’s provision and blessing this whole thing can’t happen. We’re trusting Him that if He gave us this miracle He won’t take it away, but even if He does it’s for our good. Thank you all for your love support and prayers.
Other than that, things have been pretty good. I spoke in chapel on the 16th and it went really well. I spoke from Colossians 3 on living for our Master, Jesus. I have posted a rough transcript of what I said on my blog. The students responded pretty well. I don’t always have the best way of knowing what their responses are because I don’t interact directly with them very often. I was able to build relationships with them on the mission trip and through church, but that’s only with a select few.
Several of our students were baptized a few weeks ago, and another one delivered the sermon on Youth Night at our church this past Sunday. Please continue to pray for the spiritual growth of our students. We have some that are very apathetic, but there are those select few who really stand out.
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