Dear friends,
COMINGS AND GOINGS
These have been busy days. Allison has moved to Seattle- 2 weeks ago- and I helped to get her ready to go. She is in an apartment in the University district near Green Lake. I need to visit her and see what it all looks like. She got a nanny job today with a family she really is excited about. They have a 15 month old son and another due next month. Her boyfriend, Tyler, is living south of the city until he leaves for Spain in March to do mission work in Madrid.
Last week Allison's 3 friends from FL and Alabama flew in for 5 days of vacation with her. Tyler was here too and also a friend of theirs who is here in Spokane attending Moody Bible Institute. So it was pretty exciting at our house!
After they all left on Sunday, I remade the bed for Vasantaraj and Mano from India. They work with an amazing ministry in Carola (sp?) on the east coast in Tamilnadu. Mano shared stories this morning in chapel at the office and will be traveling tomorrow to Arizona...and so will Greg and I.
Tomorrow morning many staff members are heading to Scottsdale to get ready for the President's Forum. Our guests will arrive on Thursday when the program will begin. Ken Medema will be our musical guest, Ted Dekker will be speaking and the highlight is hearing from several of our amazing partners. Emmanual is here from Ghana, our house guests from India, and Afeef is coming from North Africa. Their stories of changed lives and communities are amazing. For instance 44 churches were planted in muslim/animistic northern Ghana in 2010! 44! This is hard rocky soil and yet the Gospel is spreading by the grace of God. I will tell you more of their stories after we get back.
We will be returning to Spokane on Sunday. Then next Friday I head to Denver until Tuesday to do a program on China for the 175+ kids in the Bible Blast class that supports us at Cherry Hills Community Church. Then, March 3-5 I am bringing a Kidzana Institute to Spokane. I am recruiting currently, and our goal is to have 20 people take the training. This is the training I did in east Asia in Oct., and it is simply amazing. Having seen it so spot on effective in Oct., I am hoping many will take advantage of doing it here next month.
A little later in March, Greg and I will head to NJ and PA for training and meetings with churches that are connected to Partners. Greg has a new job at Partners International called Church Resources, and is in the midst of figuring out what all that will entail. That trip will last almost 2 weeks. I think I get to be home for a while until we go to Jenni's graduation from Grove City in early May.
Exhale...
HEALTH UPDATE
A few have asked about my health. My bladder is still acting up and muscular control is sluggish at best. We have tried every idea my doctor has (and she is amazing), and we have decided to try one more idea that works well for some people. There is a procedure where a wire which is connected to a device is inserted close to the nerve that goes to the bladder. Like a pacemaker, the device sends impulses to the bladder nerve urging it to contract. First we do a trail, and if that works, a permanent wire is inserted that has tines on it and a small version of the device is placed under the skin. The test run will be on February 28th, and if it works, the permanent one will be put in by the end of March. My insurance has approved trying this- but their permission is only until the end of March.
I am doing a health coach program through my doctor's office to help me learn how to eat more healthy and heal my intestines. A test that we did last year showed that I have a leaky gut, my food doesn't digest well at all, and there is a great deal of inflammation. Now with a glycemic (sp?)index diet, I am eating healthy food every 2- 3 hours during the day and am taking extra protein that absorbs right into my system also. I am accountable for what I am eating and for exercise. Anyway, I go see her every 2 weeks and she gives me feedback on how I am doing and answers my questions. The goal is to change habits forever. With my cancer history, this is going to give me much more of a fighting chance.
My right knee got pulled when I was working out at the gym, but I am sure that will be feeling better soon. I finished my physical therapy with Barb who was helping me get rid of the scar tissue I had from radiation on my left side. I learned how to do massage myself too. I also got another shot in my left wrist which was having lots of carpal tunnel problems again. There is a small chance the shot this time will work longer than the 2 1/2 months the last shot worked. If it comes back, I will probably get it fixed. That worked well on my right wrist. A ten minute surgery and great results.
So, I hope that is enough of an update to give you an idea. I am approaching my 12th and 5th anniversaries of my breast cancers, and continue to be grateful for every day the Lord gives me! I talked to our friend in East Asia and they want us to come back this fall and do phase 2 of the Kidzana training. (Greg thinks he should come with me!) I need to check out this possibility after I get back from AZ.
Well, I am going to sign off and go eat a salad!
God bless you- Nancy
