Sunday, June 22, 2008

Looking Up, Continued

I continue to be amazed at the blessings God is sending our way.

On Monday I met with the radiation oncologist, a very helpful doctor who grew up in South America as the child of missionaries.

My second surgery on Tuesday was a breeze, barely slowing me down for a few hours. On Wednesday we were able to make a quick trip to Fort Worth to see Carly Branscum (daughter of long-time friends Cary and Pam) sing a solo in the finale of the Summer Spectacular musical. I’ll admit I slept all the way home and was pretty worn out the next day, but it was worth it.

On Thursday I met with a nutritionist. It turns out that she is from South Africa! Since my follow-up care will have to be in Johannesburg or Capetown, she offered to help me find medical professionals or help with any other needs when the time comes.

The pathology report came back on Friday showing clear margins, so now I am set to begin radiation treatments the first of July. We left Friday afternoon and drove to Abilene where we spent the night with Don and Laura Oldenburg, our co-workers at Namwianga. They have been back in the US since late February because Don is also battling cancer. He has already been through his chemotherapy and just started on radiation treatments this week. We have a good-natured contest going to see which of us can make it back to Namwianga first. Laura is a nurse who has worked in oncology, so she has been very helpful to me, and it was great to visit with them.

On Saturday we traveled on to Camp Blue Haven in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Sara and John were campers here from the time they were old enough to go, and we spent eight summers teaching Bible during second session, so this place is near and dear to our hearts. We had a warm welcome from old friends as well as the many BOCC campers who are here. The cool mountain air and the rugged beauty of the mountains just add to the joy of being at a place that is aptly described as “a mile and half toward heaven.”

The camper talent show on Saturday night brought back many memories, and we loved seeing our Brentwood campers in action. Many of them are former students from my second grade classes, so that made it extra special for me.

We are staying in a beautiful log cabin nestled in the pines of the Blue Canyon. The temperatures were down in the 50s last night. Today the sun is shining, the air is crisp and clear, and we are headed for Sunday morning worship with the campers.

We are richly blest.

1 comment:

Denise said...

You will miss Lesley and Chad by a week. They are teachers for third and fourth sessions. They are also working with their contractor finalizing their plans for their cabin at Blue Haven and are very excited about that.
Praise God that your surgery went so well. I will continue to pray for you.