I have a feeling that 2012 will be one of those years that will always stand out in our memories. Only three months in, it has already been filled with the unexpected, and I have a hunch there is more to come! Ever since our 1st grandchild was born in January, we have been getting our own refresher course in embracing flexibility and the unknown, something we are always telling our Discovery participants is such a necessary part of the kind of work we do. For the most part, it has been encouraging to see that even in our 50’s, with the Lord’s help and a great deal of support from our partners and new Seattle friends , we have been able to do that pretty successfully. It has been such a privilege and joy to be able to help Leanna and Mark and be with Baby George; now we are preparing for Shevawn to head back to Huntington Beach for a couple of weeks. The plan is for her to return to Seattle (we hope) in time for George’s upcoming surgery, recuperation and graduation from the NICU to his home. Here is our tentative timeline…and some ideas of how you can be praying for us:
March 20th - April 3rd Shevawn will be back in California; please pray that she will be able to take care of the things that most need to be dealt with (both at work and at home) and also be refreshed physically, emotionally and spiritually. Please pray for John as he moves the Discovery office, in addition to all his other usual tasks involved in organizing Discovery trips.
End of March- beginning of April At some point in this time frame, George will reach the surgeon’s goal of 6 lb. 6 oz. so he can be operated on. While George is blessed to be in a place that has a number of excellent and experienced neo-natal surgeons available, his particular surgery is both uncommon and in an especially difficult area to get to. His surgeon anticipates it will take them 5 hours to get in and do what they need to do. Please pray for the medical team, for George and for his parents (and grandparents too) as he is operated on, and for his recuperation thereafter. (I know that some of you have requested e-mail updates on how George is doing, and I truly wish we had both the time and the physical energy to be able to do that. At present, it is all we can manage to put short updates/requests for prayer on our Facebook wall often, and less frequent updates on our blog. This is our reality; thanks for your understanding.)
April 3rd -???? Shevawn will be returning to Seattle to help as needed, probably at least a couple of weeks, maybe longer. At some point in April we will also need to decide if Shevawn should still be a leader on the Ghana Discovery team as planned or stay back in the US this year. Factors involved in making this decision will include not only George and his family’s needs, but also whether we feel Shevawn will be able to be sufficiently replenished in time in ways that will allow her to be strong enough to lead.
Meanwhile, the beginning date for Ghana Discovery 2012 comes closer with each passing day. Shevawn has not been able to spend as much time as she had hoped to on our Discovery related work while in Seattle; John has been trying to pick up some of the slack. We would greatly appreciate prayers for us both for our productivity and for wisdom to know what to work on and what to let go of from now through our departure in June.
Thanks so much for your prayers and words of encouragement that have meant so much us very much to us during this challenging time. We have truly felt strengthened by so many of you as you have supported us in a number of loving and practical ways. Thank you, THANK YOU, thank you!!!!
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