A pleasant good evening to each of you!
I realize many of you know all of this already, while some of you know little or nothing at all about this. I'll try to briefly give you a praise & prayer report mixed together at one time.
Our family is moving to Mississippi. We flew from Grenada on June 30, as planned, to Miami and then on to Philadelphia, PA, arriving there early July 1. It was quite a mix of emotions and flurry of activities as we attended a school quizzing, packed suitcases, said goodbye's, had a rushed time trying to get through customs and on to our next flight after some airport delays, then saying hello to family in PA and settling in to catch a few winks of sleep before morning. We felt God's grace carrying us through.
We enjoyed a few special days with family & friends..........
then suddenly, things took a turn for me on July 5 as I got sick and I eventually ended up in the ER in a Lancaster hospital and late that night they did emergency surgery to remove my appendix. We saw God's hand in it all, and are very thankful for God's timing and that this infection hadn't hit me a few days earlier while preparing to fly from Grenada
I was released from the hospital on July 6, and although I was still in a lot of pain it was good to be back with family. Jen & I agonized over what to do next since our (nonrefundable) tickets for the flights to Mississippi were scheduled for July 8. Finally, we decided that we think we can do it - with lots of help from family at both ends of the flights, and wheelchair assistance from Delta throughout.
Our flights went well, and we were so glad we decided to fly, although it was humbling to be so needy and having so many people help us throughout the day. Our children were real troopers, with Nicki & Caleb handling even our 50 lb suitcases at times. Mississippi friends had prepared our house for us, gave us transportation, carried our suitcases, even brought us food for meals. Saturday night our exhausted family was all in bed by 7 PM.
Sunday morning, we were privileged to attend Magnolia Church again - and were warmly welcomed. Sunday afternoon Jen discovered that the incision from my appendectomy was oozing pus, and we noticed red around the incision. Later on, we noticed that my whole abdomen was swollen, and so once again, we headed to the ER.
This time, it was a long, 3 hour wait through the night, but finally we were admitted and after more tests and scans they started IV antibiotics to fight the infection. But Monday morning, the surgeon said that another surgery was necessary, so once again I was going through the process of preparing for surgery.
Thankfully, it went better than hoped for. What we had expected to be nearly an hour long surgery lasted only 20 minutes or so. By this afternoon, I was feeling much better - even better than I had ever since the 1'st surgery. Hopefully the needle pricks and knife cuts are nearing the end - the doctor thinks with a couple more days of IV antibiotics I should be finished.
So there's the basic story. What's much harder to know how to share about is all the blessings. Miracles; like experiencing God's peace in the midst of uncertainty. Blessings of family & friends putting aside their schedules to help us out with children and transportation and food. Blessings of encouragement from dozens of friends in countless ways from texts, prayers, calls, etc. Friendships made with some of the nurses and staff even in our short time here.
Although you'd think this time would be very traumatic for our children... (moving from friends & familiar to foreign & unfamiliar, mixed in with numerous car rides, train rides, plane rides, packing suitcases, unpacking suitcases, new faces, Dad's in the hospital, making new friends, Mom & Dad are gone, sleeping in different beds, etc. etc) it actually seems to me that the children have not been too stressed or worried and are actually enjoying themselves immensely! Praise God for answered prayers and for people who did special things with them!
I'm not sure what else to write, partially because I don't know what's next, and partially because I'm very tired again. But I do know God holds tomorrow in his hands and I trust him to do all things well.
We ask that you praise God with us, and continue to pray for us. It feels like a long, long time since I left Grenada - yet, other than Saturday night, I still haven't been at "home". Also, I realize that even when I finally reach "home", I won't be finished with the "long trip" -- many of the transitions will only start at that point! Pray that God will give us strength and wisdom during the next months of transition.
Pray for our children. Pray for Jen as she nears the end of pregnancy and faces the daunting tasks of "moving in". Pray for the health of our unborn baby. Pray for me; for healing, for wisdom in the many decisions of the days ahead.
Also, please pray for the Limes church. The transition of staff leaving/coming has just begun there as well. During the next month or so, all the missionary staff will change except for Dervin & Lydia Seibel and Rhonda Stoltzfus. They, and the Grenadian church members, will have lots of adjustments as different families come for short-term and four new school teachers come in August. At this point, to my knowledge, there is still no one committed to come and serve as pastor.
Thank you for your friendship & prayers. God bless!
Marvin (for the Lapps)
