The ball of yarn sat on the shelf, taunting me each time I passed. I had
\nstarted a piece of knitting months ago and would usually pull it out for
\nsomething to do with my hands as I sat on the porch with visitors, but with
\nmy recent loss of muscle strength I hadn’t exactly been looking for extra
\nwork. Then one day I grabbed it to take outside with me while I watched the
\nkids. “It’s just knitting,” I thought. “Even old ladies can knit,” I
\nthought. “How tiring could it possibly be?” I thought. “I’m sure I can still
\nknit,” I thought. <\/p>\n
I lasted for about 10 minutes before the muscles in my right arm were
\nburning like I had been snipping tin in Dwight Schrute’s Gym for Muscles. So
\nI went inside and put that yarn where it couldn’t taunt me anymore and made
\na mental note to compliment the next old lady that I see knitting on her
\nfine muscle tone. <\/p>\n
We have been back in the tribe for three weeks now, and we have four weeks
\nremaining before we fly to town and get ready to return to the US. We have a
\nplace to stay and a vehicle all lined up, and I have an appointment with a
\nneurologist for a week after we arrive. Thank you for praying for us – you
\ncan praise God that many of your prayers about the logistics of our stay
\nhave been given already! I have also stopped a medication (unrelated to any
\nof these current health issues), and that has given me back quite a bit of
\nenergy, which has been very nice. My other symptoms are continuing to get
\nworse slowly, so I am happy that we will soon be hunting down some answers
\nagain. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the kids are having a blast being back at home with their best
\nfriends, and we have been encouraged by spending time with the church again
\nand seeing our friends whom we have missed. We are teaching through the
\nScriptures about taking communion and will soon be celebrating that together
\nfor the first time! Chris was able to complete his Romans and Ephesians
\nprojects and get those books printed and ready for distribution, and he is
\nmaking good progress on 1 Corinthians during these weeks we have in the
\nbush. Our team office project finally happened, so the guys are enjoying a
\nnice roomy place in which they can work together and hold all the community
\nmeetings, and I am enjoying using Chris’ old office for a school room! <\/p>\n
I do get discouraged sometimes – it has been harder than I thought it would
\nbe for me to adjust to doing so little to “contribute” to the ministry – and
\nsometimes it makes me sad to remember that (unless we can find a cure) I
\nwill never be able to hike to my friend’s villages to visit them in their
\nhomes again. I find myself thinking, “Oh! My friend’s new house is done! I
\nshould go see it!” And then I remember that I can’t. But then I am reminded
\nto thank God that I can still get around in my own house and yard, and that
\nI am still able to take care of my family, and that we have coworkers who
\ncan be the mobile force on the team, and that the church building is right
\nin our village so I can still see everybody twice a week, and that people
\nare growing in their faith and others are being saved for the first time,
\nand the list goes on and on. <\/p>\n
So we will trust that this trial will produce patience and perseverance, and
\nwe will wait for God’s leading as we move ahead, and I will keep telling Pal
\nwomen not to be sorry for me, because this body was not made to last forever
\nand, in the grand scheme of things, I will have everything I need even if
\nboth my legs fall off tomorrow. <\/p>\n
We look forward to seeing many of you again soon and sharing how God
\ncontinues to answer your prayers! <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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