Fall 2015 Update

Greetings Everyone– or should I say “g’day”?- from Cairns Australia. I had to make an unexpected trip down under for a few weeks, which is a fairly common thing that should be expected…

It’s a real pain
A few months ago, I started getting pains in my left knee which started getting worse and worse. Pretty soon I was having a hard time with lifting heavy objects, getting out of cars, and walking long distances. Then things got worse- while driving, my leg locked in a painful fashion, and I was unable to walk without a cane for a bit. At this point, the mission doctor agreed I needed proper help.

Check it out
So, down I went to Australia for a planned three and a half week trip- this to give me time to recover from a likely orthoscopic knee surgery. After multiple doctors’ visits, MRI’s, and other medical test, it was determined my knee didn’t need surgery. Praise the Lord. However…

No quick fix
It seems that the main source of pain is osteoarthritis of the kneecap- basically there’s not a lot they can do other than physical therapy. So, I’ve got to rebuild the lost muscle from the weeks of limping around. Happily, things are pretty slow in the Shipping department.
Things to pray for
-PNG is in the middle of a pretty bad drought at the moment. Since most people there live off basic gardens, it’s starting to affect them badly.
-Our flight program is switching to the larger, faster Kodiak. Please pray for all the layers of paperwork and ect needed for certification.
-And as you can guess, I could use quite a bit of help with my recent travel and medical expenses. My insurance doesn’t cover travel and accommodations, and the deductible is pretty high.

Thanks once again for your prayers and support,

Joe