The Lord Is Near The Brokenhearted

I still remember one of our very first classes we took in Perspectives before we began our missionary journey. A vibrant older missionary couple were telling tales of their time in Egypt. In her hand, the wife held a teeny tiny clay lantern like a mini genie lamp. I remember her saying that we sometimes have a skewed viewpoint of the scriptures in our modern world. Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” We often envision a giant LED super flashlight illuminating a wide swath of path for miles ahead. But the reality in those days, with no street lights or light pollution, in the pitch black especially on the darkest and cloudiest of nights, there was just a tiny flicker. Just enough to see the smallest step ahead and barely nothing around. 

Once again, we find ourselves in the midst of taking tiny steps of faith, not really knowing what’s to come or how it will play out. But as we move forward, we are reminded of how faithful God has been. He has brought Joe through a year of post-op recovery and He has sustained us every step of the way. Now, for the not so fun news. Gavin has been experiencing increasingly concerning symptoms, we took him to doctors in the US but didn’t get anywhere. This past week, praise God, we were able to get him a CT and confirm that he also has bridging in his heart. Unfortunately, he has multiple bridges on different arteries so his symptoms are progressing faster than Joe’s. The good news is we caught it early and before he has developed damage. We also know what we’re doing this time around and have contacts to work with. Already we have a referral to Stanford for testing, but the waitlist average is close to a year out. We are praying that we can get our permanent visas, finish out the rest of the year in Manaus at the graphics department that we committed to and then get Gavin treatment. However, we are trusting God to show us step by step His plan and trust in His provision along the way. Thank you for your prayers, we desperately need them. God bless.

The godly cry out and the Lord hears;

he saves them from all their troubles 

The Lord is near the brokenhearted;

he delivers those who are discouraged.

The godly face many dangers,

but the Lord saves them from each one of them.

Psalm 34:17-19

Prayer Requests for Gavin

• Pray for him to continue to be patient while dealing with symptoms, as he tries medications, has tests done and deals with uncertainty.
• Pray that we can get him the testing and care he needs before he sustains any damage to his heart. 
• Pray for his relationship with God to be strengthened through this and that God would use this situation for His glory.

Praises

• Joe is one year post-op and doing really well!
• Praise God for providing answers about Gavin’s health, for keeping him safe up till now.
• Gavin is graduating! It’s hard to believe he has already finished high school and will soon become an adult. He will be staying with us and doing online college, he has just 8 more classes to finish his associate’s degree. Then he’s considering pursuing linguistics.
• Liam’s autism therapy is working! He hasn’t flapped his hands or done repetitive screaming in a month! He’s almost walking normal and has been smiling frequently! THIS IS HUGE!

For more information on how to send us a gift, visit ethnos360.org/joseph_suttle/give