Thursday, April 9, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Rhiana Update
Hi everyone, thank you so much for your prayers. Rhiana’s surgery went well. She went to the operating room just after 8am and returned to us around 6.30 pm. She is not allowed to move yet and is well dosed up with morphine. She has slept nearly the whole time since the surgery. The surgeons were very pleased with the way things went. Dr Fabregas who performed the spinal fusion says that he has managed to reduce the curve from around 78 degrees to 34 degrees. That will be a very significant improvement for Rhiana. She has a few slight issues at this time, she has a slightly high temperature, her heart rate is also too high and her breathing is erratic. We value your prayers regarding these issues and also for Rhiana’s mobility and pain level when she gets moving again.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
April Update
Well, it's already April and the blossom is full bloom (looks LOVELY!) and the pollen is smothering our cars, windows and anything that doesn't move! (not so lovely!) We have actually had a LOT of rain the past few weeks, so much so that Jordan has not yet been able to play a match!!!! (I know - 'soccer' really isn't English football - we don't play here if it's too hot/too cold or raining!!!) He is not a happy bunny!
We are nearing Rhiana's surgery date of 6th April and would ask you to continue to keep us in your prayers. Rhiana has experienced an overwhelming sense of peace and calm - she is amazing! God has been SO good in 'guarding our hearts and minds' these past few weeks and days - there are times we get anxious and fear creeps in (which we would appreciate your prayers for!) but generally we are able to give testimony to God's AMAZING provision at this time. Rhiana has had countless medical tests/exams etc, leading up to Monday's surgery. Her pulmonologist has advised us that currently Rhiana only has 61% lung capacity (due to the curve pressing on one lung). We are praying that after surgery this increases and she is able to resume more normal activities. We will know more in June when she is re-tested. We are about to turn our main 'living area' into Rhiana's new living accommodation for the next few weeks, since she will be unable to climb stairs straight away. For those that don't know, Debbie Osborn is flying out here after we come out of hospital to help us look after Rhiana. We are really looking forward to seeing her!
Things here are still very busy both at REVIVE and JUBILEE! The store is still exceeding our expectations in every way possible! We are continually amazed at God's provision and faithfulness. He promised, from the outset that He 'take care of the bottom line' if we continued to keep our eyes on Him and just be faithful in serving in what He has called us to do at the store. This week Trev has been installing a computerized Language Programme in the store, for the use of both staff and customers. We are really hoping to reach more of our Hyspanic community and by employing 4 Hyspanic staff and now, having Spanish / English courses available to learn in the coffee shop, we are hoping to bridge this gap. God has blessed us with such an AMAZING staff, 4 of whom, have started attending ALPHA at REVIVE on a Wednesday evening - we are so excited!!!
We are also very involved with two families right now who are in need of help and would appreciate your prayers in wisdom in how to best serve them. Both have been attending church for a few weeks and need a lot of love and support. We are so grateful that God has brought them to us and are praying that they really sense God's heart and provision in their time of need, through us, His family!
Well, that's a brief summary. I will post again as soon as I have an update on Rhiana!
We are nearing Rhiana's surgery date of 6th April and would ask you to continue to keep us in your prayers. Rhiana has experienced an overwhelming sense of peace and calm - she is amazing! God has been SO good in 'guarding our hearts and minds' these past few weeks and days - there are times we get anxious and fear creeps in (which we would appreciate your prayers for!) but generally we are able to give testimony to God's AMAZING provision at this time. Rhiana has had countless medical tests/exams etc, leading up to Monday's surgery. Her pulmonologist has advised us that currently Rhiana only has 61% lung capacity (due to the curve pressing on one lung). We are praying that after surgery this increases and she is able to resume more normal activities. We will know more in June when she is re-tested. We are about to turn our main 'living area' into Rhiana's new living accommodation for the next few weeks, since she will be unable to climb stairs straight away. For those that don't know, Debbie Osborn is flying out here after we come out of hospital to help us look after Rhiana. We are really looking forward to seeing her!
Things here are still very busy both at REVIVE and JUBILEE! The store is still exceeding our expectations in every way possible! We are continually amazed at God's provision and faithfulness. He promised, from the outset that He 'take care of the bottom line' if we continued to keep our eyes on Him and just be faithful in serving in what He has called us to do at the store. This week Trev has been installing a computerized Language Programme in the store, for the use of both staff and customers. We are really hoping to reach more of our Hyspanic community and by employing 4 Hyspanic staff and now, having Spanish / English courses available to learn in the coffee shop, we are hoping to bridge this gap. God has blessed us with such an AMAZING staff, 4 of whom, have started attending ALPHA at REVIVE on a Wednesday evening - we are so excited!!!
We are also very involved with two families right now who are in need of help and would appreciate your prayers in wisdom in how to best serve them. Both have been attending church for a few weeks and need a lot of love and support. We are so grateful that God has brought them to us and are praying that they really sense God's heart and provision in their time of need, through us, His family!
Well, that's a brief summary. I will post again as soon as I have an update on Rhiana!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
March Update
Well, it's already well into March. The weather has been crazy here just lately. Last Sunday we had a downfall of snow and this Sunday the temperature was around 80 degrees! LOVE IT!
Last week we enjoyed being able to go to the Leadership Conference in Missouri. We had a GREAT time with PJ Smyth, Terry Virgo and John Lanferman sharing some superb teaching. Our good friends, Josh and Casey stayed in our house and looked after Rhiana, Jordan and the cats!!! While we were away they all went to see the Harlem Globetrotters and had a blast!
Rhiana has continued to recover from her Chiari surgery and is no longer experiencing any headaches - praise God! She is, however, experiencing increasing back pain and has to use a wheelchair when we are out and about, doing a lot of walking. She also decreased lung capacity and has a breathing treatment. This is due to the severity of the curve, which now measures over 60 degrees. This week she is due to see both a Pulmonologist and a Cardiologist who will, hopefully, clear her for surgery on the 6th April. Since the curve is very close to the heart and lungs, they need to make sure that surgery will not put her at any real risk. We would really appreciate your prayers at this time. As you can imagine, we are anxious for her and are not looking forward to seeing her go through more major surgery but we are trusting God and really seeking His strength at this time. Rhiana is doing really well with it all and is very much looking forward to growing at least 2 inches post-op!
Jordan is heading into his Soccer season and looking forward to a goal scoring record! He has enjoyed this past year at school and is doing extremely well in all his subjects but has to admit to loving Math SO much that he dreams about it!!!! (We still are not quite sure where he gets that from!) He still spends most of his spare time out in the cul-de-sac with a crowd of other kids, building camps, playing in the Creek, chasing lizards, playing four-square (!) and generally just enjoying the wonderful weather! It's a hard life!
The church is continuing to grow! Praise the Lord! We are now gathering approximately around 100 people each week and regularly have guests show up, mainly through REVIVE.
Trev is enjoying his role on the Leadership Team and is now overseeing the kids work, running our Community Group and working full time as Manager at REVIVE.
Tracy is enjoying singing in the Worship Team, being a part of the Welcome Team, has recently joined the Creative Planning Team (great fun!!!) and is leading the initiative with the poor in our Community (hopefully this will soon have a name!) We are currently supporting 3 families/individuals and are really enjoying getting to know them better. All of them have attended either the Sunday service or our Community Group and we are confident that God has more in store for each of them!
We love you all and thank you for your continued support. Have a wonderful Easter!
Last week we enjoyed being able to go to the Leadership Conference in Missouri. We had a GREAT time with PJ Smyth, Terry Virgo and John Lanferman sharing some superb teaching. Our good friends, Josh and Casey stayed in our house and looked after Rhiana, Jordan and the cats!!! While we were away they all went to see the Harlem Globetrotters and had a blast!
Rhiana has continued to recover from her Chiari surgery and is no longer experiencing any headaches - praise God! She is, however, experiencing increasing back pain and has to use a wheelchair when we are out and about, doing a lot of walking. She also decreased lung capacity and has a breathing treatment. This is due to the severity of the curve, which now measures over 60 degrees. This week she is due to see both a Pulmonologist and a Cardiologist who will, hopefully, clear her for surgery on the 6th April. Since the curve is very close to the heart and lungs, they need to make sure that surgery will not put her at any real risk. We would really appreciate your prayers at this time. As you can imagine, we are anxious for her and are not looking forward to seeing her go through more major surgery but we are trusting God and really seeking His strength at this time. Rhiana is doing really well with it all and is very much looking forward to growing at least 2 inches post-op!
Jordan is heading into his Soccer season and looking forward to a goal scoring record! He has enjoyed this past year at school and is doing extremely well in all his subjects but has to admit to loving Math SO much that he dreams about it!!!! (We still are not quite sure where he gets that from!) He still spends most of his spare time out in the cul-de-sac with a crowd of other kids, building camps, playing in the Creek, chasing lizards, playing four-square (!) and generally just enjoying the wonderful weather! It's a hard life!
The church is continuing to grow! Praise the Lord! We are now gathering approximately around 100 people each week and regularly have guests show up, mainly through REVIVE.
Trev is enjoying his role on the Leadership Team and is now overseeing the kids work, running our Community Group and working full time as Manager at REVIVE.
Tracy is enjoying singing in the Worship Team, being a part of the Welcome Team, has recently joined the Creative Planning Team (great fun!!!) and is leading the initiative with the poor in our Community (hopefully this will soon have a name!) We are currently supporting 3 families/individuals and are really enjoying getting to know them better. All of them have attended either the Sunday service or our Community Group and we are confident that God has more in store for each of them!
We love you all and thank you for your continued support. Have a wonderful Easter!
Sunday, December 28, 2008
December Update
First of all, we would like to wish each of you a very Happy New Year! We trust that you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas.
This month has been an enjoyable one, since Tom and Jill (Tracy's parents) arrived in Atlanta at the end of November and will be here until the end of January! It was SO good to have them here over Christmas and we not looking forward to them going!
Unfortunately Jordan has been quite unwell for a while with Glandular Fever (otherwise known as 'Mono' here in the States!) He was x-rayed last week and found to have an enlarged spleen, which is causing him quite a bit of pain and he has lost weight and is extremely tired all the time. He has to have a lot of rest and generally wait for the virus to pass (which will possibly mean a period of time off school).
Rhiana is still not back to school either, although (PRAISE GOD!!) her headaches are minimal now. We received a phone call just before Christmas from her Neurosurgeon to advise us that she needed further surgery before her spinal fusion. Rhiana was due to have spinal fusion at 'Shriner's' Hospital in North Carolina in January, however, this additional surgery would have made that impossible. We visited the Neurosurgeon last week and he has suggested that he tries to get Rhiana a date in February/March with her Orthapedic Surgeon, here in Atlanta, and intends to insert a 'stent' into Rhiana's spine during the same surgery as the spinal fusion (this needs to be done, to get rid of the spinal fluid that has collected inside her spine, which could cause paralysis etc if not treated). This would make the surgery an hour longer, but would mean that Rhiana would not have to go through 3 serious operations in the space of 6 months! We would still really appreciate your prayers for Rhiana's health and healing. She is still coping remarkably well but, as you can imagine, is apprehensive about further surgery when she still feels rather 'fragile' after having brain surgery a few months ago. Please pray that God's will be done - whether that is through miraculous healing or surgery, we know He has the best in store for her and will hold and sustain her throughout! What a FAITHFUL God we serve!
Jubilee continues to grow, which is exciting and Trev is now overseeing the children's work. Tracy has agreed to head up the work with the poor and is meeting with a couple of other people to pray and seek God's guidance as to how we proceed. After taking up an offering to help families in the community who were in need over Christmas, we were excited to have several couples/families come into REVIVE asking whether we could help them. One couple had lost everything in a fire, another had lost his job and had his children and grandchildren living with him in a room in a local motel and was in need of food and rent. Another recently widowed lady came asking for help and we were able to offer her employment at REVIVE and practical help too. It was SO humbling and exciting to come into contact with these people and be able to provide them with food hampers, clothing and gifts for Christmas. We know that this is just the start of things to come and would really appreciate your prayers as this is a HUGE endeavour we are undertaking. We want to build something that offers people SO much more than just practical help. Our desire is to support them through the tough situations they are in and see many come into a REAL and living relationship with Jesus Christ!
Please join with us in praying for the following:
1. That God would provide us with a venue.
2. That we would know His plan and strategy in helping the poor.
3. That the financial costs would be covered.
4. That God would give us wisdom in 'who' and 'how' to help.
5. That God would put together the 'team' to lead and run this initiative.
THANK YOU!
We really do love you all and thank you for your on-going love and support.
First of all, we would like to wish each of you a very Happy New Year! We trust that you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas.
This month has been an enjoyable one, since Tom and Jill (Tracy's parents) arrived in Atlanta at the end of November and will be here until the end of January! It was SO good to have them here over Christmas and we not looking forward to them going!
Unfortunately Jordan has been quite unwell for a while with Glandular Fever (otherwise known as 'Mono' here in the States!) He was x-rayed last week and found to have an enlarged spleen, which is causing him quite a bit of pain and he has lost weight and is extremely tired all the time. He has to have a lot of rest and generally wait for the virus to pass (which will possibly mean a period of time off school).
Rhiana is still not back to school either, although (PRAISE GOD!!) her headaches are minimal now. We received a phone call just before Christmas from her Neurosurgeon to advise us that she needed further surgery before her spinal fusion. Rhiana was due to have spinal fusion at 'Shriner's' Hospital in North Carolina in January, however, this additional surgery would have made that impossible. We visited the Neurosurgeon last week and he has suggested that he tries to get Rhiana a date in February/March with her Orthapedic Surgeon, here in Atlanta, and intends to insert a 'stent' into Rhiana's spine during the same surgery as the spinal fusion (this needs to be done, to get rid of the spinal fluid that has collected inside her spine, which could cause paralysis etc if not treated). This would make the surgery an hour longer, but would mean that Rhiana would not have to go through 3 serious operations in the space of 6 months! We would still really appreciate your prayers for Rhiana's health and healing. She is still coping remarkably well but, as you can imagine, is apprehensive about further surgery when she still feels rather 'fragile' after having brain surgery a few months ago. Please pray that God's will be done - whether that is through miraculous healing or surgery, we know He has the best in store for her and will hold and sustain her throughout! What a FAITHFUL God we serve!
Jubilee continues to grow, which is exciting and Trev is now overseeing the children's work. Tracy has agreed to head up the work with the poor and is meeting with a couple of other people to pray and seek God's guidance as to how we proceed. After taking up an offering to help families in the community who were in need over Christmas, we were excited to have several couples/families come into REVIVE asking whether we could help them. One couple had lost everything in a fire, another had lost his job and had his children and grandchildren living with him in a room in a local motel and was in need of food and rent. Another recently widowed lady came asking for help and we were able to offer her employment at REVIVE and practical help too. It was SO humbling and exciting to come into contact with these people and be able to provide them with food hampers, clothing and gifts for Christmas. We know that this is just the start of things to come and would really appreciate your prayers as this is a HUGE endeavour we are undertaking. We want to build something that offers people SO much more than just practical help. Our desire is to support them through the tough situations they are in and see many come into a REAL and living relationship with Jesus Christ!
Please join with us in praying for the following:
1. That God would provide us with a venue.
2. That we would know His plan and strategy in helping the poor.
3. That the financial costs would be covered.
4. That God would give us wisdom in 'who' and 'how' to help.
5. That God would put together the 'team' to lead and run this initiative.
THANK YOU!
We really do love you all and thank you for your on-going love and support.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
November Update
This has been a busy month (yet again!) REVIVE has broken all records and is keeping Trev on his toes! One of the highlights was getting to know 'Jessie' and 'Bud' - a father and son, who were homeless and without employment. They spent 2 or 3 weeks in the store, each afternoon and we were able to help them in a number of ways practically, until we paid for their tickets back to Missouri (where they came from originally). They also came along to church a couple of times which was great. God is really stirring us in the area of reaching out, practically, to the needy in our community and we hope to be starting an initiative next year, which Tracy will be very involved in setting up...exciting!!!
Rhiana is still experiencing bad headaches, nausia, and severe pain in her neck and upper back. She was recently put on some strong medication for migraines, however, her neurologist is now pretty sure that the headaches are not migraines and that she is experiencing pressure on her brain. He has ordered a full body MRI for Monday (next week). We should get the results of those next Thursday and then learn where we go next. We would really appreciate your on-going prayer for Rhiana, since she has not been able to go back to school yet and life for her, right now, is quite difficult. Saying that, she remains cheerful throughout and most people would never know the pain she experiences!
The rest of us are doing good. We are now running a Community Group (mid-week small group) and meet 3 times a month, once for bible study, once for prayer and once on Saturday to serve breakfast at REVIVE. There are about 5 groups meeting now and we are looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us and hope to see these groups really grow and have many come into the Church through them.
Jubilee continues to grow steadily and we excited to see what God does in and through us over this coming year (we can hardly believe that we are entering our 3rd year here!)
We send our love to you all!
This has been a busy month (yet again!) REVIVE has broken all records and is keeping Trev on his toes! One of the highlights was getting to know 'Jessie' and 'Bud' - a father and son, who were homeless and without employment. They spent 2 or 3 weeks in the store, each afternoon and we were able to help them in a number of ways practically, until we paid for their tickets back to Missouri (where they came from originally). They also came along to church a couple of times which was great. God is really stirring us in the area of reaching out, practically, to the needy in our community and we hope to be starting an initiative next year, which Tracy will be very involved in setting up...exciting!!!
Rhiana is still experiencing bad headaches, nausia, and severe pain in her neck and upper back. She was recently put on some strong medication for migraines, however, her neurologist is now pretty sure that the headaches are not migraines and that she is experiencing pressure on her brain. He has ordered a full body MRI for Monday (next week). We should get the results of those next Thursday and then learn where we go next. We would really appreciate your on-going prayer for Rhiana, since she has not been able to go back to school yet and life for her, right now, is quite difficult. Saying that, she remains cheerful throughout and most people would never know the pain she experiences!
The rest of us are doing good. We are now running a Community Group (mid-week small group) and meet 3 times a month, once for bible study, once for prayer and once on Saturday to serve breakfast at REVIVE. There are about 5 groups meeting now and we are looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us and hope to see these groups really grow and have many come into the Church through them.
Jubilee continues to grow steadily and we excited to see what God does in and through us over this coming year (we can hardly believe that we are entering our 3rd year here!)
We send our love to you all!
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