They Come in Threes

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Medical Concerns

We have three health concerns that have come up recently that we’d like to ask you to pray with us about…

The Heart of the Matter

About two and a half weeks ago Bill’s heart went out back of its normal rhythm into AFib (atrial fibrillation). So his cardiologist ordered a procedure called cardioversion to reset the rhythm.

Bill will have the procedure tomorrow (Wednesday January 4th), around 2 p.m. PST. He’s had cardioversion twice before and it has worked both times without incident. He will be briefly sedated while the doctor shocks his heart with low-energy jolts from a defibrillator. The whole thing takes only about 3-5 minutes, but is sandwiched between 2 hours of check-in and prep and and hour or two of observation before they will let him go home.

Ugly is Only Skin Deep

At the same time, we’re waiting for results on two biopsies which were taken from moles on Bill’s chest last Thursday. The doctor says that they are skin cancer. Neither one seems to be melanoma, but she wanted to make sure. Once we get the pathology results, we will schedule surgical removal of both.

Yes, They Come in Threes

We also recently learned that Donna has very early-stage breast cancer. It was discovered during her routine annual scan, and we’re thankful it was caught early. It’s very small, and in situ, meaning it hasn’t grown or spread at all. Several other factors are also positive and point to the likelihood of good results. We’ll be meeting with the surgeon next week to discuss the initial surgery and what might follow as far as treatment.

Please Pray

This is where you come in! We’re thankful for having a prayer team like you to stand with us. We really appreciate each of you. Please pray for us and for healing and successful results from all these procedures and treatments coming up!

Our hearts are encouraged in all this. We’re truly grateful for our excellent doctors and medical care team. And even more, we’re trusting our gracious heavenly Father to continue to care for us.

God at Work Among the Nations

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We trust you had a special Christmas!

Here’s a quick update on our lives and ministry…

50 Years

We must be getting old. In September we attended Donna’s 50th high school reunion, then Bill’s 50th reunion followed in October!

All Dressed Up at Donna’s 50th Reunion

Global Forum

In November we were blessed to attend an international conference in Thailand with nearly 300 delegates from our ministry all over the world.

The Hills of Chiang Mai as Seen from our Hotel Window

It was exciting to get in-person updates about what God is doing through our mission in places no one can talk about openly because it would put missionaries and converts at risk. Christ is building his church!

We also got to personally meet several of Bill’s students from the online missionary training courses he recorded a while back. These 3 students were from the very first graduating class and took his classes in late 2021. They are from closed countries in SE Asia and wanted training to reach unreached people groups in their region. They told Bill he was their “favorite teacher”! One of them even started quoting all Bill’s examples and illustrations, telling us how he is already teaching the same material to others! That really made our day. A second group has already graduated, and the videos are now being watched by the third group who enrolled in the course, with students from 9 different countries.

Engage CLA Program and Stages App

During the forum Bill had a chance to give a presentation to everyone about his team’s project.

Presenting an Overview of CLA for the Main Conference

Then after the forum, Bill and his team spent 3 days presenting their new CLA (Culture and Language Acquisition) materials and app in more detail to over 80 field leaders and language consultants. This was the LONG-AWAITED FIRST STEP in the launch which will make these materials available to missionaries everywhere! Bill is busy getting ready for a big launch event in late May.

Holidays and… Sickness

We got home from Thailand just in time for Thanksgiving and Bill’s birthday, starting our family’s busiest season (8 birthdays and 3 holidays in two and a half months!) Some family members had some sickness in December, but are recovered now.

Looking Ahead with Thankfulness

2023 looks to be a full and excited year. Bill will be leading his team as they finish final details of their CLA materials; there will be lots of travel in the US and internationally, as well as on-line conference meetings, etc., to train consultants how to use them.

Thank you for your interest in our ministry. We appreciate you and value your prayers and partnership!

Here’s a strange thing… we published a ministry update a couple months ago. Our blog’s server was having technical difficulties, but in the end, it seemed to have sent, and we got a copy of it by email. But somehow it is now missing on our blog’s server and we can’t find record of it, so it makes us wonder! We hope you received it. If you did not receive that missing update, we’re sorry for how long it may have been since you heard from us.

Bone, Kids and Skin

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Here is a quick update here so you can be praising and praying with us…

Bones: Bill’s Knee

It took a couple months, but Bill was able to see a rheumatologist. A mere 4 hours (yes, FOUR HOURS) after the first dose of prednisone, the PAIN WAS GONE! The doctor has already almost completely weaned Bill off the prednisone and we’re hoping the pain will not return. Please pray about that.

Kids: Tomorrow’s Missionaries?

This morning we were able to share with several youth groups who were doing a work project in Tijuana Mexico with a ministry called Caravans. Bill talked about how God worked in his life to become a missionary. Please pray that God will continue to speak to those kids’ hearts and that they will respond to let him use their lives however he desires.

Skin: Bill’s Face

It’s not as dangerous as Donna’s recent melanoma, but Bill’s dermatologist found a basal cell carcinoma on his face. He’s had several of these in the past. Tomorrow he will be getting a MOHS procedure to remove this one. The last time Bill had a MOHS (on his forehead in 2019), his face swelled up for a few days like he’d been in the ring with a heavyweight boxer. Please pray that this time they will get all the cancer, but that Lord willing, the recovery won’t be so long or painful.

Stay Tuned

Our next update will move away from health issues and feature some good news… we’ll share how the Palawan church is thriving, young men are helping to lead the church, and how they are using the Palawano translation!

Update on Donna

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Successful Surgery

Thank you all for praying! Donna’s surgery, under local anesthetic, was done quickly and without incident. She’s home now, resting while I pamper her.

Now we wait…

The doctor said it might be up to 11 business days before we get the biopsy results. Then we’ll know if they need to cut out a wider area or not.

Please pray that this first one was enough. We’ll keep you posted.

-Bill for us

Health Concerns

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Sometimes an apple a day isn’t enough, and this is one of those times. We would appreciate your prayers.

Skin and Bones…

No, we haven’t gotten skinny (too bad!) But we do have some health concerns involving skin and bones.

Donna…

A routine annual dermatology exam about three weeks ago found an unusual mole on Donna’s thigh, and this was confirmed by a biopsy to be melanoma. We’re thankful that it is only “Stage 0.” So the cancer is in situ, which means that it is still only on the surface of the skin.

Please pray with us as Donna undergoes an outpatient surgery on Thursday May 5. The doctors will cut out a larger area just to be sure that no stray cancer cells are left. Pray that all the cancer is removed and that the procedure and recovery won’t be too painful.

Bill…

Donna’s situation is our bigger concern, but Bill has had some issues lately, as well. Since the beginning of the year, he has had a severe arthritis flare-up, unlike anything in the past. The biggest issue has been his right knee. He has experienced swelling and a lot of pain, which has also affected his mobility.

It took a while to work through the protocols, but he’s now seeing a rheumatologist and getting some tests done to determine the cause, and explore possible solutions. Please pray for him and for the doctors to find a way to bring relief.

God is Good… All the Time!

We’re thankful for God’s loving care and that nothing takes him by surprise. And we know that “nothing is too hard for the Lord.” We’re also grateful for high-quality medical care.

And we are thankful for each of you. Thank you for your part in our ministry, and thank you especially for praying for us in these coming weeks. We’ll keep you posted.

We also want to report that things are going really well on the ministry front. We’re excited to share some of what God has been doing in another update soon. But we wanted to get these prayer requests to you today so you could be praying.