You know you are getting old when the acquisition of new appliances makes you giddy.  Never did I think that a new refrigerator could fill my heart with such joy.  Thanks to the generosity of so many of you, our work account at Cadence had enough money to buy a new one.  It’s double the size of our current one and I’m skipping around like I just won the lottery.  To top off God’s delight in mine, our dear friends today announced that they were going to buy us a washer.  In a period of 24 hours, I will have something that holds more than one meal of food and get to wash my clothes in my home…a first since we’ve been married!  (That’s 7 years, folks! J)  Though God’s goodness doesn’t change from one day to the next, today I feel especially grateful.

 I’ve been thinking a lot about how different we become as life takes us down different roads.  As I talked with two of our summer interns today, they silently smirked when I ASTONISHED them with the fact that I was a social butterfly in college.  I told them how my good friend, Julie Volstad (whom I still consider a great friend, actually, though I have failed miserably at keeping in touch with her), said she wouldn’t sit with me at dinner in college because “in 10 minutes, you’ll be up and sitting at another table”.  These two frolic-y college sophomores cannot imagine this mother of two munchkins being anything of the sort.  Now my world is filled with primary colors, veggie tales, teaching letters, shapes, grace and kindness…
 
Change is all over our world right now.  Our teammates have left after 7 years of faithful service to the Lord here.  Our new co-workers are due to arrive August 7th and in the between time, we’re running pretty hard.  Our three interns have been a delight and I know will continue to bless us and our students while they labor here for the summer.  The summer is when most families “PCS” which means move to their next change of station and we have lost more beloved friends.  This year was the first that we saw people leave who had arrived here after us.  We are the “old folks” now.  

The rest of our summer looks like this:

Next week (July 7-11): we are running a soccer camp as a fund raiser for the youth group.  Please pray for students to be diligent and to work hard, and for outreach to happen.

July 14-18:  We are working with Teen Mania to do a missions trip here on the island.  Please pray for effective outreach and God to move in people’s hearts.

July 26-August 7:  Buddy takes off with 9 students to a leadership conference in Tokyo.  This is the beginning of Jen holding down the fort…please pray!  

July 31:  Jen takes off to USA with Adrianne and Jack…not too worried about A, but Jack does not like confinement.  Please pray!

August 1-24:  Jen is stateside with her family until the 11th, and then goes to Buddy’s folks in NY where he joins us on the 14th.  Buddy’s brother gets married on the 16th.

We are really beginning to look forward to our time in the states with our family.  We have even managed to squeeze a few friends in there and we are grateful for the chance to be with everyone.  


Please continue to pray for our friends, Mark and Jennifer.  The most recent update reveals that Jennifer’s cancer has doubled in size despite some pretty severe, experimental chemotherapy.  We are really hoping that Buddy can fly/drive out to see them while in the US.  Please pray for wisdom in that situation.  Even as I sit gleefully and stare at the refrigerator, I am reminded how we are built for eternity.  That no refrigerator or washer will ever meet our needs for a disease-free, appliance-free home in heaven.  I will attach Mark’s most recent update regarding Jennifer at the end of this e-mail.  I hope you are encouraged by it.  

Please let us know how you are all doing.  For those of you that have left, we miss you terribly, for those we have the chance to see, we wait with excited hearts, and for those who continue to love and trust us despite not seeing us for these 3 ½ years, we thank you.

Till the day we don’t need refrigerators and dine together eternally,

Jen for Buddy, A & J 


From Mark:

Friends,

Wanted to pass along on update on our journey.  Jennifer finished her second
round of chemotherapy a few weeks ago, and on Monday had the first CT Scans
since beginning treatment.  We received the results of those scans on
Wednesday.  The scans showed that the cancer has doubled in size, and has
spread further in a very aggressive way.  Because of this, Jennifer will not
be continuing her current form of treatment.  The doctor also did not want
her to continue eating any longer, because of the damage it could cause to
her digestive system.  So yesterday, Jennifer was admitted to the hospital
to begin receiving TPN, which is nutrition that is fed through the central
line in her chest.  After this weekend, she will be able to receive that at
home, at night, while she is sleeping.  The TPN will provide her body with
all of the nutrition that it needs.  We now need to decide together what
direction we will take concerning further treatment of the cancer.

The news we received was obviously dissappointing.  But Jennifer and I
continually reminded each other in the days leading up to the test that no
matter what the results were, it didn't change who God was, or what He
wanted to do for her.  God still is who He is.  His will is still for
Jennifer to be completely whole and healthy and disease free (that is His
will for all of His children.)  It doesn't change the fact that the death
and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth 2,000 years ago provided for not only
our spiritual healing, but for our physical as well.  It doesn't change the
fact that the Kingdom has come among us in the person of that same Jesus,
although not yet in it's fullness...

And so it doesn't change what our responsibility is; to lay hands on the
sick, and to pray that they will be healed, and to believe that God desires
that same thing very much.  And do please continue to pray for Jennifers
healing, joining us in believing that her good Father desires it even more
than we do.
 
Be encouraged.  Don't lose heart.  The battle is not over.    Our family
blesses you as you fight this battle with us.  "Father in Heaven, holy is
Your name.  Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, here on earth, just as it
is in Heaven."
 
Mark, Jennifer and Micah