|
Sharing Christ's
Compassion for Ukraine |
|
|
|
|
|
|
April 25, 2011 Dear Prayer Partners: Happy Resurrection Day! In Ukraine, they
celebrate Easter for 3 days, Sunday—Tuesday. Yesterday in Krasnosyolka, they had services at 6am and 4pm.
Several of our friends from Kubanka and Shamanovka went to the afternoon service. Today
Pastor Lonya took the youth group from Krasnosyolka to Kubanka and Shamanovka for services in those 2 villages. They
were very pleased with the number in attendance. Even Petya, our friend who lost both legs, came to the service
in Kubanka! We have been following up with
him, and though he is not yet ready to trust Christ, he is seeking the
Lord. What a wonderful way to remember our Lord's sacrificial death and
victorious Resurrection! Christ is risen
indeed! Today, I am celebrating LIFE in a new light!
My colleague Holly Friesen has been keeping you up to date about my
hospitalization. Thankfully, I was discharged from the hospital
Thursday, after 12 days of being poked, prodded, stuck and scanned. I
am still dealing with some shortness of breath and weakness after the bout
with pneumonia and pulmonary emboli (PE), but I am getting better every
day! I will recap the last couple of weeks, but let me know if you want
more details. I flew into Greenville, SC, to see my family Thursday,
April 7. Friday night, I coughed all night, then
Saturday morning had fever and chest pain. It got much worse Sunday so
I went to an urgent care center where they diagnosed pneumonia and
recommended admission to the hospital April 10. I was so sick, I
agreed. In a few days, the pneumonia was getting better, but I was
still really short of breath. So they did a CT of my lungs which
revealed multiple bilateral pulmonary emboli (small blood clots in the
lungs), much to everyone's surprise! I was shocked. One PE in the
wrong place can kill. Multiple PE's can kill. Long
periods of inactivity increase the risk, and I sat on 3 different planes for
15 hours to get to SC from Ukraine! God preserved my life!!
All praise and glory to Him, the Almighty God, Who has a purpose for each of
our lives! He could have let me go to heaven to live forevermore, but
He chose to keep me on this earth to fulfill His perfect plan. Jesus
is LIFE! May I be in tune with His voice daily to discern His will
and accomplish His desires! In the hospital, I reflected on Psalm 18 every
day. The Lord being my Rock of refuge took on new meaning during those
12 days of enforced bed rest. Before I had focused on the first 3
verses, now verses 4-6 applied, as the "cords of death encompassed
me". Verse 30 reminds us that His way is perfect. God is my
stronghold and deliverer, my immoveable Rock, my Light, my strength, my
pathfinder. May I never forget all that He has taught me in the past
few weeks! Another surprise is that I am hyperthyroid after
all. The initial tests in the hospital were normal then others
inconclusive. They finally repeated everything and confirmed the
findings from the lab in Ukraine! That was unexpected. So I was
dealing with hyperthyroidism, pneumonia, multiple blood clots in the lungs,
all on top of jet lag. No wonder I felt so bad! The next few weeks I will focus on recuperation. I
hope to be ready to go to the ABWE Medical Missions Interface in June to
present our ministry in Ukraine. In the meantime, lots of doctors'
appointments and further testing as we adjust the dosage of the anticoagulant
(medicine that prevents more clots from forming) and try to pinpoint the
source of the emboli. Thank you so much for your prayers, e-mails, cards,
calls, flowers and encouragement! God used you to help me
persevere. What a privilege to call you my partners in prayer! I have lots more news from Ukraine, but this is enough
for now. I will write later to tell you about my last few weeks there. As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD
is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. For who is
God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God? It
is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. (Psalm 18:30-32) Leaning on The Rock, Miriam |
|