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May 24, 2005
Talked to Wil
We talked to Wil yesterday morning and he seems fine. In the photos you’ll see some taken at the Middle School Banquet on Sat. night. We’re grateful for the way he has been able to reconnect and stay connected with friends there. These last few days may be harder for him as he realizes that he will probably not see most of these friends again. He has stayed all but one night with the Burdicks and got his papers and projects turned in. Pray for the Burdicks as they leave for home assignment on May 31. Not an easy task with four kids, one graduating from high school and heading for college. Wil flies on Sat. morning, the 28th and like us, arrives here at the same time he leaves there!
Our week has been full and fun for us. We’ve enjoyed reconnecting with family and friends. Dave’s sister JoAnn and her new husband Pat have just bought a home near Vancouver, WA, just across the Columbia River from Portland. We saw it and them last week before they flew back to Michigan. JoAnn’s daughter Tricia is getting married July 2nd and Dave’s sister Sandy will be buried June 17th (no winter burials in that part of Michigan) so if I don’t need to start chemo we would like to be in the Midwest for those events, and to see my brother in Wisconsin. Tonja Lampinen, Sasha’s sister and Tony and Marsha’s daughter, is getting married this Sat. and we would have loved to be there for that, but Wil’s arrival and doctors appointments here made that impossible.
I see a radiologist May 25 to see whether he thinks I need radiation treatment, have a bone density scan on May 31, and the same day see a surgeon just to make sure everything is healing as it should. Then on June 7 I’ll have another CAT scan of liver and lungs, and see Dr. Panutich on June 13. By then we should know whether the hormone treatment is working. If it is, we can travel, sort out housing, and begin to really ‘settle’ here in Oregon. We feel more comfortably perched than settled at the moment!
PMA staff are in upheaval at present and need our prayers. Death threats were made against two of the leaders and this has led to staff vacating the office and a total disruption of routine. They need to move to a new location, but this hasn’t been found yet. Pray for God’s peace which passes all understanding to guard their hearts and minds right now. Otherwise panic and fear could easily take over. Dave has been making calls to connect with Filipino pastors in this area. We want to stay as involved as we can with Filipinos and hope this will lead to see many in this country getting involved in cross-cultural missions.
Posted by David at 2:21 AM
May 17, 2005
Synchronization
Our computer hadn’t made the time change the last time I wrote, so some of you will have seen a May 14th posting on the 13th! I think that we and the computer are now functioning on Pacific time more or less. We went to Kaiser Permanente’s Interstate office on Friday morning and met Dr. Alexander Panutich (pronounced pa noo’ tish) who is from Belarus, Russia. He was at the University of Minnesota before coming to Portland. Haven’t found out yet how long he’s been in the US or about his family! He, and the rest of the staff in the oncology department, were very kind and friendly. Dr. Panutich is happy for me to continue on the hormone treatment for another month before doing another set of scans. If they show that the spots have shrunk or stayed the same, I can continue with this treatment plan and just have scans every three months. So the results in June will determine how I spend the following three months. If this treatment isn’t proving effective, I’ll need to move to chemo. I’ll also be seeing a radiologist, and have a bone density scan. But I haven’t dates yet for other appointments. Things don’t move as fast in the US as they did in Singapore!!
From the doctor’s appointment we went to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital to visit staff there who became friends during the time we spent there with Ben. It was a lovely reunion, even though we want to see many others who weren’t on duty at that time. Then we had a fabulous lamb dinner with the Jeskes, and went with them to see “The Sound of Music” at Damascus Christian School. The cast were excellent and we thoroughly enjoyed the evening.
Saturday was quieter. We explored our neighborhood and found a Filipino store just a few blocks away! With a name like ‘Mabuhay Grocery’ we knew it had to be Filipino! That was a treat. They didn’t have Silver Swan soy sauce, but they did have Sky Flakes, Selecta ice cream, lots of other products from the Philippines!!
We learned more about the new Community Groups (adult Sunday School classes) at Damascus Community Church and enjoyed seeing many friends yesterday. Went out for lunch with part of our community group at a Mexican restaurant and that was good too. So we’re slowly getting back into the life of the church.
Wil seems to be doing okay back in Manila and is busy with end of term projects and assignments at Faith Academy.
Posted by David at 2:41 AM
May 14, 2005
Arrived in Portland, OR
The last time I wrote, May 9th, we’d had a good night’s sleep and last night we had another! Can’t say as much for the ones in between but we survived and were able to keep going. Dave and I didn’t leave our Cambridge St. house until about 6:30 pm the night before we flew, but by then the house was empty and clean. Many friends helped in different ways to make that possible. We sure couldn’t have done it without them. We spent our last night with Wil at the Burdicks, once again appreciating their love and hospitality, then left for the airport about 5:15 am. John and Paula Richards got us there in record time and took the new photo you’ll see on the website just before we entered the airport. So our farewell to the Philippines was officially documented!
Our trip was uneventful and on the Tokyo-Portland flight we had four empty seats across the aisle from us and were able to stretch out to rest. We were still weary when we arrived in Portland, and getting through immigration and customs, and recollecting baggage took a while, but still we were at our ‘new’ home by mid morning. And what a surprise we had when we arrived! There was a turkey roasting in the oven, a freshly baked angel food cake on the counter, and all the trimmings for a thanksgiving dinner. After we had unpacked a bit and had a few hours sleep, we ate and realized how much we had to be thankful for. The house is a comfortable, 2 bedroom, nicely decorated bungalow with a wood burning stove , completely furnished and equipped, in a good location for shops and getting to the clinic I need to visit. It is owned by a member of our church whose mother lived here until last February. We feel positively spoiled.
We are still getting turned around time-wise, but have been able to get our warm clothes and other personal bits out of the barn where they were stored. Yesterday the sun came out (!) and today I have an appointment with the oncologist, so more news soon.
Posted by David at 12:34 AM
May 9, 2005
Contacting us in Portland
This is a very quick update before we pack the computer to give you contact information for us in the US. Initially we will be staying at the address below:
5507 SE 66th
Portland, OR 97206
(503)777-0219
but it might be better to send mail to c/o Williams, 15093 SE Legacy Ct., Clackamas, OR 97015 as I don’t know how temporary the above address will be or whether anyone would be able to forward it once we aren’t there. The Williams aren’t planning to move in the immediate future. Their chocolate Labrador Bailey just had 13 puppies!!
Something else we gave away was Wil’s cell phone, so that is coming back to us too! The number for it is 971-219-4050.
Dave reckons we needed about 24 hours more than we have to be totally ready to leave. But we fly in about 20 hours, so that will have to be enough! God is good and has helped us through a very hectic week. We’ve not been getting much sleep, but last night was a lot better. I’m sure we’ll sleep on the plane!
Posted by David at 10:24 AM
May 5, 2005
May 5th Update
It’s more than a week since I’ve done an update. Our break in Calapan was really refreshing. Swimming in the ocean one last time let my body relax so much that I was asleep by 8 pm that night!! Since most other nights have been quite short, that was very much an example of the Lord giving to His beloved sleep. We are waking with the birds these days, not the alarm clock or even the Hail Mary’s broadcast from the nearby Catholic church. Two barrels and about a dozen wooden boxes are packed ready to ship, most things we needed to sell are sold (pray people don’t now change their minds on wanting things!) and we will take what is left to a White Elephant sale at Faith Academy on Sat. which raises funds to support the summer work program for high school students.
Wil was a finalist in the middle school speech contest last week. He and a friend did “Who’s on first?” by Abbot and Costello. They did a great job in memorizing their parts and acting, and we were really proud of him/them. He has a research paper on gambling to complete after we leave and some other projects as well, but at the moment is more focused on the middle school retreat this weekend, and the banquet in two weeks time. We can tell the hormones are kicking in because this time he wanted to go to it with a girl!!
My pain (from the surgery a month ago) has been well controlled with medication and most of the time my heart has been at peace, even though right this minute I’m feeling panicky. There is so much clutter around us and I don’t know where to begin to bring order out of the chaos. But I know the Lord will help us through today and each day to come. It was lovely to see how God has continued working in the lives of many friends in Tanauan, and how a housing project for the poor, begun when I was in Tanauan, has continued to provide refuge and hope to many families there. Tuesday evening was our last OMF prayer meeting and it was a foretaste of heaven: singing hymns together and affirming the Lord’s goodness. Dave spoke with a power that has been given him through testing. In a way it felt like getting to go to my own funeral (when that day comes, I’ll be long gone, so I was delighted to get in on this trial run!!) There’s no way to describe what it has meant to me to be part of the OMF family for more than 28 years. In my mind that includes all who are former OMFers scattered around the world as well as the group still here on the field, and with only a handful of earthly relatives on my side of the family, I feel so privileges to be so rich in friends and family in the Lord.
When we have contact information in the States we will post it. There are possibilities of places for us to stay initially and then longer term, and the car we gave away when we left Portland was given to the church a few months ago, so will be available for us to use when we get there. God is good, and while we are focusing on the remaining untied strings here, He is working out His plans for our future. We’ll be here in Brookside until Saturday night, then with the Burdicks until we fly on the 10th to Portland.
Posted by David at 7:45 AM