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June 30, 2008
Car, Chemo and crutches
Dear Team,
Thank you for praying for a reliable vehicle for Wil to drive. We found one through a former neighbor and Wil is very happy with it. Just a few days ago, Dave was checking the van over and discovered a loose pulley. If that had broken while Wil was driving, the engine would have stopped and the car would be hard to control. Once in a while God lets us see how He is protecting and providing for us. Much of the time I think His angels are watching over us and we are never aware of it. Wil is a good driver and was enjoying his new freedom until last Thursday when his freedom was curtailed by a fall. He was playing indoor soccer, and scored a goal in the last minute of play, but fell on to his foot and fractured the tip of the fibula in his right leg! He isn’t to put weight on that leg until he gets what we hope will be a walking cast on the 8th, the day his friend Dawson arrives! He is determined to go to his youth group Water Ski Camp in mid July even though he won’t be able to be in the water. He was working four hours a day for a friend, but that, as well as driving, is now on hold.
Last Sunday was our church’s annual Freedom Celebration, commemorating the Fourth of July by recognizing all those who have served their country in the military and other support services. We had a large contingent for the local National Guard unit with us for the service and time of eating and games afterwards. I’ve had trouble playing the flute and piccolo at some stages of the month when mucositis hits as a side effect of the chemo. But many were praying and I was able to play and enjoy playing on Sunday, even the piccolo part to Stars and Stripes Forever which I last played in high school!
Only one of our three monthly OMF prayer meetings will happen in July due to the pray-ers travel plans. Pray that we can connect with key people in the local Bible schools and seminaries this summer in preparation for this coming school year. We need to reconnect with several of the local Filipino pastors as well, having missed the monthly prayer fellowship time of these pastors recently.
I had chemo last week and saw a different oncologist. He suggested cutting the dosage of Doxil to see if that would make it more tolerable. Can’t say I’ve noticed any difference so far, but it’s only a week since treatment and side effects go on all month. On the 16th I’ll have another CT scan to find out whether the Doxil is working to shrink tumors. I’ve been able to walk most mornings and that plus gardening and sunshine makes life seem a lot more pleasant and worth living. I’ve also read several interesting and stimulating books recently.
Dave has been bothered by pain in his left arm (and he is left-handed). It seems to be something like bursitis and hurts more at night when he is lying down than during the day. Please pray that he will be able to keep moving the arm so that it doesn’t lead to a frozen shoulder. I’m afraid this may have been caused by all the digging he has done in the garden. With Wil away so much, Dave has done all of the heavy work in the garden. I just put in seeds and plants! Speaking of the garden, at long last we are getting enough sun and warm weather for crops to grow. Most crops are 4-8 weeks behind schedule, so unless we get a very warm autumn, we won’t get corn or many beans. But the potatoes are happy!
We mentioned that we will be in the Midwest at the end of July and beginning of August. Early this month we have a variety of visitors, fellow OMFers from the Philippines on the 4th, then the Burdicks on the 8th, and then Mike and Eileen Baldwin from England on the 11th. None are staying as long as we would like them to, but we are looking forward to each visit.
Hopping, limping, and praising the Lord, the Lampinens
Posted by David at 10:29 PM
June 19, 2008
Mostly news about Wil
Wil passed his written and behind-the-wheel driving tests today with flying colors. This afternoon he drove himself to work and later to a soccer game. He is a good driver and apart from the expense, we are glad he is now able to drive. His grades arrived today and since his lowest grades were two B+s, he is eligible for an insurance rate reduction. Having taken Driver’s Education classes last summer also lowers the rate, but it is still high for a teenage boy.
Probably some of the most memorable parts of his trip to the nation’s capital were the unexpected parts, like watching the Marine band practice for a program at the Iwo Jima memorial and spending a night in the airport in Chicago on the return journey because of inclement weather in the Midwest.
A couple serving in East Asia are back in Portland for the summer and were able to share at the two prayer meetings last week. Both are articulate speakers and did a great job of explaining their ministry and giving us much fuel for prayer.
We had a quiet week with Wil away and me not feeling too well, but did manage to celebrate Dave’s birthday by going out for lunch and getting him some new clothes. I’m relieved to report that I’m feeling a lot better this week. My mouth is almost free of mucositis and I can play the flute again and even manage to do a bit on the piccolo, important since our annual Freedom Celebration at church is June 29th and that involves playing a number of marches which need the piccolo part. The combination of muscositis and cramping in my hands was making it almost impossible to play. I’m scheduled for another round of Doxil on June 25th so would be grateful for your prayers that I’ll still be able to play on the 29th.
We’ve seen more of the sun in the past week than in the previous six months. Nights are still cold and most of the time I still feel cold, but this has been great for lifting our spirits. We have so much to be grateful for, most of all the privilege of knowing and loving and serving the Lord Jesus.
Posted by David at 9:54 PM
June 7, 2008
School's out for Wil, plus other news
The school year ended for Wil at noon on Friday and he immediately took the corn rows out of his hair, with the help of some of the girls at school! Since he is used to shampooing his hair daily, he said it really felt good to wash it after two weeks. The initial look of kinky hair was weird, but after washing it, it was back to his normal straight. His school choir sang at graduation last night, and with lots of help from other parents, we finished the clean up after graduation by 10 pm. Dave and I were in charge of that since it seemed a less daunting task than decorating or ordering food! We had learned a while back that the junior class parents are responsible for putting on the graduation, and since Wil and all the other juniors, and many of their parents, were leaving about 4 this morning for Washington, DC, all were anxious to make quick work of the clean up! Wil insisted that he wouldn’t be able to sleep, but he was. We figure he’ll be sleep deprived by the time he returns late Saturday night, and he didn’t need to start out staying up all night before the trip! He phoned when changing planes in Denver and sounded in good spirits.
Thank you for praying for a vehicle for Wil to drive! We were able to find one very quickly and easily and Wil is happy with it. It’s a 1997 Chevy Blazer, heavy enough and with tires that will get him up Mt. Hood for snowboarding next winter, and solid enough that if he is in an accident, the other vehicle will probably sustain more damage than his. He is very excited, and has his driver’s license test scheduled for June 19th.
Karen is finding that different side effects seem to hit at different times after Doxil treatments. Nausea was a problem the first week and now the pain in her mouth is back. There doesn’t seem to be a time during the month that is free of side effects, so life can feel rather a slog. We watched the Rose Festival parade on television this morning. There was some drizzle, but the not downpour that often accompanies the parade. Usually after the Rose Festival, the dry weather comes. This has been the coldest spring on record so we hope that within a few days we’ll start to see the sun and stop shivering.
Posted by David at 7:51 PM
June 1, 2008
June Prayer Bulletin
Dear Team,
East Asia has been in the news recently with the cyclone in Myanmar, earthquakes in China, political unrest in Tibet, and of course, the upcoming Olympic Games. A recent typhoon in the Philippines killed over 20 people. These events call us to prayer and we are reminded that there are great spiritual needs there as well as physical needs resulting from these natural disasters.
Thank you for praying for our training sessions in Denver. It is always revitalizing to connect with the OMF mobilization team here in the U.S. We received valuable training, shared ideas, and were challenged anew with the task of recruiting new workers to help reach the millions of people in East Asia that still have little or no access to the Gospel.
Karen spent most of last week at Kaiser clinics having a variety of tests and treatments. The latest CT scan shows that tumors in the lungs and liver have decreased slightly in size, so she continued with another round of Doxil last Wednesday. There is an indication of something going on in the left pelvic area which accounts for that pain, but it didn’t show up on the bone scan, so probably is not a spread of the cancer. Karen has done a lot less walking this past month because of the pain, but the lack of exercise has lead to feeling discouraged, so she is ready to go back to taking Ibuprofen enabling her to walk without pain and try to balance the side effects. It’s all a juggling act these days.
Dr. P had a setback about two weeks ago when a high fever landed him in the hospital for a few days. The virus which caused it has now been identified and with the right treatment he is feeling a lot better. Today is Day 75 post transplant for him.
Wil has one more week of school, much of it getting ready for their class trip to Washington, DC. They leave June 7 after helping at graduation the night before. He has a couple of jobs lined up for the summer and hopes to get his driver’s license and a car in the middle of June. Please pray the Lord will lead us to a reliable yet inexpensive car that we and Wil are happy to have him drive.
There aren’t missions conferences during the summer and Bible colleges only have a few summer classes, so we need prayer that we will constructively use our time, both in planning for the fall and getting familiar with OMF books, videos, and other materials that can help us represent OMF. The prayer meetings will continue, though each will probably have a month off to accommodate vacations. We will be in the Midwest from July 28 until August 12 to attend my brother Bill’s wedding in La Crosse, WI Aug. 2 and Dave’s college reunion the following weekend in Houghton, MI..
THANK YOU for your faithfulness in prayer for us and for East Asia.
Dave & Karen
Posted by David at 4:31 PM