Reflections on the Unexpected

It was a Friday afternoon while in Ohio that I received the call telling me there was an irregularity in my mammogram screening.  A nodule was found deep within my breast and I needed to have further imaging and testing done.  The screening was done in Michigan and here I was in Ohio scheduled to fly to California on Monday.  In my mind there was no way to pursue the testing until our return to Michigan in August.  Therefore, I proceeded to schedule an appointment for August 2.  That was over 5 weeks away and I was just going to have to wait!  But as many of you know, the waiting is often the hardest part.

Initiallly, I was fine with the news.  It wasn't until later that night that I was tossing and turning and thinking the worst.  My mom had breast cancer and my mind couldn't shake the thought of that happening to me too.  The what if's were running through my mind and I was scared as to what this might all mean to my family, our ministry and me.  The next morning I found great comfort in God's word, in prayer and talking things through with Jonathan.  I am thankful that from that point forward God gave me great strength, peace and comfort as I set the unknown (to me) in His ever caring and loving hands.

I called my doctor the morning we flew out to California and he advised that if I could get the testing done while out in California to go ahead and do so.  The ease of finding a doctor, having images mailed, referrals made, scheduling an appointment and insurance issues handled across state lines was amazing to me.  It was a God sent provision for us to discover this in America.  I cannot even begin to image the stress of it all if this happened in Italy.  Not only having to speak medical terms in Italian but the extreme amount of time this would have been to coordinate.  I'm not saying God couldn't have done the same in Italy, but I did take much comfort in working with a system and language known to me.

One week later I had the imaging done in Santa Barbara.  The technician said she would take the images needed and if the radiologist saw something suspicious I would then proceed to have an ultrasound.  The minutes were long as she took the images to be read.  She came back in and said "if you would follow me to the ultrasound room."  So clearly, we were not dealing with a simple cyst and there was something more to it.  The ultrasound confirmed a solid mass of 2.3 cm.  This time I was not surprised as I had prepared myself to hear the worse.  God continued to flood my heart with peace--a peace that surpasses all understanding.  If for nothing else than to experience His peace and increase in faith, to me this was worth it.

Another week later I was having the biopsy done, having been set up with a surgeon during that time.  The procedure was painless (another answer to prayer) and we received some encouraging words from the surgeon from what she saw indicating that I most likely had a fibroadenoma.  Upon taking in our transient summer and overseas living she advised to have the mass surgically removed, even if the pathology results came back negative.  A surgery date was scheduled before leaving the office for July 26, just days before flying back to the Midwest.  However, she assured me I would be fine for the trip and we felt this was the "best" possible time to have this done considering our intense schedule and not having to reestablish myself with a surgeon in Michigan.

I waited another week to receive the test results and was relieved to hear the good news while on vacation that the biopsy results were negative!  Such a huge answer to so many of your prayers!  I am so thankful that during this entire stage of uncertainty a damper was never put on our precious family time.  It was a blessing to be near my mom for so many reasons.  Her encouragement, retelling of God's faithfulness through her own experience and just being there meant the world to me.  Something special that is not always afforded as missionaries.

And guess what...ONE week later I was having outpatient surgery for the removal of the fibroadenoma.  Everything went really smoothly with the procedure and recovery.  Any discomfort was easily relieved with some ice and tylenol.  The final pathology report on the mass came back negative and concludes this chapter of medical history in my life.

So much to be thankful for throughout this entire unexpected trial.  I was overwhelmed with so many words of encouragement and assurances of prayer from so many.  God indeed is to be glorified for the outcome, for his working and deepening of faith in my life that only comes through those hard trials, for the growth in our marriage and so much more.  His timing is indeed perfect...even if that means that every furlough so far we have experienced some health related problem in our family.  God is good no matter what!  His grace is sufficient and I am overjoyed to be his daughter and having experienced and learned what I have this summer.  Thank you for supporting our family and ministering to us in a profound way!!

Family Reunion 2012

As promised, here is another highlight post from our time in California.  For sure our time together with family in the states always tops our list of precious memories.  For now most of my family resides in California and the past two furloughs we have been blessed to reunite together on a family vacation in Mammoth Lakes located in the Sierra Nevadas.  We greatly missed Cody and Michelle (and baby fish) whom we missed by a matter of days in their return from Iraq and their start of a stateside visit.  The trip wasn't the same without you guys!  Still there were 7 grandchildren, grandparents and us parents living under one roof for a week.

We enjoyed hiking, fishing, swimming, eating, coloring, biking, visiting the ghost town of Bodie and much more.  The kids didn't catch any fish, but they did find dinosaur eggs.  The hunt arranged by Papa was a highlight for the kids and they enjoyed escavating their dinosaur from the plaster eggs.  On our return home we crossed over the mountains and into Yosemite National Park.  We arrived home exhausted, needing a vacation from our vacation...but we wouldn't trade it for the world!  Enjoy more pictures and thoughts from my siblings Jennie and Ben.  We are already thinking and dreaming about our 2014 reunion!

US Citizen

We arrived in California 5 weeks ago, and here I am on our final day taking a glance back and wanting to record some precious and unforgetable moments during our visit.  It has been an amazing time and I will share more over the course of the next few posts of what God has done in the life of our family.  There have just been some MAJOR events that I feel deserve their own spotlight.  Here is the first highlight...

We arrived on June 25th and felt yet another wave of jetlag hit us.  We had one day to attempt recovery before caravaning down to Los Angeles to witness the swearing in of over 2,000 new US Citizens.  Of course, we were there for ONE very special man, Miguel, my brother-in-law.  He is from the Dominican Republic and has been working on his US papers since he and Jennie were enaged in 2006.  After years of waiting, mounds of paperwork, passing of his oral exam, and much much more, you could not find a more happy couple to have this process finally behind them.

The day was one to remember.  The reuniting of the cousins.  Nearly missing the ceremony.  Waiting.  People watching for hours and wondering what their stories were.  Did I mention waiting?  The drive home...let's just say nothing compares to LA traffic.

Miguel, we are so proud to call you an American and our brother!  So glad we were able to share in this very special day with you guys.

Week 2: Ohio

I will NOT be doing a week-by-week recap of our summer.  However, we do have 3 major locations that we call "home base" anytime we are stateside.  Michigan--home of Jonathan's parents.  California--home of Noella's parents. And Ohio--home of our sending church and to us prior to moving overseas.  Therefore, I will highlight our second week stateside since it was spent in Cedarville, Ohio.

This was a brief period of time in which we were able to recooperate a bit as a family.  Our amazing church family provided the use of one of their newly remodeled missionary houses.  What a retreat for us!  We enjoyed the slower pace of Cedarville living and were able to see a few people during the week.  Most of our closest friends were on vacation or at camp during the week, so we look forward to catching up with many more on our return trip in August. 

The side of the house and the van, also given to us to use for furlough by our church

One morning we took the kids to the US Air Force Museum.  They absolutely loved that and the price was just right for our family--FREE!  

 

We had several dinner invites and enjoyed the hospitality of retired missionaries from Alaska, the special treat to the Cheesecake Factory and time spent together with two of the church's secretaries... 

Thanks Debra for a very fun evening at The Greene!

...And Amy too!

The splash pad at The Greene was a blast for the kids

...and a fun summer night spent at the Wallis home.  

Love the Midwest's wide open spaces to play.

We received a gift certificate to Mom and Dad's Dairy Bar and the kids enjoyed ice cream a couple of times.  I did take note of the penny candy jumping up in price since our college days, but other than that I can't say anything has changed in the past 16 years.  We took numerous trips to the library and maxed out our limit in checking out materials over the course of the week.

Oh, and the kids had a fun visit with their cousins' cousins and my sister-in-law's sister.  Close enough to call them family.  Good to see you, Reid family!

Sunday was another insane marathon day for Jonathan.  He preached both morning services at Grace.  We literally felt like we flew in and out of the church doors because we had to be on the road headed to West Virginia by 1:30 that afternoon.  A dear family hosted us for lunch and we scarfed down food while enjoying our one-hour conversation.  We hate that rushed feeling and are thankful for their gracious spirit and understanding of our tight schedule.  The drive to West Virginia was close to 3.5 hours and we made it in time to grab some dinner with the pastor and missions chairman before the service.  The service was small and intimate and Samuel greatly enjoyed the request from the pastor for an inpromtu piano performance.  Back we went on the road, returning close to midnight for a brief sleep before an all-day traveling day to California.  Whew...

Furlough: Week 1

I will try my best to keep you up to speed with our summer furlough experiences.  However, no promises! With our short and very valuable time needed to be invested face to face with friends and family, summer posting might be spotty.  Although, having started to make our rounds with supporters many have commented that they do indeed read this blog.  And here I thought my audience was mostly grandparents and family.

We arrived safely on Saturday, June 9.  All went smoothly and it took us nearly two weeks to recover from jet lag.  Jonathan's parents were most gracious to us in our initial week of reentry adjustments.  There is nothing like coming back to your parent's house and being covered in great love, care and encouragement.  The kids were spoiled and loved upon our first week.  Here are some of our first week highlights:

Gramma came along to see a brave little girl get her ears pierced

Munga taught the kids to ride bikes and they picked up on it right away.  Apologies to all the neighbors for the bike tracks left across your lawns and mailboxes hit those first few days!

A first time for the kids and I in picking Michigan strawberries.  It was a wonderful experience and the kids had a great time and even sweeter time eating 8 lbs of strawberries in 4 days.

Luca sporting his new big boy glasses that he chose so he could look like Uncle Ben

Baseball in the yard

Belated birthday dinner celebration for Jonathan with his grandparents and aunt

Swimming, squirt guns and soaking up gorgeous summer sun

One week later we repacked up our bags for our trips to Ohio and California.  The 5.5 hour drive down to Chardon was long, but it was so great to reconnect with the Hayes' and the Chardon Baptist Church family there.

Precious time and hospitality given by Pastor and Susan Hayes

Jonathan ran a marathon on his Father's Day.  Sunday school presentation, preaching, driving 1.5 hours to Canton to then present at Whipple Avenue Baptist Church for an evening presentation and then 2.5 hour turned 3.5 hour drive due to a traffic accident back to Cedarville.  We finally rolled into Cedarville around midnight.

One of the great joys of furloughing is to reconnect with supporters, but the drawback is always that our time is too brief.  But thus is the nature of summer furloughs where you feel like you are just flying in and out of places.  Our one week in Ohio went by quickly and I hope to fill in those details in a coming post.  Ciao for now!

Say Cheese

Luca has a new smile!

Music Recital

End of the Year Student Recital - 31 May 2012

I am so proud of Samuel, Emma and Jonathan for their outstanding performances last night at the music recital!   They all have showed great perseverance and faithfulness over the past 7 months in their musical studies.  The kids have surely inherited their father's passion and gift in music.  Samuel and Emma love playing the piano and we are so thankful for this experience for them.  Luca is right behind them, teaching himself and figuring out how to play on his own.  It is very likely he will be enrolled in piano come the fall.

Jonathan is a self-taught guitarist and up until last November has never taken a lesson in his life.  He finds classical guitar playing a challenge in technique and a growing passion of his.  His instructor made sure to communicate to the MC last night that Jonathan was performing songs that are studied by a 5th year student in a conservatory.  I think he is her price pupil.  The MC praised him again at the end of his performance saying how Jonathan practices 4-6 hours a day!  Umm, that was news to us both!  Clearly he does have a family, work and life you know!

The program began at 9:00 PM.  I know all you Americans out there are gasping at the thought, considering too it was on a school night.  The recital was held at the local theater here in Leinì.  There were 80 students listed in the program and many performed 2 songs a piece.  Samuel and Emma were #34 and #35 and Jonathan #52.  Around 10:00 Samuel and Emma became less concerned about playing and more worried that they would not be awake to play.  Thankfully their adrenalin kicked in for them to execute stellar performances at 10:30 PM.  Jonathan waited another hour to play his pieces before we made a beeline for the door and headed home.  A mom from school verified that her son played the final piece of the night at 1:00 AM!!!

Samuel and Emma with their teacher, Ruben

The auditorium was packed out as this was quite the community event

Here is a video of their performances.  The lighting was so bad that we could not get any pictures worth posting.  I had issues with the video camera: covering the speaker when recording Jonathan and somehow switching to black and white for the kids.  Sorry!  Jonathan took video from his iPhone from a different location and thankfully he did as Ruben was totally blocking my view of Samuel from where I was.  The teachers sat near their students while they played which I thought was kind of cool as it served to help calm nerves.  Enjoy!



 P.S. Dad and Mom, a huge display poster did fall from the wall during a piano performance.  Unlike me, the student kept his composure and concluded without being phased. I did chuckle to myself at the memory of my own disastrous recital.  :)