May 2020 - Great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22, 23

May 2020

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22, 23

Washington is beautiful right now, and being able to help with Jake and Kiki and their kids during this time is an unexpected blessing. This household is mostly on lockdown since David cannot be exposed to ANYTHING, but we do get to take short walks near the house where we’re staying.

COVID-19 is taking its toll on everyone, world over, and now increasingly in Latin America. Everything in Tepic is closed up tight. There are police patrolling the streets to make sure people are not unnecessarily out of their houses. The Mexican government published a map this afternoon showing the entire country at the maximum level of risk and alert, with the exception of the state of Zacatecas (They’re “only” at high-risk.). The reality is that as the virus has spread exponentially, hospitals remain nearly helpless with extremely limited staff and supplies, and many of Mexico’s citizens live day to day. Great is His faithfulness.

This continues to be quite a challenge as well as an opportunity to live out the purpose for the church. IBBM-Tepic is rallying to the cause to share generously with those in great need. Sunday services are being live-streamed, and there are some people in “attendance” who weren’t there before. Daily ministry doesn’t miss a beat in spite of adverse circumstances.

                                               Great is His faithfulness.

The construction of the classrooms project at the church continues. The foundation is complete, and the 10 support columns are standing strong. That represents a HUGE effort and expense since everything has to be done by hand with picks and shovels. Surprisingly, construction is considered a “necessary reason for leaving home.”

Taking advantage of obligatory “downtime,” the OANSAmobile got a facelift with the money that was left from my dad’s memorial gifts earmarked for Tepic OANSA. It’s ready to roll as soon as the “go ahead” is given to start up again. We’re so sad we had to cancel weekly club meetings, the awards celebration, and the annual AWANA fair scheduled for the first Saturday in June. The kids are eager to return, and so are the leaders. Hopefully, that will happen the first week of September. Great is His faithfulness.

The printing job in South Korea of the Huichol Bibles is FINISHED! That is way ahead of schedule and a MIRACLE. They’ll be sent by ship to the port at Manzanillo, then overland to Mexico City, then to my house to await the dedication and distribution (assuming we’ll be able to do a “formal” dedication). All of this movement will take a while given the obvious. The plan is for October, but that’s subject to change. COVID may get in the way of that plan, too. There’s still a lot ahead of us before they can be distributed, but it’s refreshing to see the light ahead. Great is His faithfulness.

With all of this, it appears that God’s plan is for me to hang tight in Seattle. One day at a time. David had his surgery today to remove his port and insert the central line he will need for the next phase of his treatment.  The second CAR-T therapy he had 3 weeks ago here in Seattle was effective in getting him back into remission with no evidence of cancer in his CSF, so he can have the bone marrow transplant they’re working up to. At this time, that’s his only medical option. The donor lady in the UK is already taking the medication necessary to condition her marrow for maximum success. That’s very painful; she’s an angel! They’ll be harvesting her marrow on Tuesday and airlifting it immediately to Seattle. It will be frozen and held in quarantine to assure that they don’t implant Corona! David starts cranial radiation also on Tuesday, followed by full-body radiation and mega doses of horrible chemo to totally wipe out his own marrow and the production of red blood cells where the leukemia lives. The bone marrow transplant is scheduled for June 12. He’s in for the biggest, longest battle of his life. We’re praying for healing, of course, but even with healing, the radiation and chemo he will be receiving this next week has life-altering negative side effects. We know that God’s plan, whatever that may be, is best. We’re so grateful for your prayers and those of friends all over the world.  Great is His faithfulness.