Dear praying friends,

It is difficult to know where to begin.

I know:- for all those in Australia – we do trust you had a Happy Father’s Day. Doug had a lovely day with Rhesa and Roxanne talking to him over the phone, and the other three and their children here for the afternoon.

Everyone went home, we retired to bed, and from the depths of a deep sleep I heard my name being called. Doug had fallen, and dislocated his shoulder…. AGAIN. So off to the Emergency Department at the Hospital, to have it put in – yet again. Routinely, after each time the shoulder is relocated, they Xray the shoulder to make sure everything is in the right place.

Dear prayer partners,

Thank you for your prayers. We have had a few challenges this week. Doug’s face became infected – even though we had been faithfully applying an anti biotic ointment three times a day. 6 days on oral anti biotics have gotten the infection under control, and then, this morning before breakfast, Doug stumbled and fell backwards – he used his right arm to try and stop his fall – and dislocated his right shoulder (for the second time in less than 6 months). So off to the ER we went, and didn’t get home until 2.30.

Dear praying friends,

                It has been awhile (as I was recently reminded) – since I wrote anything.  That’s because life has been quite smooth, though  busy.  The effects of the anesthetic from 4 surgeries in 8 weeks has been wearing off, and Doug has more energy and is able to be more involved in life in general.  Once a week he is meeting with a young fellow from Nepal and we are praying for his salvation.  We saw the specialist yesterday, the 14th of May, and he is thrilled with the way Doug has healed, and Doug is short-listed for surgery.  They plan to do it under a local – and the wait time is due to the fact that the specialist most always has 1 l-o-n-g surgery (8 – 10 hours) a day, and seldom has a slot of a couple of hours, to do smaller ops.  However, it is he, himself who needs to do Doug’s next surgery.  He hopes to raise the lower lip up and lipo suction the free flap to remove some of the bulk.  If that isn’t successful, he may need to cut into the flap to reduce it, but then there is always the risk of hindering the blood supply, and the flap dying.  So we continue to wait, and rest in God’s perfect timing and undertaking.

Good morning,

I have been remiss at not letting you, our dear friends and prayer partners, know of what transpired at Doug’s appointment with the Consultant plastic surgeon.

It has been a L-O-N-G week….  Anyway, there is MUCH to the story, but in essence, the specialist has ordered an MRI and a CT scan, before any decisions will be made, as to the next move. The lesion on Doug’s nose is cancer, and they didn’t get clear margins on the lip in the previous surgery.  However, the specialist mentioned his concern that Doug isn’t as strong physically as he was 3 years ago, and went through all those other operations….    He is also concerned that he is running out of options for reconstruction, and Doug could end up with one or two holes in his face if they have to cut away a large amount of his face.  So we are praying and asking the Lord for direction in decisions to be made.  The plastic surgeon will meet with the whole “Neck and Head” team next week, and discuss the options.  We then have an appointment to see the specialist on the 22nd January, but the earliest Doug could have his MRI done, was the 24th January, so I doubt we will come to any conclusions on the 22nd.  As for each one of us, it is one day at a time, and knowing God’s grace will be sufficient for each moment of each day.

Dear friends,

            Doug and I do want to wish you a “Happy New Year”.  Of course, true happiness comes from walking with the Lord, and resting in all He bestows upon us, whether we deem it good or bad, we know that ALL things work together for good, to them that love God.

Dear praying friends,

I actually sat down to answer all the personal emails that have come in over the past few days – but have just realized how weary I am – I was up before 4.00 this morning, and drove to the airport with David, Roxanne and children, so I could drive their vehicle home, as they left for a week in Singapore.  They had some very excited kids!!!  I am sure it is warm in Singapore..  it has been downright HOT here, and we even ran the air conditioner today!  They estimated it would be 41 degrees Celcius, but it only hit 39… with further HOT days are forecasted for the next 3 or 4 days.

Dear friends,

Thank you to all who wrote and said they were praying for Doug on Wednesday 19th, and thank you to those who have written and asked after Doug since he had his surgery.  I was SO tired last night when I got home, I only emailed our daughter in PNG… then, this am I left home at 6.15 so I could be at the hospital to help Doug with his breakfast.

Dear praying friends,

It is so good to be back “online” after more than a week, with a ‘wonky’ modem.  During the last two weeks, Doug has had a chest infection, and a few visits to our GP.  This coming Friday, 14th Dec., Doug will have his pre-admission at SCG Hospital, with surgery scheduled for Wednesday 19th Dec.  Doug has some 9 spots to be cut out on the 19th, and although the plastic surgeon is going to cut conservatively on the 19, he is planning on doing yet another biopsy, on the side of Doug’s nose which may require more surgery, in the New Year. ALSO on Friday  14th, Raewyn will undergo knee surgery.

Dear praying friends,

            As the days fly past, I have put off, for WAY too long, sending out an update.  We do really value your prayers, and altho’ Doug has taken the recent biopsy results ‘in his stride’ he was also disappointed to hear that the small break in the corner of his mouth is cancer.  We have no surgery date as yet, and the plastic surgeon said that they plan to cut conservatively, and hopefully have no need of any skin graft.  Doug’s endoscope in October was normal for which we are thankful.

Dear praying friends,

Please forgive me for taking SO-o-o-o-o long to let you all know that Doug and I arrived home safely – YES… it is a week ago!!

We had a WONDERFUL time away, and thank the Lord for all He did to make the time so special, and for being able to be productive in Wewak, in helping to revise/compile the 3 primers, 3 readers and work on 3 library books in the less than 2 weeks we had to work with two Owininga believers, and Hope Sharp our Sepik Literacy Consultant, who went over and beyond to see everything go ahead so quickly, with great pictures, and Nobi Kennell who is typing up the teacher’s manual.  We were blessed too, by all the ladies who cooked and served great meals to Doug and I, and the Owininga language helpers.  We are also VERY grateful to Jason and Toni Stuart for their love and vision to work with and encourage the Owininga church and other churches which continue to serve Him and live for Him in their isolated villages.  Sometime in the new year, Jason is planning on heading into the Owininga and taking the new literacy materials with him, and doing a teacher training course.

Dear praying friends,

          Greetings from Lapilo, the centre where Rhesa, Bobby and girls live.  We have already been here for 5 full days, and it has taken that long for us to move all our email addresses from a Word document on an USB and retype them all onto Bobby’s computer.  (Thank you Bobby).  We made the decision NOT to carry a computer with us, which has had its draw backs, but I was quite thankful to have one less item to care for as we travelled.