| Click on the link in the table below to go to updates/prayer requests. Click on Back to Top at the bottom of each update to come back to the table. Click HERE to go to the World Outreach Ministry page, where you can find a full listing of the missions we support on an ongoing basis.
UPDATES/PRAYER REQUESTS from Margaret Rineer
Received July 10, 2010 by email
Dear faithful praying friends and family ~
It is very late, and we are all beyond exhaustion…but we truly need your prayers. I had to take Rebekah to the ER this past Monday due to severe jaundice. They admitted her after lab work and an ultrasound, and I stayed 24/7 with her in Abington Hospital. Later on Monday a CT scan was done. On Tuesday afternoon they did an ERCP, a procedure under conscious sedation where they go down through the throat, esophagus, stomach, and intestines to get to the Common Bile Duct (CBD) where the CT scan indicated a blockage of some kind which was keeping the bile from leaving her body. They expected to find a gall stone blocking the CBD, since the tests also showed that she had stones in her gall bladder. However, they found lots of “sludge” (no stone) clogging the CBD, so they inserted a balloon, inflated it above the sludge, and were able to clear the CBD. However, they also discovered an area of stenosis (an abnormal narrowing or stricture) in the CBD which was keeping things from clearing. They had planned to do surgery on Thursday to remove her gall bladder, but due to concern about the stenosis decided to delay the surgery in case she needed additional CBD surgery. They took “brushings” of the CBD walls, as well as the sludge, and we are waiting for those results. The Drs expected the jaundice to start clearing and her bilirubin level to start dropping in the 24 hours following the ERCP. However, the next morning her bilirubin was actually higher (8.2) and we were quite surprised when they released her from the hospital Wednesday afternoon with instructions to rest, and hopefully allow the CBD inflammation to calm down. They asked us to have repeat lab work done 2-3 days later, which we did this afternoon because she is still extremely jaundiced and has very little strength.
In addition to many other talents with which God has blessed Rebekah, she is an exceptional florist and was doing her first ever wedding completely on her own this weekend, instead of through the floral shop where she works. Last night we had to make the painful and disappointing decision to turn it all over to the shop since Rebekah has no strength at all to do the flowers. She deeply wants to at least attend the wedding Sunday afternoon, since the bride is a close friend, but won’t be able to if she has not improved by then.
We are very discouraged… We know that the Lord is in control, but this is a very hard road right now. Just being back in a hospital atmosphere has been tough, and we are battling great fears. We give them to the Lord, and He gives peace for a short time, then we have to give them to Him over and over again. A number of times since Rick died, I have said, “Oh Lord, please. . . no more burning of the landscape of my life.” And Sunday night I knelt by my bed, knowing we were probably headed to the ER in the morning, and I cried, “I can’t do this, Lord!” And He reminded me, “You’re right…you can’t…but I can… My strength is made perfect in your weakness.” We are leaning heavily on Him because there isn’t anywhere else to turn. But it’s overwhelming right now, and we need your prayers desperately.
I wanted to write from the hospital, but my Outlook email program refused to work. Since we’ve been home, time to write has been thwarted, and even as I sat down at the computer to type this tonight, the computer glitched and would not boot up properly for quite awhile. I don’t know how you respond to this, but I have been sensing an onslaught of spiritual warfare that’s stronger than ever. There are so many things, too numerous to even list, that are overwhelming right now, and it just doesn’t stop. While Rebekah & I were in the hospital, the kids discovered a bad radiator leak in a room that had recently been re-carpeted. They spent hours tearing up the carpet and padding and found mold underneath, down into the tiles of the room. Hours later, a dehumidifier continued to pull water from the room. Then, early this morning, I discovered water on the floor of that room again, only to find that the dehumidifier malfunctioned and did not shut off when it was full, but instead spewed water all over the floor necessitating another clean up. This may seem like small stuff, and it truly is (!) in comparison to believers being tortured for their faith in other countries, etc, but for us it feels very overwhelming right now. We had a huge mold problem 10 months ago in the basement and in my bedroom, and I’m still not back in my bedroom. As you know, I have struggled with my health for the past 9 months, and the load of stress has been extremely heavy, but a week ago the Lord lifted quite a bit of my pain off my body. When I realized we were headed into another hospital stay I was SO grateful for the relief…however it’s back and more pronounced the past three days.
Here’s how you can PRAY specifically, plus add those things God puts on your heart:
· For my precious daughter Rebekah…that her body will heal…that her CBD will expand and allow bile to pass through…that her bilirubin levels will drop dramatically…that she will regain some appetite…that she will drink enough fluids…that the Lord will lift her very discouraged heart…
· For Rachel, Jonathan, David, and Elisabeth…for peace in the midst of turmoil…for hope in the middle of confusing circumstances…for deeper faith to trust GOD through this present darkness…
· For my overwhelmed heart and body…that God will continue to pour His strength into and through me…and continue to use my life to shine for Him
Thank you for carrying us in prayer ~
Margaret
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UPDATES/PRAYER REQUESTS from Cephas Tushima and Family
Received June 28, 2010 by email
Dear Friends,
On the behalf of my family and myself, I want to thank you so much for your unflinching support for us. It has made it possible for us to remain in Nigeria and to continue to serve the Lord both locally and within Africa. We could never thank you enough. Find attached our recent updates so you could know some of the ways we've been touching lives and how you could continue to pray for us. As you may see in the updates, I am currently away in Uganda. I begin teaching tomorrow and hope to return home to Nigeria at the end of next week.
Blessings, Cephas.
Link to Tushima Newsletter
UPDATES/PRAYER REQUESTS FROM David and Lee Hall
Serving with WEC International
Link to David's blog
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UPDATES/PRAYER REQUESTS FROM JoEllen Reynolds
Serving with Youth With a Mission
Link to JoEllen's Blog
Link to JoEllen's Newsletter
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UPDATES/PRAYER REQUESTS FROM Tedd Lodes
Link to Tedd and Emily's Blog
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UPDATES/PRAYER REQUESTS FROM RICHARD AND CAROL MEARS,
OEPC MISSIONARIES IN HAITI
Click HERE to go to the Mears' Blog
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UPDATES/PRAYER REQUESTS FROM YOUTH LIFE FOUNDATION OF RICHMOND, VA
Youth Life Foundation Newsletter
Youth Life Foundation Website
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