Two days post surgery

We visited both Kristi and Elizabeth today.  Kristi was sitting up in the chair beside the bed and trying to eat the wonderful hospital made mashed potatoes, but not having much fun.  When the surgeon stopped by to see Elizabeth today he told her she could move out of the PICU this afternoon.  Her kidney is functioning well and, as a result, her levels are dropping in to normal ranges--something she hasn't seen since her kidneys failed more than one and a half years ago.

It's so amazing how God knits together our bodies so that a kidney from a willing donor can be transplanted in a recipient and the "kidney" immediately does what it was created to do. 

Thanks for praying; keep it up!  There's still a long road to recovery for both of them, but we're praising God for his provision this far!

Happy, happy 2nd birthday

Happy SECOND birthday to our sweet Josiah!  Wish we were in California to celebrate with him, Maleia and their parents!

Saturday morning transplant update

Just talked with my brother, Ron, and he said that Liz is doing well this morning (as well as can be expected after a 8 hour surgery.)  Kristi is struggling with pain and nausea.  Please continue to pray for both of them as there are still some rough days ahead.

Transplant is Complete!

Surgery is over!  Doctor's said it went "peachy keen."  Elizabeth has been moved to the Pediatric ICU for recovery.  Ron and Jane should be able to see her in 60-90 minutes after she wakes up.  Kristi is out of recovery and in her room.  Her husband and girls went up to see her about 45 minutes ago.  Praising the Lord for his goodness and mercy!

Surgery Update

Surgery is going as planned.  The transplant coordinator was just out letting us know that they have finished removing both of Elizabeth's kidneys.  Kristi's kidney has also been removed and looks good. 

Kristi will be done in about an hour and moved to recovery.  It will be another 4+ hours for Elizabeth.

Thanks for praying . . . . God is good.

Surgery Waiting Room

This will be a day of waiting . . . . .

Elizabeth, my niece, and Kristi, my sister were admitted to Children's Mercy Hospital yesterday afternoon in order to prepare for today's surgery.  Ron and Jane, my brother and sister-in-law, spent the night last night.  They said that nurses woke Elizabeth up at 3:30 this morning to start the process.   She left the room about 7:30 to head down to surgery.  They will do her nefrectomy (removal of both kidneys) first.  Kristi will go down to surgery about 9:00 a.m. as her surgical process is much shorter.

All together, they are telling us Liz's surgery will take from 6-8 hours, while Kristi's will be 3-4.  Liz will go to the ICU after recovery; Kristi will go to a regular room.

Thank you for praying along with us today.

Transplant Surgery Tomorrow

My brother, Ron, posted this status and photo on Facebook yesterday, 

"Last day of dialysis for my daughter Liz, hopefully forever. Back to the hospital tomorrow morning to prepare for her kidney transplant on Friday. Thanks for all your prayers here-to-fore. Would appreciate continued prayers for the operation, upcoming 8-10 day hospital stay and for her donor, Liz's Aunt Kristi, my younger sister. Forever grateful."  

Please remember to pray for both of them tomorrow.  We will be spending the day in the surgery waiting room of Children's Mercy Hospital.  Ron says it will be a 6-7 hour surgery, so it will be a long day.

Sunday at ALBC

We spent Sunday morning worshiping at Abundant Life Baptist Church, our home church and sending church.  We were able to share our ministry with a 930 am adult Bible study group.  It's always great to be at "home" and catch up with friends.

Touch down Kansas City (International Airport)

No matter how easy the itinerary looks, a day of travel is always more tiring than a regular day!  But, when you add in an extra hour in a holding pattern over the Gulf of Mexico waiting for the weather to clear in Houston which results in losing the layover cushion you had to get through customs and eat dinner, rushing like crazy to get from the international terminal to the gate, finding out the connecting flight was delayed (small moment of thankfulness that we would have a few minutes to get something to eat), eating at McDonalds, gate checking your carryon bags because the plane from Houston to Kansas City is a mini, finally arriving an hour late in KC and discovering that one of your checked bags is still in Houston, making a stop at the grocery store at 11:30 pm to get contact  solution, then you know your travel day is longer and more tiring than normal.

All of that to say, we are thankful and happy to be starting our 2 weeks here in Lee's Summit.  We are reporting to our sending church, collecting baby items for a public children's hospital and orphanage in San Salvador and catching up with family and friends.  If you live in the Kansas City area and would like to donate baby items  (or money), message me at parrisinelsalvador@gmail.com and I will send you a list of the things we need.

Happy Anniversary Vida Nueva

Here in Central America, church anniversaries are celebrated every year.  I really like this idea!  It gives the pastors and congregation a time to reflect on what God has done in and through the church in the last 5, 10, 15 (fill in the blank) years and to dream about the future!

Yesterday, we celebrated the 22nd anniversary of Iglesia Bautista Vida Nueva.  Pastor Steve Kern took a minute to explain that we pattern our annual celebration on Jehova's message to the nation of Israel to celebrate their rescue from Egypt every year during the passover season.  As Christians, we no longer celebrate passover, instead we celebrate Christ's resurrection.  But, the idea of remembering what God has done for the church (from one year to the next) is one that serves the church well.

These days, the church meets at four different sites and has six distinct services.  This Sunday we were 1000+ strong at the Crown Plaza Hotel.  Wow!  The music, the historical video, the message and the fellowship were awesome.  I've included a couple of pictures from the celebration!

When you read this, take a moment to reflect on the history of the church you attend.  When was the last time you looked back to the rich history of your church and clearly saw the hand of God moving.  If you haven't done that lately, I encourage you to try it--it's a great way to build your faith!

"Better is one day in Your house than 1000 elsewhere!

 Praying for our newest missionaries who are going on a 2-week survey trip to Bogota, Colombia.

 A view of part of the crowd.

 Pastor Julio bringing the message from the book of Esra.

 Birthday cake and the Salvadoran birthday song!  

Five pastors blowing out the 22 candles!

Cake for everyone!  Happy birthday to Vida Nueva!  

Residency Cards in the Wallet

Yea!  Picked up our 3-month temporary, but new residency cards this morning.  They are good through September 12, 2013.  When we go back in early September they should have our 9-month permanent cards ready.

Thanks for praying us through this process!

Residency Update 2

We received a call this afternoon from Immigration Services that they found another error in one of our translated documents.  I don't know why they called us--that really isn't  normal to give us a "heads up."  Perhaps it's because so many people have been praying for us during this difficult process.

So, before we go to our appointment in the morning we will make one more trip to the translator's office to pickup the corrected, corrected document.

Please pray that once they have this document in hand, we will be able to pay the renewal fee and have our pictures taken for our new cards.  Next step--they need to print our cards so that we can pick them up no later than next Wednesday, June 19, the day before we leave for the states.

Please also pray for Jeff and Paula who have run into problems with their renewal application process, as well.

School's Out for Summer!

I finished the school year yesterday . . . . what a day it was.  Gifts all around, their favorite music and a pizza party for 5th grade.

Here are the last day pictures.

 1st Graders (3 were missing)

 2nd Graders (1 was missing)

 3rd Graders (3 were missing)

 4th Graders

5th Graders

Slow, but sure (maybe)

We picked up all of the corrected documents today after school and dropped them off at the immigration office again.  Unfortunately, they don't look at them while you're there.  Last time we went on Wednesday and got an appointment on Friday.  Yesterday, Jeff and Paula dropped off their paperwork and got an appointment on Friday.  Today we go and our appointment isn't until Wednesday--go figure.

Next week there is a team here from Texas and we will be sharing in the schools in the mornings.  We will have to skip next Wednesday so we can go to our appointment.  Praying that all will be well this time--we're leaving the country on June 20 and need to have our temporary cards in hand before we go.

Residency Update

We've been so busy with the end of school that I didn't update what happened at our residency appointment on Tuesday.  Unfortunately, our paperwork was in the "rejected" folder and not the approved folder.  So . . . . . we've spent the last two days trying to get corrections made so we can meet their requirements.  Keep in mind that these were little, little things--one was that the secretary at the church forgot to circle YES or NO. Because she forgot, we had to have the document redone, resigned and renotarized.  The other problem was with two of the translated pages.  So, we're supposed to pick up the revised pages today.  We're going to try to drop them off at immigration today.

Don't know if they will look at the new pages and approve them or if they will want to review the entire package again and have us come back later.

Thanks for praying for us through this arduous process!

Behavior Bucks

Last year I started the "Behavior Bucks" program with the 4th grade.  Frankly, it was an attempt to grab their attention and focus on good behavior.  They would receive bucks when they demonstrated appropriate behavior and good lose bucks for outright inappropriate behavior.  Two times during the year I offered a Behavior Bucks store featuring items (mostly from the states) that they could buy with their money.  As you might expect, this year's fifth graders were really disappointed when I told them that Behavior Bucks was for 4th grade only.

But, the 2012-13 fourth graders were ecstatic!  We just had our final Behavior Bucks store last Thursday.  Since I went to the US in May, I asked them what they would like me to buy.  Boys:  Lego minifigures; Girls: One Direction (a new boy band, I think) items.  The Legos were easy to find because there was a giant lego store at Downtown Disney and since there are no Lego sales, it didn't matter where I bought them.  I was able to locate a few One Direction items at Claires, but, my goodness, they were quite expensive.  Supply and demand, I guess.  I ended up with a 5-pack of One Direction gel pens.

They were so excited for Thursday to arrive.  Each of them had from 18-30 behavior bucks; the person with the most had the opportunity to buy first and so on.  They could only buy one item, but after everyone had a chance, they were able to go through again.  

Here's some pictures of the kids with their purchases!  Next year they're in fifth grade and, unfortunately, the "buck stops here!"

 Laura showing off her One Direction gel pen.  It cost 14 behavior bucks!  Like I said, supply and demand.

 Mario--so excited to get a Series 10 mini-figure.  I don't let them open them at school,
 so I'll have to find out which one he got on Monday.

 Daniela--couldn't make up her mind so even though she had plenty of bucks she decided on M&M's

 Kenneth--yep, Series 10 mini-figure!

 Erika bought an ink pen that's shaped like a tube of paint.  They love novelty items.

 Mariela with her Disney princess key chain that is in the shape of Minnie Mouse.