Prayer Request

Around midnight last night I heard from my brother, Ron, that my niece, Liz, was transported by ambulance from Colorado Springs to a Denver hospital with a transplant center.  She had a kidney transplant 4 years ago.  Her blood pressure and creatinine levels were high; her hemoglobin count was low.  Please pray for Liz, my brother (who is at a conference in Chicago) and his wife (who is at home in Kansas City.)  

Please pray for the three of them, especially that the doctors there will be able to get her counts under control and that there will not be any damage to her kidney.  I'll update as I have more information.

Celebrating 25 Years in Turlock

La Familia De Dios, the Spanish speaking congregation of Turlock Covenant Church, celebrated it's 25th anniversary on Sunday, March 5.  We made the one hour, 40 minute trip to arrive in time for the 11:00 a.m. service.  William, Gilma and Amy Flores were there for the celebration, as well.  Her brother, Samuel, is the pastor.  

The service had everything--contemporary worship songs, at least one hymn (How Great Thou Art with William on the guitar and Stephen on the piano), singing and dancing children, recognizing one of the "founders" of the church, video memories and a guest pastor.  If that sounds like a lot, it was--the service was nearly three hours long!  

After the service we had lunch with William, Gilma and Amy and then returned to the church to help with the celebration dinner.  Former staff members and others were recognized at the dinner.  It was a great way to end the celebration.  We left about 9:30 p.m. and made it back to Sunnyvale before midnight.   

"New" Eyes One Week Later

Stephen is really, really happy with his "new" eyes!  Here are a couple of observations he's made since both eyes are done.

• He could read the words on the screen at church yesterday even though we were sitting 2/3 of the way back
• He could follow his golf ball after hitting it today
• He can read the highway signs so much better now

He has been looking for frames for his new glasses although he won't be getting them before we return to El Salvador.  The doctor said he should not be measured for a new prescription for at least a month after the second surgery.  

Second Time Around

Stephen had a checkup on his left eye today and we're praising God for the amazing change in his vision.  The doctor said it's healing nicely and his vision tested at 20-40 today.  Before the surgery, notwithstanding the cataracts his vision without glasses or contacts was 20-400.  

The surgery on his right eye is tomorrow morning so please pray that it is successful, without complications and his recovery is normal.  We are scheduled to fly back to El Salvador on March 16, so his final appointment with Dr. Lee is on Wednesday, March 15.    

A Trip to Hayward

One of the amazing things about cataract surgery is that the recovery period doesn't come with a lot of restrictions.  It's pretty much limited to don't press or rub your eyes and don't let shower water hit you directly in the eye.  Otherwise, he's free to do whatever he wants, including playing golf and running.  

We knew before we came to California that Pastor Julio and Patty were going to be in the area while we were here.  They are presenting a family conference in a Hispanic church in Hayward; so we told them we would come to one of the evening services.

Because the rush-hour traffic across the Dumbarton Bridge between Sunnyvale and Hayward can be crazy, we left about 3:00 p.m. and arrived with no major delays.  We were able to explore the city and walk through the rather quaint, but almost empty (more shops were out of business than were open) stores.  The city hall and other government buildings were quite impressive, though.

We also had time to drive to Garin Regional Park and do a bit of walking.  We weren't dressed for hiking, so we didn't wander far from the parking lot.  These two pictures don't do justice to the scenery--the rolling hills were much greener than they appear.  

Iglesia Bautista La Roca wasn't too far from the park so we were one of the first to arrive.  Pastor Julio and Patty are in the area all week talking about how to have strong marriages and families.

We felt right at home in the Hispanic service!  Pastor Julio even played the piano for one of the hymns we sang.

After the service we went out to eat with Pastor Carlos, his daughter, Rebeca, (his wife, Isa, is battling cancer and her counts were too low for her to come to the service), Pastor Julio and Patty.  Carlos and his wife are both Salvadorans who worshipped at our church in San Salvador before moving to California to plant their current church.