Sunday night update

Stephen spent another feverish day on the couch.  Today the fever hovered between 101 and 102--one degree lower than yesterday.  It has continued all day, unlike yesterday when it was normal during the evening.  

Nancy, our friend from Guatemala who is staying with us for a few weeks, and I went to church this morning.  Stephen was definitely missed--the music just didn't sound right without the piano.

Update

The doctor called and all 4 of the tests were negative which means he doesn't have any tropical disease (malaria, etc.)  She said it really is just a virus so, once again, armed with Tylenol, we're waiting for the fever disappear permanently.  After being at 102-103 most of the day, his fever finally dropped to near normal around 6:30 tonight.  Praying that the worst is past us and that it doesn't return overnight or in the morning.  Thanks for your faithful prayers for both of us.

More tests

Doctora Colato has requested additional tests--we are on our way back to the lab right now.  Keep praying--his fever has been 102+ all day.

Keep praying

The fever continues this morning--near 103 on Tylenol.  Please keep praying for it to resolve over the next few days.

Not Dengue Fever

Stephen's test came back negative for Dengue fever, which is great news.  Bad news--it's some other virus which, unlike Dengue, may be contagious!  Praying his fever stays low or normal over the next couple of days and that I don't get whatever it is/was.

Follow-up

We made a trip to the lab at Hospital Diagnostico this morning.  They took some blood to check for Dengue.  We will have the results after lunch.

After we have the results, we plan to take them with us to the doctor this afternoon.  Will keep everyone posted.  Thanks for praying.

Prayer Request

Please pray for Stephen. He has had a fever (chills, headache, body aches) since Tuesday and we suspect he may have Dengue fever, although, so far, he hasn't had the typical rash.  Dengue is a mosquito-borne virus; there have been many cases this rainy season.  The alternate name for this virus is break-bone fever from the associated muscle and joint pain. Tomorrow, he will have a blood test to confirm. As the information below indicates, the only treatment is to manage the fever and pain.  We appreciate your prayers on his behalf.  I will update as I have more information.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002350/

Blogging in a time of busy-ness

I haven't been doing a very good job of blogging--things seem to be getting busier and busier here so there's very little time to sit down, reflect and write what's been going on.

So, you say, "What's going on?"

1.  Stephen is working in Lourdes (as previously mentioned.) This last week he only went on Monday and Friday.

2.  I'm back to teaching--lots of new lesson planning with 5th grade and, of course, paper grading.

3.  Stephen has band practice on Wednesday nights.

4.  We go to church on Thursday night and two services on Sunday.

5.  The church just started Level 2 discipleship called IDEM--in English, it means the Institute for Development of Ministry.  We meet every Tuesday night with a small group--the program is scheduled for 3 trimesters of 10 weeks each year for 3 years.  Yes, it's definitely a long-term commitment!

6.  Two Hilo, Agua and Biblia classes meet every other Saturday so there are always projects to ready.

7.  I am in the process of making curtains for the temporary sanctuary at Lourdes.  In fact, I need to move this up on the priority list because the curtains need to be up by this Saturday.

8.  Newsletter time is upon me again on Friday as is the schools celebration of "Day of the Child."

9.  We invited Nancy, one of our teachers from Antigua, to live with us for 6 weeks.  She arrived on September 23.  We are each trying to spend 15 hours studying Spanish with her.  Last week (our first), Stephen was able to get in 15, but I only got in 10.  Why?  See #11.

10.  The first campaign of the fall starts on Saturday with a team from South Carolina.

11.  Everything else like grocery shopping, cooking, eating, cleaning, washing clothes, paying bills, updating financial records and sleeping.

We're probably not busier than anyone else, but are definitely feeling the pinch of fitting everything in our days/weeks.  Please pray for us to keep the number one thing #1.  It's so easy to get caught up in the frenzy of daily life and forget that ministry is about a relationship with our Savior and not just a list of things to accomplish!  

Jon found it!

You know that stolen car of ours . . . . . our son and his friend just found it parked on a street in Santa Cruz. Police came and collected evidence and Jon is free to take the car. Right now the problem is that the gas tank is empty. Unbelievable miracle!

More on the formerly stolen car . . . . it had been gone 27 days. Missouri plates were switched for California plates; bike rack that was in the trunk was on the car (police said they did it because it blocked the back license plate.) Jon and his friend noticed the gray accord with the bike rack and so they stopped to take a closer look. The Lee's Summit Honda license plate mount was still on i

t. That sealed the deal for Jon; well, that and the fact that he had his keys with him and they unlocked it. The police removed 3-4 backpacks containing drug paraphernalia, as well as some receipts with names. The spare tire was gone (go figure,) and, as I mentioned earlier, there was absolutely no gas. The police speculate that "they" ran out of gas and abandoned it. We left a message for our insurance claim adjuster--guess they will just drop the offer they made us and we'll all get on down the road. We are pressing charges, so please pray that the police find them. Jon and his friend bought gas and he was able to drive it to his apartment--no problems with the engine! As of now he doesn't have any license plates at all, but the police gave him something to show any cop who may pull him over. Can't tell you how happy we are . . . . Jon has been riding his bike while we were all searching for a new vehicle. Everything we found was more expensive than the amount the insurance offered. Thank you, Lord, for caring about everything that happens in our lives--we love the way you worked everything out!

Working Hard in Lourdes

Jeff and Stephen are going to our church site in Lourdes every day and helping with the remodeling project.  Of course, it's more than just a little project and it definitely qualifies as hard labor.  Over the last two or three weeks they have been tearing down (by hand) the old nursery building to make way for a parking lot.  Last week they began construction of the concrete posts for the new entrance.  They are discovering new issues as they are working; for example, yesterday they realized that the poor drainage is, in part, due to the fact that the drain does not run "down hill" at all.  Instead, it maintains the same position for its entire length; therefore, when it rains, the water fills up the drain pipe, but has no impetus to move along.  All of this to say, that there are new items added to the list of things to do on a frequent basis.

Please pray for this work--as I mentioned, new needs keep cropping up and the project resources are already less than the projected cost.  Also, please pray for the safety of the workers, including Jeff and Stephen.

Here are some pictures of the progress so far.

Another "first" day of school

Unbelievably, I finished another "first" day of school.  If you just count the years I was teaching and/or working for the school district and not the years that I went to school myself, this was my 36th "first" day of school.  There's always a lot of last minute things to do and this year was no different.  I wasn't able to pick up my new books until last Friday and we had a very busy first weekend back in El Salvador.  Unfortunately, I wanted until Sunday evening to get started on my planning.  We had a giant storm and our power went out around 9:30 p.m. so that was it for the night.  I planned to get up early and print some handouts; I woke up at 4:30 a.m. and the power was back on so I thought I was in good shape.  However, the power went back off at 6:30 a.m. and was still off when I left for school at 8:45!

Instead of handouts, we had the typical "what did you do on your summer vacation" question and answer time.  This takes quite awhile because the kids have to try to answer the question in English.  They were happy to see pictures of what I did on my vacation, including shots from our time in Antigua and California.

Tonight . . . printing handouts!

Blackberry bushes and a walk

The six of us went to Picchetti Ranch and Open Space Preserve this morning.  Before the walk started we stopped at the blackberry bushes to see if we could reach any juicy, ripe blackberries.  It looked like the visitors of the past few days had reaped the benefits of the juicy fruit, but each of us were able to have a small snack before heading up the trail.

Climbing on trees, crossing wooden bridges and running down the hills couldn't have been more fun!  

Enjoy the pictures--I added one just to prove that Stephen was here with us!

Playing with the grandkids

We arrived Wednesday night, but everyone was sound asleep by the time we got to the house.  So, fun times with the grandkids started on Thursday morning.  One of Maleia's favorite things is to have me read books to her.  She's got such a great memory, that if I miss one word, she will correct me.  I can't even imagine how many books she has memorized.

Josiah is crawling, pulling up and can stand by himself.  He's so close to being ready to step out on his own.  We're hoping that we will still be here when he takes his first steps.  This time, he has decided that he likes Grandpa better than me.  Actually, Daniel and Shannon tell us that, in general, he likes men better than women.  I'm fine with it--what I'm not fine with is the fact that Stephen reminds me all day long that Josiah likes him better!!!!

Jon drove up from Santa Cruz this morning--we hadn't seen him since Christmas.  Maleia and Josiah were also glad to see "Uncle Jon."  We are planning to drive to Santa Cruz next week to see his new place, as well as the "shop" that he is working on with his friend, Noah.

It's quiet here right now.  Stephen and Jon went to see the Batman movie; Daniel and Shannon went out for a short run; Maleia and Josiah are asleep (and I'm hoping they stay that way.) 

Dancing Kids

Last week the team visited private schools in Guatemala.  Emily Rhoades, Steffie Contreras, Stephen Parris and I presented the Honesty lesson, testimony and gospel presentation in this 2nd grade classroom.  When we finished, the kids wanted to show us a dance routine that they were working on.  What fun!  Listen at the end and you can hear Stephen saying, "Increible!"

Dancing Kids in Guatemalan School

9 weeks later . . . . we're home

Home sweet home never felt so good.  After nine weeks in Guatemala, we're home!  The guards remembered us because they didn't hesitate to open the gate--although, it was probably the sticker on our truck.  It's so nice to be sitting on the couch (and not a bed) and to be the only one using the Internet!

However, "there's no rest for the weary."  I have to get started on laundry because we're packing up and heading to California on Wednesday.  In the meantime, I'm really going to enjoy my 4 days at home.