homecoming

Posted on April 3, 2014 by Dana

Kinsey and Jordan returned from Africa this past weekend and we celebrated the homecoming. After spending a month in Uganda and a month in Ethiopia they had a host of stories to tell.

The problem with young people in the medical profession is that they forget most of us don’t relish the graphic details of surgery and disease. They shared with us that they witnessed quite a variety of situations on their trip:

  • A critical crocodile bite
  • Two boys bitten in the face by hyenas
  • A man bitten by a dog they feared was rabid
  • A boy whose arm had to be amputated because of a witch doctor’s poor care
  • Tuberculosis, AIDS, malaria, and advanced cancers
  • A mom who had lost five previous babies in childbirth (#6 survived!)

Kinsey and Jordan were each able to deliver babies and celebrate the joy of new life coming into the world. They met some outstanding doctors and nurses who honor Jesus by caring for those with physical needs. They worked with some who had only lived in Africa a short while and others who were seasoned veterans.

An older couple shared a story that took place several years ago while their two children were young. They had moved to Africa from Texas with skills in surgery and family medicine. They loved God and wanted to use their talents in His service in a foreign land.

One day they heard a scream from the room of their seven year old little boy. “A snake bit me!” he cried. The father got a knife, killed the snake, and chopped off its head. The snake was a poisonous viper, and the boy required eight vials of anti-venom to defeat its poison. Only two vials were found in the entire village.

After administering the two vials, the parents patiently waited to see what would happen. Soon the child cried of pain in his leg. Next, fevers began and his heart started racing. Soon the area around the bite turned black and began to spread. The father feared that the only way to save his child was to amputate the boy’s leg.

Word spread throughout the village of the crisis and everyone was asked to pray. An African pastor and other believers entered the room and asked if they could pray for the child. The American parents of course said ‘yes’ but as the entire leg had turned black, they thought it was hopeless. With tears in her eyes, Kinsey described the older couples’ account of the passionate, bold prayers of the African believers and the result that still impacts their faith and family.

Immediately the child’s heart stopped racing, his fever broke, and his pain subsided. The little boy was healed. It took two days for his leg to return to its natural color, but prayers of faith had resulted in a miracle.

We serve a God who has always had power over those things that harm his children. Kinsey and Jordan came back from Africa with increased faith and renewed love. We are thankful.

“Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, ‘This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.’ But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.” Acts 28:3-5

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Spirit

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Dana

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” “Cast your cares on Him for He cares for you.” These are practical instructions for ‘living in the now.’

The Holy Spirit gave these truths to James and Peter many years ago as they wrote to early disciples. When we read the surrounding verses of each passage we see the Spirit emphasizing remarkably similar things.

“Lord, give us more and more grace as we keep our eyes on You. Teach us to be humble and help us resist the enemy who hates all Your children. Teach us to live in Christ and follow your Spirit day by day. Amen.”

James: “Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the Spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:5-10)

Peter: “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” (I Peter 5:5-10)

“And we have heard the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” II Peter 1:19-21

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cr

Posted on March 20, 2014 by Dana

There are probably more, but Susan and I know of only three people in Atlanta who have had multiple myeloma longer than I have. We have regular contact with patients and caregivers at a support group that meets the first Saturday of each month. Unfortunately we have lost count of the number of men and women who have died of this blood cancer since I was diagnosed in 2000.

God receives the credit and all the glory for his love and provision. In the support group, we learn to rejoice with those with good news and to suffer with those who are hurting. As we love one another without reservation God also receives glory.

Until there is a cure, CR (complete remission) is the term all multiple myeloma patients long to hear from their doctor. CR indicates a complete lack of cancer cells in the blood, but the cancer can return.

A year ago a trial drug had early success in my case, but after four months the cancer numbers were worse than when I started treatment and we knew we were in a dangerous place. But God sovereignly rules over matters we often label ‘chance’ and He is never confused or alarmed. My doctor in Atlanta helped with my first stem cell transplant in 2001. Over time he has become one of the leading multiple myeloma researchers in the world. He arranged for me to enter a new trial from Europe that was opening at only one hospital in the United States… Emory. I was the third person of ten patients selected and all of us were randomly placed in one of two trial categories — a rather mild once-a-month dose or a rigorous once-a-week dose. Of course I was hoping for the easy group… but was placed in the other.

After six months on this trial, I learned last week that every blood test and every test performed on a bone marrow collection reveals that I am in complete remission. I told Susan that I sometimes think the doctors and nurses are more excited about good reports than I am. Of course we rejoice and praise God but we both hesitate to get overexcited or overly distressed regarding any news. I will continue on the trial drug as a type of maintenance treatment, so I will continue to visit Emory.

A couple of weeks ago I went to see our son Taylor as he was on duty at one of his school’s soccer games. As I approached the gate, a lady I did not recognize said, “You’re Taylor’s dad! I go to church with your friend Jon and we have prayed for you for several years. I’m glad you are doing well!” Such kindness reminds me to be grateful and to say ‘thank you’ to so many who have prayed for me and my family. So ‘thank you’ and remember that “with God all things are possible.”

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

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oaks

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Dana

Kinsey and Jordan are now in Ethiopia for Jordan’s final rotation of his fourth year of medical school. They spent February in Uganda serving with Restoration Gateway.

In 2007, Dr. Tim McCall and his wife Janice followed God’s call and left their medical practice in Waco, Texas to establish a mission in Uganda. On 500 acres on the southern bank of the Nile River, a clinic, a school, a church, and several structures that house over 100 orphans bless a section of the world that has been brutalized by war and disease. On the northern side of the Nile the notorious Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army have terrorized the nation. It is estimated that over the past two and a half decades 30,000-60,000 children have been kidnapped to fight as child soldiers in the LRA. Though many believe Kony is now in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the citizens of northern Uganda still live in fear.

babyThere are 2.5 million orphans in Uganda. One in every five children between the ages of 6 and 12 have no parents. Kinsey and Jordan came to volunteer in the clinic, but soon Kinsey was given the responsibility of reading to children each day and Jordan was named soccer coach. Kinsey is pictured with a baby that had a difficult entry into the world. She and an African nurse had to work on the baby for over five minutes before he began breathing on his own.


praying On their last day, Dr. Tim asked that anyone who had been blessed by Uncle Jordan and Auntie Kinsey to gather around them in prayer.  Many children laid hands on them and prayed.

Meeting doctors, nurses, and educators from different parts of the world serving children and adults inspired Kinsey and Jordan greatly. The name of the school is Oaks of Righteousness (see Scripture below), as it is believed that God intends to transform the weak and poor into mighty men and women of faith. Kinsey told of the plan on the base of keeping only 10% of the produce from their gardens while giving away 90% to the surrounding communities. God’s Kingdom takes what the world says is ‘ruined’ and ‘impossible’ and establishes ‘hope’ and ‘life’ on the solid Rock of Jesus Christ.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.” Isaiah 61:1-3

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Juanito

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Dana

I rose early each morning in Ecuador and went to our hotel’s small dining room to read and wait for our team to gather for breakfast. John was usually close behind, but instead of reading, he made friends with the two men who prepared our meals. They invited the nine-year-old behind the closed doors of the kitchen to lend a hand. After tables were set and breakfast was prepared, these two friendly waiters sat down and played video games with the boy they called Juanito.

As a father and teacher I often wonder what impacts kids. How does God use life experiences to teach and mold his children? We’re never told any more about the little boy who gave up his lunch so Jesus could feed the five thousand, but I wonder if perhaps Andrew returned the boy’s basket with a word of encouragement. “Look what God did with your two loaves and five fish! If Jesus can do such a miracle with your lunch, just think what he can do with you!” (see John 6)

photoEach year Pastor Manuel performs a beautiful, simple gesture at the close of our visit. After the work is done he invites us to their family apartment that also serves as an after school ministry for children in the town of Cajabamba. We always form a circle and listen to Pastor Manuel thank us for coming to his country. With the help of a translator, he tells us that we are a part of his family and that we are always welcome in his home. He also asks that we pray for their work in the town and in the mountain villages that many will come to know Jesus and that all would prosper.

This year Pastor Manuel added another little part to his talk that brought tears to my eyes. He pulled John close to him and thanked him for returning to Ecuador. He told Juanito that he is special and that God has a plan for his life. Of course John beamed and as Pastor Manuel finished, a small man hugged a big boy.

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea… See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.’” Matthew 18:1-6, 10

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