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Sunday, July 29, 2012

it’s official: we’re moving

Well, more blood tests for Julie have confirmed that we’re looking at our last two weeks in Nicaragua for awhile as we now need to move home from a kidney transplant. While this is somewhat discouraging, we are also relieved to finally have an answer, and, as we mentioned in our last post, this is a good time to step away since it will not be a major inconvenience for the ministry.

Below are the answers to some questions that we know a lot of you will have:

When will we move to the States? The plan is still for us to leave Nicaragua on August 13th, when we already have tickets.

What will you do with your stuff? We are storing a lot with friends here in Nicaragua, bringing some with us, and selling, giving away, or disposing of the rest.

Where will we live?
At this point, we are planning to live and do the transplant in Norman, OK. There are many reasons for this. Since we've been away from Dallas for so many years, Norman feels much more like home to us. We have a doctor there that is already familiar with Julie’s medical history, and has been a great support to us so far. We still feel very much a part of the community at Wildwood, and many of our best friends are still in Norman. We have also had some friends graciously offer for us to live with them.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Health Update

For those who are interested, here is a quick update on how Julie’s health has been and how it affects our future plans. While regular blood tests and doctor appointments over the last year and a half had shown fairly steady kidney function, the last month has shown a rapid, unexpected decline. It is very possible that we may have to move back to the States soon for six months to a year for a transplant. The move would hopefully only be temporary–and nothing is definite yet–but we will have more information to make a final decision after she has more blood work done in a couple of weeks.

One good thing in this is that a lot of the work that we currently do can still be done in the States. For several months now, Chase has been training someone (Yeril Lozano) to take his place as children’s director so that he can begin writing Spanish curriculum and creating other resources to help train and equip Nicaraguans involved in ministry. Also, Julie will still be able to do almost all planning for short-term teams via email and phone calls, as she has already been doing. The fun and personal aspects of our ministry will be missing with our absence, but we will still be actively employed by One by One, and our desire is to be able to move back to Nicaragua after this is done.

Come what may, we already have tickets for our annual fall visit to the States (starting August 13th), so the next couple of weeks will determine whether we cancel our return ticket or whether we come back to Nicaragua after three weeks.

We obviously don’t have all the details worked out yet, but we will update the blog when we know. We are a bit anxious and stressed, but trust in God, knowing that He is not surprised by this development even though we are! In the meantime, we would greatly appreciate your prayers as we potentially get ready for a big transition. Also, keep your eyes and ears open for inexpensive housing in Norman and a car to borrow or rent since we might be in need of both!