Praise the Lord Greg's Bangkok teaching trip is fully funded and he purchased his plane tickets today! Greg will be teaching the Wisdom Literature section of an ABTS Old Testament class in Thailand this July 7-18. Please pray for Greg as he prepares his materials this month!
We have been so blessed over the past 9 months to have many individuals verbally let us know that they intend to support us, and we're hopeful that those intentions will turn into commitments this month!
Did you know that through ABWE you can sign up to "intend to support" us? This means that you can let ABWE know that you commit to support us once we're in Asia and your monthly giving will begin once we're fully funded. This form of commitment often puts givers at ease because you can help us reach our goal while not worrying, "But what if they never make it to the field? Will my monthly giving have been a waste?" You can also tell ABWE you want to start giving at a personal predetermined time before we're on the field. So for example if you want your giving to begin starting in September or January you can fill out an "intent to support" form to indicate this as well. Intent to support in any form counts as committed monthly support on our end, so it gets us closer to our goal of being 100% funded and on the mission field! If you plan to give - now is the perfect time to commit to doing it! Why? Because our goal is to be 50% funded by June 20 so we can attend ABWE's EMC Training. This required training is only offered once a year, so if we don't make this deadline it will certainly be another full year before we can move to Thailand. Praise the Lord we already have 47% of our monthly support raised! Our goal is to raise the additional $283.27 needed in committed support over the next 4 weeks. Will you prayerfully consider partnering with us (either pledging to give now or once we're fully funded)? Click the link below to partner with us financially: http://www.vrugginks.com/financial-partnership.html Greg graduated from Calvin Seminary yesterday with his Master of Theology degree! "The Lord has done great things for us!" Psalm 126:3 This past winter our family made 5 "Blessings Bags" and gave them to beggars at stoplights (which we see almost every time we leave our home here in Grand Rapids). The men and women who received them were each incredibly grateful and never asked for more. It was amazing to watch my children begin to really see these hurting people, experience joy as they reached our our window to deliver a blessings bag, and hear the empathy in their voices as they prayed for our "new friends." So today our family made 5 summer "Blessings Bags" to hand out over the hot months. This time Abbie asked if she could use some of her allowance money to help pay for the items in the bags. (Wow - proud mama moment for sure!) If you see beggars in the city you live or work in, please consider doing this simple project. It has been such an incredible experience for our family, and I know it will bless not only the recipients but also your hearts as well. (Tip: The cheapest place to get the sanitizing wipes and sunglasses is the $1 store.)
SUMMER Supply List “Just Because. You Matter.” Note Gallon Freezer Ziploc Bags 2 Applesauce Cups Plastic Spoon Slim Jims Chapstick Sanitizing Wipes 2 Large Water Bottles Sunscreen Sunglasses This afternoon Isaac had a very encouraging doctor appointment! First, Isaac allowed the nurse to take his blood pressure and he only whimpered a little bit (far different from the hysterical screaming that usually accompanies this time). We've been taking his blood pressure every day at home to help get him used to his procedure, and we were so thankful to finally get an accurate number. His blood pressure numbers were normal! Yay!!! Next we met with Isaac's pediatric urologist, Dr. Barber, and he was very encouraging! He does not feel that Isaac needs imminent surgery or invasive tests. He thinks Isaac was most likely born with a small right kidney and the urine reflux problem has a 60% chance of resolving on its own. He also told us that as long as the urine refluxing into his kidneys isn't infected then it's not causing any damage. This was major news for us because Isaac has never had a urinary tract infection, so his kidney is not being damaged little by little each day as we feared. There are problems that could develop because of his reflux problems (UTIs, blockages, kidney swelling, etc.), but as long as we get regular kidney ultrasounds and monitor his blood pressure then he should be alright.
We also talked with Dr. Barber about our plans to move to Thailand soon and what Isaac's care would need to look like while we're overseas. Dr. Barber also told us that he just set up one of his patients with a pediatric urologist in Bangkok! (How cool is that?!?) So we know for sure Isaac can be monitored by the specialist he needs while we're serving in Bangkok! This was the first doctor appointment we've had that we left feeling really encouraged! Praise the Lord for this wonderful news! Through bad news and good news we're so grateful that God is always with us and that whether we're in America or on the other side of the ocean in Thailand that God's hand will continue to guide us! Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast." Psalms 139:7-10 Super great news! Isaac's pediatric urologist appointment got bumped up one week to this Monday, April 11 at 1pm AND it's now with the pediatric urologist who specializes in urethral reconstruction which is the surgery Isaac may need. Please be praying for Monday!
Our four minute ministry video is here! Thank you so much Kristine Tsui for creating this amazing video that beautifully shares our testimonies and passion for training leaders in Asia! Please go to our home page to watch this video to understand our hearts and what we'll be doing in Asia!
We celebrated my favorite Easter tradition today - Passover/Lord's Supper! I just love all the beautiful symbolism in the Passover meal, and how Jesus changed this highly symbolic meal into the Lord's Supper. My kiddos look forward to enjoying their lamb, matzo, bitter herbs, charoset, grape juice, and bread every year! So grateful for this beautiful meal God has given us to enjoy! Roast Lamb
The roast lamb reminded the Israelites of the lamb’s blood on their doorposts and the roast lamb they ate on the night they left Egypt. It now also reminds us that Jesus was the perfect lamb that was sacrificed to give us eternal life. Matzo - Unleavened Bread The unleaved bread reminded the Israelites that they had to hurry when they left Egypt. Grated Romaine Lettuce - Bitter Herbs The bitter herbs reminded them of the bitter years in Egypt. Charoset - Fruit, Nuts, and Honey Mixture The mixture of fruit, nuts, and honey reminded them of the material that that Israelites used to make bricks in Egypt. Wine or Grape Juice The wine is a symbol of Jesus’ blood which was shed on the cross so all our sins could be forgiven. Broken Bread The broke bread is a symbol of Jesus’ body which was broken on the cross so that we could be saved. It's been a busy and rough past few days for Isaac!
Friday Isaac had a VCUG test done. This procedure was done to discover if Isaac has urine refluxing into his kidneys to see if this was the source of the scarring on his small right kidney. He was very mildly sedated for this procedure, but to be honest it didn't seem to have any effect during his test. He screamed and thrashed the entire time. They had to tie him down to the table to catheterize him and run the test. Greg and I were with him the entire time, but it was very traumatic. Sunday Isaac woke up crying because he was in tremendous pain so we called the doctor and were told to bring him to the ER. In the ER he had to be catheterized again as we suspected a urinary tract infection (UTI), but his urine came back clean. They simply decided that most likely his urethra had been slightly hurt during the VCUG procedure (not shocking considering how traumatic it was for him), so it will just take a few days for it to heal and urinating will be painful for him until it heals. This morning we met with the pediatric nephrologist. He let us know that Isaac has extremely high urine reflux in his right kidney and over time this is what has caused the scarring. We aren't sure if he was born with a small right kidney or if his right kidney is now small due to the urine reflux damage, but either way the nephrologist told us that the damage is done. Isaac's right kidney will always be small and always be damaged from this point forward. All we can do now is try to make sure it doesn't get worse. He may need surgery to fix this problem so the urine will no longer reflux into his kidney. Our next steps are more tests and meeting with a urologist to determine if surgery will be necessary. We received a referral for a urologist today, so the urology office should be calling sometime soon to schedule that appointment. Thank you for keeping Isaac in your prayers! Please continue to pray for him to be free from pain, and for the nephrologist and urologist to have wisdom in deciding how to treat his kidney problem to prevent further damage. Amidst some hard times the past few weeks, it was such a blessing to celebrate Isaac's 3rd birthday with family and friends this afternoon! |
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