Wow, we have gotten way behind in our communication with you, again. Life continues to be busy for us, but God is good through the busy times of life. We have a few things to follow up with since it has been so long. Over a month ago, we asked you to pray for three specific prayer concerns and it is high time that we update you on those answers to prayer . . .
We asked for prayer for an RMI staff member, Vonel, who broke his arm in a motorcycle accident. Vonel was at the hospital for about two weeks until he was able to see American doctors who determined that he did not need surgery, but monitored him for a few days before sending him home with his arm set. Vonel continued to have some swelling in his arm this past week which caused some concern so please continue to pray for complete healing for him. Also, last week, Vonel’s family had another difficult circumstance to face as his father who has been in failing health passed on to his heavenly home. His funeral service was yesterday morning, so I am sure that Vonel’s family would appreciate continued prayers in this time of trial for them.
We also asked you to pray for our team members, Joel and Laura Sutton who traveled back to Pennsylvania to spend some time with Laura’s mother who was hospitalized after a couple of heart events. Before Joel and Laura returned a week later, they had helped to move her mother into an assisted living facility to better serve her needs and although her health is not what we would consider good, they are comfortable with where she is for this stage in her life. They would appreciate continued prayers for Laura’s mom and the rest of her family as they care for her, as well as Joel and Laura as they are so far away at this trying time for her mother.
Lastly, we wanted to thank you for your continued prayers for Mikencia, who is celebrating her 8th birthday today. She continues to be in the hospital, but this week we have seen some great accomplishments in her healing and recovery. Friday afternoon we saw Mikencia’s smile for the very first time in over five weeks. What a welcome sight for us. She also showed us how she can extend her legs most of the way without any tears. We left the hospital that day with hearts full of gratitude to the Lord for His healing power in her life. She still has a long road ahead of her, but seeing those little obstacles overcome provides great thanksgiving in each of our hearts. This afternoon, we were able to spend a little time with her when we visited and her smiles came much more easily and she seems to be more ready for some play than we have seen in a long time.
The list of praises that we share here could be extremely long, but I want to add just one more of the many that could be added here . . . a couple of weeks ago, one of RMI's Partnership Facilitators, Anderson, was also in a motorcycle accident as he was traveling out to visit one of our sister churches. He came back to the office with a slight limp, some skin scrapes, and some holes in his clothes, but no major injuries. We are so thankful for God’s protection for him; Anderson shared a day or two later at devotions, that a week or so before his accident, there was another motorcycle accident at the same spot and a woman was killed. He felt even more blessed that his accident wasn’t worse.
So, although life here continues to be more challenging after the hurricane . . . it is clear that God still provides and he still protects, even during the difficult times.
