Happy Spring! Spring has not quite come to Portugal but will soon. We still have rainy days in the in the upper 50s and low 60s but I know it is coming. Not sure if the pollen will be as bad as it is in NC though! The girls did enjoy their spring break and we had a great Easter celebration with a visitor from the US and with our church.
Shortly after Easter however, my Mother started having intestinal problems. My sister and I communicated via email and skype about her condition and it became apparent that she needed to go to the hospital. They began testing her and diagnosed her with diverticulitis, an infection in her colon, pneumonia, and mild congestive heart failure. Her overall health quickly began to decline during the next few days. After a couple of days in the hospital, she was placed on a ventilator with a feeding tube because of respiratory distress she was experiencing.
Right before this happened, my sister, Pam, told me that a pipe had leaked at my Mom’s house. We had stored some things in my Mom’s basement that we didn’t send to Angola in our container. Things like crafts that Riley and McKenna made in pre-school and other things that we were afraid we would not be able to bring back from Angola some day. Well the leaking pipe was right above the things that we stored there.
Pam was too busy with caring for my Mom and my 87 year old Aunt who is recovering from back surgery to be able to take care of our stuff in the basement. She said that she could probably get some other people to help her but didn’t know when they would have the time with worrying about my Mom’s declining health. I told her it was just “stuff” and that we completely understood.
The next morning, the Lord laid it on my heart that I needed to consider going back to the US to be with my Mom and to check on damaged stuff in the basement. April and I discussed this and we prayed about it. We shared this with some friends who were concerned about my Mom’s health and we had 3 different supporters who all agreed that we should go back and that they would help cover the expense of travel if we could work out schedules with Eunice, our instructor, and with the girls school. Remember they had just finished Spring break a week before.
Just like God providing supporters to cover our expenses, He worked through all of the teachers and we were able to schedule a return to Greensboro. We arrived here late on Monday evening. Riley and McKenna asked if we could keep it a secret so that they could surprise some of their friends. We were able to do that and they were very excited. It relieved some of their anxiety of their Grandmother’s health. We were also blessed with a place to stay and vehicles to drive while we are here! God is good and can handle ANY situation!
We are currently in Greensboro and will return to Portugal on Friday April 19. She is off of the ventilator now, Praise the Lord, and they were able to run a CT scan of her abdomen yesterday. As soon as she becomes a little stronger, they will do more tests to determine what all is going on. Please pray that my Mother’s health improves and that the doctors are able to diagnose what is causing her problems. Also, pray that we feel comfortable about heading back to Portugal next Friday.
This is a quick trip back to the US and we have a lot to do while we are here. We would love to see each of you but unfortunately time will not allow it. So please forgive us if we don’t get a chance to visit with each of you. We promise to make time for everyone when we return in August.
Thank you again for joining with us in prayer. Your prayers for our family, our ministry, and the challenges we face truly sustain us. We couldn’t do it without each of you!
In Him,
Danny
