‘See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up: do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.’ Isaiah 43 :19
We give praise and thanks for the new thing the Lord has and is doing… From a very bleak diagnosis just over 2 years ago to now seeing Noel regaining his strength and his body returning to good health along with his enthusiasm for life and having a bright future to now look forward to.
Noel travelled by himself to Boston last week for his Dana-Farber appointment on Monday 17th June. I stayed home to be able to provide daycare for Charlotte and Lucy as their other grandparents were unable to help that day. It felt odd for both of us but we looked at it as yet another move forward… Noel feeling confident to be there with out me and for me to feel confident that he was able to do so.
His blood work was much the same as it has been for the last few weeks… Some numbers need to be better but thankfully none are any worse… So stable is a way to describe them… A reduction in the steroids and the magnesium was the only change in his medications and we pray this will go smoothly with no ill effects. He has still some evidence of GVHD but he is able to manage and cope with it.
We are still eating healthy and walking and exercising… and are both feeling good.
Noel is gradually returning to more involvement with people and his ministry… which is brilliant. In addition to ministering to Chaplains and Veterans (including some still on active duty) with ACCTS (www.accts.org), this past week has seen him take part in a videoconference Board meeting of Olive Branch International (www.olivebranchinternationalonline.com) and a prayer and planning meeting for Rev. Nigel Mumford’s new ministry, By His Wounds, Inc (www.byhiswoundsministry.org). Noel is also a Board member of this exciting new thrust in the healing ministry which will include future Welcome Home Christ-focused spiritual retreats.
We would encourage you to read up about each of these co-operative ministries bringing the Good News and healing to needy men and women, especially those within the military communities of the world. Each is greatly in need of your continued prayers and practical and financial support.
This past week we saw Charlotte graduate from Kindergarten… How fast the year has gone… First Grade starts on September 4th.
Our big news is that the Doctor’s have given Noel permission to travel by air and to visit the UK so long as he wears a face mask in the airplane – recycled air is not always germ free! So we will drive to Boston on July 14 the for his next appointment on Monday 15th, leaving our car with friends, and fly to England on the 16th… This is our first visit for 2 years… and we are excited.
The first 2 weeks will be spent with our son Charles, and Sarah, Evelyn and William locally in their area just outside Newcastle in the northeast of England and on holiday with them at seaside on the east coast. The rest of the time we will be visiting friends in the Midlands and family in Cambridge and London… We will fly back to Boston on August 20th for Noel’s appointment at the Dana Farber on the 21st and return home on the 22nd… Please pray for safe and smooth travel to and from and in the UK. Pray that we both stay healthy, that Noel does not pick up any infections and that he continues to do well on his road to recovery.
We are so grateful to the Lord ‘s provisions for us. We once again can not thank you all enough for supporting us in so many different ways on this continuing journey… We feel so encouraged and very blessed.
God bless you all, enjoy the summer. Stay safe and be well!