Where We Are

Well, since Todd's trip to Mozambique, we've had quite a lot to process. Despite the challenges that will most definitely lie ahead for our family, we still feel God's pull on our family to go where He has called. We were able to eat dinner last night to continue our processing process with some wonderful friends of ours who served as missionaries in Africa until recently. They served in a "closed" area so, to be on the safe side, I'll leave their names out of the blog. Anyway, it always helps talking to them because they are able to shed light on something in about five seconds because they have this great framework for understanding our questions, doubts and even fears. They probably have no idea how much our dinners together have meant to us since we've begun this crazy journey.

So, before we can be officially approved on Oct. 7 there are some things we still need to do. We need to read a HUGE policy manual, send in a few more medical records for the girls, and Todd has a medical hurdle to get over. Many of you know, even though I haven't posted it, that Todd's BMI (Body Mass Index) is/was high. When we discovered this last November, he began working like a crazy person to get the weight off. In March he had lost 35 pounds and was able to send in a satisfactory weight to the agency that approves our health status for the IMB. This allowed us to go forward and attend the candidate conference in May.

Well, between March and May our family was introduced to something called Fifth Disease. (You can Google it if you would like to know more about it.) Todd suffered the most - Emma and Jessie didn't even know they had anything - and, for a while, we thought his arthritis had come back. The medicine he was given for his joint pain caused some weight gain (which is a known side effect of this particular medication) so that by the time we got to conference, he was above the qualifying BMI. The doctor in VA measured his waist and said that he thought Todd would be fine for health clearance.

After a while (It takes a little bit for the paperwork to get from the doctor's office in VA to the health agency), we got notification that Todd would need to lose the weight again. (He was probably 10 pounds over the mark.) Since he got back from Africa, he has been working on his weight, but it has been much harder for him to gain much ground. He's about halfway there. So, I have two requests. Please pray that he will be able to lose the rest of the weight quickly. Also, please pray that the health agency will be lenient in regards to the nature of the weight gain. They could possibly opt for him to have to maintain the weight loss for three months before we could move forward in the IMB process. This would mean that we would miss the Oct. 7 approval date that we've been hoping for. I know that would be so hard for Todd since he has worked so hard on this for what feels like forever!

Now, with all that said, I also know that God has the timetable for our journey all worked out - I just get a little antsy about it and really want things to work out the way we want them! So, please pray for peace and contentment for me when I get that way and lose sight of the fact that if God wants us in Moz, there is nothing that can stop His plan. I am more excited than ever about getting to go on behalf of my savior to another country where intimate knowledge of Him is scarce. It is truly what we feel we have been made to do and God seems to confirm this in our hearts, through His word and through our circumstances almost daily. Thanks so much for remembering us and praying for us!