Announcements :-)

Announcement #1 - Laramie and Christina (Bixby -soon to be Lewis)(her parents worked in Ukarumpa) are engaged to be married - looking to an August or September Wedding - we are very happy they will be joining their lives together.

Announcement #2 - Bobb and Kayleen will NOT be returning to Papua New Guinea for the summer. This was a huge disappointment. Two doctors (a cardiologist and an internist) here in the U.S. cannot agree on what caused his stroke - and they will never truly know - but because of that the Doctors in Ukarumpa are not willing to take a chance on Bobb returning to PNG and not having modern medical technology available. We are still trying to cope with this closed door. Please be praying for us.

The cardiologist says that the hole in Bobb's heart is too little to cause the stroke and he did not want to close it - the internist says that the hole IS where the stroke came from and he could have another stroke any time and a long flight makes Bobb more susceptible to having clots form and subject to another stroke, because he isn't mobile enough to move on a plane. (The internist doesn't know) Well we totally disagree on the plane flight issue. We have flown across the nation to Eastern Canada and he CAN move on a plane-- has and done(though it is not as long a flight as we are talking about for PNG) - so we could be very careful, on the DVT issue, but the decision seems to be final and we will not fight them on it, though it is Bobb who would be taking the chance and realizing that God had a plan even if it proved to be fatal. We felt it really was BOBB's choice, but thats the way it goes. Unless we are willing to seek another opinion - the hole will not be closed because the cardiologist says no, but the internist will always say he's in danger of another stroke and thats what the clinic chose to believe so we will never be able to go back unless we find a doctor willing to close the hole - we are caught between a rock and a hard place with no solutions in sight other than to believe its a closed door which we HATE. We will work harder in helping with the upcoming wedding instead and try to figure out what else we are suppose to be doing. Though these things really make you feel useless, unwanted and as NOTHING. It was NO minor thing for us!!

Announcement #3 - Kayleen STILL works for Wycliffe - Papua New Guinea. When they send her work - she does it over the internet for them. We have not left Wycliffe even though she also works a part-time job to keep up with the needs (medical and otherwise) here in the U.S. We Cannot leave Wycliffe nor have we wanted too, but the insurance issues are at the forefront because we would NOT be able to find other insurance for Bobb. So we NEED to continue to work with Wycliffe to be able to continue to get the needed services Bobb needs at this time of his life. We had always had the hope of returning to PNG again someday out there in front of us - but now that is gone - its trying to figure out how to fit again.

Announcement #4 - Bobb is continuing to improve. He now has thumb extension - with extreme concentration - but its improvement. The speech therapist says he has moved to more advanced speech concepts and is continuing to improve in his word finding. In general life he is now praying out loud and participating more in conversation in a small group. Still can be difficult to understand exactly what he is getting at - but with a little work and clarification, communication continues to improve along with his cognitive abilities.

Announcement #5 - Lenise plans to go to Trinity Western next year in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Pray for her as she finishes up her senior year and prepares to go to college.

Announcement #6 - We lost Bobb's mother in October - but....Praise the Lord she accepted him as Lord and Savior and was baptized just 6 days before she went home to be with Him.

Announcement #7 - Kayleen had neck fusion done right after Esther died to fuse at 3/4 and 5/6 with bone grafts due to severe disk bulges. She now has strength again in her right arm - Hallelujah :-) The Doctor had told her to step in a little hole and fall would have paralyzed her from the neck down - thats how severe the injury to the neck was - it involved the spinal cord and made for some pretty good nerve damage - Kayleen just thinking she had overused her arm and just tryed to not use it much would fix the problem. She hadn't realized she was playing with fire :-)

Announcement #8 - Bobb was asked to be a guinea pig as Physical Therapists from Kadlec Medical Center in the TriCities, Washington(3 hour drive one way for us), trained on a device called the Bioness. It is a device that attaches below the knee to help in foot drop issues - raising the toe and ankle. It was a fun day - and it did help him walk a little quicker. I told him we might even be able to walk together again and hold hands :-) We are in the decision process of whether we will pursue this for Bobb. We do not know at this juncture how much the insurance will pay-- 80% or just 50% of the approximately $5,000 dollars this will cost us.

Announcement 9-10 - Praise for all those who have taken the time to be a part of Bobb's recovery process - some come in once a week to help him, some make sure he is included in life, some take the time to really talk to him, some just show they love him. We are so thankful for the Body of Christ! Praise for all those who have taken the time to encourage and be there through all the ups and downs of these last 21 months as Kayleen and Bobb have been figuring out how to put their lives back together and wait on the Lord's leading. Kayleen especially is very thankful for those friends that have stuck closer than sisters and given her grace as she has struggled and triumphed and fallen again.
Thank you all

Pray for Bobb to continue to be dedicated to his recovery. A person once said its like pennies - you collect pennies and one day you have enough to spend. Thats how we see his recovery at this stage - as long as God allows and provides the small gains - someday who knows what they will add up to :-)

Pray for the financial situation - as our Wycliffe income continues to decline and we continue to have desires on how to help Bobb recover - if its medical it costs A LOT. We need to visit our supporting churches to thank them and talk about our continued ministry but are not sure how that looks yet :-) So pray for logistics and wisdom.

Continue to pray for the Bible Translation programs in Papua New Guinea - they meet new challenges every day from bridges going out which doesn't allow for getting aviation fuel and gas and diesel, to disputes with local tribal groups over land, to sudden death of a translator in the village. There are victories everyday - so continue to pray for them that they may remain steadfast to the task before them.

THANK YOU ALL.
Bobb and Kayleen
PS
Have an absolutely beautiful EASTER!!!

HE HAS RISEN! - What greater gift to mankind?

Thanks again!
Bobb and Kayleen