Baptism x 3

Sunday was a fantastic day celebrating a step in the journey of faith for 3 special people in our family. Annalise and two of her cousins, one from each side of the family, chose to follow Jesus' example of baptism and make a public declaration of their intent to follow Him.

The baptism was held at Life Action Camp on the shores of Clear Lake. The skies were clear and the water was warm. Our family as well as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins were all there to celebrate with them and the others who had gathered to be baptized or support those who were.

Josiah was accompanied by his mom, Rhonda, as the pastor of their church baptized him. He was the first of the family to enter the water on Sunday.

Rhonda, Josiah, and Pastor Dan

Samantha had emailed me before we left the Philippines asking if I would baptize her while I was home for the summer. I felt honored to be given such a privilege. She was next to proclaim her dedication to follow after Jesus.

Pastor Dan, Samantha, and Thomas

Annalise has been talking to Lisa and me about getting baptized for a while, but we really wanted to be home and surrounded by those closest to her for this occasion. She was excited about sharing this day with her cousins. (She also liked being in the lake on a warm, summer evening.) Although many have helped her understand God's love for her and what it means to follow Him, it was I who had the privilege of baptizing her.

Pastor Dan, Annalise, Thomas, and Samantha

We are thankful for God's blessing on our families. How wonderful to see these young people proclaim their trust in His salvation!

Grace,
Tom

Thyroid 2

This morning Lisa had the nodule removed from her thyroid. The surgery went well and she is now comfortably resting at home.

During the surgery, a pathology test was performed which gave no indication of cancer. The final pathology report will be in early next week.

A portion of the right lobe of her thyroid was removed, but the other side as well as her parathyroid was unaffected.

Thank you for your prayers.

Thyroid

Many fun and exciting things have happened since our last post and I hope to update all of you on those happenings in the near future. However, I feel it is important to let you know about a development for which we ask your prayer.

One of the priorities on our TO DO list for the summer was to have physical exams. During Adriana's exam, our family doctor, Dr. J, noticed that her thyroid is enlarged. He ordered a blood test and an ultrasound and referred us to another doctor, Dr. D, for further examination and consultation. He personally performed another ultrasound in his office on Monday. He feels that Adriana's thyroid appears to be functioning properly. He prescribed a course of action and we will meet with him in a month to validate that all is well.

While we were in his office on Monday, Dr. D was asking Lisa about family history. Lisa has some family history of thyroid issues and has had her thyroid levels tested. But that was some time ago and there were no problems noted. He examined Lisa neck then asked Adriana and her to change places. When he did an ultrasound of Lisa's thyroid, he found a nodule on the right side.

Later Monday evening, Dr. D called us to schedule a biopsy Tuesday morning. During the procedure, he took three samples which were wisked away by the lab technician. The results were not expected for 2-3 days.

Wednesday evening, while the kids were at VBS, Lisa and I went kayaking out on the lake. The weather was wonderful. We explored a few of the channels then just kicked back in one of the lagoons on the lake. It was very relaxing and gave us some time to talk about all that was going on. When the breeze moved us within hearing distance of a pontoon boat, the profanity of the boater's conversation made us decide it was time to head back in.

We were meandering as we paddled to the dock, when Lisa noticed her mom was waiting for us there. Since she gets up very early to go to work, we were a little concerned that she would be out that late. I hurried ahead to find out what was happening. Dr. D had called and had asked Lisa to call him back. Mom had her cell phone and a sticky note with his number so Lisa could call right away.

As I put the kayaks away, Lisa talked with Dr. D. He said that the biopsy results were inconclusive; cancer could not be ruled out. Because of this, surgery is the next step.

She will have surgery next Wednesday to remove the nodule. At that time, testing will be performed. When it is determined whether cancer is involved, we will decide what the appropriate course of action is.

As we wait for our consultation on Monday we have many questions, but we also have much for which to be thankful. We are thankful that Adriana's thyroid is healthy. We are thankful that the potential for cancer is related to Lisa's thyroid instead of any other organ. We are thankful for the course of events which led to the discovery of the nodule on Lisa's thyroid and that we are in the USA instead of the Philippines. We are thankful that Dr. J and Dr. D are our friends as well as our doctors.

Please pray for our family as we walk through this situation. We often joke that mommys don't get sick days - they are too important. Pray also for the finances of the situation.