Off We Go.....Into the wild blue yonder.....

Okay, my Air Force days kicked in for just a second.....(in case you don't know, the title to this post is the Air Force Song)

Today, we are packing up and heading north to Homosassa to be with Pastor Eric Justice and New Hope Baptist Church.  Our family will be singing, I'll be preaching, and we will present our ministry on their special visitor's Sunday and dinner on the grounds tomorrow.  We are looking forward to the meeting and also the fellowship!

One side note:  Joshua's last football game was last night.  He has enjoyed playing with the Emmanuel Baptist School team and has done a great job.  I want to commend Pastor Matt Booher for coaching the team.  I could not have asked for a better role model and mentor for my son.  Pastor Booher is a man who has a talent and love for working with teenagers and he never compromises standards in the process.   He always encourages the boys no matter how they play and makes sure that every boy has a chance to play in each game.  He coached always wearing a tie and the dress code for the boys was always long sports pants.   Praise God for men of God who still believe in standards.  Thank you Pastor Booher for your time and energy you put forth in our future generation!

I will post some pics of Josh from his final games at a later time......

Great Wednesday Service!!!

 Wednesday, we loaded up the van and headed north on a 4-hour drive to Ocala, FL.  We had a great meeting at Heritage Baptist Church with Pastor Walter Smith.  We were the last missionaries that attended their Mission's Conference which ended Wednesday.

They allowed us to stay in their prophet's chamber and fed us some of the best home-made lasagna I have ever eaten! We presented our ministry, the family sang, and Kami was able to play the piano for the services.  It was a great meeting preached by Bro. Jim Fellure.   At the end of the evening, Pastor Smith recommended that the church take us on for support as one of their missionaries!!!  Praise the Lord! 

We are very excited about getting one step closer to leaving for the field! Please continue to pray that other churches will take us on for support as well.  Thank you Heritage Baptist Church!!!

Sunday's Meetings........

We had two wonderful meetings yesterday.

We traveled to Clearwater, FL to New Shiloh Baptist Church with Pastor Mike Austin.  We had a great time in the morning service and wonderful fellowship with Pastor Austin and his family during the afternoon. 

Then we traveled to Riverview, FL to Bethel Baptist Church to be with Pastor Tom Shavers.  We were able to present our ministry at both churches and our family sang.  We thank both churches for having us in and for being so hospitable!

This Wednesday, we will be traveling to be part of a mission's conference in Ocala, FL at Heritage Baptist Church with Pastor Walter Smith.  We are looking forward to the upcoming meeting.

I'm doing a lot better....

Thank you so much for all of your prayers for me.  I felt great today, probably the best day that I have had in over 2 months!  When I woke up, I had no chest pains and no tenderness when pressing my sternum.   I went to my scheduled doctor's appointment this afternoon to receive the results of my CT scan and also my blood tests.  The doctor checked everything out and I am very healthly.  All the tests came back "negative" and even my cholestrol numbers looked good. 

So What's The Problem???
The doctor said that my diagnosis for all of the problems and chest pains that I have had is too much acid.  He explained that the little pumps in our stomachs that produce acid, normally trickles out the acid.  However, mine have been turned on like a faucet and pour out the acid non-stop.  So much acid just pouring into my stomach causes my esophagus to spasm uncontrollably as the acid irritates it constantly.  The cure is to continue taking the prescription anti-acids that he presribed me.  I must take them for 6 months which is the time it should take to re-program my stomach to produce less acid and for my esophagus to heal up.  Just after two weeks of taking the meds, I am feeling a difference already.  I still have to wait for the biopsy results from my stomach and esophagus, but I feel pretty sure that we are on the right road to recovery.  Thank you for your prayers!

Update from today's procedure....

Thank you for all of you who have prayed and continue to pray for us.

I went in to have the endoscopy this morning.....(I am currently writing this post at 8:45 PM and I still feel woozy from the meds!)  The procedure went well, at least that's what they tell me.  I don't remember a thing!

They had to put me out and all I remember is counting until I reached 7, then I woke up with Kami by my side.  I don't remember embarrassing Kami with all of the things I was babbling to the doctor's and nurses nor do I remember speaking and talking with the doctor about the results.  But here are the brief details:

My esophagus looks good and that is not the problem.  So I did not need the "airbag" to stretch out my esophagus after all.  The doctor did take a biopsy of my stomach and esophagus to check on a couple things including H-Pylori which could be my problem.  I did begin to have pain again after the procedure so they gave my some pain meds that made me loopy again along with prescribing some pain meds and a glycerin tablet that I need to take when the pain starts.  He said that there is still a possibility that my esophagus spasms uncontrollably throughout the day and the glycerin will stop the spasms (if that is the problem). The doctor wants me to have  a CAT Scan on Wednesday to further find out where my pain is coming from, hopefully we will get some answers after this next procedure.

Thanks again for all your prayers and concern.  We have had so many calls and emails and it is always great to know that my family is loved by so many!!!  Thank you to all of you!!!

New "Family Tip for the Taking".....

If you haven't noticed yet, I posted a new "Family Tip for the Taking".  You can find this update along with an updated "Praises and Prayer Request" section in the column to the right on this website. 

This latest update helps us parents answer the question, "Why does our younger generation struggle with Biblical standards and righteousness today?....Why is it that our younger generation is so unstable today?"

Pictures of Josh playing football!!!

Josh is having so much fun playing football with Emmanuel Baptist School.  Pastor Booher is the football coach and we just love Pastor Booher's approach to sports.  The team plays in conservative attire, must show respect at all times, and Pastor Booher constantly encourages the players and has fun with them.  I thought you might like to see some pics of Josh at his games....

(Josh getting cheered on by his sister!)

(Pastor Booher and Joshua #26)

(Joshua plays the blitzing rusher on defense)

(Joshua sacks the opposing quarterback!...notice the flag is pulled!)

(Joshua stopping a running play!)

Josh is having so much fun.  He loves playing and loves being around other teenagers of like faith.  Thank you Pastor Booher for allowing Josh to be a part of the team!

(P.S....It sure is fun shouting and rooting for your son...GO  JOSH!!!)

Quick Update.........

     Many of you have asked how I am doing.   Thank you so much for your prayers and concern.  I am still having pain everyday and this past Sunday was one of the worst.  I met with a specialist yesterday and I am scheduled to have an endoscopy done on Monday, October 18th.   He mentioned several possibilities to my chest pains: esophagus stricture, pancreatitis, or hernia.  If I do have an esophagus stricture, they will stretch out my esophagus with the scope at the time of the procedure.  We'll see how things go.


     Things went great as we went house to house passing out "door hangers" (plastic bags with information about our home church, a gospel tract, and a copy of John & Romans) this past Saturday.  Our family was able to hang somewhere around 275 packets on homes in my mom's neighborhood.  Our church as a whole was able to give out several thousand hangers with the Gospel to homes here in Ft. Myers. 

     Thank you all again for your prayers for our family......

Warning...Long "post" with pictures...read at your own risk!

I originally thought that when we arrived in Florida that we would be able to stop, catch our breath, and slow down just a bit.  However, we have been on the go every day.  So here's a quick glimpse at the past two weeks for each member of our family:

Patrick - Ever since we left Quebec, I have been having chest pains.  So, I finally gave in to the pain (and Kami) and went to the doctor.  He said that I have burnt my esophagus to the point where it is spasmed closed.  This is where the pain comes from.  He gave me what seems to be a lifetime supply of anti-acid pills and sent me to have bloodwork done.  I am scheduled to have a scope done to "stretch" my esophagus back out and see what damage has been done.  This past Sunday I had the opportunity to preach and this Saturday we will be involved in our churches canvassing day.  The goal is to pass out 9,000 door hangers in South Ft. Myers.  I have also been able to help my mom with a few little repairs here and there to her new home as well.  I am glad to be able to take care of these things for her.

Kami - Ever since we arrived, Kami has been on the go.  She has taken me and several children to doctor's appointments, practiced with the children and the pianist at church for singing specials, attended a bridal shower for one of our teens from our youth group, finished our end-of-quarter reports, kept up with the children's schooling, and managed to catch a cold as well.  Thanksfully she is on the mend because I do not want to take over her duties!!!

Joshua - He has been loving the youth department and being with other teenagers.  He has been working hard at school, started working for his grandpa once a week at the carlot (temporary job while we are here in Florida between meetings) and just enrolled onto the Emmanual Baptist School's flag football team.  He has always wanted to play football and God has given him the desires of his heart.  The football schedule works perfect for our schedule of traveling on weekends and Wednesdays. 

Elisabeth -  Beth has been fighting a cold that started when we left Canada.  We finally took her to the Doctor and he said that her adnoids are enlarged and giving her problems.  One of the problems is it takes longer for her to recover from colds.  He gave her some medicine and if things don't improve for her, there is a possibility of having surgery to remove her adnoids.  She and Brenna also made a special cake for their Aunt Keela's birthday this past week as well.  They have also been loving their cake decorating class for homeschoolers as well.

(Beth and Brenna with their all-edible "Kindle" cake)

Brenna - She has started having her nose-bleeds again and we probably need to take her to the doctor to have her nose cauterized.  She as well has been loving making and decorating cakes and spending time with all of the family here.  She loves going to the Wednesday night program at our church called King's Kids.

Silas - Loves touching all of the antiques around my mom's house.  He also received 4 shots from the doctor yesterday at his check-up appointment.  We were told that he is not only healthy but very tall for his age.  Everyone loves it when he counts or speaks French!  He is also loving the nursery at church.

Callie - She is rolling and crawling all over the place.  She received 3 shots at her check-up appointment yesterday as well.  At church, she is passed around from lady to lady and loves all of the attention!  She just turned 5 months on October 6th!