The Timothy Project

I discovered this morning that my mother had been hospitalized during the night. She has been very sick and uncomfortable for several days. She suffered a severe attack of diverticulitis (?) last summer and we are assuming that this is another one which could possibly mean surgery in the near future.  She will remain in the hospital through the weekend. I think she is having an upper GI done sometime soon and then Monday or Tuesday the doctor will determine the course of action. Pray for her and my father during this weekend. It is no fun to be sick, but a holiday weekend makes it even worse! Thanks for your prayers!

Many of you have worked in La Joya with Pastor Ortiz and Ingrid and know Alana, a very sweet elderly woman in their congregation. Well, yesterday during church, her house burned and they had an almost total loss.  Please keep her and her family, as well as Pastor Ortiz in your prayers as he ministers and tries to help them during this crisis. He was pretty shook up last night when he stopped by. 

One of our missionary families really needs your prayers. Carlos and Lili Llambes (some of you know them) are really going through a hard time right now. Brianna, their youngest daughter (7ish), has dengue fever and is hospitalized- and her mother is in the next bed, also with Dengue Fever!  And to top it off, they just got word that Carlos’ only brother passed away in Miami. Pray for them as they deal with this illness and also the loss of his brother and not being able to be their with his family. They are scheduled to leave the 20th to spend the holidays in Colombia, Lili’s home.  These are tremendous servants of the Lord. Thanks for praying for them!

We have had a humbling week as we have watched God make provision for one of his servants! Several generous contributions have come in for her open heart surgery- I think almost enough to cover the whole thing! I am so grateful for those who have prayed for her and for this need. It is incredible how God’s people responded! We are still uncertain as to the date and cost of the operation. 

This weekend she developed a major discomfort in her carotid artery. She can barely move her neck at times and it throbs. I hope we can get that look at this week and find out what is going on.

Other than that, she is doing fine.  She has such a sweet spirit and doesn’t complain. Her spirits have been greatly encouraged as the various love offerings have come.  It really is humbling to receive such love.

Please continue to pray for her, for the surgery to take place quickly and for her to stay healthy while she waits!

Tomorrow morning our strategy leader for the DR will be traveling to meet with the Abella’s and myself regarding our strategy for ministry here in Santiago. Fernando and Claudia Abella have been here for about 2 years and are seeing some exciting results among their work with the middle class.  We recently have had some departures of missionaries which leaves us without any focus on the upper class or University students.  I have long felt that we need have a more comprehensive strategy if we are to really impact our city.  Not only are there the two of us as IMB missionaries, but we have a number of established churches and new churches with new leadership emerging.

Please pray for us as we meet asking God to iluminate our conversation and direct us as we seek to determine how to best organize ourselves in order to use the resources God has provided us in the way that most honors Him.   Most of all, please pray for Santiago, that God would transform this city with His presence.

Another round of medical problems. Mecho went today for her catherization, it was scheduled for 8am and she went around 11:30am. The process of explaining the payment apparently wasn’t clear so after they started her IV, they told them that they had to pay for the possibilities doing an angioplasty and putting in stints, etc. That was discouraging but when we went to the office (out the back and down the street a block) they said they could  just do the cath and then wait for the other when they had the money so that was the option they chose. Well, it turned okay because her cath showed she has one vein completely blocked and three others almost completely blocked. She is going to need quadruple by-pass surgery.

There is a heart foundation that brings teams of US heart surgeons two or three times a year to perform the open heart surgeries. We are hoping we can get her a turn in February (their next visit) which gives us 2 months to raise the $5000 needed. 

While we wait for this medical intervention, please pray for Mecho, that her heart would be calm and stable until the doctors can correct this problem. She is a very active person so it will be hard for her to take it easy! Pray for her family, for peace as they seek the resources needed to take care of Mecho. We know God is in control and He will make provision!

I am sorry for not posting an update this week. It has been crazy with work being done here at the house and Friday we made a trip to the Haitian market.  Saturday seminary classes started again.  I will update you on all that later. For now let me share with you some sad news… Pilar and Mecho’s mother died sometime in the early morning today. When they went to get her up to go to church, they found her dead. You can imagine the sadness and grief they are experiencing.  Please keep them in your prayers as they face all that comes with the death of a beloved parent.  The interment will be tomorrow at 10am. I am guessing they will have some sort of service around 9 before going to the cemetery. 

 (For those of you who haven’t been here on a mission trip, Pilar and Mecho are our cooks. They are also my very close friends.)

Please be in prayer for Ingrid (Pastor Ramon’s wife and Pilar’s daughter). She went into the clinic today to get some treatment for a serious bacterial infection she has in the pelvic area. She has been needing to do this for quite a while and tried to put it off for as long as possible. It seems the insurance will only cover one day and the doctor says she needs two or three.  Finally, she realized she had to go in no matter what so we will see what happens. I am hoping maybe she can get the treatment via the ER or some other way.  Those of you who follow along on the blog know that this sort of problem is all too common- lack of financial resources for health issues. I will check with her in the morning to see what they worked out with the doctor and insurance company. In the meantime, please be in prayer for a quick response to the medications and full recovery ASAP. Pray for peace of mind for Ortiz as he tries to provide for his family’s need.

On another note, I made a quick trip to the Capital today to return the mission van.  I had a fairly productive morning so I decided I could lose the afternoon traveling and start fresh tomorrow! Please be in prayer for all our leaders and new people this week as we seek to make plans for moving forward. In particular, we have our River Worship Day (August 20th),  the start of the Basketball tournement (a few weeks yet, the uniforms are being made now) and regular times of concentrated prayer for our communities, our city and nation and the whole world!

Today we celebrate Father’s here in the DR. I awoke to the sound of rain and despite not wanting to be negative, I couldn’t keep myself from being resigned to low attendance.  And yes, in Los Santos this morning our attendance was a bit low, but we had LOTS of men and Eli’s husband came which is an answer to prayer.  From there I headed out to Villa de Yaque and my heart was thrilled to see the little house full, they had begun without me! It was a wonderful service and we could definately feel the Spirit among us. Several husbands came in honor of Father’s Day and it was a blessing.

All over the world, the family is under attack. It is no exception here in the DR. Please continue to pray for men to be God-fearers, placing their faith in Jesus and to assume their responsibility as spiritual leader of the home. Every day I am confronted with the consequences of broken homes, infidelity and lack of parental responsibility. Society suffers and even more important, the children suffer. I am thankful for men like Victor and Hector and Ortiz and many others who have given their lives to the Lord and honor Him by being faithful husbands and fathers. Pray for more men to live up to the high calling God has placed on their lives to be the spiritual leaders of their families!

After more than a month in the hospital, Doña Rosa is finally at home.  She has such a positive attitude. Her first night home she was playing with her grandchildren, showing them her empty pant leg where they had amputated her leg, making a joke out of it! her attitude is a relief to her loved ones. 

Continue to pray for her and her family as they make the necesary adjustments.  I am hopeful she can start some exercises to get her strength back.