Just
like my old hunting days from childhood…I sneaked up to the screen door
and cracked it open, the crows sitting in my yard were clueless, I
pulled up my CO2 pistol loaded with BBs and fired...
Somewhere in between getting married, starting surgery
residency, having our first child, having Ashley restart her family practice
residency, and then somehow getting pregnant again and having child #2, we've
lost track of a few things. Ashley and I were chatting and realized that
we've been very bad about communicating.
We felt we needed to give some sort of an update regarding where we are
now and where we feel like God is guiding us in the future.
Ezekiel: Now 21 months old and a proud big brother.
He's got a million dollar smile and a personality that warms our hearts.
He is easy-going and loves to laugh. God knew we would need a child
just like him these early years in residency.
Elijah: Now 6 weeks old already…looks like his brother and his father. He seems to be fairly easy-going and is another joy in our lives...
Ashley: Continues to persevere through residency—she
should have been done last June, but the 1st child and moving to a
new state delayed her. She was able to continue training in the residency
program here, but somehow has been delayed in her end date by yet another child.
J She
has been home with the boys and will restart in mid-April with just 2 months
left to finish. We are excited to be
looking at the end of her training—it has been challenging to have us
both be in residency, but it seemed fairly clear that God's leading was for her
to finish. He's certainly been faithful in all the small and big things
that have enabled us to get Ashley through her residency. Ashley
has accepted a part-time position at an office practice near our home that
will help with our small mountain of debt and allow her to be home more…which
is where she really wants to be.
Sean: I have 3
years left before I am unleashed on the general public. Training is busy,
but I enjoy the people and certainly feel this place has been by God's design
as it's a small community and very supportive of our calling to missions.
A brief example of its uniqueness is highlighted by
the relationships I've been able to foster with the general surgeons and
surgical sub-specialists that we work with... During a month with the Cardiothoracic (CT)
surgeons, I had several cases (surgeries) with one of our two CT surgeons in
the hospital. Among many topics, we discussed my future in medical
missions and the need to learn techniques that are not common in our world of advanced
technology. In particular, we discussed a rarely performed method of
allowing the drainage of chronic infection of the space between the lung and
the chest wall called an Eloesser flap (it's named, of course, after the guy
who described it). Several months later, I was called to the operating
theater by this surgeon, he had managed to find a patient needing an Elosessor
flap and just thought I'd like to learn how to do it...and I did.
God’s faithfulness is ever-present even in our often faithless
and fearful steps we take into the future. As we look ahead, Ashley and I
continue in our confidence that God has called us to be international
missionaries. The question then seems to be where do we go? We
certainly have been struggling with that question over the last few years, but
have recently felt that God is moving us towards the North African country of
Chad. Through prayer and a few faithful followers of Christ, we have been
encouraged and continue to be moved that God seems to be guiding us to this
geographic location. Whether God takes us there or somewhere else, we
strive first to know our Savior so that we can make His love known to others
with the hope that those who do not know Him may be led to a saving faith in
Christ.
Regarding
the crow... I winged him and he ran off into the yard of a neighbor that I
don't know. I was kinda too afraid to
run over there brandishing my weapon and asking if I could please chase the
scoundrel whom I had just shot. So for now I can only hope that the crow
passed away quickly and that he didn't cause too much trouble... Either way,
what happened is a mystery. I occasionally see the police entering the
house across the street so I make sure I keep my head down lest I be captured
for my crimes...
