Little Andrea

This morning, we received this note from Marcy, one of the nurses who makes regular trips to El Salvador:

If you have ever been to El Salvador with me, then you might have met little Andrea, who is 5 years old. Andrea was born with multiple congenital heart defects and due to lack of services and funds, the problem was not fixed when she was younger. For the last 9 months I have been working to find help for her. Last year she had some basic test run and one organization was interested in helping her, but they felt she was not a good canidate, due to her condition being too progressed. Well another organization kind of fell into my lap and they are going to evaluate Andrea.

A team of American doctors will be in El Salvador next week and they are going to evaluate Andrea further (the evaluation she really needs) to see if they can help her . She will undergo a cardiac cathiterization. Please be praying for her that her condition is not too progressed and that she might be a candidate for corrective surgery. As it is now, her life will be very short. Please pray for God's mercy on her that she might get to spend a long, healthy life here with her family, which loves her very much.

Andrea is just precious and I know God will do what is in her best interest.

How Great Thou Art!

This is a picture taken inside Gabriel and Erika's home. Although they live in a very poorly constructed house and make very little money, this is the view they get to see every morning. While I'm in La Palma, the words from "How Great Thou Art" often pop into my head. The language in that song is so beautifully poetic and descriptive. For example, I can't help but think of the phrase "lofty mountain grandeur" when I see the beautiful silhouettes of the mountains in this picture. I am constantly filled with wonder of the beauty of His creations!

Dios le bendiga,

Lori

All aboard!

This is a picture I snapped of my dad as the luggage was being loaded onto the bus at the San Salvador airport. This was not long after his knee arthroscopy so he was not able to help load the luggage. As we got on board, I asked him to pose as if he was the driver so I could snap a picture. He obliged, and I think had a little fun sitting in the driver's seat. Many of the buses in El Salvador, like this one, are old school buses from the United States. Driving in El Salvador isn't easy, and driving a bus there takes far stronger nerves than I have! I feel quite sure my dad wouldn't ever really want to attempt it, either, but pretending isn't too bad.

Dios le bendiga,

Lori

Thursday night update...

Don't forget you can go to http://ralphsurgery.blogspot.com/ for the latest updates on how Ralph's surgery went today. The short story is that it went well. :)

I'm putting a picture of my dad here on his most recent trip to La Palma last September. This is a man at the airport who sells lottery tickets for a living. He remembers my dad every time and loves to visit with him and practice his English. We've given him a Bible and literature to read and keep hoping that one day he will be open to study the Bible with us. Till then, my dad will search him out and visit with him when we arrive in San Salvador.

Thank you for praying for my dad today and in the days leading up to his surgery. Please continue to pray for his quick recovery so that he can return to his normal routine. He is hopeful to make a return trip to La Palma in the next few months.

Dios le bendiga,

Lori

Marcy Long has been a frequent missionary to La Palma and will be there Feb 7-21 for the 2009 medical mission. Her daughter, Ella, had eye surgery this morning and did very well. We are thankful for that.

I have put my thoughts and situation on a blog that will be updated each day, or more often when needed, regarding my surgery and recovery. My daughter will make the posts after tomorrow for both this La Palma blog and mine, which is: http://ralphsurgery.blogspot.com/ We hope this is not needed very long.
God bless you, Ralph

The old man at the feed store. This guy is trying to stay out of sight of the camera. He is not busy at the moment, but we often see him carrying hundred pound feed bags from a truck to the store and from the store to customer vehicles. Once he climbed the ladder on the back of a bus to put bags of feed up there. He may be old, but he is a hard worker.

The February La Palma trip is rapidly approaching. Teams will travel to La Palma on Feb 7 and 14, with some returning on the 14th and the remainder returning on the 21st.

We request your prayers for two frequent La Palma missionaries who will miss this trip:

Dea Furgason faces surgery to remove an ovarian tumor. Ralph McClurg will have surgery this week to remove a kidney which contains a tumor.