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Prayer Requests
Received from Jan and Hilary in Australia 04-12-10
It has been three weeks now since my surgery so I thought
it was time for another update. In my last update we were just back from the
surgery and waiting to see the results. The incision in my back has healed
up well. My numb foot on the other hand still remains as well as the
accompanying pain. It certainly isn't as painful as before the surgery and I
am much more mobile. I walk twice a day for about 40 minutes and have
exercises from the physio therapist to do every day. There is still a limp,
but I'm working on it and training my foot and body to walk straight again.
I lost a lot of strength in my muscles and it is only coming back slowly. I
have my follow-up appointment with the surgeon on Thursday and will
hopefully be able to plan our trip back to PNG after that.
Since we were staying longer in Australia Hilary was able to start a
treatment on her mouth sores. It actually improved some while she was on the
cortisone cream. Her last trip to the doctor was positive and he has
instructed her to just keep an eye on the sores and to treat it for six
weeks when she feels they need it. I guess there is no cure and they still
don't have a reason for them appearing.
So, I guess we can say that we are at least on the mend now. Only time will
tell us whether the nerve damage is permanent or not. Thank you for your
continued prayers. I have to confess that there are days when the pain still
needs strong medication and I can easily get discouraged. I value your
prayers and also all your encouraging words -- especially from those who
have been through this -- that continue to say 'be patient'. We both
continue to feel lifted up by your love and support. Thank you so much.
Jan and for Hilary as well.
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Received from Jan and Hilary in Australia 03-28-10
Dear Praying Friends,
I'm out of the hospital and back in Cairns. Once we got to Townsville for
the surgery we found ourselves out of email contact so we haven't been able
to get any news out for a week.
A cyclone was predicted to hit in the region near Townsville a day before we
were to go there, so we ended up changing our plans and flying instead of
driving. The cyclone hit further south and we had a uneventful, smooth, 50
minute flight instead of a 4 to 5 hour drive. I added some pain killers and
was able to sit up the whole way. The visit to the surgeon the day before
the surgery went well although he said again how bad my prolapsed disc was
and that it may take awhile for things to straighten out again. Surgery went
well -- or so I'm told. I don't remember a thing -- thank goodness. The
surgeon said he talked to me and I to him afterwards, but he could just be
making it up for all I know. He did call Hilary and let her know that things
went smoothly and she was there in the room when I woke up (for the 2nd time
I guess.) I was out of the hospital in 3 days. My back still hurts and I am
still on the pain killers for that. My foot is still numb and the verdict is
still out on that. The nerve damage was quite severe so only time will tell
if all or some of it will be permanent. I'm more mobile than I was although
I still walk slowly & with a limp. Once my back settles down, I should be
able to tell what the pain in my leg and foot are up to -- although at the
moment it seems they are better. We flew back to Cairns last night and are
safe and sound back at Tree Tops in the same room we left a week ago. Next
on the agenda is Physiotherapy for getting the strength back in my leg. We
don't know how long we will need to stay yet, but getting my Australian Visa
renewed is the number one thing on our list this week.
Your prayers were felt -- especially for my 'anxious spirit'. I was quite
calm throughout the ordeal and that was a real answer to prayer. It made a
difference for both Hilary and me. Thanks so much.
Sorry for the delay in news. It is so wonderful to have all of you standing
with us during this time.
While in the hospital, I was reading in Galatians in chapter 4 verse13, Paul
says the reason he preached the gospel to the Galatians was because of an
illness. Because of that illness, Galatians met the Lord and we have a book
in the Bible to teach us about grace and faith. We know God can use
illnesses and there it is, right in black and white. So I was encouraged and
am even thanking God for what He has already done through this illness of
mine.
For His Glory,
Jan and for Hilary
Received from Jan and Hilary in Australia 03-18-10
Dear Friends,
Plans are coming together now and surgery will be on the 23rd of March
-- next Tuesday. Hilary and I will be driving to Townsville which is about 4
hours away on Monday morning. We will rent a bigger car so that I can lay
down in the back seat most of the time. (I think I can sit up for 20 minutes
at a time now before it gets too painful to bear.) The doctor said I would
need to stay in the hospital for 3 days so Hilary will be staying in some
accommodations the hospital has for family of/carers for patients. All going
well, we should be driving back to Cairns on Friday or Saturday. (and the
doctor said I should be able to sit up all the way on the way back!) Then it
will be time for Physio Therapy for a few weeks. The doctor said I could
probably get away with only two weeks of Physio, but with the weakness in my
foot, longer would be better. We'll decide more of those things on the other
side of surgery. So, here we go. I tend to be an anxious person when it
comes to the 'unknown' but I have been experiencing a measure of peace so
far. (There are so many people praying, I'm sure that is it.) I'm memorizing
(again) Phil. 4:6,7 -- "Don't worry about anything, instead pray about
everything......" Where else can we put our trust?!
In order to have the physio therapy, I will need to extend my Australian
visa. When I did this last year while we were waiting to go back to PNG, it
was quite a hassle, but this time it seems to be moving along quite
smoothly. I am waiting for the letter from the surgeon to say that I need to
stay, but have all the other paperwork filled out. There is an Immigration
office here in Cairns and we have an appointment tomorrow so we are hoping
that things will continue to go smoothly.
We have had questions about our finances all along the journey here and
I haven't addressed those so let me do that now. I wrote before that my
insurance deductible was $1250. As I started to claim things, I have found
out that I was misinformed (or just confused) and my deductible is $750.
That was wonderful news. My church in Lansing took an offering to cover the
larger deductible and even went beyond that. (You guys are an amazing
blessing.) After the deductible the insurance pays 80% and I pay 20%. The
church's gift plus other individual gifts for medical help (more amazing
people) have covered what I have paid for so far and should cover what I
have to pay for the surgeon for surgery. For surgery, there are 4 costs, the
surgeon, the hospital, the anesthetist, and the surgeon's assistant. With
the surgeon covered, there is still 20% of the other three and I don't have
the cost for those. After surgery, there is the physio which has been $50 a
time. I don't know how many times I will need to go but I pay 20% of that
too. So there is still a need for those extra medical costs.
We also have extra accommodation costs. It costs us around $30 a night
for accommodations here at Tree Tops which is $210 a week. (another blessing
from people giving to Wycliffe) At Nobonob it costs us around $40 a week so
the difference is quite significant. We were blessed to have a special
friend give us a gift that covered the air travel for the trip so we don't
have that expense, just the car travel to appointments and now to Townsville
and back.
All this to say, yes, we have financial needs. As you can see, God has
provided through His people and we trust He will continue to do that. We
have no where to look but to the Lord. While I was home on furlough, many
people said "Just let us know when you have a need and we can help." So, I'm
letting you know and if God moves you to help out and be part of His
provision to us, we thank you already.
More than anything though, we need your prayers
1. For a safe trip to Townsville on Monday the 22nd.
2. Wisdom for the surgeon and his 'crew' on the 23rd.
3. Peace for me as I get ready for the surgery.
4. That Hilary and I will be a blessing to those God puts in our path
while we are in the hospital setting and be open to whatever God has as far
as being His hands and feet to other hurting people.
5. Our extra financial needs to be met.
Thanks for your partnership not only through the easy times, but through
the hard times as well.
If you wish to give, here is the address:
WBT
PO Box 628200
Orlando, Florida 32862-8200
Mark "For Jan Irish for medical needs"
or you can go to
www.wycliffe.org and click on GIVE then on the left side click on give
to a Missionary and follow the steps. Under special instructions you can put
'for medical'
Blessing to you all, Jan and for Hilary as well.
Received from Jan and Hilary in Australia 03-14-10
Dear Family and Friends,
I had my appointment with the neurosurgeon on Friday. Over the past two weeks,
the pains in my foot have worsened and I have had to up my pain medication. When
the doctor examined my left foot, he found that the weakness there was quite
significant. He was very nice and explained what was happening and realized I
was still in quite a bit of pain. He made it clear that surgery was an
'reasonable option', not a requirement, and gave us some literature. When
looking at the options and the severity of my pain and numbness, surgery seems
like the best course of action. If I chose to continue waiting, I would not be
able to return to PNG in my current condition. The doctor gave me the weekend to
read the information and make a decision so the details are not worked out yet,
but at this point, I am opting for surgery. He said he could fit me in on the
23rd of March. Thank you for your continued prayers in all of this. We will need
to go to another city, Townsville, to have the surgery done. When we know more
of the details, I can let you know. This will have other repercussions,
financial and Australian visa wise that will need to be worked out as well.
Hilary's has started a treatment for her mouth. It is a six week course and the
doctor needs to see her again in 3 weeks. When they did the biopsy, they took
out much of the ulcerated part and that hasn't come back. It isn't painful so
she is doing fine.
Thank you for standing with us in all of this. It seems like it has been a long
haul so far with more to come. A friend at Ukarumpa shared these verses with me
that had helped her and it really blessed me, so I'll share it with you too.
Matt 11:28-30
28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is
light."
NIV
Resting in Him,
Jan
Received from Jan and Hilary in Australia 02-18-10
To our highly valued prayer teams,
Many of you have written asking how things are going, so here's a progress
report a bit sooner than usual .....
Jan says:
I'm still just laying around and not able to work on the computer for too long.
I am getting around more though. I get to the pool here at Tree Tops everyday
for a walk and a float. I have physio twice a week usually. That is the extent
of my social life. I have an appointment with the neurosurgeon on the 12th of
March and then we will go from there. We will see what he recommends since we
live in PNG and can't get surgery done there if it happens again. I'm still on
quite a bit of pain medication which I am trying to get off of little by little.
Sometimes it works and some days I have to add some back still.
Hilary says:
I had the biopsy done last Saturday. The after effects of that have left me
temporarily with a lot more pain than I had before. Talking hurts, and Jan is
not allowed to make me smile, let alone laugh! ("So much for my one person to
talk to" Jan says.) With me hardly able to talk, and Jan hardly able to walk,
the phone hasn't been answered very effectively this last week. What a pair.
Anyhow, the biopsy showed that I do have the autoimmune mouth condition that the
specialist had thought it was. He may try a treatment here after the incision
from the biopsy clears up, but that would mean another 6 weeks here. Once you
start the treatment, it needs that 6 weeks follow-up. Otherwise, I'll wait and
take the medication back with me so the doctor in Madang can supervise the whole
6 weeks. We may be here that long anyway, if Jan has the surgery. So, basically,
we are just waiting and living day to day at this point. I have some Nobonob
materials I can work on here, but so far just living and getting to and from
either Jan's or my appointments (and recovering from them), has taken all my
energy. It's good to have some work here I can do when I feel up to it though.
Last we heard Samuel still didn't know whether he was going
to the training or not, and we haven't heard that either of the preschools has
started. So please keep him/them in your prayers too.
Thanks for being on our team. We thank God for each one of you.
with love and appreciation,
Jan and Hilary
Received from Jan and Hilary in Australia 02-09-10
Thank you for your emails, prayers, phone calls and flowers. We feel so cared
for and blessed.
Jan saw the orthopedic specialist a few days after I
wrote the last email. We were thankful for such a quick appointment. Thank you
for praying. The specialist thought we'd need to stay here another month to see
how the prolapse resolves. Apparently in 80% of cases a prolapse of this extent
will resolve itself in 6 weeks just with painkillers and rest. She was also
referred to a physiotherapist and has started those sessions. So we are waiting
to see if surgery will be required or not. Jan is needing less potent
painkillers now, and alternates between lying down and slouching on the couch.
She can't sit up as it puts too much pressure on the nerve. The nerve that is
being squashed is the sciatic nerve and is causing weakness and numbness as well
as pain right down her left leg to her foot. The physiotherapist has recommended
walking in water in the pool here at Treetops. Its about 30 meters from our room
and Jan can just manage a slow amble that far.
I am just waiting for the biopsy of my mouth sores this
week, to confirm the diagnosis of what the oral surgeon thinks it is. I have an
appointment for that on Wednesday. I had a gastroscopy this week to check if the
sores had spread down my esophagus at all. They haven't, which is a blessing.
If we have to wait somewhere, Cairns is a pretty
comfortable place to wait. The beaches and coffee shops might have to wait, for
Jan at least, but as you can see from this photo, we have a beautiful view out
the windows of our room. That is a blessing as it helps reduce cabin fever I
think!
We have heard that Samuel has been asked by the local
community school to take some extra training to give him the credentials he'd
need to be paid by the Education Dept for what he already does. Please pray for
him as he considers this, and works out whether he can do it or not. His
assistant teacher from last year could probably keep the preschool going. We
haven't heard that either of the Nobonob preschools has started so far this
year.
Thanks for helping pray us through this unexpected little curve in our lives,
Hilary and for Jan too
Received from Jan and Hilary in Australia 02-03-10
Dear Praying Friends,
I had a very nice trip to the doctor yesterday. I have to admit it was just fun
to be outside again. Anyway, the first thing the doctor prescribed was a month
of bed rest. I guess 80% of backs get better with that. (Not an easy 'pill to
swallow' for someone wanting to get back to PNG and get to work.) So we will be
here in Australia for at least that long. My prolapsed disc is going sideways so
if I do end up needing surgery, I will need to see a surgeon from another city
and that could complicate things. But for now, it is bed rest with a little bit
of physiotherapy thrown in. Please pray with us, not only that this will work,
but also that we would be able to rest in Him through this time. This also adds
extra expenses for the longer stay as well as the medical bills for both Hilary
and I. This year, the deductible on my health insurance went from $500 to $1250
so I will need to pay that out of pocket before my insurance kicks in.
Thanks for your prayers.
'Resting' in Him,
Jan
Received from Jan and Hilary in Australia 01-30-10
I just wanted to send a short email to let people know how things are going.
My back is still quite sore and I am mostly horizontal -- trying various
positions throughout the day to keep the pain away. (It makes it hard to do
emails actually.) I have an appointment with a specialist on Tuesday so we
really won't know anything until then. Hilary is feeling fine and getting out
some, but Cairns has been quite wet since we have been here. It is hurricane
season so we don't expect it to change much. It makes it easier on me for not
moving much, but I know Hilary is missing her beach walks. Thanks so much for
your prayers and for so many encouraging emails. I feel very loved and cared
for.
In Him, Jan
Received from Jan and Hilary in Australia 01-27-10
Dear Prayer Team,
This last week has ended up being a bit different than we expected, just as the
one before did. Its reassuring to remember that God is always in control, and
His sovereign goodness and care rules over all of His creation, and each of us
individually. Thank you for all your notes and emails of encouragement and love
and care. We have been blessed & uplifted by them. There is a lovely little pond
and waterfall here at "Treetops Lodge" where we are staying. It reminds me of
the cooling, soothing, refreshing and life-giving Water that Jesus is - the
Living Water who we drink of continually. A peaceful scene in the midst of a
rather topsy turvy week
So - what has happened since we got here? First the
topsy part .....
1) The physician specialist ordered some tests and referred me on to a mouth
specialist. He thinks he knows what the sores in my mouth are, but is waiting
until they settle down a bit before biopsying them in a few weeks time. If it is
what he thinks so far, it is an autoimmune condition of the mouth. It tends to
be chronic and it tends to be very hard to treat, and its cause is unknown. It
will probably come and go in rest periods and active periods. So far it has not
really been painful and I can live with it. The main thing is that it will need
6 monthly checkups by a specialist long term to make sure it isn't turning into
something more ominous - so maybe I'll get a holiday in Cairns every 6 months
from now on :-) I'm also still waiting for results from some blood tests that
the first specialist took to see if anything else needs following up.
Then the turvy part .....
2) Meanwhile Jan hurt her back last week, a few days after we got here. She has
had some excruciatingly painful days with her sciatic nerve being pressed on by
the offending disc. We had to go to the Emergency Dept of the local hospital to
get pain relief on the weekend, and we have been at various clinics and x-ray
departments to figure out what was going on. Today she saw the GP for results of
a CTscan to find that it is a slipped disc pressing on the sciatic nerve, and
she has been referred on to a back specialist. Tomorrow we will ring and try to
get that appointment for her. Please pray that she'll be able to get an
appointment as quickly as I did with my specialist,or even quicker seeing she is
still in pain. There is typically a wait of over a month to see specialists
here, but hopefully if they know we can't go back to PNG until its fixed, it
will be quicker. She has been on very strong painkillers and mostly just staying
in bed.... except for all the appointments we've had to go to. Thankfully today
has seen some relief in the pain and she's been able to cut back a bit on the
"cocktail" of medication she was on.
We are very thankful that we can stay at "Treetops" here, and for the waterfall
in the middle of it to remind us constantly to be drinking of and swimming in
the Living Water, Who is our everlasting Life.
Thank you for your love and prayers and encouragement. God blesses and cares for
us through you,
Hilary and for Jan
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Received from Jan and Hilary in Nobonob 01-05-10
Over 2 years ago, we planted two banana trees that
grow what we call 'cooking bananas'. There was a tree at the center in Madang
that had beautiful big cooking bananas on it and we loved them so much that we
asked if we could have a couple small ones to replant here at Nobonob by our
house. So we planted them a while before we went on furlough. Supposedly they
take 10 months to a year to grow bananas. They were still small when we went on
furlough and we just figured that other people would get the enjoyment of them
and we might get some from the next generation that sprouts from the first tree.
When we got back, the same two trees were there -- one still small. No bananas
yet. We were told many stories: The pigs got into them, the ground is no good
(it is basically red clay), they need the bottom of their trunks covered up,
they won't grow here. We gave one to a friend to see if it would do better in
her garden. But, we kept 'talking' to one tree and waiting.
Today, almost 6 months after we returned from furlough, we picked the bananas
and fried them up for lunch. They were quite good. They didn't grow as big as
the ones in town and they certainly took much longer. But they did grow and we
even have a few to share with others who have helped 'nurture them' along the
way.
Sometimes the work here is like that. You know you have a good seed it looks and
'tastes' great in the place you find it. So, you try and transplant it to your
own work. But what should have taken 10 months might take two and a half years --
or more. The ground might not be the same or the opposition is stronger or it
needs a little more nurturing. So patience is a good practice -- and nurturing
the seed takes a lot longer -- but the fruit is still sweet, if we persevere.
As we start our new year, we are working on our plans for the next 12 months and
then even for this whole 2 or 3 year term at Nobonob. There are lots of
decisions to make on which things to give our hands to for nurturing. In some
ways we feel like we are at the beginning again with lots of ideas while in
other ways we feel like we are waiting in the 18th month wondering why those 10
month banana trees are still small. Please pray with us for ears to hear where
God is leading. These are some specific items:
1. Please pray for more people to work with as we try to start an adult literacy
program.
2. Please pray for Samuel as he makes decisions about this year's Pre-school.
3. The pre-school in Gamoi is hoping to start again this year. Please pray for
the teacher, Atu, who needs the backing of the community and an assistant in the
classroom.
4. We both continue to struggle with sicknesses. Please pray for wholeness and
health for us and those we work with.
5. Hilary has a spot in her mouth that hasn't healed in two months. We will need
to go to Cairns to get it looked at further. Please pray for the timing of this
trip in relation to everything else going on, and for the finances we need for
it. Our monthly support is enough for monthly needs, but we have no extra to
cover unexpected costs like this.
Maybe you can see the little banana tree right next to the tree with bananasin
the picture. That is the next generation coming up. We pray that as we work this
term, God will raise up even more Nobonob men and women to be a part of and
carry on the literacy work.
Thanks for your prayers. They mean so much. Jan and Hilary
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