Answered Prayers & Needed Prayers

Kaleb has had a great week. The big highlight is he is 99% off of continual oxygen support (he sometimes needs it while napping). I can't even believe I'm even writing that! During the day the nurses aren't even putting a cannula on him, and at night he continues to be on room air CPAP. Thank you for praying for that with us!! Being off of oxygen will drastically increase the ease of our ability to hold him and bring him places.

The cardiac team has been working him towards discharge, weaning off of his sedatives that he was on for his surgery and intubation, and working out the new home regimen (acquiring a CPAP machine, getting all his new meds in order, etc.). However, over the past couple of days Kaleb's become increasingly retchy and tachycardic, and he had a fever yesterday. They looked into the possibility of a viral or bacterial illness and ran all the tests to that end. Thankfully, it looks like he just has a urinary tract infection, so they put him on antibiotics and this should only delay his discharge by a day or two. We hope to have our happy boy home by early next week.

Atlanta

Todd's trip to Atlanta last week for promotion of the Great Commission Council was an encouraging and fruitful time. GCC was shared with 350+ pastors and leaders coming from all over the world. The pastors and leaders are eager to make the resources an integral part of equipping their churches to prepare and send biblically qualified and zealous missionaries. Todd had several conversations over strategizing how to better reach the unreached together. And the Lord brought about many sweet connections.

Would you pray:

• For much Christ-exalting fruit to come from the work of the Great Commission Council that would lead to more church-based missions work.

• That Kaleb fully recovers from his infection, is protected from any other illnesses, and is able to quickly come off his last sedative so he is able to come home soon!

• For continued wisdom in balancing family, home, work, and hospital visits.

• For attentive and caring nurses for Kaleb (we've had some great ones recently!).

• For strength of heart for Todd and I. There are moments of suffocating grief over missing so much of Kaleb's life in this season. But we hold onto the hope of many years to come with our boy, and more than that, we know we can trust in the gracious sovereign care of our good God. This recent experience, having his bronchoscopy, learning of his bronchomalacia, treating it, and now expecting to receive him back without oxygen support is a great encouragement to me that these long hospital stays are ultimately for his good!

• For Zion and River to get over the cold they've had so they can visit Kaleb. They've been missing him a lot. Zion tells me at least once a day that he wants kaleb to come home and both of them ask to pray for him regularly. It's pretty amazing to consider how gracefully they are handling this massive variable in their lives!