Our Times Are In His Hands...
Dearest loved ones, after an exhaustive amount of thought, prayers, visiting specialists, speaking with leadership, tears, pleadings with the LORD, and more prayers, the LORD is leading us back to the States.
To summarize in a nutshell, my (Ji) health took a steep decline shortly after arriving in the Philippines and has only progressed further without any relief. After seeing many doctors with various testing done, it has been narrowed down to a progression of my Hashimoto’s disease, and for whatever reason, possibly the environment and various factors have caused my symptoms to flare and progress during out time here. It has been a difficult and confusing thing to process.
Leadership has walked closely with us in all of this, and alongside the leadship of our sending church - West Hills Community - we will be stopping by Tahiland for a few weeks to seek additional medical care at an international hospital. There are some connections there with our church, and the hope is to get another workup done for a second opnion and have additional resources available to get set up with a doctor in California. All of this has been quite unexpected, so the travel and health expenses are adding up. We are having to leave the majority of our belongings behind as well and pack only what is essential, and sentimental. We are trying to raise about $3,000 for the health and travel expenses, as well as getting our feet on the ground when we arrive back in California. The plan is to be back in the States on September 6th. Then, over the next 6 months, we will see what can be done and continue to seek the Lord’s guidance as we follow where He leads.
We are holding on to the simple truth that He holds all things together in His hands, and that He indeed holds us and cares for us. We are thankful that although these circumstances have been completely unexpected and undesirable and unseen by us, He indeed knew. And He knows our emotions, thoughts, intentions, plans, desires, and every bit that we’ve invested and sacrificed over the years. And He is leading us forward into what is unknown to us but completely known to Him. We may not know the immediate whys. We do not understand His timing in all of these things. But we do know that nothing is wasted. We do believe He has used this and will use this for His glory and to bring all people to Himself…it just may not be in the way we planned or expected. We were willing, and are still willing, to do whatever He has for us, whatever that may look like. We haven’t come to this place lightly but through a lot of painful prayers and tears over this past year. We saw my healthy progressively decline and constantly wrestled with the Lord for hopeful relief. In our decisions we are seeking the Lord in His wisdom in longevity and what will be sustainable for our family and ministry. We are feeling terribly weak in every sense, but truly, we feel His peace…
Your prayers are so very precious to us and greatly appreciate it, especially as we navigate healthcare and are uncertain of what it will look like for us in the States. We especially need prayer as we seek wisdom in the next 6 months of our final decisions pertaining to overseas ministry. Thank you dear ones for your overwhelming love and support over the years, the impact you all have had in this lifetime will echo on into eternity.
Leaning into these hard circumstances to rest in the One who holds all things together in His hands, and seeking His goodness as we walk with Him wherever He leads…