Long Time, No Post.

For those of you who still may be following this, I decided I'd update you on what has been going on in my life over the past few months. I finished up my Campus Crusade for Christ internship at West Chester University in June of 2010. Near the end of July I moved to Erie, PA, where I am no working on finishing up my first year of medical school at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. Overall, things are going well. I have been enjoying my time here, both in school and in Erie. There are times when medical school can get a little overwhelming, but I try to keep reminding myself that God got me here, and He'll get me throught. One step at a time. It has been a huge blessing to be able to find other Christians here at LECOM, to help keep some solid community. I am involved with the Christian Medical and Dental Associations (CMDA) at my school, and am working on getting more involved in the church which I attend (Grace Church). I'm definitely looking forward to finishing up my 1st year, in 6 weeks, but I'm also looking forward to what the rest of the medical journey holds . . .

Prayer for Moriah

Tomorrow morning (Monday, 12/14) we (Moriah, my parents, and myself) are heading to Hershey Medical Center for Moriah's surgery to remove her AVM. We have to be there by 5:30 AM, and her surgery is scheduled for 7:30 AM. This is an invasive brain surgery to remove the malformation and also the dead brain tissue surrounding it. The surgery is supposed to take about 6 hours total, and then she will be in the intensive care unit until Tuesday. She is supposed to be able to come home from the hospital on Friday, or Saturday, of this week.

Moriah is in good spirits and is staying positive. Everyone is starting to get a little nervous, but that's to be expected. She even said that she was excited, because this is something new. We a great support base, so thank you all for your support and encouragement. Thank you, also, for your prayers! Please be praying for Moriah, the doctors, and our family through this. It is greatly appreciated. God is in control!

War of the World

There are times when I feel like constantly asking people for prayer makes me out to be a "charity-case," but I know that is definitely one of the ploys of the Enemy to keep us from asking for prayer. I've come to better understand that we are in a constant state of war. War for our hearts and souls. As Christians, we have the rest of the world fighting against us. In the words of John Piper, prayer is not our casual intercom, but rather it is our wartime walkie-talkie to God. In looking at it that way . . . I can definitely use reinforcements, everyday.

And to update you all on my little sister, Moriah . . . She goes into surgery to remove her AVM one week from today (next Monday, 12/14). Please be praying for her, our family, and the doctors as we prepare for this. Overall though, Moriah is doing very well and is staying positive. God is in control.


Thank you for your prayers!

Hope

So now’s my time to be a man
Follow my heart as far as I can
No telling where I’m ending up tonight
I never slow down or so it seems
But singing my heart it’s one of my dreams
All I gotta do is hold on tight

There is hope for me yet
Because God won’t forget
All the plans he’s made for me
I have to wait and see
He’s not finished with me yet

(Wait and See - Brandon Heath)

God is in control.

So it's been a little while, but I wanted to share a little bit of what's been going on in my life lately with you all. The internship with Cru is going great. I love working with the staff and students at West Chester. It's awesome to see what God is doing on this campus! I have been seeing more students get involved than I ever have before. More to come on WC . . .

On a more serious note . . .

Last week, on Wednesday (Sept. 23), my youngest sister (Moriah - 16 yrs) collapsed on the field hockey field during her game and had a seizure. She was taken to the ER by ambulance and doctors began checking her out. She has never had a seizure before, so this was all new. On Thursday the doctors found a blood spot on the back of Moriah's brain, and scarring from older bleeding (some things that shouldn't be there). They placed her on seizure medication and kept her over night again. On Friday they did more tests and found that Moriah has a medical condition known as Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM).

AVM is a very rare disorder, found in 1 in 1000 individuals. When the brain is forming, the blood vessels don't form properly and form a tangle. The capillaries (that connect the arteries to veins) don't form and the blood is transferred straight from the arteries to the veins, not allowing the brain to absorb oxygen from the blood. This also puts extreme pressure on the weakened blood vessels and over time these vessels may rupture and cause hemorrhaging (strokelike symptoms). Seizures are also symptoms, which is what Moriah experienced.

This past Tuesday (Sept. 29), Moriah went to Hershey Medical Center to see a neurovascular surgeon. She found out that this is going to be a longer process and road to recovery than we were hoping . . . Moriah is going back up to Hershey next Thursday (Oct. 8) for an angiogram. For this procedure, the doctor will insert a catheter into a vein in her groin and thread it up to her neck (advances in medicine are pretty crazy, huh?). They will then inject a dye to track the blood through an xray to get a better picture of what they are dealing with.

A week or two after the angiogram, she will have to go back up to Hershey Med. Center for an endovascular embolization. This will again involve a catheter like the angiogram. This time the doctor will inject a gluelike substance to block the targeted blood vessel and reduce blood flow to this area. A week or two after this (end of Oct./early Nov.), Moriah goes back for surgical removal of the AVM. The embolization helps reduce the chance of bleeding during the surgery and can also reduce the size of the AVM. The neurovascular surgeon says that it is riskier for Moriah to live with the AVM than to go through the removal procedure. One risk of this procedure is a stroke. The doctor says, though, that Moriah is at a perfect age to get this procedure.

Needless to say, this is all very troubling for Moriah . . . and has been challenging for our entire family. It's very hard watching someone go through things like this, especially when it is someone you really love and care about deeply. We are resting (or at least trying to rest) in the confidence that God is in control. He loves Moriah and is watching over her. If you could be praying for Moriah, our family, and the doctors that would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for your prayers and support.


Moriah . . . I love you!! We'll make it through this baby sister!

Settling In

I moved back into my apartment in West Chester last Saturday (Aug. 22). It's great to be back. Monday through Friday of this past week I had staff meetings with the rest of the WCU Crusade staff. We worked through our strategic plan for the year, training materials, coaching, discipleship, and plenty of other details. I am part of a great team and I am really looking forward to working along side them this year!

The freshmen moved in on Friday, and the upperclassmen started moving back in yesterday. I was able to catch up with a few students and meet a few others, which was nice. Classes start tomorrow. The first week on campus will be a pretty busy one. We are hosting a Freshman Welcoming BBQ on Monday, doing outreach with water ice Tues.-Thurs., and Thursday night we have our 1st Cru meeting of the new school year. I am excited to get this year started and am looking forward to what God is going to be doing on this campus this year!

August Update

Hey all! I just wanted to take this time to say "Thank you," again, for all of your support (financially, prayerfully, and emotionally) throughout the whole support raising process. It is amazing to see how God carried me through this and used this experience to grow me and my faith. As mentioned in my last post, I am now officially a fulltime intern with Campus Crusade for Christ at West Chester University for the year. I am really excited to begin my internship and am looking forward to what God is going to do in West Chester this year. Tomorrow, (8/10), I am heading to Valley Forge for my first Cru staff conference. Next Monday (8/17), I am heading to Raystown Lake for our West Chester Univ. Crusade leadership retreat till the 20th. Should be a great time! After that it's time to head back to WC for the school year. Thank you for your continued prayers!