Kyiv update

Will said that he could really tell that everyone was praying. When he got to the cancer institute at the time it was supposed to open, he found out that it was closed for the day. Even though they had told him to come when he had called! The person he had talked to on the phone was there, though, and she told him there was one doctor in the building, getting ready to go home. So, that one doctor took everything and said that he'll pass it on to his colleagues on Thursday when they reopen. If Will had been even five minutes later, or if anything else had been different, it wouldn't have worked out.

Raia, Asya, and Bogdan visited me today. That was wonderful! Please keep praying for them.

Jaan called from the mountains. He says it's beautiful, and there's still snow on the next mountain over from where they're camped.

One of Raia's music school classmate's mother also visited me today. Otherwise it's been very quiet.

Travel and photos

Will and Jaan are on their way to Kyiv and Lviv. Please pray for both of them as they travel. Pray for weather where Jaan will be, too; if the forecast is right, they will be doing some very wet camping.

I've had a quiet day here. Before he left, Jaan sent me a link to some of the photos from the Easter program on Saturday. (I think it will work for anyone to view?) That was when they had church kids and the art school come through. Jaan did have other plans, but they needed an angel, so he skipped his programming class and helped again. You can see glimpses of all four of our kids if you scroll through, but I think this was my favorite photo:

Christ is Risen!

I'm sad to be in the hospital on this beautiful holiday, but I've really had a good day. Will came in the morning, and someone else visited me a little later. I watched most of both church services online, so I got to hear the children's choir. My family is with "Uncle and Aunt" for Easter dinner now, and I've talked to them and written back and forth with them at various times today.

Weekend

All my roommates left: some are well, others just going for the holiday. People tend to go shower and rest on the weekends, but with Easter coming, the hospital is really emptying out. Maybe it will be quieter... although they're putting a babushka from another room in here with me, at least for now.

My hip is hurting less now that it's stitched up. I'm taking ulcer medicine now, too, because apparently the pain meds are really hard on stomachs. Mine seems fine, but they want me to take it just in case. (My backside is suffering more than my stomach. I am so tired of shots!) Marina, who works in the Agape office and has the spiritual gift of feeding people, brings me food at least once a day, usually twice. I can't keep up with all the food she brings, but I am eating very well. It seems to surprise the doctors that I have an appetite and am eating.

I washed my hair by myself today. Earlier all the Agape ladies came and did that for me; now I can do it myself.

Updates

I'm going to see about posting regular updates here. Not sure how that will work, but it's worth a try.

For anyone who doesn't know, the very short version is that a week and a day ago, I ended up in the hospital with intense pain. Since then I have been given a diagnosis of cancer. They removed one tumor last Friday, and today they stitched up the open incision that was left from that. I'm still in a lot of pain from a larger tumor that they can't get to. We're doing pretty well with keeping the pain under control in the hospital, though.

Today Will brought everyone to visit me all at once, and we went outside. It was wonderful! 

We had time for me to catch up on some of what they've been doing. Yesterday the older two helped with an Easter program that our church put on for the local schools. 500 children came through it! Asya also went to accompany our little Muslim neighbor, since it was the first time she had been in a church. Tomorrow Raia will be helping to run the same program again for church children and the art school. Jaan will be busy with something else, but Asya and Bogdan will attend the program.

Sunday will be Easter here.

Monday Jaan is heading out for a big Carpathian backpacking trip with the camp program he attended last year. Our plan was for all of us to go and have some family vacation time while he hiked, but that's not going to happen now. At least Jaan still gets to go.

If you had heard that Will was going to Kyiv to take my biopsies to the cancer institute there, plans have changed again since then. They don't work on Fridays, and Monday is a holiday. So, after Will puts Jaan on the train to the Carpathians, he'll get on a train himself to be in Kyiv Tuesday morning.

I feel so loved and cared for. I know many, many people are praying for us. We appreciate that and ask that you would keep it up! Like I said, I'll try to update here more often.