Sunday, June 8, 2008

Sunday Afternoon

No pictures this time! I am just enjoying the air conditioned house, and decided to type a bit, before I go out into the scorching sun again :) The weather in WV has been BEAUTIFUL this past week. I'm so thankful that my Chick-Fil-A job ended so I can spend most of my days enjoying being outside!

I will post a picture sometime soon, but in the mean time, I would like to ask for your prayers for a very special person. As some of you know, I have been sponsering a child through Compassion International for a few years now. His name is Billy, although he is 14 years old now, and I believe likes to be called Bill instead of Billy. He is such a sweet kid, and his letters have ministered to me more than I could ever do for him. As any of you who have ever sponsored a needy-child know, you usually end up getting more out of it than they do.

I am asking for prayers for Bill because in his last letter to me, he told me he was being treated, for about 6 months, for tuberculosis. In the letter, it sounded like he was doing better. However, this week I received an envelope from Compassion with pictures of Bill (newer ones) and a message with bad news. They said he has been suffering from some sort of lung disease, but that they don't know exactly what it is. It could very well be a continuation of his tuberculosis. I have to admit, regretedly, that I haven't been that faithful of a friend to Billy. He hasn't received a letter from me in a very long time. Well, as soon as I got that message, I wrote him a letter the next morning, and put pictures in it. It will go in the mailbox first thing tomorrow morning. He will not receive the letter for about 3 months, because that's about how long it takes for the letters to go through translators and customs. I have been told that sponsored children treasure ANYTHING they receive in the mail from their sponsors. They love letters, and save all of them....shame on me for not writing more often. Please pray for an accurate diagnosis, and full recovery for Bill. From his letters, he seems to be very strong in his faith, but I keep encouraging him. He needs all he can get right now. Also, pray for his parents and sibling, and friends, that the disease doesn't spread to others.

On a lighter note, my dad and I played tennis yesterday, for the second time. I am getting much better! Also, when I weighed in this morning, I was 5 pounds lighter than Tuesday morning, when I started! I was quite happy with that. It's amazing how hard it is to lose weight...I just keeping chugging water (about 10-12 BIG glasses a day), exercising about 2 hours a day, and watching what I eat.

There are only 16 days left until my mom and I leave for Creation East!! We are excited. We seem to be more layed back about it this year, not planning so far in advance. We've been there enough times by now, that we know how to shop, pack, and plan for the trip. We will not be volunteering in the prayer tent this year. We just want to go and relax and enjoy being ministered to. We are both looking forward to it! We will be leaving Tuesday, June 24th, and the festival runs from the 25th-28th, then we will return Sunday the 29th.

I think that's about it. I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I'm SO GLAD I took a year off of school. Even though I've already had a lot of time off by now, I'm savoring every moment in these last two months of freedom :) Early August I will be moving into my new Morgantown apartment, and although we are planning on one more big family vacation, mid-August, on the 18th of the month, school will begin, and I'll start my doctoral studies.

Sundays are too nice to spend all day on my computer, so I'll go now...hope you all have had a restful weekend! God Bless.

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