Tim update

Tim had spent most of today in theatre to remove the brain tumor doctors discovered last week.

The doctors here have expressed some concern as to whether Tim is now "clean" of any further off-shoots from the original tumor, as there had been some "surprises" during surgery.

For now Tim is in ICU in a medically induced coma.

Please continue to pray for complete healing, all aspects of healing.

Please pray God's strength and peace over both Tim and his family - especially those not in Zimbabwe.

Please pray for all medical staff attending to Tim, for wisdom & patience.

We also pray a prayer of thanks for Tim: his life - people have been, still is and will be blessed & enriched in knowing him.

God is in control, even when we feel out of control.

We trust God to do an amazing work in Tim and through Tim.

What if......

Before, during and even after Samuel's adoption people, mostly people who don't know us well, frequently asked us "what if" ......
- he does have heart problems like most DS children have;
- he is developmentally further delayed than initially thought;
- he has other health issues that were not picked up in Ghana;
and the list continues.
Together with the "what ifs" went a "Would you give him back - if the "what if" is to difficult?"

Our response to the above and "why Samuel, not another child?" had always been that God knitted Samuel together and He will grant us strength to deal with any "what ifs".
God also knew why Samuel had to be the one specific child to stir our hearts in terms of adoption, yes we had encountered many orphans BUT God placed Samuel in our family.
We love him and there is nothing we would not do for him and his sisters.

This past week I have been "witness" to a family's love for their daughter. On their blog http://allarepreciousinhissight.blogspot.com/ they share the story of Chrissie, their "Serbian princess", who has a serious heart condition.
In a time when negative adoption stories are making headlines, this adoption story is a testimony of God's amazing grace, love and strength. This family's obedience when God called them have changed lives across the world - God has definitely used them to touch my heart again & again. They are rooted in God's love.
As I pray for Chrissie's heart, my own heart overflows just thinking of how amazing it is to know that she is loved abundantly - in heaven & on earth.

The "what if" is there regardless whether a child is biological or adopted. However we serve a mighty God and through Him all things are possible. Step by step, daily He will lead us.

Urgent prayer request

Tim's recovery after the removal of the tumor on his adrenal gland had been miraculous.
Tim had already been back on the golf course and was actively involved in the Zimbabwe Open last week.
However he had a seizure on Thursday night which landed him in hospital.
Subsequent scans revealed a tumor pressing on the left lower portion of his brain.
The neurosurgeon have requested more detailed brain scans
(to be done on Tuesday) where after Tim & the family will decide on the way forward.
At this stage Thursday has been provisionally earmarked for possible surgery.
Tim's initial radiation therapy in South Africa due to start in May,
will then be postponed as well as "expanded" to include the new tumor.

Lord, together with Tim's family we specifically pray :
- for complete healing of Tim, that no tumor will be visible on Tuesday;
- that Natani (almost 11 years old) will be able to understand / cope with the new situation especially since she witnessed the seizure on Thursday;
- that You would grant the doctors wisdom in treating Tim;
- that You would grant Tim & his family peace & strength for the way forward;
- that they as a family will be able to see & hear God in all of this;
- above all they proclaim the Blood of Jesus over Tim,
he belongs to King of Kings & stands under His protection no matter the worldly circumstances.
Amen

We know that God is 100% in control of this situation.

We know that no matter what, when we look back we will be able to see

God's fingerprints all over this time of Tim's life.

We know that we serve a loving God, a Father who wants

only the best for His children.

We trust Him - always!

April update

The past 3 weeks had been somewhat crazy, disorganised, chaotic, whirlwind and anything else that might fall into that category would pretty much cover it. We spent 2 weeks in South Africa and most of the above occurred in the first 10 days of our stay.

Our Easter weekend was spent surrounded by family, this included celebrating my sister's birthday on the 5th.

Somehow this trip home involved a lot of ice-cream and where there was ice-cream, there was Samuel. A sugarcone left unattended was snatched up & yes, he did try to hide it behind his back :)

Samuel even made friends with Marica's "new babies" - he was a little apprehensive at first.

We also had our furniture taken out of storage in order to make sure our "house is in order" for future holidays down South. Yeah, 2 truckloads with lots of hard work stored up on the pallets. After a week of choas, I had not even made a dent in the unpacking - it will have to wait until the next holiday :(

Despite Samuel having his own "big boy" room, he still prefered to spend time in Yvonne's room. On our first night in the house, we could not get him off her "bed" - she was half asleep when he decided it was playtime :)

The girls were so excited to meet up with one of their best friends from Ghana.

Olivia, we just loved seeing you!! :)

I must admit that in the midst of unpacking and sorting out, I realised what a blessing our move to Ghana had been.

Yes, we did sacrifice a lot - family, friends & comfort zones - BUT we gained so much more.

We had grown spiritually, emotionally, our family had grown closer than before and our family had been blessed with a son. We had become more aware of the world around us and the needs of others and we became involved. We learnt that God asks us to be servants and that sometimes it will cost us to serve and at times it will even hurt.

Samuel loved playing in the empty boxes - we pretended they were trains, cars, planes, you name it - BUT for some children this box is all that they have..... their place to sleep, their place of safety....

God has blessed and continues to bless us beyond belief on our journey away from home.