We'll Be Home for Christmas

If it seems like it's been awhile since you've heard from us, you'd probably be right!  We're kinda bummed it took this long to update everyone on our time here at MTC but this Fall has been the definition of crazy and our lives have been a roller coaster.  Needless to say we are very excited to come home for Christmas and spend time resting, recovering and spending time with family.  Please pray for a fruitful time connecting with our home church and our family.  We are looking forward to being encouraged and rejuvenated after a long couple months.

Thank you all for praying for Josh's health.  Even though this is his first long flare up with his Crohn's, it seems like it has dragged on forever.  He had to have another minor surgery the end of October for a fistula that had formed near the abscess that he had surgery on in August.  If you want to know what that all is, google it hahah.  But anyway, seeing as how we moved here and had to switch insurances and doctors it took awhile to get in.  Josh is down to a scrawny 125 pounds now (he was already thin to begin with!) but his GI doctor and nurse here are awesome.  We had an appointment with them this past Thursday and they were pretty concerned because of the weight loss and being malnourished.  They wanted to be pretty aggressive for the sake of his intestines and so this coming Thursday he'll be starting a new maintenance medication where he will give himself an injection every two weeks from home.  The nurses say he should feel like a whole new person so we're looking forward to that.  He is already beginning to feel better as they gave him some oral steroids to take until his body starts the new medication.  Thank you for your prayers and encouragement, this has taken a toll on us but we have learned incredibly valuable lessons from the Lord by being in a position of weakness and need.

Some of you may be wondering what this means for our goal of serving overseas and we have been asking ourselves that same question for a couple months now!  We don't have a ton of answers but we do know one thing for certain.  God is building his church, period.  That is what his church was left on earth to do, to make disciples of all nations; no if, and's or but's about it.  And in his grace he has given us the Holy Spirit and the responsibility to reach the unreached with the good news of what Christ accomplished on Calvary.  We realize that certain fields/countries may not be an option for us because health care is limited but we want you to know that we are willing to be used of the Lord wherever we may fit in.  His mission and heart are clear and unmistakeable and though we may not get to fulfill all our dreams and desires, we know why we exist.  We would ask you to pray for us as we continue on in training that we would listen to the Lord and walk in wisdom in looking towards the future for we know "tomorrow has enough trouble for itself".  Pray that "today" we would trust.

Love,

Josh, Felicia and Jude