We came home to Cedar Rapids this summer to sell our home and store anything we couldn't take back with us to Bosnia. We had big plans to start a discipleship training program for a few of our Chinese VAIS co-workers and a couple of former students. Little did we know God had a very different adventure planned for us.

You already know about the school shutting down and our discipleship program dying on the vine. You know about Rachel's cancer recurrence that stopped us in our tracks. Well, that was only the beginning of our little adventure in medicine this summer.

We can wonder sometimes whether it was a mistake to go to Bosnia this past year, especially when our follow-on project failed to materialize. Did we mess up the lives of those who had committed to our training program?

Nothing Wasted

Lily was the first to secure the next thing. She’s already begun teaching at an international school in Quito, Ecuador. She’s eager to put into practice the things she learned from us years ago and over this past year. She just waiting for her visa, teaching remotely from Bosnia in the meantime. Yet she’s still able to witness for Christ in her teaching, and she’s already connecting with her students, laying a foundation for when she arrives on-site.

Cheris and Jem found a temporary place to serve at an ACE school in Lusaka, Zambia. That's looking like it won't last. Visas for Chinese are quite expensive, more than the school's founder is able to pay at this time. However, it may serve as a springboard into the world of ACE training and schools for the two of them.

Cheris assured me a few days ago that the lessons we taught her and others on our team have continued to bear fruit in her life. She remains faithful in her personal devotions, and helps Jem remain faithful in hers. She has seen truths and principles we talked about at VAIS made concrete in her current school situation. She has discovered wisdom from God for her own work and inter-relationships, and she has been able to encourage coworkers with lessons she’s learning from the Lord. She treasures the time we spent training her. She still hopes one day we can serve together again.

Heart Attacked

We were looking into what life would be like to join them in Zambia. We had one last appointment before we knew the outcome of Rachel's current cancer journey and could start making concrete plans for the next thing.

I left for Bosnia to collect some of the more important things we'd left there thinking we'd be back before the end of summer. Two days later, I had pretty much everything selected and packed that I could take home. We had extended-stay visas that required special processing whenever we entered or exited Bosnia, and I had just handed my passport in for processing—which would take place at the opposite end of the country. I was assured I'd have it back within two days. Good, because my flight home left in four days!

Less than 24 hours later, I woke to notifications about Rachel's sudden hospital stay. The time change meant I was waking up just after Rachel had finished surgery. A friend was in the hospital with her and called as I was sorting through the notifications, trying to figure out what had happened.

Rachel had a major heart attack. Her "Widow(er)maker" cardiac artery had become 100% blocked. She'd been having jaw and back pain that she thought were reactions to her new cancer medication. Turns out, those were fairly common signs of a heart attack in women! (Take note, ladies!)

That never crossed any of our minds. She was the healthy one! I bear all the marks of a prime candidate for a heart attack. My doctor even pushed for a bunch of tests last year, only to find my arteries were pretty clear!

Now, here she was having a major heart attack! They put two stents in that night to reopen the artery, and kept her for the better part of that weekend. I was trapped in Bosnia, waiting for a passport that didn't return on time, but held out until the evening before my originally scheduled flights.

Fallout

Today we're learning what it's like to survive a heart attack. The new medications. What happens if you miss a few too many doses. Cardiac rehabilitation. The big thing is to keep exercising and to keep up with the medications!

Rachel lost about half of the pumping power of her heart. There is a part of her heart that is not presently working. You wouldn't know it by watching her charge through each day. But damage has been done. The doctors hope through medications and rehab to restore her heart close to full function within a year. The Lord can guarantee it, if He so chooses. Or He can use this to limit our options for the future.

We're still wondering what comes next. Bosnia is out. Zambia is out. A rural church out west I'd been talking to is out—too far from a major hospital. We applied at a couple of boarding schools in the southwest, but they already filled their open positions. Now we're not sure Rachel can handle the stress of helping care for a half-dozen or more kids. One last option we're considering: helping host a missionary transit "retreat" center in Florida. If that proves untenable, we'll stay put and see what ministry we can drum up on our own.

Thank you for standing with us and praying us through these dramatic circumstances! Please keep praying that we would obtain clarity regarding what God wants us to do next. Please pray also that it wouldn't take any more major medical issues to bring that clarity!

We love you all and are so grateful for your faithful support, prayer, and care especially at this time.