If you read my blog post "It's been a long six months" then, like me, you were expecting me to remain in Jacksonville caring for Cindy during her chemotherapy. She is more than half-way done with that treatment regimen, and has been told side-effects will not get any worse than they already are. So far, they pretty much include alopecia and fatigue only. While she loves having me home to cook and clean and wait on her when she is tired, she admits that my services would be better placed in Uganda. So she is sending me away!
Of course, Cindy excusing me from domestic servitude rang like a starting pistol in my ears. Within two hours I had already secured my airline ticket and travel visa. I leave Saturday so I will arrive in time for Easter break. While packing and mentally preparing for the journey to the other side of the world, it occurred to me how very little I had accomplished while in Florida. Sure, our team bought land, and we helped make it happen from here. Both our cars gave up their ghosts and I managed to secure reliable transportation for Cindy. We got a first draft of our building project submitted to building engineers, but that is where it stops. I spent so much time between the kitchen and sitting room for Cindy that we failed to get around to many of the groups that count on us to update them in person. I hope to make a more deliberate effort toward that end on the next visit to the States.
Pray for us!
Cindy has a line-up of great friends to ferry her to her last two chemo infusions, and our bio-kids are on deck for table-waiting if necessary. Cindy gets cautious on days 5-15 after a treatment, when her white blood cell counts are lowest and she is most susceptible to infection, so she limits her exposure to crowds and wears a mask anytime she must go out. She will be returning to work at the American Cancer Society, where she serves as coordinator for the Hope Lodge, a temporary home for out-of-town cancer patients receiving treatment here in Jacksonville.
I am throwing together everything on my list of "Wish I had in Uganda" and trying to pack it all into two airline approved bags. We shot up to Memphis to greet family one last time before launching for what may be most of the year. We are doing this with little more than the price of another plane ticket in the bank, so pray for funding miracles while I continue the process of tax exemption in Uganda, filing our NGO, seeking work permits for both Cindy and me, and planting the surveying stakes for our new pavilion. (See "Building is next!" for details about that project.
It has been a while since I said so, but we pray for those of you following along with us, praying for, and supporting us. If you are reading this, then we are praying for you. If you never have before, we would love it if you would fill out our Getting to Know You survey so we can know more about who it is we are blessing.