Hi All:
The snow is drifting down outside the window, so the donkey is glad that the house is heated and he is warm. He just had the chemotherapy infusion unhooked after the 2 days and hope to be able to eat some tomorrow or Sunday, as we have found out the hard way (how else do stubborn donkeys learn, I suppose) that anything besides sips of liquids that I partake of for the Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and now some Saturday after my bi weekly chemotherapy just causes nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea, all not so fun to participate in. So, we lose some of the weight we try to gain in the other 10 days of the cycle and do it over and over again. If all goes well, this will be the halfway point (#6 of 12 cycles), so, despite the fact that each one seems a bit harsher, we can look on the positive side, the end is coming, hopefully late March if my counts stay up, etc. The TPN continues to be a literal lifesaver, as my weight has slowly crept back up to my normal between chemo treatments (I cannot do both the chemo and the TPN as have a single lumen central line in my chest).
When I think that, on the 28th of January, 2013, I was given the news that I had this nasty cancer, Mucinous Pseuudomyxoma Peritonei, with an estimated 14 pounds of cancerous tissue inside my abdomen and not much hope for life without the extensive surgery proposed, I thank the Lord that now, almost 3 years, a 15 hr and a second 9 hour surgery plus now 12 months and counting chemotherapy, I am pretty much able to work at both my office and Sunset Manor, caring for the sweet and appreciative elderly folks who seem to like their Haitian Donkey coming to their facility and treated me with homemade Dutch treats and cards again this Christmas, a really encouraging ministry to be able to do for them. I also have a very great staff and set of patients in the office who are loyal to us despite me not always being able to keep the scheduled appointments due to the donkey’s feeble legs not holding him up all the time. My mind seems to work pretty well (of course, some of you may debate that), the body can sit on the stool and take down the history and the wobbly legs can do the physical almost all the time, so praising the Lord for that ability. Many of our patients have encouraged us with special cards, treats (of course the donkey cannot eat them for the most part, but still appreciated) and other ways of encouraging us at this time of year. The TPN has really helped in that respect, as I feel my strength returning every day.
Christmas was very special as we were together as a family for over a week, Rachel and Karen formed the “food police” at the Christmas Eve gathering of Karen’s family (also her birthday party as she is a Christmas Eve baby) and the estimated 73 family members and the usual extra friends and relatives at the Ten Haaf Christmas Day gathering. They ensured that the donkey’s eyes didn’t get larger than his stomach could tolerate and it went well. We even shared Indonesian food with an Indonesian pastor taking classes at the Calvin Seminary at our gathering, one of the extra friends invited to the group, though he was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t a white Christmas and hoped that his second time around would be a white one next year, as he will return to his church after that schooling is done. I know that it isn’t exactly a Christmas song, but I repeatedly have had the older song running in my head that the Baby of Christmas, ” (He) left the splendor of heaven, Knowing His destiny, T’was a lonely hill of Golgatha, Where He laid down His life for me.” May I never lose the wonder of that amazing gift, that He would choose to leave heaven’s glory to die for my sin.
Right after my next round of chemotherapy, Lord willing, we are planning on going back to Haiti for a week with a group of 10 of us, including Dan Boerman, who will meet with a German gentleman whose foundation has helped our poor fund in the past and may help us with a project or two this year, as well as my brother Butch and 2 other men who will do repairs with Dan on the hospital grounds, and my sister Margie (her first trip back to Haiti alone after Harold’s death last April), 2 nieces and another lady who will do painting and other improvement projects on the hospital. We are thankful for the large number of men and women over the years who have (many repeatedly) gone to Haiti to help improve and beautify the hospital building, grounds and equipment, a pretty monumental task that requires continual input under the harsh environment things are subjected to in Haiti. I also will have our nurse practitioner and close family friend, Tabitha Sheen, going with to help me in the OR and work on the other side of the table from her years with us in Africa, where she was the nurse anesthetist/circulator and now will assist in the surgical part, as she wants to improve her sewing skills and we have lots of opportunities in that realm also. So, we will have a mixture of talent and pray that all will go well and for His glory. An interesting note is that our timing was set to meet Herr Peter from Germany, but we thought it would be several weeks after the elections, which were scheduled for the 27th of December, but they have been delayed til January 17, at least this is the present thinking, so pray that the riots and unrest that normally accompanies any election in Haiti will be kept to a minimum during our time and travels there.
A last GREAT item of praise to the Lord is that it appears that Drs. William and Adulte have been given the assignments for their surgical residencies. After all the attempts to set things up in Cap Haitian, meetings with the Department of Health, etc, many promises that we were not sure would be carried to fruition, it appears that Dr. William is assigned to the government hospital (HUEH, Hopital Universitaire d’Etat d’Haiti) in Port and Dr. Adulte to the only other surgical training hospital (there are 3 total including the one in Cap Haitian) in Haiti, called Hopital de Paix (Peace), about 3-4 miles away through a difficult section of town to navigate through, likely 1/2 hour of time. They will report to their respective training programs on Monday and find out what they will be offered and what is required of them, but I am rejoicing that the Lord has chosen these options for them. Admittedly, it will be more expensive to live in Port, as everything has to come in from the outside, either from imports of food and staples, or from the countryside, but they will be able to hopefully get to Cayes to see their families on some weekends off call, etc. I don’t know yet how the Haitian Surgical Residency works, if they also have restricted hours like the US now has, only allowing 80 hour workweeks, instead of the 110 plus we had, but am hopeful that they can make the 4-5 hr trip to Cayes more often and more safely than the 12 hr trip to Cap Haitian. It also will allow me to contact them regularly when going in and out of Port, to help and encourage them as needed, etc. So, we are rejoicing greatly to this unexpected answer to prayer for them and us.
Finally, to keep things in perspective, though I feel that we as Christians should be careful and concerned about our environment, whenever I leave Dan Boerman’s office for mine (the Haiti building is in his factory, so go there a lot), I pass a shop where the truck outside has a verse that keeps priorities straight in my mind. It states, “Global Warming Warning, ‘And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.'” Rev 20:15. A serious thought to ponder as we make our way in this world in 2016.
Rejoicing in His Goodness and Service,
Bill, Karen, Rachel, James and Jenn Ten Haaf