Adalie Englade

Dear All,
Adalie Englade went home to be with the Lord around 8:30PM this evening (01/27/08). As many know, she has home been under hospice care since mid December. Please remember Bertley before the Lord as this will be devastating to him.

IN HIM,

Scott

Message from the Johnson's

Dear Friends and Family,

We have GREAT news! First, we have found a private doctor to go to instead of the group of prenatal doctors at the hospital, and the care is about a million times better. This doctor actually read my file, asked good questions, and seemed to really take responsibility for my care. It was great to have the weight of feeling like I had to fight for every good medical decision taken off my shoulders. Also, this doctor agreed to schedule an extra ultrasound, which revealed that the
previa has moved enough that I should be able to have a normal delivery!!! God is incredible!

He says that the baby's head has already started dropping, so he still thinks I will deliver early, hopefully not too early but just right... However, if I haven't already delivered by 38 weeks he is willing to induce if we would like him to. That is wonderful because it means we can go ahead and tell Jesse's parents (who want to be here for the delivery) when to come so that they can help us watch Zach while the new baby is being born. Zach is still really insecure right now and
wants his Mommy AND Daddy with him at all times, but we think he might make an exception for Grandma and Grandpa, which will be important especially if I go into labor in the middle of the night. Please pray that we will not have to change the date on our return tickets to Burundi (the longest stay we could get on the cheaper 3 month tickets was until March 13). Birth certificate red tape in Kenya is notorious, and that would be the main cause of our having to wait.

Zach is eating REALLY well here at the guest house and gaining some weight (another answer to prayer), and the political situation continues to be unstable (right now there are still just occasional riots that cause parts of town to be blocked while police clear the area of demonstrators, but people are saying that if Kolfi Anan's negotiations bear no fruit, things could get drastically worse), so we will continue to stay here for two more weeks despite the extra
expense. At that point Jesse's brother Steven and cousin Lizzie will come to stay with us for their midterm break from boarding school. When they leave, we will reassess things and will probably move back to Ryders until Jesse's parents come.

I think we feel a little like people on board a 747 that started plummeting towards the ocean and then managed to pull out of the dive at the last minute. We are incredibly thankful and excited that we aren't crashing any more, but our hearts are still racing and we probably won't completely relax until the plane is on the ground and we can "remove our seatbelts because the plane has come to a complete stop". (No, this metaphor did not occur to me because I am starting to rival a 747 for size, though I may be approaching a Cessna...) We would appreciate your continued prayers for peace, for a safe delivery for the baby, and for wisdom in how to spend this last few weeks and what to tackle first when we return to Burundi. Please thank Him with us, too-- He has delivered us, as you helped us by your prayers, and now "many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many." 2 Cor. 1:11

Thank you again,
Jesse, Joy, and Zach

Elliot

Visit http://www.legacy.com/Link.asp?I=LS000101838172X.

Elliot Hughes

Dear Ones,

Some of you may already know this information, but we wanted to pass it on to make sure everyone knew. The funeral for Elliot Hughes will be in Wichita, Kansas, at the Northside Chapel at 10:00 a.m., followed by a graveside service. However, there will be a Memorial Service for him at Hope Bible Chapel, here in Birmingham, on Thursday evening at 6:00.

If anyone from the Birmingham area would like to send flowers, please have them sent to Hope Bible Chapel on Thursday, between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m., if possible. Buddy's cell phone number is 482-8676, and he said to give that number to the delivery person, or call him anytime regarding flower deliveries. The feeling is that there will be PLENTY of flowers in Wichita, and few here for his Memorial Service, so, on behalf of those in our Chapel here, flowers will be sent from our Chapel family to the Memorial Service here.

If anyone would like to send a gift instead of flowers, there are two preferred choices: a donation to the Children's Hospital, NICU on the 6th floor, on behalf of Elliot, or a donation to Josh and Angie to help with medical expenses.

We hope this information has been helpful. Please feel free to call anytime. Cathy's cell number is 307-9754.

In Our Saviour's Love and Care,

Alton and Cathy

"Oh yes, He cares, I know He cares,

His heart is touched with my grief;

When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,

I know my Saviour cares." -F.E.G.

"God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." Revelation 21:4

Baby Elliot

October 31, 2007 - January 21, 2008

Wanted to thank everyone for their diligent prayers for our precious son as they were answered tonight as Elliot went to be in the arms of our Lord at 6:30 pm. While we are grieving deeply for the loss of our son we have a peace. A peace in knowing that Elliot is in heaven with our Lord and is in no more pain.

We held him tonight for the first time since he was born without any tubes or wires coming from his body. He had such a peaceful face. We are planning on having a funeral here in Birmingham and a memorial service in Wichita where hopefully he will also be buried. We will let everyone know of our future plans.

Thanks again for all your prayers and love,
Josh and Angie

Elliot Hughes

It is with a heavy heart that I write to let every one know that Elliot has passed away. Please remember Josh and Angie in your prayers, along with their parents during this time.

Urgent Prayer Request

Due to complications during surgery, little Elliot Hughes needs our prayers now more than ever. Please pray for Elliot, Josh and Angie as the next few hours will be critical.

Prayer Request

This report comes from Mike Donahue who was on the Good News on the Move (GNOM) team last year. He now lives in England with his wife Danielle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear praying saints

Hello from England. There are 150 kids in a public school who will hear the gospel next week in the will of our LORD! Danielle has been invited by a teacher of religious education to come, along with some co-workers, to speak to the 7th grade class. The subject is "How we found GOD".

The school visited Heatree Activity Centre where we work. Danni wanted to give one of the teachers a "Uniqueness of Christianity" CD. She was a bit hesitant, but gave it to the teacher just before she left. Paula, the teacher who received the CD, was very thankful. She soon wrote back and invited us to come on the 15th of January.

I don't think she is saved, but seems open. She said the CD gave her a lot to think about. We will have 3 one hour sessions with 50 kids in each session. We will get to talk for 40 minutes then have a question and answer session for 20 minutes. Please pray that we will have boldness and grace to proclaim the truth, and pray the kids will be prepared to accept it.

GOD is good! Thank you all.

In CHRIST JESUS
Mike Donahue

Baby Elliot Hughes Up-Date

Dear All,

Elliot came through the surgery fine, although he looks as though he is a typical “post surgical” trauma picture at this point. Here are the findings and outcomes:

1. No lung surgery—the upper lobe was not even there to remove. It never developed—the thymus gland was mimicking the upper left lobe on X-ray because it was excessively large. The doctor removed a part of the thymus to allow more work space—should not bring any future complications.
2. The vascular ring around the trachea was released—the ligament clipped.
3. They found (relatively easily) the lower (distal) part of the esophagus which comes up from the stomach, but the proximal portion of the esophagus was very difficult to find. They finally ran a light down the throat and traced where the esophagus was by the light. Once found, they saw why the esophagus has not grown much in three weeks: it was entrapped by the vascular ring. Once the ring was released, there was found that the gap between the two parts of the esophagus (distal and proximal) was not three centimeters, but six. Dr. Georgeson was dismayed to find an even larger gap than expected---twice as large.
4. They performed the Fokker Maneuver where they sutured both sections of the esophagus and ran the lines outside his body. Periodically, the doctors will pull the twine and stretch the esophagus. Elliot will have to be sedated each time.
5. This Maneuver has some risks with it: sutures coming out with more surgery for suture repair, and when the stretching occurs, a hole can come in the esophageal wall which could lead to infection with contents from the stomach going out into the abdomen.
6. Longer hospital stay with ultimate major surgery ahead again. If this Maneuver works, it will be approximately one more month before the adequate length is achieved. The doctor says that he has never tried this Maneuver on such a large gap and he couldn’t offer a high confidence that this would be successful. If this fails, the colon resection will probably be the next option.

We know that nothing passes to us unless it has passed through our loving Father’s hands first. We are thankful that Elliot made it through surgery and pray the next two or three days with him on the Ventilator will be uneventful and he will come through post surgically without any complications.

Thank you again for all your prayers. We truly knew the strength from the Lord throughout the surgery. We know that your prayers were answered as the Lord saw best. The next few weeks may be very difficult with hills and valleys. At this point, we have heard that he cannot be held for as long as this Maneuver is being performed. This is one of the hardest outcomes—it was so consoling to hold him close—especially for Josh and Angie. Please pray for endurance and strength—the long road is now longer with new obstacles and barriers along the way. However, we are so thankful to be this far and know that the Lord will see us through every trial.

Thank you for bearing us up before the throne of grace,

Jan

Baby

I spoke with Bill Wortman earlier today and he informed me that Elliot's esophagus was not long enough to be attached. The doctor's have taken the steps to stretch the esophagus, and will wait a month to see if it stretches enough with a second surgery.

Baby Elliot Hughes Up-Date

We've received the following alert from Elliot Hughes' grandmother, Jan
Hughes

Dear praying ones

We met with the surgeon, Dr. Georgeson, this afternoon. They did an X-Ray and said that the esophagus is not looking as though it is long enough. In fact, he said that it looks as though it grew three centimeters initially and hasn't grown much at all since about three weeks ago. At the same time, Elliot has been growing lengthwise and the gap is now getting greater. It seems that there is probably a three centimeter gap now which is too large to attach together.

He says that he is not sure that it is too short (I think this doctor has seen a few miracles probably in his day), but if it is confirmed tomorrow that it is, he will instead perform the Fokker Maneuver which will entail stretching the esophagus 'outside' the body by running lines out his abdomen to pull the esophagus together. This may take up to a month if it works at all. Then they would have to again perform major surgery.

As the Lord leads, please pray that the doctors will be pleasantly surprised when they operate tomorrow and see that the esophagus is amply long enough for attachment. We pray of course that the Lord's will be done and submit to His will in this matter. We have not because we ask not - may we all pray for God's hand to be upon this child and that we will never be slack in
giving God the glory for seeing us through.

Thank you on behalf of us all,

Jan

PS: Some have asked where Elliot is - he is at Children's Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. Surgery should be on the second floor and then he will be on sixth. Also, surgery may begin as early as 7:30.

Roy Aafedt Update

Dear praying saints:

We praise the Lord for answers to prayers...Roy Aafedt is coming home today, Lord willing. Please pray for Dick Bouchie, as he is going to Minneapolis to pick up Roy and Cindy.

Please continue to pray for Roy's complete recovery. He is doing very well, but will have to be very careful in these initial days/weeks at home in what activities he does. That will be hard for Roy, as it would for anyone. Please pray for his safety and for Cindy and Makenzie as they care for him.

For the MRBC saints...we'll let you know if there is need for us to take turns going to help out Cindy. Before going to visit I would suggest that you call Cindy to make sure it's okay. I'm sure Roy will be very tired in the first few days.

This will probably be the last report I will send out unless any difficulties arise. Roy, Cindy, Makenzie and family all greatly appreciate your prayers over the last couple of weeks. We all can see how the Lord answered all the prayers!

In Christ,

Gary Clark