Back Home Again in Indiana

Monday, August 4, 2014

Backstory and Update

So you have seen that we are dealing with "bladder outlet obstruction" possibly Eagle-Barrett Syndrome more specifically. This is where the muscles of the abdomen don't form which allows the bladder to expand as there is nothing forcing it to evacuate. One of the key distinctions of this syndrome is there is generally low amniotic fluid as the baby's urine (amniotic fluid) is retained in his bladder rather than outside his body. This causes limited development of the lungs and is a fatal condition.

Our baby has had a perplexing condition of having too much amniotic fluid early in the pregnancy until week 30. This has the docs scratching their heads wondering if maybe his lungs have developed enough to not be a fatal condition. So around week 30, we did the first bladder tap to remove 1625 ml of urine from our baby's bladder. Eleven days after that tap, when we went to do another tap, we found he had low amniotic fluid. After withdrawing another 1600 ml of fluid on that trip the docs assumed that his amniotic fluid would be low for the rest of the pregnancy.

Okay, so here is where it gets very interesting; at today's appointment we find that Megan has gone from low amniotic fluid (oligohydramnios) to excess amniotic fluid (polyhydramnios) in the past nine days! I was informed this doesn't happen.

The docs are searching for explanations to this one.

Ephraim

Where did that name come from?

Ephraim (pronounced "e-frame") is named after a little boy we knew in Peru. You may remember him, he was a little boy with walking problems with whom Megan worked. We have a picture of him in a therapy room at the Refuge of Hope in October of 2006 while he is being assessed by the therapist Isaac, one of Megan's future co-workers. His father and mother pastored Emanuel Church and they started the first savings group, Banquito Emanuel, which went on to grow fivefold in the second year.

Ephraim was always a joy to be around. He had an indomitable spirit and was always more determined and had higher hopes for himself than anyone else had for him. While his legs had limited movement which kept him either in a wheelchair or on a custom walker (that one of you donated through us) he was always cheery and very ambitious.

Within two months of returning from Peru in May of 2010, we heard news that he had fallen in a pool at a church picnic and drowned. He was five years old.

It turns out that in his short life God used him to bring us to Ivon and Caleb Rios as an answer to Caleb’s prayers to improve the economic condition of his church and my prayers to start a savings group. God used Megan to treat Ephraim but also to build the relationship between the economic development arm of Food for the Hungry Pucallpa and their church, which was desperately praying for help in basic business and personal money management. (Caleb actually retrieved his journal one day and went back to show where he was praying for a Christan NGO, missionary or organization who can help them manage money and their businesses more effectively.) God used this boy to direct us where the doors were open.

Ephraim was just over one year old when we met him at the Refuge of Hope on our first visit there in October of 2006 and he died the summer of 2010 just after we left Peru. While there were many ways he was used in his life we cannot miss that almost his entire life existed during our short stay in the country.

The name means "fruitful" and we think it fit him very well.

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Really?! Four years?!

Well, it's good to write to you again, it's only taken us four years to update you on our lives! Let's consider this past few years our time of silence. If you were with us from 2004-2010 during our ministry in Peru, we want to fill you in on what has happened since then.

We were told reentry would be more difficult than leaving the States but it was hard to envision that beforehand. We now agree that integrating back into the States is harder.

We returned in May of 2010 just as the economy was still in the doldrums. Unemployment was 9.5% and I attempted to change careers from non-profit back to finance and accounting. After nine months of adjusting expectations to the workforce, I found a job at a local community bank near my (Paul) hometown of Wabash, Indiana. I thought banking was the closest industry to the type of work I was doing in Peru considering the type was called "Community Managed Microfinance". While I greatly enjoyed the company and people, after two and a half years I switched back to public accounting at a small firm in Wabash.

We have been through the worst of the enculturation and are relatively stable now. We are active in our church in Wabash which is a globally minded missions church. Our family, especially our boys, are doing very well in this faith community. It is exciting to see our boys grow in their faith there.

Speaking of the boys, Cael is six years old (can you believe it?!) and Liam is four. Our boys are as different as possible but they continue to overwhelm us with joy and energy! We are trying to savor the time we have right now with them because we know it is flying by.

Despite the nagging feeling of wanting to send out an update of our lives, I really haven't had a great motivation before now. I want to update some and fill the rest in on the situation of our youngest son.

Megan is now 33 weeks pregnant with our third son, Ephraim. We were told at week 19 that he has a birth defect referred to generally as a bladder outlet obstruction. This has varying severity but ours is a severe case with a poor prognosis. After several consultations we have chosen to give birth in Cincinnati. We are in the process of relocating there for the birth.

How is Megan doing? As with any pregnancy she is tired but with this one she is particularly taxed. The baby has a very, very large bladder. We hate to have this distinction but his bladder is the largest any doctor has seen. Twice we have had the bladder tapped removing over 1600 ml from the baby's bladder each time (that is almost a 2 liter of fluid!). In fact, the ultrasound machine calculates body weight based on the measurements of each organ and they put Ephraim's weight at 20 pounds! Needless to say we are very concerned about the implications for mom and baby.

So what do we want in this situation? Miraculous healing and divine intervention? Absolutely! However improbable we know our God is the God of miracles. But what if that doesn't happen here? Megan was reading recently in the book of Daniel about Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. We like their response to the king when he asked if God was going to save them from the fiery furnace they were about to be thrown in. Their response was something to the effect that "Yes, He certainly can, but even if He doesn't, He is still the living God and we're not bowing to you."

We like their perspective. Too many times we define God's attributes by the outcomes in our lives. We think, "If something bad happens then God must not love me." How can bad things happen to good people? Or it was just a lack of faith. Or maybe you've been to a church that teaches if you are a good Christian with enough faith these things won't happen to you. I think this is a shallow view of faith. Faith is being sure God is a God of love and interpreting our experience in light of His character, not the circumstance. The faith hall of fame in Hebrews chapter 11 is full of heroes who faced terrible circumstances and verse 39 says they did not receive what was promised, at least not while they were alive. There is a danger in many churches that teach that right living always lead to great circumstances. We would love for this to be true but it is not supported by the bible.

How can I help? We appreciate your support and concern. Please pray for a safe delivery for mom and baby and that we are able to handle decisions and outcomes.

We plan to keep this site updated as we learn more so we will use this as a the breaking news for everyone.