“Dear friends,
let us continue to love one another,
for love comes from God.
Anyone who loves
is born of God and knows God.”
~1 John 4:7 NLT~
Jimmy and Retia Dukes
Thats what friends are for:
We often think and say this but it is true. Whether it is a starbucks card, getting a pool pump, or just calling to check on you when things happen, or whatever, you know what I am saying. Like when you get slipped 60$ by a patient who knows you don’t have to have this money but did it from his heart listening to God. Or when another patient who connects with someone 30min from home, at a garden store no less and talks of booneville, Dr. Dukes and his parents and then shows up to your office with a tomato plant for your mom. Like I said that is what friends are for and my family has been blessed with them and we are thankful for all of you. Still fairly overwhelming after 4 weeks, not just this sureal tragedy, but the outpouring of love an prayer to the Father. I often think I dont need anyone, but this has disproven that. We need each other and we need Him. Isnt it funny that the greatest commandments are to Love Him and to love others!
Does that ever trip anyone else out, that the creator of the universe, the all knower, the all powerful one and only true God cares for us and came near to us and wants relationship with us. He listens to us as we pour out our hearts and empty ourselves to Him for Jimmy and Retia Dukes. May he answer our prayer as we ask for complete healing and recovery for them.
I can count on about 3 hands the number of doctors I like, dentist, sorry Ken and Catherine and Jeff and Bo, are even fewer and further between, mostly cause the pain they inflict on me. but doctors bother me more because I am one. This last month I have been on the other side and hope that I listen more better, sorry big O for the grammer, and communicate more and better than the ones I have had to deal with from this side. I am praying for my attitude but I must say pray with me. They have not communicated at all, it is like pulling teeth.
Mom, is opening her eyes and responding. she stayed awake today for over 8 hours and interacted with me some shaking her head yes or no, respectively and correctly depending on what I asked her. She moved her feet at command, both feet. However, she is still far from out of the woods. Please, Please, Please, be ever fervent in your prayers as this time is as crucial as the first 3 weeks before she showed signs of life. She needs to continue to progress, moving and keeping her airway open and breathing on her on when they cap her tracheostomy. They did that today about 5mins and she did about as well as expected for someone who has not had to breath without aid for 4 weeks. Please pray for healing of wounds a 3×5 cm decubitus on her sacrum and other lesser skin wounds and that she would be protected from other infection. Pray for dad as he continues to heal. Pray for his spirit to be full of peace and joy from the Father as he worries about mom and finances. Pray for the logistics of the surgery to come and at some point movement back to Orlando. Pray for strength for rehab. Again, Jason and I thank the tens of thousands of you who are praying and our God is faithful to hear the prayer of those He loves and who love Him.
Duct tape can’t fix this: My wife fixed our pool pump today in the middle of a torental downpour. I think she used the whole roll but it worked. But only our God can fix this situation. Keep praying.
I thought the last two days about the overwhelming response mom and dad have recieved and wondered why? It made me think of effect, affect and infect. They have lived their lives transparently loving on others as God has loved them and in the process they have effected: Made an effective difference in, changed them cared for them and showed kindness and encouragement and Loved them. They have affected: Like when you put the cream on the affected area. The poison oak is what affected your skin. They have touched others and affected them they have made them better. They have also infected them: with the affect of their effect they have gotten into the heads and hearts of all us and made all of us act differently even if it is just when we are around them. They have changed so many lives and I am thankful to be one of them. Praise be to my God for my mom and dad. May we all have an effect, affect and infectiveness on others as we let Him live through us.
Dr. Kelly, president of the New Orleans Baptist Seminary, has set up a fund for mom and dads recovery. It will be used for bills after all insurance has run out. If there is any money left over it will be used for a sholarship fund in their name. The only way dad would have it, to think of students and their benefit, as they have been in the forefront of his mind always. If you care to give contact the Seminary on the web or by phone and they will help you give tax deductibly. Oh yeah since I feel like I am giving a commercial BUY Jasons book it is coming soon.
Don Denton
Don is still stable and that we are so thankful for. We will meet with the neurosurgeon Sunday afternoon to go over the details of the surgery.
What we know is this. Don will have a meningial biopsy of the brain on Monday afternoon. This surgery will take from 3 to 6 hours depending on what they find. If it goes into six hours, they will be also putting a shunt in and that will mean two surgerys.
This is a difficult surgery. He will know more tomorrow about what to expect. Once Don is out of surgery, he will be in ICU till he is stable.
Today is seven days we have been in St. Louis. We miss home again and we miss our friends and church. Don is still having headaches, nausea and he usually does not keep down what he drinks for liquids. Today his blood pressure went pretty low.
So Monday will be a big day with the surgery. I will not be able to post probably until last Monday night. If anything should change between now and Monday I will post it.
Please pray for a successful surgery with no complications. Brain surgery as you know is risky. We are praying that his neurosurgeon will have wisdom. We are praying for good results and a diagnosis. We so need a diagnosis so they can treat this disease in the best possible way.
Today was a very long day for us. I am pretty emotional today. I find that when I get the sleep I need it really makes a difference.
One other thing I would ask you to pray for. Joshua’s birthday is the 15th of this month. I am asking God to get us through this time, so that Joshua will not have to endure a difficult birthday this year. We are hoping to do life as normal as possible especially for his birthday.
Don is so grateful to you all for all that you have done for us and all that you continue to do to help us. I am too. We are so grateful for God’s mercy and goodness to us. We are holding onto the hope that is in Christ. I believe that we are going to get past this.
I am thankful to you our family and friends for your precious love extended to us. We are so blessed. And for those of you who I don’t know that post on caringbridge. Thank you for your committment to praying for us and for you precious words of hope and peace. Thank you for each of you. You have been the “Christ” to us. Your words of hope and encouragment are a healing balm to my soul. I could not make it through this without all of you walking with us through this.
Bless you!
Pray for my former student, Cindy, as she has heart surgery tomorrow. Pray for peace of mind as she submits her health to surgeons.
Thanks for your prayers and concerns for my mother. She is back to where she was before her hospitalization two weeks ago. Please continue to pray for Momma and Daddy as they care for each other daily.
Dakota Brooke, grandson of another former student, is doing better. He is still less than two weeks old and in NICU still, but progressing – baby steps! Please continue to pray.
Greg Corkern, husband of yet another former student, has been released from the hospital. Pray for him as he makes changes in his life to help with his heart problems.
Prayer concerns for IMB personnel in Romania
Dear Prayer Partners,
Donna Brown is at the CEE ladies retreat right now in Krakow Poland. So hopefully the May prayer calendar will be sent out the beginning of next week. Pray for the ladies as they studying God’s Word and enjoy the time together. (Jennie drove a group of ladies from her area to the same retreat)
I do have a few prayer requests you can pray for while waiting for it.
Please continue to pray for Larry and Peggy Carnes as they seek God’s direction in their lives. They are back in the US in Gastonia NC (at the church where Frank and Mary Alice Fox atten). Peggy has been to the neurosurgeon and he says she will probably have to have surgery on the cervical vertebrae (upper neck) before the lower. She had a spinal block on the upper part on last Thursday and had one on the lower back two days ago and another on the lower back after 2 weeks. The doctor is trying to avoid lower back surgery, but we will see. Please continue to pray for Peggy during this process. Samuel and Maricatherine are finishing up homeschooling. (The Carnes family shared a duplex with the Hatchels in Bucharest.)
I have not received an update from Floyd and Freda Angeletti. (The have a daughter who lives in McComb.) They are in Harrisburg PA. Freda was to have had test at John Hopkins last Thursday. Please pray for her as she finds out if she will have to have more surgery. Also pray for them to know where the Lord wants them to serve him next.
I heard from Bob and Diane Wagstaff this morning. They are currently on stateside assignment. They are due to return to Romania July 10th. They have been busy speaking at different conferences. The latest were in LA and AR. The next one in about two weeks will be in Washington state. They ask for prayer for the South Carolina team that is currently in Craiova Romania ministering with Bob and Margie Craig and the Romanian team they work with. Also pray for Bob and Diane as they finish up medical tests during the next week so they can be cleared to return to Romania. They also wrote “we are praising God that Raul and Ana and Kevin and Michelle, our Canadian missionary co-workers, all returned to Romania safely and that they (the Canadians) raised 93% of the support they felt they needed while they were in Canada for three months. Our other praise is that our son, Pete seems to be settling into his life and teaching job in South Korea in spite of the fact that the food is a challenge for him. Also we are thankful for the opportunity to visit my sister and Adela (Romanian), whom we took to America with us in 1995 before and after our conference in WA.” Roger and I are hoping to see them before they return to Romania.
Please continue to pray for a job for Roger. We learned yesterday the job he interviewed for three weeks ago he did not get. We know the Lord has the perfect job for Roger but of course I am ready for Roger to have it now. J He has kept busy working on items inside and outside the house. Yesterday and today Roger is in San Antonio attending an organic church conference with a pastor friend. We are also on baby watch. Our daughter-in-law could have her baby anytime. Her due date is May 17th. I am hoping Kelly has the baby before Mother’s day. Jordan and Kyle have finals at Union University the third week of May. Pray they can stay focused as they study and finish up the semester.
Thank you for praying for these prayer requests and for the work God is doing in and through his missionaries in Romania.
Love,
Melinda
(Melinda and Roger just complete their service in Romania and are making their home in Texas near family members.)
“Down by the Creek Bank” will be presented by the children’s choir of FBC, Kentwood tonight at 6 P.M. If you remember the presentation by that name of twenty-five years ago, you will be delighted to know the musical is the same, just a different generation of children presenting it. Come and support the children and the adults who have worked with them.
KneEmail
Mike Benson
Encourage
MARY KAY ASH encouraged her employees at Mary Kay with a an attitude of celebration and blessing…
She signed hundreds of birthday cards offering free lunch and a free movie. She commemorated employees’ “blessed events” such as weddings and babies with personal gifts. She put flowers and white tablecloths in the company cafeteria, and perfume and makeup (Mary Kay brand, of course) in the rest rooms. A sign outside her office read “Department of Sunshine and Rainbows.” Her credo was “Appreciation is the oil that makes things run.” Ash realized that constant verbal and physical demonstrations of encouragement are necessary for the achievement of ambitious goals and to make employees feel truly valued.
Moses knew the encouraging power of encouragement. When the desert sands seemed unending, when food became scarce, and when internal dissidents threatened to undermine the organization’s purpose (“Let’s return to Egypt!), Moses reminded the Israelites of their goal, a “land of milk and honey” that truly existed, even if they had never seen it. (Lorin Wolfe)
“…Encourage one another daily….”
~ Hebrews 3:13; cf. 10:24~
Have a great SONday!
Anna Lee
The Prayer Link 