I am alive, in case you were wondering.
It has been a rocky last couple of weeks, dominated by a hard bout of pneumonia which came on as I traveled from Central Indiana to Southern Indiana and Central Kentucky on November 13th. At first I thought I had contracted a cold, then the flu, but in the end a chest x-ray confirmed that I did indeed pick up bacterial pneumonia.
This came at a hard time. My fever spiked up on Saturday, November 13th just as I was preparing to preach for and share about the mission with the terrific congregation of Trinity Anglican Church (Evansville). The Lord blessed me tremendously as I spent time with them, but my health continued to decline that evening as I headed to Central Kentucky where I planned to spend Sunday morning with Holy Apostles Anglican Church (Elizabethtown). After church that Sunday, during which I was able to meet some fabulous people and share a lot about the mission, I collapsed in my motel room from Sunday to Wednesday, trying to recover.
However, I kept getting worse, and on Wednesday I decided to trust God's protection and head up to Richmond, Indiana, to stay with my parents. I arrived in horrible condition with a raging fever and a worsening cough, and within a few days my health had deteriorated even further to the point that I went to a clinic. Armed with a diagnosis and powerful antibiotics, the Lord quickly helped me to get to the point where I was able to preach and teach Sunday school on missions in Argentina at Christ the King Reformed Episcopal Church (Dayton) and then head down to St. Barnabas Anglican Church (Covington) to meet the good people of that mission and share about what God is calling me to do in Argentina. The rest of the week was spent in part in convalescence, but I also had meetings with potential donors as well as with the leadership of Trinity Reformed Episcopal Church (Mason).
All of this has meant that, though the Lord was gracious and allowed me to keep most of my major commitments during my deputation period in the Midwest, he also through this illness prevented me from sharing about the mission in Louisville, Lexington, Columbus, and to some extent even in Cincinnati. While this comes with some personal frustration, I am absolutely convinced that our heavenly Father is Lord of life, death, health, and sickness, and that this has been his loving visitation. In addition, the One who has called me to serve him in Argentina will be faithful to get me there. He may have shut the door to my raising support in those churches, but he has great plans for me, for our whole missions team, and for his sheep in Argentina.
After Thanksgiving with my family, I am back in San Diego, preached this past Sunday (the First Sunday in Advent), and look forward to a week of continued recuperation and preparation for the mission field. Please keep me in your prayers as I continue to find the balance between healthy, responsible rest and diligence in what God has given me to do in the time that he has given me to do it.
