There is peace in the valley

This line of a hymn is somewhere in the far recesses of my memory but surfaced this morning in my thoughts.(Perhaps someone can enlighten me more )

This week things have changed for us and I wanted you, our supporters to be aware of where we are.

During last week between the 2 hospital appointments ,when a stent or colostomy were being considered to relieve some of Dave's symtoms , he deteriorated such that by the consultant appt on Friday it was not feasible.
Over the bank holiday week end he became weaker and is now eating very little .A visit from the hospice doctor on Thursday brought better pain relief.

So I return to my opening line -we do feel like we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death -but we fear no evil for we know that our Good Shepherd is with us ( references to Psalm 23)-so we have found peace in the valley.

It was with joy that Peter and Ruth were able to visit this week to bring our latest granddaughter to see us.All of them are thriving which is great.

So the circle of life continues.

We remain grateful for all your continuing prayers for us as a family

It's a girl !

Thank you faithful readers for hanging in there with us during this long silence.

The truth was that I was awaiting the arrival of Peter and Ruth's baby .She arrived this morning and we thank God for her safe debut into the world .Mum and daughter (and Dad) are all well .No name as yet as they had been told to expect a son! so it's back to square 1 with name .

Mim and Besi returned to Albania at the end of March when Jonathan was 11 days old. They are doing well and Jonathan is growing at a rate.Thank God for Skype and other technologies even though it frustrates me at times that I lack mastery of such gadgets.

Dave has had a difficult few weeks with intermittent backache and discomfort in his gut.
This has meant disturbed nights and no pleasure in eating .
We are due to see the original consultant, who diagnosed the tumour in December '08, on Friday with hope that she may be able to bring Dave some relief.

We have been greatly blessed by visits from our church family at Cairns and also from old friends ( perhaps 'long standing' would be a kinder adjective!) ,who have taken time to come and pray with us.
In prayer last evening we were reminded that in Psalms 23 we are promised that 'even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we fear no evil for God is with us ' The thought being that it is only the shadow of death as we have the promise of eternal life which continues .
For those of you that pray for us please join with us in thanking God for our journey thus far ,for the arrival of our grandchildren .We need wisdom for up coming decisions on possible treatment and grace for each day .

Waiting well??

Much has happened, but my own health remains static and sluggish. This a rare foray to the PC. I'm now officially retired from Bristol City Council, but had the opportunity last week to visit some of them for a final presention. I spoke of my 20 years with them, remembering the fulfilments, but admitting to the frustrations, and the hope that the latter did not cloud their memories of our times together.
This week has brought the good news of a UK settlement visa for Maki, ( he flies back to UK next Wednesday).
And then last night, the safe arrival of our first grandson, Jonathan Gorrea weighing in at 9lbs - all well and due home later today. They plan swift application for passport, still aiming for return to Albania by Easter.
So life goes on, even if my own part seems that of bystander. Waiting has its rewards. Lord, may I wait patiently for you.

Plateau Living

Again you may be wondering what is going on with us as it is so long since our last blog. No news usually means that not much is happening and indeed that is the case.

Since the last episode of pneumonia it was recommended by the hospice dooctor that Dave should have a 2 week course of steroids then go onto a half dose.
This has produced a stable health for Dave.
We also had people come in and pray for us and we feel since then Dave has felt a little better. In our continuing journey our faith remains strong.
So what does our day look like. Dave spends the morning in bed, then transfers to the hospital bed we now have in the back bedroom(good for bird watching in the garden) then at tea time moves downstairs to lie on the sofa for the evening.
We still manage to get to church on Sunday as Dave can lie out on the back row. So life is enclosed in a relatively small world and we value visitors to bring the world in to us, as long as they realise Dave usually takes a listening role.

We may seem static but the rest of the family are not. Miriam arrived safely, retrieved from Gatwick by Steve. We are expecting Besi to arrive in UK this Thursday and after Steve's birthday bash -a karting night, they will arrive with us on Saturday.

Ruth Maki and Amelia moved into their borrowed flat on Feb 1. It is a great blessing and perfect for their needs. Maki had hoped to be able to sort his settlement visa out from this end but found out this was not possible and has had to return to Albania and is not expected back 'til early March. Please pray that his visa will be processed quickly and smoothly and also for the family in this critical time of separation.

We have also had a couple of visits from Peter and Ruth which has been good .Their first baby is due mid April.

So thank you again for your concern and prayers .We feel we are on somewhat of a plateau healthwise and also that we are in a season of waiting .

PS the post office delivered an empty envelope during the first week of Feb. If you sent us a square shaped missive at that time ( ?female writing .Bristol postmark) we have not received it please contact us.

January Update

Just thought I ( Elaine ) would give you all an update on our current state.

Dave had kept a fairly even existence since Christmas until last week, when the now familiar pain in the rightside of his chest heralded the onset of another bout of pneumonia. This was treated with antibiotics and appeared to be improving, however it brought chest pain and a general lowering of Dave's well being and appetite as well as vomiting. It was a rerun of the 'bad' week that we had in December which resulted in restarting the steroids with good results. So this morning in discussion with our GP we have made the same decision i.e. to have another course of steroids.

Please pray with us that this will produce an improvement for Dave's comfort.

We heard yesterday that Besi has been granted a year's visa, for which we thank God.

Ruth, Maki and Amelia will be able to move into their flat on Feb 1.

Steve has been 'chilling out 'with us this past week which has been good but returns home to Worthing tomorrow and will act as chauffeur for Miriam's arrival on Feb 2. Besi is expecting to arrive Feb18 and mini Gorrea March 7 - British Airways may be more dependable date wise in this instance !

So as you can see we are in for a few weeks of comings and goings. Please pray for peace in it all.
Thank you for all your suppport and love .

We thank God for steroids

We are now into the post Christmas lull so time to update you faithful readers.

The week leading up to the arrival of the Albanian micos was a difficult one with Dave experiencing a marked dip physically - difficulty in eating or wanting to eat and discomfort in his 'tummy'. A visit from the hospice nurse brought the welcome suggestion that Dave should take another course of steroids. A week is standard ration so we planned to start them the day Ruth,Maki and Amelia were due to arrive which would also just take us up to Christmas. The change they brought was quite dramatic, all symptoms faded and a reasonable appetite returned. With such good results the doctor offered an additional 5 days. We enjoyed a good family time with Pete and Ruth,Ruth,Maki and Amelia,Steve and Dave's Mum who although delayed by the snow flew down from Edinburgh to join us. Thank you too for those who have visited.

We now have the distraction of having Amelia with us doing lion impressions and encouraging us to play with her by landing toys on our lap. The family are staying with us probably until the end of the month when they have a flat available to them. Ruth is currently job hunting.

Steroids ended last week but Dave still seems to be living in their benefit,to some extent.
We take a day at a time and I thank God for each new day that I still have Dave.

Miriam now has her flight booked for Feb 2 .Besi will be applying for his visa shortly please pray that will all go smoothly for him to join Mim for the birth.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and prayers for us. We are very conscious that we are not walking this path alone. We also wish you a very happy and fulfilling 2010.

Electronic Christmas Letter

I thought it might be useful to some of you to have a family update as it seems that we are in a period of changes for us all.

We are looking forward to two more grandchildren in 2010 which is great.Miriam and Besi are expecting their first at the beginning of March and Peter and Ruth in the middle of April. Both are doing well and we have seen the scans -the blessings of technology!

I am currently off work, stepping back at the beginning of November when Dave was taken into hospital with pneumonia. I am grateful to have such a supportive and understanding set-up and am assured that my job will be waiting for my return when appropriate.

So our time here together at present proceeds at a sedate rate. The 'lull before the storm'. By that I mean that on December 19 we have a late night arrival of Ruth,Maki and Amelia as well as Steve ,who is chauffeuring from Gatwick with a friend from church ( because of their extra luggage). Then Dave's Mum is flying down from Edinburgh for a week. Peter and Ruth complete the party on 23/24th. So we will certainly have our home full.

Mim and Besi have commitments at home in Sukth so will not be able to complete the family, but we had a fortnight's visit from Miriam in November. Over the last few months they have been building their flat as an extension over Besi's parent's house - turning what was a single storey home into 2 storeys with the possibility of further accommodation in the roof space if needed in the future. They have been living out of boxes and suitcases since moving out of their Durres flat in the summer so are itching to be able to move upstairs and unpack and create their home in time for Mim to leave to come to England for the birth of the baby. Besi will follow arriving in time for the birth, we all hope. Besi works as the pastor of the small church in Sukth. Next year they are intending to build a church in the village so their own house was just a practice run for the larger project !!Besi also is employed by 'Mission without Borders', distributing aid and caring for a number of local families. Miriam has been teaching English in the village. The demand for these classes has grown and comes to a grand finale this Saturday with a carol Concert. This will mark the end to classes until she feels ready to take them on again post baby.

Ruth and Maki and Amelia are arriving next w/e for a prolonged stay for Maki to take up further studies at Bristol Baptist College (2-3yrs). They had already made the decision to come before we knew of Dave's illness so we are very grateful to God for the timing of their being here. They will stay with us initially then have use of a flat nearby for 6 months.They intend either or both getting jobs until college begins in September.

Stephen has been living and working in Worthing for the last 18 months. He has been involved in making simplified English programmes which are broadcast worldwide to suport the learning of English. He had begun to think about moving on when the new CEO of FEBA - his mission organization retuned the focus of the mission and made the decision to pull their involvement with the programme. So Steve's work with FEBA comes to an end at Christmas. As yet there is nothing on the horizon. Steve feels settled in Worthing especially in the church there and is loathe to uproot yet again. For January he will freelance for the American partners who are continuing with the progamme. This has the added advantage of being able to come to Bristol to work while 'chilling' with the family. However it would be good for a new job to be settled before long.

Peter and Ruth continue in the same house, same job, and same church (Peter now a deaacon) in North Baddesley Southampton. It's good that somebody in the family is consistent! They are very much looking forward to the birth of their baby in mid April. Peter works for an IT consultancy. At the beginning of the year they were affected by the recession but as the year wore on business seems to have improved and Peter also has some ideas of further possible developments. Ruth usually fills her days with many and varied studies and voluntary work. She has had to lay some of these aside as the pregnancy drained much of her energy - this is improving now.

So many changes. So many unknowns.

So much to thank God for.