We finally arrived at the Mercy Ships International Operations Center on Tuesday, January 2nd. After a week of packing, donating, and giving away, we made the trek from Georgia to Lindale, Texas. We were able to get the remainder of our "stuff" onto a moving truck and only filled up the front 20% of it! We have placed half of it in the warehouse to be shipped over by container ship to arrive when we get to Africa. Lindale is in East Texas, and we are at least 10+ minutes from the nearest Wal-Mart - hopefully we will survive! Emily and Will have already made friends with 2 children going with us to Africa with their parents, as well as several other children who live on the IOC campus. There are apparently trampolines in East Texas, too!
It's been a great few days so far. Emily and Will started school last week in the local Van Elementary School. Melissa's mom, Elaine, also came to Texas with us to help out with Stephen while we are in class and training each day - she's been a huge help so far. We met our Gateway team Saturday - we have new friends from the United Kingdom (England), South Africa, California, Pennsylvania, and Texas. We'll spend the next 5 weeks developing our relationships with God, each other, and we will learn how to live in a community of 400+ diverse people from over 30 different countries. The next 5 weeks are packed full, and we will fly out to Togo on February 16th. I can't believe it is finally here! We'll try to keep everyone up to date by newsletter and Facebook - so "friend" us on Facebook if you haven't already!
It's been a great few days so far. Emily and Will started school last week in the local Van Elementary School. Melissa's mom, Elaine, also came to Texas with us to help out with Stephen while we are in class and training each day - she's been a huge help so far. We met our Gateway team Saturday - we have new friends from the United Kingdom (England), South Africa, California, Pennsylvania, and Texas. We'll spend the next 5 weeks developing our relationships with God, each other, and we will learn how to live in a community of 400+ diverse people from over 30 different countries. The next 5 weeks are packed full, and we will fly out to Togo on February 16th. I can't believe it is finally here! We'll try to keep everyone up to date by newsletter and Facebook - so "friend" us on Facebook if you haven't already!
1) Prayer Support - we need you to pray for us, specifically for our family's training in Texas, our move and transition to Africa and ship life, physical health and safety in traveling, and for us to see and experience the hand of God at work around the world - not just in the African patients, but in the 1500+ volunteers that we will meet over the next year.
2) Financial Support - as of January 1st, we are about $30,000 short of our goal for the first 2+ years. We have been blown away by God's provision and the generosity of so many of you so far! Currently, we are about $1000/month short of our monthly goals. If you feel God's leading and are able, we would love for some of you to partner with us monthly - whether $25, $50, $100, $200, or more. You can click on the link below and it will take you to the donation site of our blog. Donations can be designated as a one-time gift, or monthly, quarterly, or annually. All gifts are tax-deductible and Mercy Ships will send you a tax receipt. This is a way for so many of you with a heart for missions to partner and participate with us. We know that some are called to go, and many are called to send and support. We'd love to do this journey with you! Just follow the link below:
On December 24th, Melissa and I took Stephen to the Shriner's Hospital in Greenville, SC, for a second opinion regarding his foot and ankle problem. It was a great visit! The Surgeon and staff were extremely supportive, encouraging, knowledgeable, and friendly! This Shriner's Hospital is apparently the Southeastern regional referral center for this type of Orthopedic problem. The Surgeon already knew what the best procedure would be and the best timetable for scheduling the surgery. We were also able to meet with a Prosthetist who has had over 30+ years experience with this sort of problem. Stephen was also accepted into the Shriner's program and will be cared for until he is 18 years old - with or without medical insurance - including any and all custom-made prosthetics he will need! What a huge answer to prayer! We have tentatively scheduled surgery for October 16th in Greenville, so please be in prayer for that as well. It would be a 12-week process from surgery to walking. Melissa would have to remain in the US for the duration, but I would likely have to return to Africa after a month. There are still a lot of details to work out before then.
Our new address while in Texas:
Dr. Kevin and Melissa Trapnell
c/o Mercy Ships - Gateway
PO Box 2020
Lindale, Texas 75771
c/o Mercy Ships - Gateway
PO Box 2020
Lindale, Texas 75771
0 comments:
Post a Comment