Progress Report

I am doing remarkably well. The stitches came out on Thursday and the scar on my neck is healing. It looks like in time you won't be able to see it. I can move my neck without pain and can see a great deal of improvement in my movements. Today I started the physical therepy (I call it Physical Torture) and that will also be a big help. The only setback is that I still don't have my voice back and the doctor ordered me not to utter a word for at least a week to help the nerves heal. Mark is enjoying that part. It looks like the surgery is a big success. Yippee!

There's Nothing Like Good Friends

I must say that this has been a very difficult two weeks. Trying to make decisions about my health and whether or not to have the surgery. But, having the love and support of all our dear friends has been a life saver. You really don't realize how many friends you have until you go through something like this. First, Dan and Tina from the Galapagos Islands happened to fly in Sunday before my surgery and were kind enough to spend the entire day with Mark and I to try to keep our minds off the impending surgery on Monday. We ate lunch together (I was trying to eat all I could because only soup and mush allowed after the surgery) and we walked downtown Cuenca to see the sights. How kind of them to sacrifice their time to cheer us up.

Then Monday rolled around and Look who came to see me in the hospital. I can't believe all the love and support. Not to mention all the lovely flowers, visits and well wishers. Thank you everyone. Your presence and continued support really helped Mark cope with a difficult situation and I must say it did wonders for me to see all your faces as I came out of the anesthesia. When your family isn't available it's wonderful to have your extended spiritual family around for love and support. We both appreciate it very much. I'm doing well as you can see I am actually typing this blog 3 days after the surgery! And the stitches come out this afternoon. Who knows what I will be doing next!

She's O.K.

Hola Becky's Friends, it's the crazy kiwi reporting for Becky here. She wanted you all to know she is doing fine after the surgery! Of course still in pain but able to walk and move around fairly freely. I am pleased to report that she has not lost her sense of humor and can even crack a smile, if not quite laugh cause it hurts too much.

Mark is truely living up to the "Man Among Men" fridge magnet they have on their refridgerator and is at this moment giving her a back massage. What a good feller! I am sure Becky will keep him on a bit longer!

Regards to you all from a land down under

Beth

Tomorrow's the Big Day

I go in the hospital tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. The surgery is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. I wanted the early spot to ensure that the doctor would be fresh and alert.

Friday, Mark talked to the doctor to finalize some paperwork and ask more questions. The doctor informed him that the surgeon that invented this procedure and taught our doctor is flying in from Brazil to assist in my surgery. The amazing part is that he is coming as a favor to my doctor and is doing it all pro bono. The doc told Mark that since I need two levels replaced instead of one, he feels better having his mentor along for the ride. I must say that I feel better also. Eddie Orrellana a local doctor and brother who is on the Liaison Committee will also be present in the operating room He is doing this as a favor to help me feel easier and just in case an issue with the blood should arise. The chances of that are slim since this is not a bloody procedure. But, it is nice to have that peace of mind. Jehovah is really looking after us and we can see His hand in so much that has happened.

We will keep you updated on my progress. I'll write again as soon as the doctor gives me the okay.

Oh What a Week

This has been a very frustrating week and I am really trying not to freak out. I know that this is a minimally invasive procedure and I am trying to focus on that fact. But, I'm still having trouble with the idea of someone cutting on my neck and fiddling around with my spinal cord.

Oh well....The doctor told us two weeks ago that I needed to go ahead and have the surgery on my neck to correct the two herniated disks. He didn't want to wait any longer since the problem is getting worse and I am experiencing more and more pain and side effects. So, we set up the surgery for this coming Monday. During the week we had to take care of all the pre op tests, i.e. blood test, EKG and lung Xray. That wasn't too bad, everything came out normal, except my cholesterol is a tiny bit high. What do you expect since I haven't been able to exercise for a while? But, the doc said it wasn't too high and wouldn't be a problem with the surgery.

So you may ask what is so frustrating? Well we had to sell our assets in the States to pay for the surgery and have the money wired here to our savings account. Our bank in the States tells us we can't wire that amount of money from outside the USA. Then we came up with the great plan to wire the money to Mark's brother's account and he could then wire it to Ecuador from the USA. Our bank won't allow us to do that either. They enjoy making things difficult I think. All Wednesday we have been going crazy trying to figure this out. You see, the hospital will not allow me to check out unless the amount is paid in full. They will literally keep me prisoner until they get their money. Isn't that crazy? Fortunately, Mark's brother has kindly offered to wire the money from his account to ours and then we can just send him a check to pay him back. We finally got that settled. And another person has kindly offered to loan us what we need to make up the difference for which we are very thankful. So here I an making plans to go into the hospital on Monday and Mark made his plans at work to be off the two days necessary. Then our Doctor called last night to say that he is changing hospitals and that may change the day of the surgery. He now wants to do the surgery in Monte Sinai. We have been told that Monte Sinai is a more expensive hospital especially dealing with foreigners. I guess they think we are all millionaires. HAH! However, the doctor is trying to get us a discount. He seems to think it will be a bit cheaper. We have to wait and see.

I just want this to be over with and be able to get on with my life. Hopefully, this time next week I will be pain free and starting on a new life. Won't that be grand? I apologize for the pity party I'm indulging in, I just needed to let off some steam. Thanks for listening.

Farewell to Donna

Today we had a very happy and a very sad event. Donna, my English study, has made such a miraculous recovery that her doctors sent her home to Salinas. She was to stay at least another two weeks in the hospital. It is wonderful that she is better, but I am sad to lose her as a study. She will continue to study in Salinas with a sister.

The staff of the hospital came to give her a going away party. They brought balloons, streamers, gifts and everyone ate pizza. They even brought music to dance. It was interesting to watch even the doctors get up and dance. Can you imagine that in the USA? I don't think so. Everyone was very nice and they were all wishing her well. It was fun to see. Donna apparently made quite an impression on everyone at the hospital.

Donna promises to keep in touch and we will be communicating by telephone. She says she will leave the difficult questions for me to answer (funny). With tears in her eyes she thanked me for teaching her the Bible and giving her a foundation in the truth. Of course, we know all the thanks goes to Jehovah. I will miss her very much, but I am hoping I will be able to be present at her baptism at the English convention in Guayaquil. That is her goal. Wouldn't that be great? So, I guess is back to business and teaching again in Spanish. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Meet Donna Nicoll

Meet my English study Donna. She is recovering from surgery and we study twice a week in her hospital room. She is an amazing study and is thirsty for Bible truth. We come away after every study just beaming because we can't believe how well she is understanding and applying what she learns.

It's also fun because Donna is from TEXAS! What a small world. It's been great to hear the accent and talk about things in common. But, the most amazing thing is that Donna truly believes what she learns and is applying it in her life. She expresses her appreciation for Jehovah on a daily basis and is overcoming many obstacles.

Please keep her in your prayers.

Today I made her a good old fashioned Texas Chocolate Meringue Pie and took it to her. What a treat that was and what a joy to see how much she enjoyed it. Brought back memories of Texas.

The Kiwi's Debut

There is an English group now in Cuenca and once a month there is an English public talk and Watchtower Study. This past Sunday, Mark James from New Zealand gave the public talk. It was the first time we heard him speak publicly. But, it wasn't quite fair because he gave the talk in English instead of Spanish. Okay, Mark, now you have to get with the program and work on that Spanish outline. Anyway, quite a few showed up for the shindig and a good time was had by all. After the talk, we all went to a French restaurant and enjoyed an afternoon of good food and good company. It was so nice to talk English and understand EVERYTHING! Here is a little clip of the talk.

Also, I'm adding a couple of photos of new faces. Franke is visiting from Germany. She speaks German, English and French. She lived two years in Cameroon, Africa. Now she is trying her hand with Spanish and doing a good job of it. She started learning Spanish just five days ago. I took her on my bible study and she asked if she could read a paragraph in Spanish. She read so well, that the bible student couldn't believe that she just started learning. (I secretly hate her. No I'm just kidding :) ). They say your third and fourth languages are easy to learn. I wouldn't know since I'm still working on the first two.

The Scarborough Family just moved to Cuenca from Atlanta, Georgia. We hope they enjoy their new life in Ecuador.

Now for an update on Soyla, the Bible Student who recently lost her one month old baby. Today, Beth and I visited her to study. What a wonderful experience. Speaking about the fact that we are living in the last days I asked her if she believed that we truly are living in the last days. She said "yes" but, just yesterday, she was talking with her sister about what she was learning. She said that her sister was saying that she couldn't believe because she wasn't sure that the bible was truly from God since it was written by men. Soyla started to preach to her sister using the book and the bible explaining the reasons why she believes that the Bible is from God. So, she has started sharing what she is learning. Also, talking about the fulfillment of prophecy regarding Matthew 24:14, I asked Soyla if she saw the fulfillment of Jesus' words. She said yes and she added with tears in her eyes "when my baby died, I felt that God sent you to me." We all started to cry. By the end of the chapter, we talked about what each one of us need to do to survive the last days and we read Hebrews 10:24, 25 about attending meetings. Soyla immediately asked where the Kingdom Hall was located and what days and times were the meetings. She said she was going to attend Sunday and expressed an appreciation for the necessity of attending meetings to learn more and please Jehovah. I think Beth and I were walking on clouds afterward.

Never Assume

I have a doorstep study with a young woman named Soyla. She has been a very consistent and interesting study. For the last two weeks, however, I haven't been able to reach her and I was beginning to think that maybe she was avoiding my visits. Finally, Tuesday I was passing by her store and decided to stop by to see what was up. She immediately invited me in and started to cry. She told me that her one month old baby boy, Cristian, died. I immediately broke down and cried with her. Apparently, Cristian was born with a defect that the doctors didn't catch until it was too late and he died while in surgery to correct the problem. Her husband, Andres, who always avoids me came out to talk to Mark and I as we were trying to comfort Soyla. We talked about the resurrection and that Cristian is in Jehovah's memory. They both listened and appreciated the comfort and asked us to come back. Today, I went by to give them the brochure "When Someone You Love Dies" and Soyla again asked me in and wanted the answer to some of her questions. First, she said that she was always told that when you die your soul returns to God. But, she was reading the Bible Teach book and noticed that the soul dies. So she wanted to know where was Cristian. We explained to her that Cristian was in Jehovah's memory and that he will resurrect him in the paradise. She then told us that her family was telling her that since Cristian hadn't been baptized in the church that he was condemned in Purgatory and that was very upsetting to her. Again, we explained that the teaching of Purgatory was not a bible teaching and that Cristian was simply resting until Jehovah called him. Soyla really appreciated the information and by the time we left she even smiled a bit. We go back on Monday to continue our regular study.

I learned a great lesson not to assume someone doesn't want to study just because you can't reach them. So keep trying to contact those who show interest even though it may seem like forever before you can contact them again.