Amundson Anthem October 2009

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore. Psalm 125: 1-2

As many of you know from Heather’s blog, our family has been on a bit of a roller coaster since our last prayer but, praise be to God, things seem to be getting better, so we wanted to send out an “official” update to let you know what has been going on.

First – Heather’s health
During Sept. and early October Heather’s health was a roller-coaster. We have switched Dr.’s and hospitals and we feel like we are getting much better communication with our Dr (who also speaks English quite well). To try and summarize all that happened, we have been slowly lowering Heather’s medication which for the past three weeks really stopped all activity for Heather. The doctor did have her go off her medication for 48 hours in order to take “THE” test of all tests to confirm or deny Addison’s disease. The result is – Heather DOES NOT have Addison’s!! We certainly praise God for this result! However we also wonder what has been going on for the past year then. Due to the negative results the Dr. is taking Heather slowly off the medication she has been on the last year. She has been really tired, but thankfully, the last three days have been much better. We do not know what is going on yet, but praise God that “the LORD surrounds his people” and we can trust him. Keep praying!! We’ll let you know more as we know more.

Second – The Church
This whole month has been mission’s month at our church and we have had various missionaries come and speak at our church (this coming Sunday – 25-Oct, I will be preaching again), and it has been a blessing. This past Sunday we had just over 50 people at church, and over seven different countries represented!!! It is a pleasure to be serving with such a great pastor and group of believers!!! Please be praying as we continue to grow that we can keep this momentum, that we will grow in spiritual depth, and we can grow our ministries to the community. I (Doug) will be starting a Sunday school series on Ephesians this Sunday as well which should last the next 6 to 7 weeks. It seems incredible that 2 years ago I knew nothing in Spanish, and now I’ll be teaching about pre-destination in Spanish – kind of blows the mind!! Praise be to God once again!! Heather has had a break from the ladies Bible study this past month due to a one-day ladies conference that I drove the ladies to last Saturday, as well as another conference this coming week. Heather is still teaching the teenage girls Sunday school class though and that has been going well. Pray for transparency in this class and deep spiritual growth and fruit!!

Third – The future is always changing!!
With Heather feeling better, and an urgent need at SCA (Santiago Christian Academy), Heather will be stepping in again to help teach a science class at SCA

starting next Wednesday. The need is really bigger then just this class, but due to the conflicting home school/church/family schedules, and Heather’s still uncertain future of her health, we felt more than one class would be too much. Please be praying about this change, and that God would sustain Heather’s health as she fills in this need. She is good at what she does when teaching, but we also do not want her health to relapse again!!

Fourth – Misc. Items
We had a work day at church as we continue to change the appearance of our church. Hannah had a great time painting, Caleb worked with some of the teens, and Heather and another lady spent two days throwing out excess junk and cleaning up the teaching materials for the kids. This past month we have also slipped from winter into spring. Sept. was full of important dates. Sept 11th is the anniversary of the military coup – which today is nothing more than an excuse to burn tires and break windows. Sept 18th is the national Independence Day, which was followed by some version of “Armed Service Day” two days later. We had over 30 jet fighters and over 50 military helicopters fly directly over our house – it was pretty cool. We have also “sprung forward” in our time so we are now 1 hour ahead of EST, and when you “fall back” in November we will be 2 hours ahead of EST.

Keep praying –your prayers are being answered marvelously here in Chile!!!

I HAVE A DREAM...

"...That all pastors should have a nice bathroom to..." - Douglas

That all pastors should be taken care of by their flock.

That all pastors should be blessed for their sacrifices.

That all pastors' families should feel loved and "pampered."

These are all dreams and we can't change the whole world, but we can think upon our pastor and our church here in Chile.

We as missionaries struggle with a balance each day. We have a code of conduct with ABWE that mandates that nationals not become dependent upon foreigners or foreign money for their daily existence, however the blessings that come from outside of Chile can always be a one time gift or blessing.

In my dream our church, because it is in a nice part of town, would have a nice parsonage. Think of a nice neighborhood near where you live, or possibly where you live. Think of a church right in the middle of that neighborhood with a trailer in the back yard. Now there is NOTHING wrong with a trailer! However, in the middle of that upscale neighborhood, what are people going to think of that church and its provisions for their pastor.

As of right now, our pastor, his wife, and their 4 children ages 21, 17, 16, and 9 live in a house that is LESS than 900 square feet with one bathroom (moldy, with missing tiles, and OLD), a SMALL alley kitchen (with no closing cabinets, only shelves and a stove that only has ONE working burner!), and 3 SMALL bedrooms (one is the size of a walkin closet). All of the neighboring homes are 2 floors with much more space.

In my FULL dream we would have enough money to put a second floor on the house with 2 more bedrooms and another bathroom, but for now my dream is smaller.

World wide it is true that you teach people how to treat you. If we teach or show our neighborhood that we can't take care of our pastor, then what will they think? Regardless of others' opinions, what does God think?

A year ago there were 15 or so people in our church. There was no full time pastor. December 8, 2008 our church began anew as a totally new church. We've changed our name. We've instituted new ministries. We have a new pastor. We've grown to 40 - 50 people on any given Sunday. We are a new and growing church. Therefore we are still young and learning is slow going. Therefore our church is still learning how to honor our pastor. Meanwhile, our pastor and his family "suffers." They would NEVER complain of this! They are from a humble background and have NEVER ONCE COMPLAINED!

All that to say...

I have a dream that people from the US would help us in blessing our pastor with a new kitchen and bathroom.

Here is where my dream hits specifics. Money. It is MUCH cheaper to build down here, especially if the labor is free. Then, if we could have a team of 3 or 4 men to come and do the work that would be even better.

I have a dream. Do you have a dream? Can you help us with our dream? Can we help you with your dream?

We know what it's NOT

IT'S NOT ADDISON'S DISEASE!!! WOW! After over a year of taking these steroids and I don't/may not need them. So why did they help? We'll know more as we progress. The doctor says that there are many things that can make one feel faint, exhausted, and have the symptoms that I had/have sometimes. For now, we begin lowering my medicines even more and then when I'm totally off of those steroids then she'll run tests. She wants to wait so that we get the purest reading possible.

We'll update you as soon as we know anything more. God bless & Please keep praying!

Back in the amusement park

OK, so the Doctora called last night. She said that the results were normal and therefore, believes that I do not have Addison’s Disease. So now is the BIG question. What do I have? I tested positive while in Costa Rica for having been exposed to Epstein Barr (Mono), but not having an active virus of Mono. Therefore maybe this is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which sometimes results when Epstein Barr becomes chronic. We don’t know, these are all speculations! For right now, the doctora is having me stay on the low dosage of meds that I was on while she talks to another endocrinologist to get his opinion. Then more tests of various kinds. We’ll see!

Thanks for all the prayers! We’ll keep you updated as things progress!
Heather

Update on Heather

The doctor’s appointment with the new doctor went WONDERFULLY! The doctor is REALLY GOOD! She put it this way, in regards to doctors and bedside manners. There can be a beautiful ring that may be great, but if it doesn’t fit, what good is it? Exactly my thoughts. The former doctor was good, he knew what he was talking about, but he didn’t listen to me and therefore, I’m thankful to now have a doctor who is listening to me and is much more personable.

Anyway, she suspended my medicines Monday and Tuesday and this morning, Doug and I went to the laboratory to have the ACTH Stimulation test run. Once we got there, I was really weak and they finally put me in a wheel chair when I told them I couldn’t walk and thought I either might be sick or pass out. The test went well and I’ve retaken my medicines, including the VERY LOW DOSAGE of corisol that I’ve been taking. This will help to ward off passing out when standing, but won’t give me the energy to function on a regular basis. Therefore, after I finish this e-mail, I’m headed back to bed.

Praising God For…
Friends and Family who are praying for me and calling to check on me.
My ABWE family here in Chile that has and is providing some meals for us.
My Chilean sisters (Julie, Sandra, and Melissa) who have been coming to help me with cleaning the house and watching the kids so that Doug can still work and so that he can care for me.
A doctor who even gives me her home address to pick up the prescription to have the tests run. SHE IS AWESOME!!
AN AMAZING HUSBAND who loves and cares for me, even when I’m a blob.

Praying For…
Continued energy
A firm answer as to what is going on, especially if it isn’t Addison’s Disease!
Patience
Trust in God for all of our strength

Thank you again! Please check our blog for future updates. We will try to send out general e-mails, but the blog is easier to update.

Heather Amundson

THANKFUL to be OFF the Roller Coaster

God is SOOO GOOD! I received a response through a connection from one of our ABWE professional health staff members at home office. The ACTH test would be done very similarly to what has been proposed here. I AM IN GOOD HANDS right here in Chile! There would be only one VERY SLIGHT adjustment that I will talk over with the doctor and I'm sure she'll be willing to accomodate. I have peace that God is teaching me to trust, give Him back control, and rest in the fact that I am in the center of HIS will.

Thanks for praying and supporting me.

Which ride am I on now??

Overall, I just don't like amusement parks. I tend to get a headache from the beating sun, bad food, and rides that mess with ones body. So the answer to our questions is that I'm still on the roller coaster.

We had a WONDERFUL appointment with this new lady doctor today. She is willing and ready to listen to the patient who knows her body. She is personable. She gave me all of her contact info should I have an emergency. I really like her!

During the appointment she told me she'd still like to do the ACTH stimulus test, but that she'd admit me in the hospital to drop all of my med. There they could monitor me and then on the AM of the 3rd day, they'd do the test. She took my contact info and told me that she'd call me once she had everything set up. I was ok with this course of action until....

She called me about 5 hours later saying that she wouldn't be putting me in the hospital, but that she'd be in contact everyday I'm off meds. Instead of telling me what we were going to do, she told me to talk to my husband and think it over and she'd call again on Monday to find out my decision.

As of now, I don't know what to do. I may still be returning to the states, but I don't want to run "home" everytime there is something wrong. On the other side, as our regional administrator's wife put in a comment on Facebook, "Addison's is nothing to sneeze at!"

Tomorrow I will be contacting some doctors in the states to find out what the process is of retesting an addison's patient. If the docs in the states are going to do the same exact thing, then why pay the money to go back to the states to do it.

Please pray...

• That God would give Doug and I the certainty that we need in making this decision.
• That I would be able to find out the process that the doctors use there in the US. (Normally when diagnosing addison's, Doctors use the ACTH stimulus test BEFORE a patient in on any kind of medication. For me, I've been on these meds for over a year and so there needs to be some time meds free before the test is administered. )
• That IF I do go off my meds for the 2 days that God will be my great physician and that He would protect me.
• That God would teach me what I need to learn while I'm in this special amusement park of medicine.

Thanks for all of the support! It means SO MUCH!