November Prayer Letter Update

Ephesians 3:16-18
(16) I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, (17) so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, (18) may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

Dear Friends and Supporters,

As we speed past Thanksgiving and move to Christmas, I pray that the above passage from Ephesians would be your prayer for us, as I know it is our prayer for you. A prayer that we would be awed by God’s incredible love, that we would be rooted in his love, and that we could begin to grasp just “how wide and long and high and deep in the love of Christ.” A life-long endeavor that will need an eternity to understand!!

First of all we want to say THANK YOU to each and every person that has been praying and supporting our family financially this past year. In spite of the very difficult circumstances in the U.S. this year, our supporters (you) have been so very faithful. Year-to-date, the finances that God has brought in have been at 97% of the committed monthly financial support. I find this amazing, and very humbling, that in-spite of the very difficult circumstances in the U.S., that all of you have been so very faithful in your giving. Thank-you so much!! Currently we stand at 95% (short $275 each month) of the required funds needed per ABWE. Please (1) praise God with us for the faithful monthly dedication of our supporters, and (2) pray that God will raise up for us the needed difference in the near future.

Secondly we wanted to update you on the various health issues. Heather is doing great!! She is completely off her Addison’s medication she was taking for the past year and a half, and thankfully her body has responded the way it needed to. The transition was very difficult coming off the medication, but she is doing wonderful now. Roughly 3 weeks ago she went to go see a heart doctor and he believes that the problems were caused by blood pressure issues. Heather has started some new medication and so far all has been going smoothly. Heather will return to see the doctor in a couple weeks to verify that everything is correct.

I (Doug) on the other hand have had another round with Basel cell cancer. Many of you remember that I had a biopsy last year in Costa Rica that was cancerous from my nose. Well the skin had started to dry and peel all over again so I went to the doctor to see what he thought. Three days later (17-Dec) they put me to sleep and did a little more invasive “surgery/biopsy.” The results were positive for cancer once again, but the Doctor is positive that they got all of the cancer. After the surgery I had twelve stitches in my nose (he pulled the skin to help cover the part he cut out), and the side of my face was covered in tape. I still have tape on my face, and stitches in my nose, but praising God that the cancer is out once again!! If you want pictures you can go to Heather’s blog to check them out – I figured not everybody would want to look at those in this letter!! (http://amundsonanthem.blogspot.com/)

“Good News Baptist” has been doing great and nearly every week we see new faces. We recently had a new family start attending (extended family of Pastor Contreras) who are Christians but have not been attending anywhere for some time. Heather’s ladies bible study has been doing well, and she has seen some really good results in her class with the teenage girls. Last week the group really opened up to each other and we praise God for the spiritual growth in these girls. I am still teaching through Ephesians in Sunday School, but thankfully Pastor has taught last week, and will teach again this week for me while I recover from my surgery. I have two more weeks to teach in early December and then Pastor will begin a different series while I begin work on what-ever I will teach again next year.

As we look to the future of ABWE here in Chile we certainly ask your prayers. Currently ABWE has a young man (to be married very soon) who is looking to start a camp ministry here in central Chile. This has been on the hearts of ABWE, and more importantly the national pastors, for quite some time. There will be a pastor’s meeting on December 15th at 9:30 to discuss this topic. Please pray that God’s leading would be more than evident as this is obviously a huge ministry opportunity in a city with more than 6 million people.

Thank you so much for your faithfulness, love, and encouraging notes during our first nine months here in Chile. We are looking forward, with God’s help, to the next 35 years!!

Doug, Heather, Caleb & Hannah

Praises

Continued growth in both the Sunday and Thursday services at our church.

Further clarification for Heather’s blood pressure problems

Successful cancer surgery for Doug

Prayer Requests

Money for keyboard for ministry.

Family Life balance between home-schooling, teaching at SCA, office work, and work at “Good News Baptist”

Good finish to Ephesians Sunday School Series

Heather’s teaching with the teenage girls and Ladies Bible study.

Discussions regarding ABWE starting a camp ministry here in Chile.

Doug's Surgery

It's been a week since Doug's surgery and had/has about 12 stitches. He some of those stitches removed on Monday but the doctor thought that some others needed more time to heal. Here's proof. (If you get sick at all at looking at blood don't look at the last 2 pictures.)

Doug's Surgery

Doug did well. The surgery was more extensive than they thought before, but they did get all the cancer (Basel Cells) The doctor says that Doug has bad skin, so we'll probably have to deal with this again in the future. Let's pray not!!!

Doug is hospitalized tonight and should be home sometime tomorrow (Wednesday). Thanks for praying!

Health Update

Dear family and friends,

We wanted to keep you updated on our health. As you know Heather was diagnosed with Addison’s Disease while we studied Spanish in Costa Rica. However, after further testing here in Chile, the doctors here have determined that she does NOT have Addison’s! YAHOO!! So what is it? The cardiologist that Heather saw on Tuesday thinks that Heather suffers from Disautonomy which is a condition that causes the veins of the legs and feet not to constrict when standing. Therefore Heather feels faint and her heart begins to beat rapidly to make up for the lower blood pressure and lack of oxygen to the brain. Heather has begun taking the medication that the doctor recommended and she will meet with her cardiologist again in one month.

Doug also has seen doctors recently. As many of you may recall, while in Costa Rica Doug was diagnosed with cancer on the skin of his left nostril. Well, after seeing a dermatologist and oncologist today, Doug will be having blood work tomorrow in preparation for another surgery next Tuesday to cut out the infected area and to make sure that the cancer hasn’t spread any further. The doctor had wanted to do the surgery sooner, but Doug has a cold and therefore is concerned about that clearing up first.

Please pray that Doug’s cold would clear up before Tuesday. Please be in prayer for Dr. Acevedo and the anesthesiologist as they operate at 1:00 pm (EST) next Tuesday. Please also pray that we would leave all things in God’s hands and trust HIM completely!!

We will keep you updated after the surgery!

We Have An Answer

Through this whole medical mystery, I've wondered, "If I don't have Addison's Disease, then why was the medication, especially the Florinef, helping me to live a normal life?" Well, yesterday I got my answer. Florinef helps Addison's patients to control their low blood pressure. When I was off the Florinef my blood pressure would drop and my heart would start to race causing attackacardia (a heart rate over 100). Once I reached 156 beats per minute with a normal blood pressure measurement. The reason for my blood pressure drop and attackacardia was not because of my addrenal glands, rather it is from my veins not constricting when I stand or do any kind of activity. This causes my circulation to slow causing my blood pressure to drop and my brain to call for more oxygen which makes me dizzy and then my heart tries to compensate by beating faster. This condition is called Disautonomy. (I think that's it in English. We did the whole doctor's visit in Spanish.) So now I'm on another drug that will help to constrict the veins in my feet and allow my blood pressure not to drop as far when I stand up. I'll see the doctor in another month, but for now I'm glad to have a viable diagnosis!

International Day at our House

A week ago Sunday, we had a sort of international dinner here at our house. This was unplanned and I really didn't think about it before we got here and Doug pointed it out. Our guests included Yvonne or Ibodne that we've mentioned in our prayer letter. She is from Ecuador. Hattie, a new friend we met through some fellow ABWE missionaries in China. Hattie is Chinese and is Seeking. She is here in Chile for 1 year and she has chosen to spend time with us at our church. We also have a friend and fellow missionary here in Chile to teach at our missionary kids' school. Jean or Gina as we call her, has been a missionary in Peru, Colombia, and a US church planter alongside her husband. Now she is here giving of her time once again to help our international students.

Hattie doesn't speak much Spanish. She knows some English, but it is rough. None of us speak Chinease and Yvonne speaks Spanish but now English. So, as you may have guessed our dinner was truly and international conversation. On top of all of that, I had made a Guatemalan dish made of chicken cooked in a tomato based sauce that my maid in Costa Rica taught me. However, I accidently used hot read peppers instead of sweet red peppers. OH WELL!! Live and learn!!! It all tasted GREAT, especially since all those present at dinner/lunch like a bit of spicy. Praise the Lord!

Hattie is continuing to come to church. We pray that she will understand enough in English and/or Spanish to come to know Christ as her personal saviour. Please pray that we, Gina and our family as well as other Christians she comes into contact with, will demonstrate what true faith in Jesus Christ is and that Hattie will come to know Jesus as her saviour.

PS - I took a picture of the 3 ladies on my couch, but due to our camera only taking video and our video camera only taking pictures it didn't come out. I guess it is time to get a new camera!