Vacation with a Hiccup 

In late October we headed to Scotland to spend time with Heather. We took a train to the northwestern town of Oban and Heather's boyfriend, Spencer, met us there. From there we rode ferries and ended up on the tiny island of Iona. 

Iona is famous as the first outpost of Christianity in Scotland established by an Irish Abbot, St. Columba in the 7th century AD. After a wonderful 5 day visit with Heather and Spencer, we traveled on to Barcelona, Spain. Alberta and I have been talking about doing a 're-positioning' cruise where a ship is moved from a summer season location like the Mediterranean to a winter season location like the Caribbean. These cruises tend to be less expensive with fewer ports of call and more shipboard time, which suited us! 

The 'hiccup' came about 3 days out in the Atlantic from Portugal on our way to Tampa Florida. I (Steve) developed what doctors on the ship suspected was a bowel obstruction. I was confined to the sick bay of the ship for 3 days and hooked up with all the monitors and tubes they could muster. The doctors, in consultation with the ship's captain, considered diverting the ship to Bermuda to get me to a hospital but a storm mysteriously developed with forecasts of 20-30 ft. seas, squashing that idea. 

To make a long story short, I started improving and the idea of putting me ashore early somewhere faded. Alberta was able to send out some prayer requests with complimentary internet service and we are thankful that so many prayed for our situation. There is still some mystery as to what kind of blockage I experienced.  We've met with our primary care doctor and I'll be getting further testing in the coming days. It is Thanksgiving Day and we are surely reminded how thankful we can be for a Great God and praying friends and family. Here is wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving to you and your family. 

Prayer Requests:

1. Pray for Steve's follow-up medical evaluations that we can determine the cause of this medical emergency and anything that will help to avoid  a repetition.

2. Pray for our family as we gather in Johnson City to celebrate the Christmas holidays. We look forward to having both Heather and Krista with us.

3. Pray for our parent organization, Bethany International as they complete the sale of their headquarters property in Bloomington, MN and move to new offices. This will streamline their overhead and help them adapt to the new environment of full online training for Bethany Global University. We are grateful that the Bethany Missions continues to send and support missionaries to reach the unreached as envisioned 80 years ago.

Serving Christ with You, Steve and Alberta