Missions

I pray you will take the time to watch these short video clips about missions and may God receive all the glory for what He plans to do through and in your life.

The Rarest of the Rare

Today is Friday, August 28 and Brian & I met with Anna Grace’s Pediatric Cardiologist for the first time today. His name is Dr. Raunikar and he practices here in Greenville. Our appointment today was for Anna Grace’s first echocardiogram to further diagnose her heart condition and to start the ball rolling for preparing a plan of action for her birth. We felt very fortunate to be able to see him so quickly because as most of you know we are only temporarily approved for Medicaid for 30 days. There are no guarantees that after 30 days we will have maternity coverage and so as many doctors’ appointments that we can fit in during this 30 day period is a blessing.

Dr. Raunikar is a man probably in his mid-forties with kind eyes and a quick smile. His bedside manner was impeccable and I felt at ease with him from that start. He also gave us an indication at the start of the meeting that he was a Christian as he quoted Psalm 139 to us as he began Anna Grace’s echocardiogram.

So, Dr. Raunikar proceeded to look at Anna Grace’s heart and surprisingly she seemed to want to cooperate today, which is certainly something to be thankful for. The doctor talked to us as he went through the examination of her heart and told us what he was looking at which we too were able to see on a large monitor they had mounted to the wall. He was glad to answer questions and he was very thorough. After about 30 minutes of examining her heart I was able to get dressed and we met him in another room to talk about what he found in less technical terms.

So basically he confirmed her diagnosis as Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome – which we already knew, but he explained in greater detail about Anna Grace’s specific heart defects. He explained it to us like this, which made a lot of sense to me. He said that to say someone has a learning disability would be a correct statement, but to say that someone had dyslexia would be a more correct statement. It is a more specific diagnosis. So, saying that Anna Grace has Hypoplastic Right Heart Syndrome is correct, but it is a broad diagnosis. Specifically, Anna Grace’s heart appears to have the following problems: (now this is about to get technical so some of you will find this helpful & some of you will want to skip right over it which I totally understand). The biggest issues which he was able to identify today are that she has: Tricuspid atresia with possible transposition of the great arteries as well as an arterial septal defect. Whew, it’s a mouthful isn’t it????? If you want to read more about it you can go to this page & it will explain in greater detail about these problems: http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/heart-encyclopedia/anomalies/tricuspid.htm

Dr. Raunikar then proceeded to tell us that this was the “rarest of the rare” for heart defects. So, the plan of action right now is that Brian & I will be traveling to Charleston to meet with a team of pediatric cardiology surgeons to get a second opinion on Dr. Raunikar’s diagnosis as well as come up with a more specific plan of action for her actual surgeries. I will also meet with a Maternal-Fetal Specialist in Charleston who will actually be doing my c-section. We are praying that we can get these visits scheduled before our 30 day Medicaid window expires so we sincerely hope that you will join us in praying that God will work these details out for us.

Dr. Raunikar said that the most probable plan of treatment for Anna Grace will be that she will be born in Charleston & upon her birth will have further testing done to re-confirm the findings from in the womb. Then depending on what they find upon her birth they will do her first surgery anywhere from a couple of days old to a few weeks old. If she gets through that surgery then at about 4 months she will have a heart cath done to be sure that her heart can sustain the second surgery (called the bi-direction glenn) which will be performed at about 6 months of age. If she makes it through that surgery then when she reaches 30 pounds she will have another heart cath to be sure her heart is strong enough to sustain the 3rd surgery (called a fontaine completion). These three surgeries are all open-heart surgeries and are pretty serious business for anyone, let alone a tiny baby. So…. Dr. Raunikar said that it really is critical that I not deliver her until at least 39 weeks and that she be delivered in Charleston. Also, the bigger she is the better. So – I am praying that I can carry her to 39 weeks & that she will be a BIG, BIG, CHUBBY baby! Zachary was 8 ½ pounds at 39 weeks so I’m praying that Anna Grace will match her big brother pound for pound!

We ended our visit with Dr. Raunikar by sharing our Faith with him and he in turn shared with us that he is also a Christian. As a matter of fact, he said that when he was in college he debated about being a Youth Minister or a Cardiologist. Obviously, God chose for him to go into medicine, but he is actively involved ministry in a closed situation so I can’t go into more detail about that other than to say that he is actively serving our Lord. What a blessing to have him as Anna Grace’s doctor! We prayed together at the conclusion of our meeting and it was truly a sweet time.

So, his office will be contacting us next week with the date of the appointments in Charleston. Brian & I will have to travel down there for a whirlwind day of doctor visits. Zachary of course will not be able to travel with us since this again is not a toddler friendly trip. We will post more info about those appointments once we know more.

So, I know this has turned out to be a VERY long post. There is still a lot to say, but I will leave it for another day that is not so packed full of technical lingo.

Please continue to pray for God to provide the financial resources we need to cover these medical visits – either through Medicaid or another way.

Please pray for healing of Anna Grace’s heart.

Please pray for wisdom for the doctors we will be meeting with in Charleston.

Please pray for Zachary as his little life is about to change in so many ways – that God will give him the maturity he needs to cope – and of course for loving caretakers to be there for him in our absence.

Please pray that God will CONTINUE to give us the strength to make it through each day & that we are faithful to glorify HIM in our words and actions during this time of great trial. (You know we CAN NOT do this without JESUS sustaining us)!!!

Here are some things I am thankful for today….

That Dr. Raunikar is a Christian. That Anna Grace cooperated during her echocardiogram today. That today’s doctor visit was covered by Medicaid. That we have wonderful friends & family who are faithful to continue to pray for our family. That we have found a home for our kitty Jedi (still looking for a home for our other kitty Nova). That we had a wonderful family vacation in Florida.

Interview of Ray Comfort on CBN

This is a very good interview with Ray Comfort regarding his new book - You Can Lead An Atheist To Evidence But You Can't Make Him Think -

I've read it and would recommend it.

Anna Grace Bentley

After much discussion we have named our little girl Anna Grace Bentley. We welcome your continued prayers for little Anna Grace. We will be cutting our Florida vacation a little short & will be driving home on Thursday as we have secured our first appointment with Anna Grace’s Pediatric Cardiologist on Friday. We will also be meeting with my “High Risk” Obstetrician that day as well. So, Friday will be a big day for our family. Thankfully, my Mother-in-Law is going to be able to keep Zachary for us on Friday morning during all of these doctor visits since this is truly not a “toddler friendly” outing. Please pray specifically on Friday for wisdom for these doctors as well as for miraculous healing for Anna Grace’s heart.

As glad as I am that we were able to secure an appointment with the specialists so quickly (since we only have the 30 day window of Medicaid coverage right now) I am a little sad to be leaving Florida. This time for our family has been like an oasis in the midst of a dessert. Our Lord has truly given us this time of refueling & refreshment for our souls & after coming down here & enjoying the beautiful blue water & white sand beaches I realized how much we really needed this time.

On a different note.... many of you have called or e-mailed and said that you want to help and so I just wanted to tell you about a couple of things that we are going to have coming up that you might be able to help us with. (1) I am going to be doing a Super-Duper house cleaning/yard cleaning project. It’s going to be nesting times 100. So, if God has gifted you with cleaning or organization and you want to help out in this way it will be one Saturday in October (date to be determined). The more hands the better… I really want to get my home in order as much as I can before Anna Grace is born (painting, cleaning, yard work, you name it)! (2) I am going to be looking for someone to keep Zachary for me for February & March in their home. Basically, once Anna Grace is born our parents will be down in Charleston with us for several weeks & will be able to keep Zachary for us wherever it is we are staying. But, after a few weeks they are all going to have to come back to Spartanburg to get back to work – and Brian too for that matter. So, Zachary & Brian will be home & Brian will be a single Daddy until Mommy & Anna Grace can come home from Charleston. So, there is a possibility that we will need to secure child care for Zachary Monday – Friday from 9:00-5:00 while Brian is at work. I would love for him to be in the home of someone that we know & love as opposed to a day care facility. If by March Mommy & Anna Grace are not home from Charleston yet then we will have no choice but to find more permanent facilities for Zachary during the day (like a daycare) but we are really praying that it will only be for a couple of months & then I will be home with Anna Grace. So…. I am asking my friends to please be praying about possibly keeping Zachary for a couple of months during normal business hours while Brian works. If that is something that you think you might be interested in doing you can call us or e-mail us & we can talk more about it. I really don’t have a start date or a finish date because so much depends on how Anna Grace does after her surgery.

Wow, this has turned into a long post hasn’t it???? I guess I better get off the computer & get ready for a Pirate Ship cruise tonight at sunset. Yes, I typed that right – we are going on a Pirate Ship cruise tonight in Panama City, FL. Should be great fun!

Here are some things I am thankful for today….

Thank you Lord for this vacation in Florida and the much needed rest you have given us.

Thank you Lord for giving us a name for our daughter, Anna Grace Bentley.

Thank you Lord for securing our doctors appointments on Friday.

Thank you Lord for supportive friends & family who are continuing to encourage us & pray for our family. We are truly blessed!

Beauty of His Grace with Lavish Colors

“Now without sin and law to condemn and accuse and oppress us, Satan is a defeated foe. He is disarmed. Christ has triumphed over him, not by putting him out of existence, but by letting him live and watch while millions of saints find forgiveness for their sins and turn their backs on Satan because of the greater glory of the grace of Christ.

It was a costly triumph. But God’s values are not so easily reckoned. If God had simply terminated Satan, then it would not have been so clear that God is both stronger and infinitely more to be desired than Satan. God wills for his glory to shine forth not only through acts of physical power, but also through acts of moral and spiritual power that display the beauty of his grace and lavish colors. To take sinners out of Satan’s hands by virtue of Christ’s sin-bearing sacrifice and his law-fulfilling obedience to the Father was a more glorious victory than mere annihilation of the enemy.”

From Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by John Piper

Let's Praise the Lord!

It is 9:00 at night and I still haven’t packed for Florida yet so tonight’s post is going to be a short one. But, I did want to post to let you know about today because it was a big day and I know you will want to Praise the Lord with me!

With the help of my wonderful accountant I got the final piece of information I was waiting on and headed back up to the Medicaid office to turn in the two missing pieces of information they needed. After waiting about 30 minutes or so for my number to be called it was finally my turn & I handed over the papers with a prayer to the Customer Service agent at the window. I also took the time to pop my head over to the window of the “Sweet Lady” who was so kind to me yesterday to thank her for her help. She remembered me and smiled. I don’t know if many people take the time to thank them.

I thought that would be all I would hear from Medicaid for a while since they have to process my application. But, God gave me a blessing about 4:30 this afternoon when my Caseworker – I’ll call her Mrs. J – called me. She explained to me that our case is very complicated & that my application would have to be sent to their accountants in Columbia, SC for review before they could make a determination on if we qualify or not. She did however tell me that she had gotten them to temporarily approve Medicaid coverage for me for 30 days while our application was being reviewed. Praise God! Thank you Jesus! They still haven’t made a determination, but for the next 30 days we can see specialists, have an echocardiogram done & have lab work done and it be covered. What a blessing! Of course I had to share with her after saying “Thank You Jesus” about my Faith where she proceeded to tell me that she is a Christian too. She & her husband Pastor a church in the area. She told me she was praying for my baby and for our application.

So, I have to say that God certainly put my application in the hands of a Sister in Christ. That is a blessing! She can’t make the final determination of our coverage because so much of her decision is based on what Columbia says, but I am certainly thankful she is my caseworker. Please be praying for the person who receives our application in Columbia to have mercy & compassion on us. You can imagine how big this is for our family.

So, there is much to be thankful for today! Thank you all so much for following our story and for praying for our little girl and our family. Now…. Off to pack for Florida. We’ll be gone for a week and we are truly ready for some rest. It has been a big week.

All Things are Created for Him

“The glory of Christ is seen in his absolute right and power to annihilate or incapacitate Satan and all demons. But the reason he refrains from destroying and disabling them altogether is to manifest more clearly his superior beauty and worth. If Christ obliterated all devils and demons now (which he could do), his sheer power would be seen as glorious, but his superior beauty and worth would not shine as brightly as when humans renounce the promises of Satan and take pleasure in the greater glory of Christ.”

John Piper from Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ

This comment means a lot to me today. It reminds me who is in control and who is the supreme Ruler over all things.

“He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.”

Colossians 1:15-16

Let me encourage any who might be reading this today with this thought. The Living God of Israel is not some weak Being who has to adjust His plans to the schemes of Satan, his demons and the evil of this world. All things are under His rule 1 Chronicles 29:11.

I know letting the mind wonder in this direction can be uncomfortable, but God’s word is clear – “ALL things were created through him and for him.” The only eternal infinite thing is God (Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit). Satan, his demons and evil are not eternal and WILL come to an end.

Don’t get caught on the wrong team…Repent (turn from sin) today and trust in the Savior who is Jesus Christ!