GroshLink

Our Grad Fellowship Prayer gathering this morning once again returned to the April FOCUS Article (CMU Faculty and Staff Paper) The Unenlightenment by Patrick D. Larkey . We may very well make conversations around this topic the focus of our fall endeavors. Please pray for July which will be set aside to seek God's direction for the coming academic year. Comments on this article coming soon. Feel free to express yours in advance.

Some conversation occuring at the blog of one of the students on the recent NY Times piece on evangelicals.

Christianity Today w/more on Evangelicals, "When I return from such trips and read profiles in Time and Newsweek about U.S. evangelicals, I feel sad. Many Americans view evangelicals as a monolithic voting bloc obsessed with a few moral issues. They miss the vibrancy and enthusiasm, the good-newsness that the word evangelical represents in much of the world. Evangelicals in Africa bring food to prisoners, care for aids orphans, and operate mission schools that train many of that continent's leaders. There, and in Asia and Latin America, evangelicals also manage micro-enterprise loan programs that allow families to buy a sewing machine or a flock of chickens. About a third of the world's 2 billion Christians fall into a category to which the word evangelical applies, a large majority of whom live outside North America and Europe."

She had to be asleep for the ABR(auditory brainstem response), so she skipped a feeding and I kept her awake all morning (no small feat). When I got there I nursed her and she fell asleep but woke up before the test was over. I was unsuccessful in getting her back to sleep. But there were 2 tests that could be done while she was awake, tympanometry (measures the eardrum response) and otoacoustic emission. We did those and they were both "abnormal" which means she needs to have her middle ears looked at to see if she has fluid or an infection. We'll do that on Tuesday at the family doctor. If he can't see anything she'll need to see an ENT(ear, nose, and throat doctor). We already scheduled that for July 12 (in case we need it). And we'll need to try the ABR again after we get her "ear issues" resolved. It's frustrating b/c we had hoped that this hearing test would rule out a problem and thus not involve more appointments. But instead, this one appt. has multiplied into at least 3 more. As you may have sensed, we're getting tired of appointments again.

We're trying to arrange for 2 friends to come 2 afternoons a week to play with Hayley and Ellen. I guess with the stress of dealing with Eden's health issues I'm turing into crabby mom. So a little breather will be helpful.

Tuesday morning we go for a plastic surgery evaluation and later that day she gets her ears checked.

On the bright side, I won a massage! But that's another appointment...

That's all for now,

Theresa

More can be found on Darfur at the NY Times

and Village Voice, thanks for the link Jon!

Our Wednesday discussion group wrestled w/the question as to whether American Evangelicals are paying more attention to Darfur b/c those dying are said to be Christians. Whether or not those dying are followers of Christ, what Jesus would do is clear, extend His grace and care in this broken part of the world. We are His Body and are to do such, not just in Darfur but in all places of need, whether in our family, neighborhood, community of faith, or in the various other parts of the world torn by the ravages of sin & conflict. Such is our call as the ears, eyes, and hands of God in the world today. May we be a part of a rapid response team which offers help, hope, healing, and redeeming influence, even this very day.