Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Rebecca's Journey - 44

Greetings Friends!

We trust that you had a wonderful Easter. What a grand reality that He passed through such suffering, for us, to His present place of glory.

Rebecca and I are sitting in her room, looking out on some daffodils and tulips that inadvertently got scattered throughout the lawn during the construction last year. What lovely surprises to see their spring colors popping up in unexpected places.

Thanks to those of you who prayed for me after my stroke. I'm feeling much better, and have regained most of the use of my left hand. I cancelled all my international trips until August, and have a slower schedule, getting to bed early most nights. Little by little I can feel myself recovering from the demands of the last 30 months. It is wonderful to be home, enjoying the coming of spring.

From Rebecca: "We are so greatly blessed to be surrounded and carried as we are by your love and prayer. I want to report that, after the day of prayer on my birthday, April 4, we have seen some definite progress. From that day, my spacticity has been noticeably less. And I am beginning to have movement in my right hip joint. Just today, my physical therapist said: 'It's moving! This is just how the left leg began almost a year ago.' This is caused by nerve re-enervation. We are 2 ½ years after the accident, and such a change as this is remarkable.

Today I would like to tell you about Donatienne (Doe-na-sien). Donatienne is my physical therapist. Last week she bubbled into my room (every morning she comes like a ray of sunshine - such an encourager). 'Today is our one year anniversary,' she said. 'We have been working together for a year.'

About a week before m birthday she had said to me: 'You are just like Lazare.' 'Lazare,' I thought, 'Who in the world is Lazare?' She continued, 'You know him. He's the guy who was dead and Jesus called him forth out of the grave. His friends said that he was going to stink! But Jesus raised him from the dead.' Then she went on, 'When your friends pray, you just get stronger and stronger.'

Then came my birthday, and I told her many of my friends were going to pray again. She laughed. The following week, after the prayer, we experienced the much diminished spacticity that I mentioned earlier. 'This prayer thing really works,' she exclaimed. 'You tell your friends to keep praying and that your physical therapist said "Thank You."'

So you see that Donatienne is a wonderful gift to us here. As she says, 'You, me, and God are making quite a team.'"

Paul again! When Donatienne first came to us she was openly sceptical towards religion. One of the joys of the last years has been to see the impact of faith on those who serve Rebecca - and the process continues.

Our love to you all,

Paul