Hey everybody, hope you had a great Thanksgiving. It was sad that I missed our big family gathering back in Michigan, but I still had a pretty good turkey day. I've basically been on vacation for the past week traveling around. Peace Corps volunteers celebrate Thanksgiving together every year with a big gathering in the beautiful mountains of Chiriquí at a really nice resort. So I enjoyed being cold for the first time in a long time, sleeping on a real mattress, and lots of good food. A group of us climbed Volcán Barú, the highest peak in the country, where we had an amazing view of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Tomorrow I'm headed back home (gotta get back to work).
I realized I'm very thankful for the other volunteers here in Panama, having people around that I can relate to and get energy to keep going here. I'm also thankful for my friends and all the encouragement and love I get from you all. So I just want to say thank you for being my friends, even when I do a terrible job of staying in touch and leave you guys wondering if I'm still alive.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
I miss you people
Hey friends! I don't really have much to update but wanted to say heyyyyy! When can we do a crew Skype?
Monday, September 23, 2013
Ketchup
Friends. I am sorry I haven't posted in awhile. Being that we now have to souls abroad, I would love if we could use this more often. I thought James had a good idea with treating it like the new Community Locker Journal.
Life for the Ochoa's has been smoothing out. We are in Texas and living off of support which is encouraging to see God's provisions everyday. It also allows us to focus on School and communication with our team and coaches. We are currently enrolled into Intro to Linguistics courses which is kicking our tail. Also, I am learning that to an Linguistic there is no wrong or right just words. So....yeah.
But for real, it is really interesting to be approaching language in such a way. It focuses on observing, rather than critiquing. I think Ben and James would find it interesting since they will be less 1st language speakers around them. James, I assume you might also be going to a remote village that may have a distinct dialect or language than Mexican Spanish?
Anyway, Maria is getting so big. I wish you guys could all come and take time holding her. Seriously, that would help us out greatly. Like, take her off her hands and stuff. Just kidding. We love her and such. But seriously, we miss you all. So having the opportunity for you guys to hold her just implies that you would be close enough for us to share a cup of coffee with. And that sounds good to me.
Cheers
- Tony
Life for the Ochoa's has been smoothing out. We are in Texas and living off of support which is encouraging to see God's provisions everyday. It also allows us to focus on School and communication with our team and coaches. We are currently enrolled into Intro to Linguistics courses which is kicking our tail. Also, I am learning that to an Linguistic there is no wrong or right just words. So....yeah.
But for real, it is really interesting to be approaching language in such a way. It focuses on observing, rather than critiquing. I think Ben and James would find it interesting since they will be less 1st language speakers around them. James, I assume you might also be going to a remote village that may have a distinct dialect or language than Mexican Spanish?
Anyway, Maria is getting so big. I wish you guys could all come and take time holding her. Seriously, that would help us out greatly. Like, take her off her hands and stuff. Just kidding. We love her and such. But seriously, we miss you all. So having the opportunity for you guys to hold her just implies that you would be close enough for us to share a cup of coffee with. And that sounds good to me.
Cheers
- Tony
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Howdy slash adiós from James
Howdy Friends,
Well, it’s only a week now until I leave the country. I’ve really enjoyed being able to see and spend time with [most of] you over the past few months.
I booked my flight from Kalamazoo to Washington D.C. for Sunday, August 25. I’m actually going to spend some time with family who live in D.C. They’re gonna pick me up at the airport and show me the sites and sounds. They’re daughters actually go to school with Barak’s daughters, nbd. And then staging begins Monday night, and I'll be in Mexico City by Wednesday afternoon!
I also wanted to make sure you all had the link to my blawwwg.. latravesiadejames.blogspot.com
Well, it’s only a week now until I leave the country. I’ve really enjoyed being able to see and spend time with [most of] you over the past few months.
I booked my flight from Kalamazoo to Washington D.C. for Sunday, August 25. I’m actually going to spend some time with family who live in D.C. They’re gonna pick me up at the airport and show me the sites and sounds. They’re daughters actually go to school with Barak’s daughters, nbd. And then staging begins Monday night, and I'll be in Mexico City by Wednesday afternoon!
I also wanted to make sure you all had the link to my blawwwg.. latravesiadejames.blogspot.com
Not sure how much I'll update it, but it at least has links to pertinent information about my assignment.
Be well, and I'll see you on the interwebs!
James
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Hey Friends
So I'm back in Panama. My little adventure to the USA went way too fast. I loved every minute I got to spend with the Crew. You are all a huge blessing and I wish I could've taken you with me. But I don't think you'd want to go to the jungle, and it would be kinda tight in my hut.
I met the newest group of trainees/ future Peace Corps volunteers a few days ago when I was helping to train them. Four of them are strong Christians and were involved with HCJB and eMi, the ministries where I did internships. So that was pretty cool to find out. I hope that I can connect with them more, but I'm afraid they're going to get assigned to somewhere on the other side of the country and I'll never get a chance to talk to them again. But we'll see. Please pray that I will be able to connect with believers here in Panama, since I've had little success with that so far.
My one year medical checkup was today. I had my first cavity ever, which was disappointing. Before I knew it the dentist was drilling away, telling me to raise my hand if it hurt too much. Who needs an anesthetic anyway...
I heard about Heather's accident. That is so terrible. I will be praying for her recovery and peace of mind through this trial.
So friends, even though we're far away again and it seems that some are getting ready to depart for new adventures, let's keep in contact as much as possible. I want to be as much of an encouragement to you that you have been to me.
I met the newest group of trainees/ future Peace Corps volunteers a few days ago when I was helping to train them. Four of them are strong Christians and were involved with HCJB and eMi, the ministries where I did internships. So that was pretty cool to find out. I hope that I can connect with them more, but I'm afraid they're going to get assigned to somewhere on the other side of the country and I'll never get a chance to talk to them again. But we'll see. Please pray that I will be able to connect with believers here in Panama, since I've had little success with that so far.
My one year medical checkup was today. I had my first cavity ever, which was disappointing. Before I knew it the dentist was drilling away, telling me to raise my hand if it hurt too much. Who needs an anesthetic anyway...
I heard about Heather's accident. That is so terrible. I will be praying for her recovery and peace of mind through this trial.
So friends, even though we're far away again and it seems that some are getting ready to depart for new adventures, let's keep in contact as much as possible. I want to be as much of an encouragement to you that you have been to me.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Prayers needed!
Hi friends! Some of you know this already but some don't - I thought this would be the easiest way to put it out there for you guys...
My family needs your prayers. On February 2, Roxy (Eric and Chelsea's dog) jumped out of the car and Eric tried to catch her, hurting his arm in the process. His arm never felt better so after about two or three months, he finally went and got it checked out at his doctor's office. The doc suggested physical therapy for a strained muscle. PT didnt cause any improvements so he went back to the dr. office for an x-ray - they thought maybe it was broken and wasn't healing. They got a phone call Friday night from the dr saying that the x-ray looked unusual and that it could be osteo sarcoma - bone cancer. They told my parents and Eric's parents on Friday night and told me on Saturday morning. We prayed for the next several days that it wasn't cancer but I got a text from Chelsea on Wednesday morning (May 8) confirming that the doctor called and it was in fact cancer. I took it really hard and got a ride to Kalamazoo and spent the day with my mom distracting each other and praying with each other in cycles. Wednesday afternoon, Chels and Eric and Eric's parents went to the onocologist for their first appointment. Me and my parents drove back up to GR and had dinner with them. Chelsea and Eric are handling this SO well!! It's really amazing and an answer to prayer!! So the facts from Wednesday's appointment are as follows:
- it's treatable and BEATABLE! Praise the LORD
- there are two types of cancer that it could be - Osteosarcoma or Ewing's Sarcoma. We want it to be Osteosarcoma because it's more treatable. It looks like Osteosarcoma so we are very hopeful that the final diagnosis will be this "good" news but until we get that news, please pray that it's osteosarcoma!
- this type of cancer is incredibley rare and very aggressive. There are only 800 cases in the US annually - 1 in 1-2 million people get this cancer. GR is one of relatively few locations that has doctors who are knowledgeable with this cancer! AND their oncologist is a Christian!
- Eric's arm isn't broken - this is really a miracle because of the rough PT that he went through. His bone is really really vulnerable and could easily break. We do NOT want this to happen because then the cancer would spill out and contaminate the clean tissues in his arm and the only option would be to amputate. Please pray that his arm will be safe and remain unbroken for the next three months!
- since Roxy hurt Eric, this was caught relatively early. Roxy is our miracle dog becuase there would have been no symptoms for another couple months and it would have been really really bad. So again, PRAISE the LORD that this was caught early!!
- Eric had an etire body bone scan yesterday to see if the cancer spread anywhere else or if it was contained in his arm. They heard back from the oncologist this afternoon saying that it looked like a clean scan (contained in the arm)!!!!! The radiologist will have to confirm but I feel like the doc wouldnt have said anything unless he was pretty positive so I am SO HAPPY about this news today!!!
- he had the biopsy today and it was an actual surgery instead of just a needle because they didnt want to contaminate the healthy tissue when they pulled the needle out. Please pray for a speedy and relatively painless recovery - the doctor said it would be painful but God has the power to heal quickly!
- they are waiting on the results to all of these tests and then they will be moving forward with chemo - most likely next week or the following week.
- chemo will go on for 3 months to shrink the cancer, then they will schedule surgery and remove that part of his bone and replace it with either a cadaver bone or a bone out of his own leg or a metal rod (least desirable option), then 2-3 months for recovery from the surgery, then another 5 months of chemo.
Most of these things are self-explanitory when it comes to what kinds of things to pray for but I want to add a few things :) Please pray for Chelsea - she needs strength and peace and support for the coming year. Please pray for Eric as he is going to be more than miserable for the next year of his life and he's nervous about the pain and the recovery. Like I said, they have been doing amazingly well so far but it's going to be so exhausting for them! :(
That's pretty much my update haha! I have to go now but thank you in advance for your prayers!!
My family needs your prayers. On February 2, Roxy (Eric and Chelsea's dog) jumped out of the car and Eric tried to catch her, hurting his arm in the process. His arm never felt better so after about two or three months, he finally went and got it checked out at his doctor's office. The doc suggested physical therapy for a strained muscle. PT didnt cause any improvements so he went back to the dr. office for an x-ray - they thought maybe it was broken and wasn't healing. They got a phone call Friday night from the dr saying that the x-ray looked unusual and that it could be osteo sarcoma - bone cancer. They told my parents and Eric's parents on Friday night and told me on Saturday morning. We prayed for the next several days that it wasn't cancer but I got a text from Chelsea on Wednesday morning (May 8) confirming that the doctor called and it was in fact cancer. I took it really hard and got a ride to Kalamazoo and spent the day with my mom distracting each other and praying with each other in cycles. Wednesday afternoon, Chels and Eric and Eric's parents went to the onocologist for their first appointment. Me and my parents drove back up to GR and had dinner with them. Chelsea and Eric are handling this SO well!! It's really amazing and an answer to prayer!! So the facts from Wednesday's appointment are as follows:
- it's treatable and BEATABLE! Praise the LORD
- there are two types of cancer that it could be - Osteosarcoma or Ewing's Sarcoma. We want it to be Osteosarcoma because it's more treatable. It looks like Osteosarcoma so we are very hopeful that the final diagnosis will be this "good" news but until we get that news, please pray that it's osteosarcoma!
- this type of cancer is incredibley rare and very aggressive. There are only 800 cases in the US annually - 1 in 1-2 million people get this cancer. GR is one of relatively few locations that has doctors who are knowledgeable with this cancer! AND their oncologist is a Christian!
- Eric's arm isn't broken - this is really a miracle because of the rough PT that he went through. His bone is really really vulnerable and could easily break. We do NOT want this to happen because then the cancer would spill out and contaminate the clean tissues in his arm and the only option would be to amputate. Please pray that his arm will be safe and remain unbroken for the next three months!
- since Roxy hurt Eric, this was caught relatively early. Roxy is our miracle dog becuase there would have been no symptoms for another couple months and it would have been really really bad. So again, PRAISE the LORD that this was caught early!!
- Eric had an etire body bone scan yesterday to see if the cancer spread anywhere else or if it was contained in his arm. They heard back from the oncologist this afternoon saying that it looked like a clean scan (contained in the arm)!!!!! The radiologist will have to confirm but I feel like the doc wouldnt have said anything unless he was pretty positive so I am SO HAPPY about this news today!!!
- he had the biopsy today and it was an actual surgery instead of just a needle because they didnt want to contaminate the healthy tissue when they pulled the needle out. Please pray for a speedy and relatively painless recovery - the doctor said it would be painful but God has the power to heal quickly!
- they are waiting on the results to all of these tests and then they will be moving forward with chemo - most likely next week or the following week.
- chemo will go on for 3 months to shrink the cancer, then they will schedule surgery and remove that part of his bone and replace it with either a cadaver bone or a bone out of his own leg or a metal rod (least desirable option), then 2-3 months for recovery from the surgery, then another 5 months of chemo.
Most of these things are self-explanitory when it comes to what kinds of things to pray for but I want to add a few things :) Please pray for Chelsea - she needs strength and peace and support for the coming year. Please pray for Eric as he is going to be more than miserable for the next year of his life and he's nervous about the pain and the recovery. Like I said, they have been doing amazingly well so far but it's going to be so exhausting for them! :(
That's pretty much my update haha! I have to go now but thank you in advance for your prayers!!
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