Day 361

Vacation is a wonderful word that has been vastly underused since we got married!

John with his Dad and brother Ian

It was so great to be able to travel to Pennsylvania and relax with friends and family. John loves being out of the house! Wandering the Mall just loving being free! Christmas has been everything we hoped for and more. 
Total peace and relaxation.
It was a celebration and reflection of a year of ups, downs and every direction in between!

John with his Mom

We begin our trip back to Massachusetts on the 31st December and John returns to work on the 2nd January. Now I would be lying if I (Amanda) said I was not anxious about this but I trust not only in God's faithfulness over us but in our amazing YWAM family that has been an invaluable support to us this year. Without them I don't know if we could have gotten through it. 

Here's to 2012, a year of healing, a year of progression. It takes time. The healing is coming... 

John and Amanda- Christmas 2011

Joy at Christmas

Christmas is such a special time; it is a time of joy, a time for family, a time for reflection.

Amanda and Dad in 2005

I always feel an unspoken pressure to be happy at this time of year, like somehow sadness is forbidden. I don't think I am the only one to feel this. For some, as for myself these past two years, Christmas time is one tinged with a lining of tears. If you have lost someone dear to you you will understand. Every Christmas tradition, every hymn has a memory of my Dad attached. I sing "O come all ye faithful" and I see us as a family singing at the carol service every year, I wrap the gifts and I think "What would I have bought him this year?".
So why do I share this?
I don't share it for sympathy or to make you sad but I share because i know there are many like me that grieve the loss of a loved one every Christmas. I want to express to those of you that can relate that it's OK to be sad at Christmas, it's OK to be broken and to miss that special someone. I love Jesus, I love His story and the hope Christmas brings but that doesn't mean I am not allowed to be a little sad.
This Christmas remember that the baby that was born over 2000 years ago became Jesus, a man acquainted with grief and sorrow, a man who understands our pain and wants to love us through it.
True joy comes not from circumstance but from our loving God;

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever shall believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life"

Day 352

Wow this last month has flown by!

We are still reeling from the amazing news that just keeps coming! John said this morning, "I have had a persistent cough since college, I was even known for it! But these last few months I haven't coughed!" Wow I (Amanda) wept as he told me. How amazing.

John getting his immunizations! :)

Today was our last appointment before John rejoins the world. How long awaited this has been.

We travel to Pennsylvania for Christmas on the 22nd December and John is back at work on the 2nd January.

John's healing is amazing but, as we were reminded today, it is a process and one which will continue for years to come.

John's freedom is not without restriction. We can attend church but must avoid being in a large crowd and he must wear a mask and gloves. If you see us sitting at the back of the church away from people please don;t be offended.  He must avoid sick people as much as possible, he must avoid being with too many children or teenagers at once, he must avoid any harmful food, i.e. Food that's not cooked till hot (an example is of a big no no is Subway and all buffets), he must avoid excessive dust and construction work (not as easy as you think as we renovate a new ministry center at work). Above all we must protect John from any infection. His immune system is building slowly but we still have not seen any B cells, therefore no antibodies yet. The hospital gives him IGG (a dose of antibodies) once a month which will help him.

John made cookies for his Doctor, shaped like cells!

So as we enter this new season of hope being fulfilled we are still asking for those who love us to extend us extra grace. We are a few years out from any sort of normality. John, according to doctors, will never have a normal immune system but should build one that's better than any he has before! Praise God :)