I trust you are more faithful in praying than I am in writing. I think this is the longest time in 35 years of ministry that I have gone without communicating with our friends. Please forgive me. I could use busy as an excuse but really it was just procrastination. There is lots to update you on so here goes.
Of course the BIG news is that on Mar 23 on our way back from San Francisco Ruth began having severe pain in the abdomen. We arrived home at 2AM and at noon on Monday the pain was worse so we went to Farmington to the emergency room. They took a CT scan and thought it was appendicitis so scheduled surgery for 8PM Mon night. During the surgery they found a healthy appendix but also found some twisted tissue around the colon that had cut off the blood supply and was causing the pain. It is called a torsion of the omentum and is fairly rare but can be serious. The operation seemed successful and we were sent to a regular room in the hospital. At 3AM on Tuesday the nurse noticed that Ruth’s blood pressure had dropped to 45/35 which is very serious. The room was immediately full of doctors, nurses and who knows who else. They rushed her into surgery again to stop internal bleeding. This time there were no problems and we came home Thurs. She has been steadily improving each day but it will take about 6 weeks before she is back to normal. Thanks to all who are praying for us and forgive us if you are just now hearing of this. God is so good and we are thankful that God is healing her. Through it we strongly felt God’s protection and care.
We are already planning and looking toward next years staff. Megan has decided to go back to school so we will need a 7/8 grade teacher. We have a young lady, Hannah Barr from Colorado, interested in teaching 2nd grade. We still need a maintenance man. Two families are praying about that position but still no firm leading of the Lord for them to come. Dave and Margie Meinzinger have been here for a month helping out with maintenance and a host of other things.
Several other needs to be aware of. One of our Christian young ladies is planning to go to college in Kansas and needs a small car. If you have one you could donate or sell cheap let me know. We also need mechanics tools for the new shop program or funds to purchase them I try to buy many things at auctions to stretch the dollars. We are hoping to begin operation in fall of 2008.
Please remember to pray for and support our Navajo workers. There are eight on staff now which really eases our burden.
The most exciting news is that a young high school student, Uriah Haskie, professed salvation a month ago. Pray he will want to grow and continue in the faith. He is not from a Christian home and has a lot of issues to deal with. It is very rare for a high school student to come to Christ.
Thanks again for your love and friendship. We are rejoicing in God’s goodness and care.
John & Ruth Bloom
Immanuel Mission 