How a Legion is like a Meningioma

Mark 5:1-20 says:

They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.[a] 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”

9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

 18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis[b] how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

 

It is Wednesday evening here in Jinja, Uganda.  We started our day this morning early.  Our team gathered for breakfast and our morning “Devo”.  No one had been specifically assigned to lead the devo this morning, so we weren’t sure exactly how it would go.  While sleeping last night, I had a dream about the pigs at our ranch drowning.  When I woke this morning, God brought this passage, in Mark, to my mind.  If you have read any of my blog posts in the past, you know that I am not a biblical theologian.  So the devo I lead this morning and what I am about to share with you may seem extremely bizarre to you.

 

Through our discussions with Jamil, over the past weeks and months, we have come to find out that Jamil received some significant teasing, related to his eye, while at school.  This even after the tumor had been removed and with his right eye remaining permanently closed.  Jill and I have encouraged him to turn this source of ridicule into his badge of honor for Jesus.  His eye is a testimony to God’s mercy and power in his life.

 

When he starts to school this next week, it will officially be the second term (out of three) for the 2015 school year in Uganda.  He will be joining a class where most of the students were already there for term one.  Since he will be a “new student”, he will be asked to introduce himself to the class.  We are going to be coaching and encouraging him to share is life story with the class.  We feel that this will provide a great platform for him to share Christ with others.

 

Today, when we took Jamil back to his home in Pallisa, Pastor Jonathan Kabanda asked for 10 minutes to talk to the people that had gathered to see why the Mzungus had come to the village.  Jonathan asked Jamil to stand.  Then in the local language, shared Jamil’s story of God’s healing, provision, and grace.  He talked to the gathered crowd about Jesus and His power.  When he was finished, 19 people raised their hand to accept Christ and then prayed a prayer of salvation. 

 

If this didn’t prove a point to Jamil, he must not be paying attention!

 

So in this story in Mark, Jesus finds a man that was possessed by a Legion of demons.  This man scared the local people and they wanted nothing to do with him.  After Jesus casted out the Legion of demons, the man was found to be sitting there and in his right mind.  He was acting normal as though nothing had happened.  Then as Jesus was getting ready to leave, the man who had been possessed, asked to go with Jesus.  But Jesus said,  “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”  In verse 20 it says “So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis[b] how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.”

 

God impressed on me how much this man who was healed by Jesus had in common with Jamil.  Jamil had been shunned by his village.  With his large eye tumor, the villagers felt that he was cursed.  They would not allow him to be in school because his eye and the way it protruded, scared the other children.  He was an outcast. 

 

Then Jesus caused a chain of events to happen.

 

1.)    A traveling evangelist saw Jamil while holding a crusade in Jamil’s village.  This was at the same time that Jamil gave his life to Christ.

2.)    That traveling evangelist also takes jobs as a driver to make money to support his ministry.  This driver/evangelist was hired by a medical missions team from Oklahoma to drive them on a few missions.

3.)    The evangelist and the mission team from Oklahoma became friends and he told the team about a boy with an “eye problem” that he had seen out in Pallisa. 

4.)    The medical team was able to meet Jamil a few weeks later. 

5.)    People from all over the world, but especially Duncan, Oklahoma, raised funds for Jamil to have 2 separate eye surgeries and radiation.

6.)    God provided for Jamil to go to the USA for a final diagnosis and ultimate plan of action.

 

God has caused a healing in Jamil and if Jamil has on his sunglasses, you would not know that he has ever had a medical problem. 

 

The people, especially in Pallisa that knew him before, are AMAZED at what God has done in Jamil’s life.  Though we may want Jamil to return with us to the USA and Jamil may want to go with us, we feel that God has commissioned him to "go home to his own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for him and had mercy on him.

 

We will continue to encourage Jamil to share his story and through the amazement, he can share Christ with others.

 

Tomorrow is our first clinic of this year's mission.  We are excited.

 

Jay

A Mother's Perspective

1 Kings 3:23-27 from the New Living Translation states:  “All right, bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought to the king.  Then he said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one woman and half to the other!”  Then the woman who was the real mother of the living child, and who loved him very much, cried out, “Oh no, my lord! Give her the child-please do not kill him!”  But the other woman said, “All right, he will be neither yours nor mine; divide him between us!”  Then the king said, “Do not kill the child, but give him to the woman who wants him to live, for she is his mother!”

 

As we began to realize that the Lord was leading us to bring Jamil back to Uganda, He reminded me of this scripture.  I know what it feels like to be divided.  Divided between two very different cultures.   Not physically of course, but emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.  This is a very tough as an adult.  It is even harder to see it in your child.  Yet, Jamil is alive, healthy!  We have been homeschooling him in math, reading, and English, studying science and social studies as it came up in our reading.  I came to realize the division of this sweet child beginning as we worked on these subjects and lived life with him in the US.

 

I will never forget the day in August when we found out that the MRI showed the tumor was in his brain.  At that point, we had yet to see Dr. McNall at OU Children’s Hospital.  To our knowledge at the time, we believed the tumor had grown from the CT scan in June he had in Uganda.  We assumed from the knowledge we had at this point that our call was  to walk along side this sweet child as he beat us all to Heaven.  I knew I could not give this news to Jake over the phone.  So a sweet friend went with me to Weatherford that late afternoon so I could tell Jake in person. 

 

Thankfully, this was not what would be our reality.  I’m reminded of the first time we took Jamil to the doctor in Uganda in 2012.  As we left the office and were stuck in traffic, a street evangelist who was sharing the Gospel in Lugandan caught sight of Jamil and his extruding eye.  He stopped, looked at Jay, and said, “This boy is going to be healed.” 

 

God is teaching me I must trust Him more deeply.  To remember He is the Alpha and the Omega.  He knows way more than I do.  I am to walk by faith not by sight. 

 

God continued revealing Jamil should be in Uganda in several ways.  We sought council from strong Christ Followers who listened carefully and the Lord used them to confirm His leading in our hearts.   For Christmas, one gift Jamil received was a butterfly kit.  When the weather became warm enough, we ordered the caterpillars.  This gift became a visual reminder of one of the verses he has memorized.  1 Corinthians 5:17-“Therfore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come.”  We talked about our hearts are like the caterpillar before we come to realize we need a Savior.  When we realize the only way to have eternal life is by accepting Christ, He transforms our heart….the old has gone and the new has come.  The result of the change (like in the cocoon, yet in an instant not days) is a new creation….the butterfly.  The butterfly can never go back to being a caterpillar.  The reason we choose to do good is because of what Jesus has already done for us on the cross because of grace that we each must choose to accept personally.  As we choose to live by his Holy Spirit daily, the new that is sealed in our hearts (the butterfly) it points others to Jesus, gives God Glory, and builds our treasure in heaven where thieves and moths cannot destroy.  The butterflies had been out for about 5 days.  One Sunday evening: Jared, Jayne, and Jamil came and asked me if they could go and release the butterflies.  It was a cloudy evening.  Jayne took her camera and took a few pictures.  Upon their return I asked if I could see the pictures.  As soon as I saw this picture, it was at that moment the Lord confirmed to me that His plan was for Jamil to return home to Uganda. 

It was time to release him.  However, I will admit to you that I continued to want Him to confirm it.  I had looked up the verse the first time that I began this blog with in Jay’s ESV Study Bible many weeks before.  I decided after seeing that picture and a couple of others I wanted to look it up in the One Year Bible I have been reading through which is in the New Living Translation.  I have enjoyed God’s Word in this way as it goes by date with readings from the Old and New Testament.  When I looked up in the index for the verses in 1 Kings 3 it was on June 8^th, the day return to the airport to head back from the recently scheduled trip to Uganda.  Really, Lord? 

 

This is when I knew that I knew what He was saying.  Doubt and questions still kept creeping into my thoughts.  I am thankful and praising God who is merciful as He sees our hearts.  I wanted to obey, but oh I had no idea this new level of emotional pain that was beginning in me.  God’s lesson:  Trust me more deeply.  Faith is believing without seeing.  Finish well while I have your child physically with you.

 

It was a few days we received a letter stating that Jamil’s travel documents had been issued.  A week or two after that we received the date of his immigration interview for May 6^th.  We had already scheduled our return to Uganda from May 8^th to June 9^th.  Okay Lord, I know what I heard you say, what does this mean?  As I have followed Christ I have learned He does not lead us in straight lines.  Is this a new turn, a curve from Him or not?  The need for daily discernment increased as did my emotional sadness.  But, the underlying peace remained.  I will admit sometimes it would shake if I would take my eyes off the Only True Source of Peace.  But, by grace, He restores when I refocus.  Unfortunately, sometimes I choose to do this more slowly than other times.

 

We had decided while Jamil was with us we wanted him to experience the ocean.  (Most Ugandans do not love the water for swimming.)  Last June, the first swimming pool Jamil was around in Uganda, he jumped in with both feet!  No fear.  As I write this I realize just how much in hindsight this is who he is.  Well, he sank.  We were right there.  He continued in his time with us to be very willing to experience new things.  When he arrived in the US we quickly got him a lifejacket and he always wore it around water.  This particular morning in Florida, I was the first one up.  His life jacket was on the table.  As I noticed it, my heart broke yet again and my eyes flooded with emotion as I thought about returning from Uganda without Jamil.  Later that morning we were at the pool.  Jayne and I had been teaching him how to swim.  I noticed that his life jacket was in the chair next to me.  Jamil was swimming!

No life jacket required.  Just like the butterfly picture, the Lord spoke through His Spirit to my heart.  He doesn’t need the life jacket.  I Am and always have been and will continue to be. “I’ve Got This”, God!

 

I think, NO, I know, this Uganda trip has been the most difficult to prepare for:  bittersweet.  Usually, I have an idea of what we are doing with the understanding it is a liquid plan.  However, as we were preparing to leave, I felt that I was going in totally blind.  Our first several days were planned to look at the best school for Jamil to attend upon return.  It is very different sending your child to school approximately 8500 miles away compared to 200, not to mention difficult to comprehend. 

 

Monday, May 11^th was the day we planned to begin looking at schools for Jamil near Gaba a suburb of the capital of Kampala.  Gaba is where we work from through Africa Renewal Ministry who we partner with in the mission work God has called us to in Uganda.  Jay, Jamil, Cate, and David had looked at a couple in August when Jay returned to get Jamil last summer.  I believe with all my heart, this is why I didn’t sleep more than 4 hours Sunday night.  I am thankful for all of you who prayed for us as we began this unknown journey Monday morning.  I have been reminded several times by a dear friend to remember in the dark the decision that was made in the light.  God did not disappoint.   As I was awake Monday morning, I kept thinking about how I wanted Jamil to be close enough to Gaba Community Church so he could attend there each Sunday.  We had talked with David Gitta, and he offered to pick up Jamil when he was available.  David’s willingness to be a big brother to Jamil and Cate’s willingness to be a mother figure to him in Gaba had brought comfort. God is so faithful. Monday morning about 8:30 am David arrived at the guest house and we went to pick up Cate.  The first school we went to tour was Bunga Preparatory School.  Jamil’s countenance was somewhat apprehensive.  In August they had looked at this school’s other campus, which is actually where the boarders stay as well as P5-P7 classes are held, which he had liked.  A gentleman, named George, came up and introduced himself and let us know that he would show us the boarding area at the other campus. 

 

This is when I first noticed Jamil beginning to relax.  He, Jay, and Cate had looked through the windows in August, and Jamil had been pleased.  In the US, when we began talking with Jamil about returning, it was the school of his first choice.  Jamil stayed at the school to interview and take an exam, to determine his placement.  We met George during this time at the boarding campus.  Jay and I were very impressed with George and his passion for the school and the children.  He explained that his goal would be to make sure Jamil would feel comfortable.  Jamil would be paired with a leader in his class.  George would not allow others to make fun of Jamil, because of his eye.  He suggested the best beginning for this would be for Jamil, as a new student, to share his story and experience.  His parents had begun this Christian based school and he had returned to help them.  There are three matrons who live on campus and George is there.  This campus is located right down the road from Wentz Medical Clinic and Gaba Community Church (GCC). It is one of the few boarding schools that will allow the children to leave with a specified adult for the weekend.  Perfect!  George can take Jamil to GCC for the 11:30 service each Sunday and David, Cate, or one of our other extended family from there can return him to campus by Sunday evening.  The school also allows the child to be picked up on Friday and returned on Sunday evening by designated adults.  We all agreed there was no need to look at any other schools.  We had found it.  God is so good.  Later Monday evening we had a dinner meeting with most of the members of the Wentz Medical Board that Jay is now a member of.  Pastor Peter was there and had read Jay’s blog.  He asked how our day had gone.  When we shared, he said his children had gone to that school when it was only a kindergarten.  It was a great school, and he knows the people who own it very well.  He stated, “They are very good people.”  God has answered. 

 

As I finish this blog, Jamil is taking another exam to best determine his level in this school.  David and our family have been gathering the supplies Jamil needs to move in Monday and begin school on Tuesday. 

 

We will leave in a few hours for Jinja and head to Palissa district for Jamil to visit his family until Friday.  Jamil will rejoin us when we head back to Gaba.  We will have two clinics in Jinja on Thursday and Friday.  One will be at an orphanage and the other is an area that has just experienced severe flooding where a few people died.

 

I’m sorry for the delay of this blog, but I did get a full nights sleep after being up for 21 hours.  (It reminds me to appreciate and respect the fact that Jay stays up so often as he provides for our family and beyond.)  I know the days will still be hard and sad at times for not only this mother, but for all of us who have come to know and love Jamil.  As his mother, I want him to live. I know the Lord loves Jamil even more than I do and has a perfect plan for our son. He will remain whole and undivided!

 

Proverbs 3:5-6

Jill

 

With heavy hearts, we approach boldly.

 

Have you ever noticed that some of the most important decisions in life can be painful?  Choosing to do what is the “right” thing or what we feel God wants us to do, can often be costly to us in many ways.  Our family is praying and working through one of those decisions, coming to a climax today in Uganda. 

As most of you know, Jamil has been living with us, in the USA, since late August of last year.  We have known Jamil since the spring of 2012.  I have written several blogs about Jamil, his medical problems, the reasons that we felt called to go through the ORDEAL of getting him to the USA.  Please glance back at those and understand the baseline of miraculousness (my computer tells me that this is not a word, but I’m going with it) that brings us to today.  As I blogged about his eye tumor extending into his brain back in September, I was not sure that today’s difficult decision would ever be an option.

 

Jamil has a congenital condition known as neurofibromatosis type II (NF2).  Doctors, smarter than me, have made this diagnosis since we have been in the USA.  The NF2 makes him at risk for tumors associated with his Central Nervous System.  It is the reason for the big meningioma behind his R eye.  NF2 is also the reason that he has tumors on both of his acoustic nerves (hearing nerves going to the ears).  These acoustic neuromas could cause trouble with hearing or balance if not watched carefully in the future.

 

When Jamil reached the soil in the USA, we made a mad dash to start his medical care.  We had 6 months to get him accurately diagnosed, treated (which we thought would be a surgery to remove a tumor in the eye socket), and then recovered so that we could get him back to Uganda before the 2015 school year started and before his visitor visa expired.  Quickly after starting this dash, we realized it was going to be an endurance race.  We were advised to start the legal process of getting Jamil permanent residency (a juvenile green card) so that he could stay with us for up to 10 years to receive medical treatment.  As we got the diagnosis of brain tumor, the 10 years seemed like it would be much more than we needed.  The process of getting the green card is long and expensive.  Jamil went for his final interview for this card on Wednesday of last week, as we prepared to leave on Friday.  We don’t know the results of this interview yet.  Jamil had received some travel documents that “should” allow him to travel to Uganda and then return to the USA while awaiting the ruling on the green card. 

 

Our wise doctors at the NF2 clinic at OU Children’s Hospital, advised us to watch the brain tumor for 3 months, to monitor what it was going to do.  Jamil had already received radiation and the tumor was not in a place that made it safely accessible to surgery, so watchful waiting seemed like the best plan.  In December, his MRIs showed that none of the 3 tumors listed above had changed.  Jamil was healthy, growing, and did not seem “ill” at all.  So we decided to wait again for 3 months and recheck.  In late April, his tumors were still found to be unchanged.  So here is a summary of the medical information:

-          He has 2 acoustic neuromas and one meningioma that is in his brain.

-          These tumors have been stable and without growth for 9 months.

-          He has NF2, which puts him at increased risk for future additional tumors.

-          He has received radiation while being treated in Uganda.  This does not completely preclude him from receiving radiation again, but his doctors will want to delay any radiation for as long as possible.

-          Uganda has recently gotten MRI technology, which they did not have prior to last summer.

-          We have found a hospital that was started by a neurosurgeon from the west that has agreed to follow Jamil, if he returned to Uganda.

-          Medical care for Jamil would, without debate, be better in the USA.  The degree to which the options are better in the USA is unsure.

-          We are unsure how difficult it would be to bring Jamil back to the USA at a later date if he starts back to school in Uganda.

 

Jamil is truly a joy.  He is really a good kid.  He’s funny, easy going, and sensitive.  He can get “blue” about some things, including missing his family and certain things about Uganda.  When we went to OU last month, his doctor asked him what he misses most about Uganda.  Jamil said, “My family.”  She then asked him what he would miss most about the USA, if he moved back to Uganda.  Jamil said, “My family”.  He has progressed well in his math studies and we feel that he has progressed in English too.  It is difficult to teach him some things because we have to filter the teaching through English, which he is still learning.  So he is 13 ½  years old, schooling on about a 4^th grade level and emotionally around 10-11 in my opinion.  The reasons for this strange combination is likely a result of his delay in starting school and his chronic illness.  Jamil has loved his many adventures in the USA.  Football games,

 

birthday parties (especially his), Christmas, snow skiing,

 

 fishing, swimming,

 

gardening and taking care of the animals on the ranch have been some of his favorites.  He has gotten to experience an extended loving family and a deep pool of loving friends, that have probably seemed more foreign to him than snow, smooth roads and air conditioning.  Jamil has definitely become a son to Jill and I, a brother to our kids, a grandson to a few, a cousin/nephew to several and a friend to many over the past year. 

 

Here is the situation that we find ourselves in.  Jill and I felt called to bring Jamil to the USA to get medical treatment (we thought this was a surgery) and then to return him back to school in Uganda.  We find ourselves at a point where he has reached his medical improvement, even though surgery was not necessary and we feel that God is leading us to get him back into school in his culture, in Uganda.  We have wrestled with this decision.  It will be tough on our family, his extended family and all that have grown to love him.  It will be tough on Jamil.  Materially, his situation will endure a drastic change, in the opposite direction that it did in August.  He will be back to limited menu and wardrobe options as he would start back in a boarding school in Uganda. 

 

When we have mentioned this decision with others and asked them to pray with us, we can tell that some of them don’t understand why we would not want to keep Jamil with us.  After we “got him out” of Uganda, why we’d consider taking him back.  The simple answer is that we are not sure either.  Just that we believe that God has a purpose in it.  We believe that Jamil can go further in school in Uganda.  We believe that Jamil has more potential to lead others in Uganda, and we believe that his testimony of healing and grace will have a larger platform in Uganda. 

 

We go today to look at some schools in Uganda with Jamil.  Unless God chooses to change his plan in our hearts and  minds, we plan to start him in one of those schools, when the new term starts in one week.  We will continue to support him as if we were sending another child off to college.  We will still make sure that he gets the needed medical care for his NF2.  But make no doubt about it, our hearts are going to hurt.  Make no doubt about it, his heart is going to hurt.

 

Hebrews 4:16 says: “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

 

We ask that you pray with us for the best decision for Jamil, and for God’s purpose/glory.  We are trying to pray as Jesus did.

 

Hebrews 5:7  During the days of Jesus’ life on Earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.