April
18, 2012
Dear
Praying Friends,
It
has been a long and intense month and a half, and we
want to thank
you for praying for us.
We are humbled and encouraged by the cards,
calls, and e-mails so many of you have sent sharing
your concern and support!
We
have been waiting on some test results before sending
out this e-mail, so we would have some news to share.
·
The
Cardiology report came back, and the good
news is that Susan's heart is healthy and
normal, and there are no blockages.
·
The
other tests and blood work also indicate that there
are no
tumors causing her symptoms.
This
is indeed good
news for which we are very
grateful! The
problem is that we still do not know what IS
causing Susan's health issues.
Our
last visit with the Doctor here in
Winston-Salem
,
NC
is on Tuesday, April 24th (he
is referring us to an Endocrinologist
closer to home for more extensive testing).
We are very grateful for the care Susan has
received while we have been here, and the tests have
ruled out several possible causes.
Please continue to pray that God will give us
His wisdom in finding out what is going on. Susan's
blood pressure and pulse rate are now under control (due
to the medication), but all of her other symptoms
are still continuing.
We
plan to leave after our appointment on the 24th
to visit my family in
Waterloo
,
Iowa
. Mom is
doing some better, but we feel an urgency to spend
some time with her before the summer.
We
have a very busy year ahead, and cherish your
continued prayers for us.
We are including our upcoming schedule so you
can pray for us as we travel.
We look forward to seeing many of you this
year. Take
care and God bless!!
Reaching
Families for Him,
Tim,
Susan, and Rachel Vermaas
2012
Schedule
***********************************************
April
4, 2012
Dear
Praying Friends,
The
doctor's visit yesterday went very well. The 24-hour
urinalysis did not show any signs of a pheochromocytoma
(a tumor on the adrenal gland). This test
also showed that the kidneys are functioning above
normal. However,
the lab had a problem reading some of the blood work,
so we are having to repeat it. Although the urinalysis
came back negative for the pheochromocytoma,
we are still waiting for the results on the blood
work. The Doctor has also ordered an echocardiogram
to show us how Susan's heart is operating under stress
(she is
presently on several medicines to lower her blood
pressure and pulse rate).
After
the Doctor's appointment yesterday, we went to Wal-mart
and within 10 minutes Susan broke-out in a sweat,
became light headed, had shortness of breath, and
almost blacked-out again (we
had to take her out of Wal-mart in a wheel chair).
Please continue to pray that the Doctor will find out
what is causing these symptoms.
God
is so Faithful to allow all of this to happen in the spring,
rather than in the summer (our busiest time of
year). We are having to reschedule several
Meetings to allow time for the testing, so pray that
we will quickly find out what is going on so we can
begin whatever treatment is necessary to get Susan
back to good health.
We
cherish your prayers and will keep you updated as we
know more.
Tim,
Susan, and Rachel Vermaas
***********************************************
March
28, 2012
Dear
Praying Friends,
This
past week we were at Friendship Baptist
Church, in Raleigh, NC for their "Children's
Mission's Conference." It was awesome to
see the excitement of the young people, as they used
their "passports" to get acquainted with each
of the Missionaries. By the end of the
week five of those young people came to accept Christ as
their Savior. We praise God for how He
worked in hearts!
Please
continue to pray for Susan.
We are back in Winston-Salem, NC, where the Doctor has
ordered extensive testing. By the time he gets back
from his Mission's trip to Africa next week, the results
will be back for this round of testing. Please
pray that God will give the Doctor wisdom and
accuracy in diagnosing Susan's condition. We have
had to reschedule several Meetings to give us some time
to get the needed testing done. Please pray that
we will be able to get much done in this small window of
time, and that we will be able to get back on the road
soon.
Please
also pray for Tim's Mom - she suffered a mild heart
attack this week-end and possibly has blood clots in her
lungs (Mom's health is steadily deteriorating). We
had planned to be there for Easter, but cannot travel
right now due to Susan's health. We plan to
reschedule our visit for later in the Spring.
Thank
you for your faithful prayers for us!
Reaching
Families for Him,
Tim,
Susan, and Rachel Vermaas
***********************************************
March 21, 2012
Dear
Praying Friends,
"Trust
in the LORD with all thine heart, and lean not unto
thine own understanding. In all thy ways
acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
Proverbs 3:5-6
How awesome
to know that God is in control! We don't have to
worry about how things are going to work out, because He
is the One directing our steps.
Over the last
week, we have been looking for an Internal Medicine
Doctor in the Athens, TN area, but have not had any success.
We were referred to a Doctor (in our area), but
his office called yesterday letting us know
that they are not seeing new patients. We
have also called several offices in the Knoxville, TN
area, and they are either not seeing new patients or the
waiting list goes into November and December.
Another
friend referred us to an Internal Medicine
Doctor in the Winston-Salem area. They were
able to work us in for an appointment
yesterday morning, but as we were walking out the
door, the receptionist called to let us know that she
had accidentally double-booked my appointment. I
asked if there was another Doctor who had an opening,
and when she checked, she noticed that there was a 2:30
appointment available that afternoon with a
Doctor (who is not only an Internal Medicine
Doctor, but he is also a short-term Medical Missionary).
He is leaving tomorrow for a two week mission's
trip to Africa. WOW! God knew
the exact Doctor I needed
to see!
He is
taking a serious look at my symptoms and medical
records, and has scheduled some testing while he is
away. We were very impressed that he did not rush
to a conclusion after quickly looking over the notes. He
let us know that he wants to spend time looking over my
records to try and see what is going on. Would
you please pray specifically that
. . .
#1 - God will
use this Doctor's skills and testimony in a mighty way
in Africa, and that many precious souls will come to
know Christ through his ministry there, and that
#2 - God
will give him wisdom to determine what is causing my
symptoms.
We are having
to reschedule several Meetings, and next week plan to
return to the Winston-Salem area for the needed testing.
This has definitely been a journey of faith! It's
awesome to see and feel God's Hand directing our steps.
He is in control of this journey and we are so blessed
to be called HIS!
Please also
pray for the Mission's Conference here at Friendship
Baptist Church, in Raleigh, NC (we are
doing the Children's Mission's
Conference). Pray that souls will be saved
and lives challenged in the area of Missions. Also
pray that Susan will have the extra strength needed for
these Meetings. We were so blessed
last year to be a part of this Conference, and are
excited to see what God is going to do this week!
Reaching
Families for Him,
Tim, Susan,
and Rachel Vermaas
***********************************************
March
17, 2012
Dear
Praying Friends,
We
have had a very busy month since our last update. It
was a blessing to be able to
visit with three of our supporting Churches in February (Bethel
Baptist Church, in Quinque, VA, Christian
Bible Fellowship, in Evensville, TN, and Fellowship
Baptist Church, in Sevierville, TN). We
were also challenged and encouraged at the Chalk
Art Conference, in Winston-Salem, NC, as
well as at the Bus Conference,
in Walkertown, NC (we also had the privilege of
ministering at College Park Baptist Church,
in Reidsville, NC).
Prayer
Request
For
many years now Susan has been battling some health issues
that we assumed were related to
her low immune system. However, this past month has
caused us to take a more serious look into what is causing
her symptoms. On a regular basis she has pressure in
her chest with dull pain, lightheadedness, shortness of
breath, a racing heart, shakiness, extreme headaches and
fatigue, etc. Recently, she has almost blacked-out
several times (twice while doing ventriloquism).
Her symptoms have steadily intensified over the past
month, and on this past Monday (3-12-12) we took
her to the Emergency Room, at Baptist Hospital,
in Winston-Salem, NC. They kept her for two nights
trying to find out what was causing her extremely high
blood pressure. They ran a number
of blood tests, along with an ultrasound of her heart, and
have given her a heart monitor to wear for the next 30
days. She has an appointment with an Internal
Medicine Doctor this coming Tuesday - they want
to run more extensive tests to see if they can track down
exactly what is going on. They have mentioned a
possible cause, but need to get her blood pressure
stabilized before they can run the needed tests.
We are
sharing this situation with you because we
want you to pray. Pray
that we will be able to get Susan's blood pressure
stabilized, and that God will give the Doctors wisdom in
pinpointing the problem. God is so in control and
has known about this situation from the beginning.
We praise Him for allowing this to happen at a time
when we were able to get the needed medical help. We
are also thankful to Northside Baptist Church,
in Winston-Salem, NC for allowing us to hook-up our trailer
at their Church while we are in the area. They have
been such a blessing and encouragement to
us!
Continue
to pray for upcoming Meetings. After the Doctor's
appointment on Tuesday we plan to leave for Raleigh, NC
where we are doing a Children's Mission's Conference, at Friendship
Baptist Church (Susan will have a very
limited role). After that Meeting we plan to
work-in the necessary medical testing over the next couple
of weeks (we are having to reschedule several upcoming
Meetings). When we know more we will pass the
word along.
We
cherish your prayers and will keep you updated as we know
more.
Reaching
Families for Him,
Tim,
Susan, and Rachel Vermaas
