Jim's coming home today to our new apartment!

Jim is doing great!  The doctor said that the surgery went well and that they were able to remove all the cancer!  He comes home today and I thought you might want to see what he is coming home to...our new apartment!!!!   Up one floor to our front door.

The Entry/Hallway

Walk down the hall past Jim's beautiful Valentine's present for Lina, or sit a while and take a rest!

To the left is the beautiful kitchen Jim worked so hard to finish putting in before he went to the hospital.  We started with four bare walls.  It also has a walk-in pantry and a balcony off the back that overlooks the parking/garden area.

The next room on the left is Lina's Office or the Guestroom you will stay in when you come visit us!

Across the hallway is our Bedroom.

Across from the kitchen is the beautiful Living/Dinning Room

It also has two bathrooms, one with a tub and the washer and dryer and the other one with a shower.  Jim also has an office, but right now it has kind of become our storage until we finish getting things organized.

We love it here!  God has given us so many great relationships and we feel very much at home.  Thank you so much for being a part of what God is doing here in Leipzig.  Come see us soon!

The Hands of Many on Me

"Did you go to the prayer breakfast yesterday morning?" Jim asked.  "Yes,  three of us sat in the Pasher's living room and prayed for you," I replied. "It was so wonderful, right after 7 o'clock (the prayer time was at 7) I felt like my bed was surrounded by people with their hands on me, praying for me."  Incredible!  Thank you everyone for praying for Jim.  He was doing well when I left him yesterday.

The rest of the story:

Jim's surgery was at 8:30 yesterday morning.  We had decided the day before that I would not come to the hospital until around 3.  That would give time for the 2 hour surgery and the 5-6 hours of recovery.

Being anxious to see him, I left home at about 2:30 to walk the 10 minutes or so to the hospital.  Our friend Steffen (from the owl glass story) went with me. 
 

Universitätsklinikums Leipzig

We sat on a bench outside of Jim's room, waiting for him to return.  After an hour or so, the nurse told us that it would be another hour before they brought him, so Steffen and I headed down to the Cafe for some coffee.  Steffen headed home and said he would return at about 6.  Six came and so did Steffen, by there was no sign of Jim.  It seemed a bit long to be in recovery for 8 hours, so I asked again.  This time they called and let me talk to Jim.  What a relief to hear his weak and sleepy voice!  He wasn't sure why he wasn't out of recovery yet, but was worried about me waiting and not knowing what was going on.  Isn't that just like my husband!

About an hour later, they called recovery again and Jim gave me the story.  They did not have enough beds in the Urology unit and the doctor didn't want him in another unit because of the special post-op care this surgery needs, so they were having him stay in recovery overnight and, hopefully, a bed will  open up today.  Everyone was so kind and helpful!  They even let me go into the recovery ward for a few minutes to see Jim!  That is usually totally off limits!  I was so thankful to see my wonderful husband lying there and to hear him talking in his sleepy, raspy voice.

Jim's doctor Prof. Jens-Uwe Stolzenburg

He was so tired that he only said a few things, but the one that stood out the most was his telling me about feeling the hands of many on him before he went into surgery!  The doctor said all went well and he should have a normal recovery.  He will be in the hospital until Tuesday when they will assess if he is ready to come home.

Thank you all for praying for us!  We certainly have felt "the hands of many on us".  Please, continue to pray for Jim's recovery and for me as I try to finish writing a paper that is due March 6!

Guest Blogger--Jim Miller. Up Coming Surgery.

I just wanted to send you an update about my health and ministry.  

Lina and I are so very thankful for the opportunity to serve here in Leipzig.  Today we were welcomed in as the newest members of the FeG Ring Cafe Church.  We have found that having had this time of staying with families in the church rather than having our own place has allowed us to grow and develop wonderful relationships.

Well the outcome of my Urologist appointment on Tuesday was a recommendation to have surgery to remove my prostate.  I felt that was the most likely outcome, but hearing that on Tuesday was pretty sobering.  

BUT GOD! 

Karstan Pascher my current landlord and medical GP took it upon himself to write an email on my behalf to the head of the Urology department at the University Klinikum.  Professor Jens-Uwe Stolzenburg was a pioneer in lapriscopic surgical procedures and he has been doing the DaVinci assisted robotic surgery all over the world for the last four years.  He responded to Karstan's email and met with me first thing Thursday morning at 7:15 AM.  He will be the one doing my surgery on February 19.  He said that I would check into the hospital on the afternoon of the 18th and anticipate an additional five day stay after the surgery.  He made room in his busy schedule to perform the surgery, so that I can be recovered enough to attend Emily and Alpha's wedding in Bangladesh (leaving March 11, wedding on the 20th, returning on the 25th).  He went on to tell me that over 90% of patients recover fully from side-effects of the surgery, so that was encouraging news.

The fingerprints of God's mercy, grace and care are all over this.  Both Lina and I are experiencing peace in this and just wanted to say thank you for praying for us.  We are moving into our new apartment this weekend.  Registered our car with Leipzig plates Friday morning.  We are definitely feeling more settled all the time.

We are loving working with the teens at the church.  Looking forward to opportunities to get into the local High Schools.  We are making good progress in learning German.

Praising our Great Physician and Redeemer!

Blessings,

Jim