Bittersweet

The Bitter:

I found out Friday that one of my first grade students moved to Miami. We will miss Kamberly (Kam). It is so difficult when students leave with no forewarning. It is common to simply move without telling anyone ahead of time here. I have heard that this is in part due to voodoo thinking. By not telling anyone about their planned future, they are not giving anyone opportunity to do evil to their plans. I also assume that when someone gets their chance to move to a different country they do so quickly. It doesn't seem right to be moving her desk or taking out her textbooks. I will miss her energy, wit and her love of singing, hair barrettes, and jumping rope. My students have been praying for Kam and we will continue to do so.

The Sweet:

Lindsay Dorfils, our student who had a partial thyroidectomy last May had a blood test done for her thyroid calcium levels this past Monday. Her blood levels are not perfect but amazingly close to "normal range". If you have had any experience with regulating thyroid levels, you know that this is God's doing. Because she still has part of her thyroid, it is even more difficult to regulate because one can't be sure how much stimulating hormone the remaining thyroid tissue will produce until the tissue "kicks in" and starts doing its job. She will remain on medication until her next blood draw in 12 months! In some people, the remaining tissue actually produces enough for the whole body and some people need no medication at all. In her case, because she is young, there is a possibility of this. Please pray for continued health in the next year.