Sewards' Online Snapshots

Wheaton Visit

2008-06-26T06:37:00.000-07:00

We saw so many friends on our Wheaton leg of the trip. We had an opportunity to share in our Sunday School class an shared a bit in the Sunday night service.
We did not take as many pictures with friends as we would have liked. It is hard to break up a good conversation with old friends to shoot a picture. But we certainly value all of you. :D

Anyway, here are a couple of our Wheaton friends from that short visit!

These two are friends from as long as 18 years ago when we were all in the same newly married Sunday school. Lisa Blunt, and Ruthe Ledbetter. It was so fun to see them again.

Ruthe was so gracious to have us stay in her home. Thanks Ruthe!

Janet P. and her husband send out our prayer letters. They've done this since we left for Cote D'Ivoire in 1996. Thanks so much for your work, Robert & Janet!

It has been such a blessing to visit people and also for them to see Lisa and marvel at how good she really is doing. So many of you tell us how you are pained for Lisa, and how you pray even daily for our family. It really means so much, thank you.

Our kids have put up with all the travel. They've enjoyed seeing friends, too. But they put up with a lot of boring hours on the road. It is so nice to have Hilary with us...

** No news of Lisa at this point. Our next appointment is August 1st, where she will have an MRI scan. The results will be digital, so we have an appointment with the surgeon right afterwards, and will talk about the next step in her treatment. Hopefully scheduling the implant surgery... but we'll see!

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks so much for praying for us..

Tom & Lisa Seward

PS. If we didn't see you while we were in Wheaton it was because we were only there Saturday Sunday and Monday. But we will be ther elonger our next time as we're planning to take part in the missionary conference at First Baptist of Wheaton in February. So we'll be there a bit longer and have more time to see more of you. :D

More Pics from Minnesota Trip!

2008-06-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

While staying here at Langes' house, Caleb had the opportunity to ride a llama. This goes to prove you don't have to be in Africa to enjoy exotic animals. :D

Cynthia has been such a gracious host to us. We thank her and so appreciate their family's friendship.

Wed Morning we spoke to one of our favorite youth groups. Hayden Heights Baptist church seniors meet each Wed for prayer. They are a joy to be with. A bunch of us went out to Perkins for lunch afterwards.

And a last entry. Lisa's stepdad, Melbourne Holsteen was buried here in Minnesota. So we were able to see the grave. Caleb misses his grandpa, and wasn't back for the funeral. So it was important for him to see where Grandpa's body lies, but we know his soul & spirit are in a better place! The good stuff is yet to come, isn't it?

Pray for us as we continue to share and travel. We'll be in Wheaton this coming weekend.

God Bless,
Tom & Lisa Seward

Minnesota Visit

2008-06-17T15:56:00.000-07:00

Hi again. We're up in Minnesota right now. We came up so that Ben could spend a week at Camp Lebanon Bible Camp. We had spoken there several summers in the past, and thought it would be a great place for him to enjoy camp. Along the way, we've been seeing many friends, and will have spoken in 4 churches before the week is up. It is so nice to be up here and see old friends. We have so many of them in MN... :D

Here are some of the pics.

Visit with Sally Hanson & Gretchen Hibbs in Long Prairie!

This is a pic of Hilary with her friend Melissa Lange.
They ooze cuteness together, don't you think?

We went up to Park Rapids and visited Marlene Geraud and Marjean Englehart, both retired missionaries with Worldventure who served in Ivory Coast. Marlene was Hilary's 2nd grade teacher. It was nice to see them again.

Look out! We may visit you next... :D
Thanks for stopping by,
Tom & Lisa Seward

WELCOME HOME HILARY!!

2008-06-09T07:13:00.000-07:00

WELCOME HOME HILARY!

We had an amazing time picking up Hilary at the airport in Detroit. To start with, Michigan has been racked this weekend by thunderstorms, high winds, and tornados.
Many trees down, roofs ripped off of buildings, etc.
Hilary's flight was due to arrive at 2:30 pm.. So we got to the airport, a bit excited about 2 pm... or so... We saw right away that her plane was cancelled. Great. So I was able to find a direct line phone to see what happened. She was transferred from the JFK airport in Detroit to a plane flying out of Lagardia.. But the airline assured me she was on a list of passengers that had been provided with a bus to take her there, and that she was booked on a plane scheduled for 6:48 pm.
So we decided to go play some mini golf. Some members of our party were a bit antsy. (Caleb actually won the back 9 holes... )

So we go back to the airport, the plane was delayed till 8:15.. because of the thunderstorms, the hotline said. So we decided that we didn't know how long this all would take, so we should get a hotel room. So I took Grandma and the boys to a Comfort Inn, and got them set up. And we all had a nice supper at Bob Evans..

Lisa and I went back to the airport, and stood there holding the welcome sign.
More than a few people came up to us, and said "I wish I was Hilary... " :D
So finally Hilary arrived, safe and sound. We were so pleased...

THANK YOU!!! To so many who prayed for her flight. She was brave, and assertive and did well. So we're proud of how well she did. We did learn some travel lessons, though. McCombs- Thanks for the $ you made sure she had. It did save her in NY.

So here finally arrived back at Grandma's house..

Grandma Holsteen, Hilary, Lisa.

The mega turtle of homecoming?

This snapping turtle was so excited about Hilary coming home that he crawled onto our driveway, and hid under our trailer. :D
He was big! Bigger than a dinner plate, more like a serving plate.
He was gone when we got back... thankfully.

Hilary will be with us until her flight back to school in Dakar, Senegal August 11th.
If you would like to fly back with her, you're welcome. :D
We'll pray that her return flight goes smoother... :D

Thanks again for stopping by,
and always for your prayers.

Tom & Lisa

Setback or Blessing?

2008-06-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

We finally had our appointment with the surgeon yesterday. We went in
expecting to chat some, and schedule cochlear implant surgery.

To our surprise, he was again very pre-occupied with the source of her
deafness... And after asking a lot of background questions, began to
test her for balance/motor skills. He looked at the CAD Scan that was
done, and did not notice cochlear damage.

So he is now thinking it may be nerve damage instead or something
pressing on the nerve. So he ordered another MRI of those nerve areas to
see if some object/thing/clot/tumor/bicycle ;D may be pinching the nerve
somehow... (He did not say the word tumor, but 1+1= ___)

He did say that if something was pinching/pressing the nerve and could
be removed maybe the ch surgery won't be necessary at all..OR the MRI will be clear, in which case, we move ahead on scheduling the surgery... So while it was annoying not to be moving ahead faster, it is a wise move on his part to check out this possibility first.

So that is how we stand today...As Lisa is fond of saying now..

"Hurry up and wait!"

Here is a pic of her in the doc's office before the appointment!

By the way... She welcomes all chat friends.. so if you want to be her friend
on facebook, and chat. Or skype or another way... Please contact and do
so... The internet has been so so helpful to her to express herself
well, and be in contact with old friends and new friends. She has found
a great support group online as well.

Thanks for praying for us
Tom & Lisa

PS. Hilary flies tomorrow from Dakar to NY to Detroit.Someone from her school in Dakar will be on that flight, so that is a blessing. We're
thankful how God is able to take care of details like that... :D

WHAT is Lisa's latest news?

2008-06-05T03:37:00.000-07:00

Lisa had an appointment with the surgeon for June 24th. But when she went in for the cat scan, (required before the appointment) She was able to get that appointment moved up to tomorrow morning (Friday, June 5th) ... So in that meeting she should be able to schedule the surgery.
So that will be an exciting appointment... I expect the surgery will be some time in July or August...

She is hoping to talk to him about doing a double implant. She's read on the internet that doing both at the same time saves hospital costs, but also allows the brain to re-learn to hear for both ears in a balanced way.
There are not many who have done both ears, and fewer that have had them at the same time. Our clinic said they've done 2 at the same time once... Our insurance agreed to attempt it...
We'll see if the surgeon is on board...

Thanks for praying... :D

Tom & Lisa

Life in Lansing...

2008-06-01T05:53:00.000-07:00

Hi.. Lisa has a catscan tomorrow morning. Monday...
She is required to have it prior to meeting the surgeon on June 24th.
She was also required to have meningitis vaccination. Did that last week.
So we are doing our homework.

Soon we'll see the surgeon and schedule the surgery...

In the meantime, here are a few more pics...

Baseball with Caleb...

And a visit to childrens' museum in Lansing, where the kids saw this cool bubble window...

Please do keep praying for us.
We are doing fairly well, but all is not over yet...

Also.. Hilary flies on her own from Dakar to Detroit via New York Sun June 8th.
Its kind of a big thing for her, but she will do well.

Thanks for stopping by,
Tom & Lisa Seward

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-26T18:21:00.001-07:00

Hi. Don't have new news on Lisa until the 24th of June when we see the surgeon. But do continue to pray as we make decisions and deal with some of the ramifications of this obstacle...
We are still confident God is good, and peices are coming together in this puzzle, but it is not complete yet.
He has more to reveal, and we need to be patient to see each piece in its time...

Some big issues have already been "settled". I'm not able to go into detail, but I assure you we've been seeing Gods hand of love at work. :-)

Hilary flies to the US... (Dakar-NY-Detroit) Possibly all by herself... Would you send your 16 yr old daughter on a flight like that? Maybe not. We're confident Hilary can handle it, and are looking forward to seeing her up close! And hearing many many school stories... :-)
She will add some cuteness to our family again, too. (Oh Daddy....)

In the meantime we are being active in our local surroundings. These pics are from a bbq picnic today with friends from South Church. Apparantly they are rabid about croquet in Lansing. So we enjoyed some high competition croquet where I was not champion of one of the rounds, but won a t-shirt for 2nd place.
Very nice. We had a good time, and are getting to know a new batch of believers in another corner of the body of Christ.. I never tire of that... :-)

Here are some pics...

Thanks for praying and stopping by today.
Tom & Lisa

Hello again! Questions.

2008-05-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

Maybe these are some questions you would like to ask us. (in fun...)

So is eating out all you ever do?? No.. but we have enjoyed taking pictures of friends we do get a chance to visit with. It has been such a blessing to eat and share with people who care about you, and have prayed for you over the years...

So will I ever get my picture on your blog? Sure, watch this space.... :-) It could happen.

Well, here we are again...
This time we are with Aunt Joyce and Uncle Frank...

And here is a long table shot...
Some family from the Cherry/Snore side of the family...
We did enjoy renewing those friendships again...

Thanks for stopping by, and watch this space...

it could be you who is posted next...

Tom & Lisa

Caleb's 8th birthday party

2008-05-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

Lisa, Grandma Holsteen, Caleb, Grandma Maire, Ben.

Caleb- Chuckee Cheeses.

Ben- Chuckee Cheeses.

So we celebrated Caleb's 8th birthday today. Had a fun time at Chuckee Cheese's after seeing Narnia: Prince Caspian. Enjoyed the film. Had a good day.

Lisa continues to do ok. We need to get her meningitis shots before they do ear surgery, also have "homework" assignment to get xray & mri done. Those have to be available for the surgeon to look at during the upcoming appointment...

Thanks for continuing to pray for her...

God Bless,
Tom & Lisa

Fort Wayne Visit...

2008-05-19T13:01:00.001-07:00

Our exploits in the US continue!!! We were able to visit our friends at Wallen Baptist Church in Ft. Wayne this past weekend. We had such a nice time seeing so many old friends and smiling faces..

We spoke in the two services, and shared in Sunday School classes. People were so warm and open to us. It really felt like we re-entered a friend zone... So many offered a hug and encouragement to Lisa & I. And so many said they enjoy this blog! It was an encouraging weekend for us. THank you Wallen!!

We also were able to visit other supporters, and our friends at Anchor Room. (Sorry, Jan you weren't there... but we will come again...) Hilary will want to see her Ft. Wayne friends, I'm sure....

Saturday, we were able to have lunch with Stephan and Christina , and found out that the food at the Taj Mahal Indian food restraunt was a lot like African food... (Except for curry... :-) )
It was so nice to catch up with them again, and see how their girls have grown..

Of course Caleb was able to hang out with his friends, and here he is with Michael and Josiah. These are the two kids he's talked about so much in Africa... Of course Caleb has good friends in MN, Wheaton, Michigan, and Quebec as well.. But he did so enjoy time with this little gigglers...

Thanks for stopping by today!

Tom & Lisa Seward

Ft Wayne visit

2008-05-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

We had a good visit with the doc. (Audiologist) on Thursday. She is not the doc who will be doing the surgery, but the doc who will be doing all the follow ups and technical stuff on the cochlear implants once they are done...

She first had to test Lisa to see if she is a good candidate for cochlear implants, and to see if she can be helped with hearing aids, instead.

Hearing aid test was funny... If you have a sick sense of humor like me...

Left Ear with hearing aid.... 0%

Right Ear with hearing aid.... 6%

Definately not a pass.. :-)

So she is a candidate for the implants, a particularly good one because the hearing loss is recent, and her speech is still fairly normal...

Unfortunately, the next appointment we could schedule for to meet the surgeon was June 24th.

That is disappointing that it will take so long just to see him. Then the surgery is scheduled, assuming the business/insurance side of the transaction is squared away...

So we have a little down time... it seems. But Lisa doesn't want down time.

So... We are in Ft Wayne this weekend, visiting our church here, and seeing many friends from 3 years ago...

Including the folks in the picture, Rob & Jenny... They've been so kind to host us...

And their kids were high on the list of kids our kids have to see in America...

Caleb really wanted to see their 8 year old.. Josiah. So they have the opportunity now..

I think we weren't at their house 1 hr before Caleb and Josiah both fell in the creek out back of their house.... :-) Boys were having oodles of fun, though...

We hope to get to see many of you during our time here in the States. We just can't promise tomorrow! :-)

Thanks for stopping by!
God Bless

Tom and Lisa

Update on Lisa - May 7th

2008-05-07T07:17:00.000-07:00

Latest news for prayer... Feel free to share this with people we may have missed communicating with...

Hi. We have an appointment with the Cochlear Implant Surgeon... a Dr. Steve Talian
Our appointment yesterday with the ENT was: "Boy, your wife is really deaf..." And a referral to coch surgery... (There are no other viable options for her at this time...)

So called, got an appointment with this doc for next Thurs the 15th...
He was referred to us actually by a former mission pastor (David Brooks) who talked to Dr Talian at his church. (I'm not sure if it is Talian or Talia...) Anyway Dr Talia is very interested in Africa missions, has been to Kenya, and is equipping a team to go to Togo this summer sometime.. He is active in their church. He is also head of Cochlear implant surgery at university of michigan hospital... Handy guy to know right now...

Our Detroit friends, while this means we will be seeking treatment in the Ann Arbor direction, it does not mean we won't come see you at some point. :-)

****So we've entered into a sea of applications and forms and paperwork that frankly is not my forte, and blows my mind to deal with... So pray for grace and capability for me...
****Pray for Lisa of course.. The steroids did no good whatsoever... So this is the next step.
****The boys are doing well. Although 2x yesterday I heard "I wanna go back to Africa.. this was said while walking through a Meijjers store!!!"

We'll keep you posted one way or another as these developments unfold further...

Tom & Lisa

Emily back in Kadiolo

2008-05-02T05:43:00.001-07:00

Emily & some of the kids in her courtyard.

Please pray for Emily. She came out to Kadiolo in November 2007. She came to work with women's ministries, and has been living in an african courtyard. (This pic is her with some of the kids that she lives with...) She has been learning bambara in this situation. Total immersion is good for learning, and she has come a long way. She has been very courageous, and we are proud of her.

But we did not plan for us to be gone for a few months, even possibly the summer while she stayed to work.
We may have counselled another short termer to cut their time short and go home, but Emily is so capable.
She is still there, and is moving from language study phase to beginning to teach community health with local women phase.

1. Pray for her. She needs students who are willing to learn.

2. Pray that God would give her the contacts she needs, and that many would be non-churched ladies who would be willing to learn.

3. Pray for her stamina, that she would be able to continue to do well in spite of the situation.

4. pray for a good partner to join her who would be able to teach and translate alongside Emily. This would have two positives. That person would help Emily communicate, and that person would be trained a bit to teach on community health issues as well.

5. Pray for a video project. Emily has an idea that maybe the drama team could do some short skits that teach on some of these community health issues. If they could be videotaped, they could be used for some time to come...

As you see, the work in Mali does not stop with us being gone. We are thankful for Skype that allows us to keep good contact with those on the field... :-)

Thanks for stopping by...
Tom & Lisa

Almost 4 weeks of deafness now...

2008-05-02T05:07:00.000-07:00

Jerry, Barb, Lisa, Caleb, Tom, and Valerie (Lisa's mom.)

One thing that we've been blessed with in this mess has been to see so many of our friends.
Jerry & Barb are Lisa's aunt and uncle. We enjoyed dinner with them Tuesday night.

Lisa is taking her steroid meds. Still no progress there. We fear that we may well be recommended for implant surgery on the 6th when we see the doctor. We have been so blessed by the many many of you who have emailed, called, written on our facebooks, skyped or said to us in person that you've followed Lisa's story and that you've been praying for us... Each person has been a blessing to us. We smile bewilderedly sometimes, and say "God, you are in control, and you love us..." Each time we hear from one of you. It is humbling...

We won't be doing official church visits at this time, because our reason to be on this side of the ocean is to treat Lisa's hearing as best we are able... But we do have some plans this summer to travel as far as MN,
(we may get down to Bushnell, IL as well. :-) ) So we may make it your way to see you.... Lord willing.

Other than that... No news yet on Lisa, no new improvements. Thanks for sticking with us...
We're planning to fly Hilary home for the summer. But she WILL be going back to Dakar Academy for school this fall.. Even if we may be slow getting back to Africa... Her flight is out of budget, so if you would like to give a little to help it would be greatly appreciated. :-)

Thanks for stopping by,
Tom & Lisa Seward

Lunch with Grandma

2008-04-27T04:58:00.000-07:00

Hi. We are doing well here in Michigan.

We're awaiting Lisa's steroid treatment to take its course.

We see the Doctor next May 6th...

Meanwhile reconnecting with friends and family has been a blessing.

Lisa is doing well, although we do a lot of notepad writing to her.

Her attitude is good, and while this time is difficult for her, and us...

The atmosphere in our family is not one of despair,

but instead we enjoy what we can, laugh a lot, and trust in the goodness of God.

I have told someone that the milk has already been spilled.

We're just looking for the best way to clean it up effieciently.

The event is in the past and out of our hands.

So moping isn't going to help.

We can certainly pray for healing, and God can heal.

Here is a pic of us having lunch with Grandma Maire.

If you can guess this restraunt, you probably live in

St. Johns or somewhere nearby! :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

Tom & Lisa Seward

Ear Doctor, evaluation and started treatment

2008-04-24T18:43:00.000-07:00

Here is the pic just 30 min after we touched US soil again. With Lisa's mom, and Jan Eadelman. Ernie is taking the photo. They were so nice to come and pick us up at the airport!

So-Lisa's condition:
We saw the ear specialist Monday. Not the one in detroit, but got a good referral to one here 2 miles from Lisa's moms house in Lansing. He did an ear test. (She is still very deaf, her ears do not hear any speech. Just loud bangs and noises in the 90-100 decibel range.) The doc looked at the results, and looked at Lisa's recent med history. He was scared for us. (always scary when the doc is scared.) He was mystified about the cause of the deafness. He prescribes erythromycin, so did not want to attribute the deafness to that. Anyway, there were a huge combo of factors, including the fever that could be responsible..

He put her on a two week treatment for steroids. He told me they weren't a miracle drug, and that while they may help, they probably won't cure her. (No harm in praying to that effect, though..) He said in 2 weeks we'd meet again for a re-test to see if there was any change. He said if there was no change at that point he would recommend hearing aid implants. He said she was a good candidate for those, because she was already able to talk, etc. He said she could get up to within 10 decibels of normal hearing. So a little bit less than normal.

We asked him about the detroit doc. He said that he would be in contact with his surgeons already, and that while he didn't know the detroit guy, his surgeons do. (he said that the hearing doc community isn't all that big in michigan, and they all know each other..) Anyway he was very open about working with other docs to find the best solution for Lisa. He marked "no charge" on our bill. And said he would be willing to be the point man following up her case. So nice. I appreciated him telling us the blunt truth, and not beating around the bush.

So... While surgery could be done really fast.. the adjustment of these implants is a process that takes more time... between 2-6 mos to get them adjusted properly. So we're not sure about how to plan for our return to Mali yet. Lisa is still hoping we can get back before Hilary's school lets out.

But I think even if she is 99%, we should spend a month with family while we are over here on this side of the world. So we'll see. That is the scoop as I know it right now...

We met with the missions committee at Lisa's home church last night. Gave them the update. They asked if there was any pressing financial needs. I said for medical, I think our structure has it covered. But we do have 2 needs that are out of budget for us...

1. Possibly fly Hilary to US for the summer to be with us in this situation. Air ticket would cost $1600-2000 round trip. She will go back to Dakar for school in the fall.

2. We need funds to fly all 4 of us back to the field. The insurance may pay for Lisa, but I don't think they will pay for us all to return...(Our overseas travel is building up for us all to fly home normally in 2010 for furlough... But if that is used now, will be low for us to come back...)

These needs are big for any one church to take on by itself. But maybe if a lot of people or churches in our circle of contact could give some, we'd be able to cover these needs.

Lisa's spirits are good. If you were to have lunch with us tomorrow, you would write a lot of notes to her. But you would see her laugh and joke, and speak to you almost as normally as before..

We do pray for her recovery. God does do things like that... :-)

Tom & Lisa Seward

Update on Lisa from Lisa :-)

2008-04-13T10:24:00.000-07:00

It seems like a good time to share some of my thoughts and feelings this past month that I've been struggling with serious tropical diseases and dehydration, and now hearing loss as a result of some treatment given to me.

Treating the initial malaria was fairly normal. When that became a bronchitis situation where water was filling my lungs, that was more puzzling. Was I just too indulgent by sleeping lots to get over the malaria? By the way, during that time, I read a very moving book called, "Into the Deep" about a man named Robert Rogers who lost his entire family in a flash flood that swept the car off the highway, and he was the only one of his wife and 4 children to survive. It showed how God was in the midst of that "freak" accident, and His plan to use people to spread His grace was evident.

As I weakened, we anticipated Hilary's arrival for Spring Break, but had to ask Emily to turn around and go back to Bamako after she'd just returned from her own vacation, and go get Hilary at the airport and bus home with her. Tom was feeling a little down, too, and didn't really want to leave me. Those of you who've been with us at Easter time know that one of our family traditions is the Rice Krispy tomb and candy soldiers and ladies and angels that get constructed out of gummy bears, circus peanuts, or whatever you can stab with a toothpick to creat a character. You put a Jesus in the tomb on Friday (he's non-edible, like Lego), and then Sunday morning, the stone is rolled away, the soldiers are knocked down, and the ladies are standing there looking for Jesus who is gone. Then we eat it. We've included various families to join us in the making over the years.

This year, we knew our time would be short since the next day was Easter. But Saturday night, I was so weak yet uncomfortable that we couldn't build an Easter diarama. In fact, I couldn't sleep a wink all night. I just lay there thinking, "God I can't do this anymore. I have to get out of here. I can't stay here one more day or I may not get out." I was too weak to cry or be emotional. So Easter Sunday morning, we mobilized the Dr. to write the evacuation order to Bamako. Our colleague, Tom Requadt, from Fourou agreed to drive us, and Hilary helped me pack up my bag, and Tom's, and supervised the boys, and also tried to pull together some snacks and drinks for the 8-hour trip. She and Ben also emptied the fridge and unplugged it and got the house ready to leave.

We checked into the hospital in Bamako that evening and you've read some of those details in Tom's previous updates. One thing I wanted to add is that, my brain was mush; I had brought some things to read, knowing that the hospital could get boring, but I couldn't wrap my brain around anything that needed thought for many days, except the Psalms. Have you ever noticed how the Psalms can be read at any time, in any state of being, without much thought except to follow along with the cries of David, or the praises of Asaph? I was glad to put my mind to something quiet and eternal, after the blare of 2 choices of t.v. channels both in French in my room. Hilary shared my room several nights, and one time we talked about how the Psalms grow on you. I didn't used to like the depressing tone to so many of David's Psalms where he cries out for vengeance, or repents of his grievous sins. But this time, I was looking for God's special message to me in this crisis and those Psalms became more precious. And when I noticed my heart saying, "Yes, praise the Lord!", tears would come to my eyes, and I knew I was on the road to recovery, my emotions were coming back.

I didn't find one Psalm that spoke exactly to my situation. There were lines and verses all over that I could resonate with, but this section in Psalm 33 rang true to me (with slight applications for my situation).

Psalm 33:13-22:
The LORD looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race. From his throne he observes all who live on the earth (even in my bed in rural Mali). He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do. The best-equipped army cannot save a king, nor is great strength enough to save a warrior (or someone who's normally strong and healthy). Don't count on your warhorse to give you victory--for all its strength, it cannot save you. (or your Cuartem, new anti-malarial cure). But the LORD watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine (or dehydration). We put our hope in the LORD. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name (even when we can't find the cause of the fever spikes) Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in you alone (the Great Physician).

Now, as I'm gaining strength and seemingly cured of the tropical diseases, I'm dealing with this hearing loss. Tom has been reading in the new issue of EMQ, Evangelical Missions Quarterly, several good articles. But this one called, "Five Lies about Missions" makes you think about some of our foundational beliefs and assumptions, and are they right? #5 says, "The safest place in the world is within the will of God." I've said this myself, with the idea that whether I'm here on the earth serving the Lord, or if something happened and God took me home to Heaven, I'd still be great and all in His will. That's where I want to be, rather than doing my own thing somewhere, ignoring God's call on my life.

But in the context of my sickness battle, have our thoughts ever swayed these directions? " 'Are missionaries safe?' is a commonly asked question. Missionary safety is of prime importance. Yet if that is the main issue for families, churches and agencies, then there is only one thing to do: stop sending. Western culture has attemped to cleanse faith of its rough edges. Surely God only wants what is best for me, my family and my country! When troubles come, are they not a sign of God's disfavor? Has Western Christianity attempted to neuter the heart of faith by removing the suffering and persecution the New Testament promises are intrinsic to following Jesus?...The lie that personal safety, and an absence of risk, is of paramount importance is a heinous lie that has infected Western, believing enterprises globally...What can believers do in the face of such a destructive lie? Choose not to be afraid." I can be afraid of getting malaria or amoebic dystery, or of getting my purse stolen, all of which have happened to me, or I can choose faith, service, prudence when possible, and trust. I trust God, not to keep me safe, but to give me the grace to go through the tough times with me. And the desire to learn and grow from these experiences. That's my choice!

Okay, on the lighter side, some of you have been asking how the boys are doing. Well this picture explains a bit how fun Bamako is for Ben & Caleb... Lots of kids to play with... Here Caleb and a friend have made a furniture fort!! Of course, clothes are optional in Africa... although Caleb had on two pairs of underwear for some reason this morning....

Thanks for stopping by...
Tom & Lisa

Still in Bamako

2008-04-09T05:03:00.001-07:00

We spent the morning at the pool yesterday with Nathan & Becky Kendall.
We both were involved at First Baptist church of Wheaton together.
They've been in Guinea, and we've been here in Mali. This is the first time we've crossed paths in Africa. So we've enjoyed their company here in Bamako.

Lisa finds that she doesn't need to hear to swim.. And thoroughly enjoyed the day.
Of course Ben & Caleb were up for a good swim, too. :-)

I enjoyed shade and a nice cold coke... :-)

We dont see any change in Lisa's hearing today. But her spirits are high. Better than mine. Although several of you have been able to talk to me via skype. Each one has been such an encouragement. And so so so many others have sent notes via email or face book or word of mouth to say you are praying.
It is humbling to have so many of you praying for us. I know you pray normally for us. But this experience seems to have made that more intense.. :-)

What a mighty God we serve, eh?

Thanks for stopping by!
Tom & Lisa Seward

How is Lisa??

2008-04-07T23:59:00.001-07:00

Lisa and I yesterday afternoon. (April 2008)

Hilary & Lisa yesterday afternoon. (April 2008)

So what is going on with Lisa? Some good news. Some troubling news.
The good news is that she has made a pretty good recovery from the sicknesses she had. So sign of malaria, the pneumonia is almost gone without a trace.
The amoebes and fever are gone....

Troubling news. Lisa has contracted a deafness. We think it was due to an anti biotic she was prescribed as a follow up medicine when she left the hospital.
We had her hearing tested yesterday. (This only tests her state of hearing on testing day, does not tell us how permanent the loss will be...)
Anyway, the test said that you need to be at 100 decibels for Lisa to hear you.
Basically, unless you are the Newsboys live on stage, she won't hear.... :-)
This is quite alarming. The internet says that hearing loss due to this medicine in a controlled experiment 32% of the participants had hearing loss. A very high percentage of those regained their hearing after 5-9 days. So the hearing loss is classified as reversible... But was their fever as high as hers? Or were they as dehydrated when taking the meds? Don't know...

We are pursuing treatment, of course.
Pray with us that God would provide sound advice, and that healing would take place.

We are unsure what this means as far as how treatment will best take place. We are in communication with our med insurance guys.

For now, Hilary went back to school in Dakar. She took her flight last night.
Ben & Caleb are with us.. So they are part of any treatment plan/travel that might take place...

Will update more...

We're asking the question "is it worth it?" You may too in a situation like this.
We believe God called us to Mali for a reason. We believe that He works through us here, even in ways we are unaware of.
The early missionaries 200-150 years ago came to Africa with their caskets as part of their baggage. Many died to bring the gospel into this dark continent. Was their sacrifice worth it? Some arrived, and died right away, others were able to have a career here. From what we've seen in Cote D'Ivoire and Mali, the two countries we've worked in, God is at work in Africa. It is worth it. Both countries have a thriving church movement. Cote D'Ivoire more than Mali, maybe 5x the believers there.
But God is working here. A missionary colleague yesterday, (We were discussing the "is it worth it" question.) said that the church movement here is driven by national pastors with training and vision. He said every pastor who is a positive driving force has a missionary as a close personal mentor in his past. We find that to be true in our experience. The national pastors we work with who are the keystones that God is using to build the church are heavily influenced by the missionaries they worked closely with.
Is it worth it? Yes, I think so... The church in Africa has about 2% of the christian literature available to them that the church in America has. It has maybe 5% of the funds available. It has maybe 5% of the trained pastors available to it.
It is worth a risk to build up our brothers and sisters in Christ on this side of the planet... These friends know poverty, suffering, and have a passion for their faith in Christ that teaches us every day....

Anyway, this is a bit of my rambling as we try to piece together how these events affect us, and how we mesh those events with philosophy of ministry, etc.

Thanks for stopping by,
Tom & Lisa Seward

Lisa again. Update

2008-03-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

Hi. Everything I wrote yesterday is true. However, the doctor just told us that the blood test results came back yesterday, and that they immediately started treatment for Amoebas. This explains stomach upset and fever that wasn't going away with anti biotics. (Anti biotics work great on Bronchial infections, but don't kill amoebas so well.) If this is indeed the solution, the doc said she could become out patient on two conditions: 1. She can eat without being sick. 2. The fever is stable without IV meds. So to me this is good news. They'be been pinpointing her symptoms, and now this seems to have a good answer for all of them.

Can you imagine how sick she was? Malaria, bronchial infection turned to pneumonia, and Amoebic dyssentry. No wonder she got dehydrated so quickly, and no wonder it has been difficult to treat the many symptoms that all those sicknesses bring! Wow.

All is not done yet, but we seem to be on a good tack, now.
Praise the Lord!
Tom & Lisa

PS: Wanna come visit? We'd love to show you some great ways to get sick in Mali.
No, seriously, I'll restate that we have experienced such a healthy time this last 2.5 years in Mali. We've been a lot healthier than when we were in the Ivory Coast.
This sick spell has been tough for Lisa, but overall we've been healthier. All of us.

Thanks for stopping by! You have encouraged us so so much!
Tom & Lisa Seward

The more complete story of Lisa's recent bout with malaria

2008-03-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

Hi. We've had an interesting last two weeks. Lisa was sick. We treated her for malaria. She took her 5 day treatment, but still feverish, weak. So called the doctor in Kadiolo. He listened to her airways, and said she had a bronchial infection, so prescribed her antibiotic. Her passageways cleared over a 4 day treatment... But fever still persisted. By this time Lisa is getting dehydrated. So doc put her on IVs and added another anti malaria treatment in case the first one didn't get it all. Lisa weakens, had a bad night. We called the doc in the morning, and he said to evacuate to Bamako where there is better lab access. So our colleague, Tom Requadt drove us all to Bamako. We had to be ready in case we needed to leave Mali for treatment.
Lisa was admitted to the hospital. Clinique Louis Pasteur. This place really has taken good care of Lisa. They gave her an injection series against malaria because her fever was still spiking. They declared that her airways were clear. And they began an agressive IV treatment to rehydrate her. So it is now Thursday. Malaria treatment is done. They've discovered water in her lungs, probably the source of this fever... So while her airways are clear, her lungs were drowning a bit... So she has a new anti biotic treatment going, and hopefully, she'll be good as new. It does not look like we will have to be evacuated from Mali, thankfully.

Here is a pic from Lisa from a few months ago.

As you can imagine, I couldn't get a good pic this week.

She was too sick to shoot. :-)

We really felt an outpouring of love and prayers from so many of you this past week. Email, facebook and skype really helped us feel closer to all of you. And the mission community here in Bamako really reached out to us. Wycliffe missionaries invited Ben and Caleb to take part of their conference kids' program this week. And when there was no more guest house room in Bamako, a GMU/Avant couple opened their home to us. We thank the Lord for all of you.
Sometimes circumstances need to beyond your control to enable you to stop, and accept love and care from others.... Phone calls and text messages from christians in Kadiolo have not stopped.

Also, this week is womens' conference. They started on Monday. Lisa was supposed to go with Emily. Emily did go, and we had 42 women who went. This is the women's ministry high light of the year. Pray that these women learn from camp. There will be many sessions. Many of these ladies can now follow along in their Bibles in the sessions.
Here is a pic from last year when Lisa & the kids made necklaces for their moms...

Thanks for praying and for stopping by. We really felt your prayers this week.
God Bless
Tom

Prison!

2008-03-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

Prisoners eagerly enjoying the film.

The man in the foreground (right) is the one interested in meeting regularly.

Me, changing the vcd to the 2nd disc of the film.

Greeting/talking a bit between.

Hi. This week I accepted an opportunity that I had never taken advantage of before. I was asked by the team to help project a film in prison here in Kadiolo. Our church has been involved in prison ministry here for a long time, but this was my first time to go.

You need to understand. Prison in Mali is not like prison in America. No tv, No Ac, no towels, no uniforms, food once a day, if you want more, your family has to bring it to you.
Very very rustic meager conditions, okay?

So we arrived at the prison. I'm told we are going to have a meeting room to show this film in.
NOPE. They opened the door to the prisoner's courtyard. There were about 60 men in there. 5 bedroom/cells. 4 toilet/shower rooms. And the courtyard was about 8 yards by 20 yards.
These men are here on 2,3,5,10 year stretches.... Wow. And the guard opened the door to this courtyard, and let us in. We went in, set up our equipment, and he locked us in!

So we began to speak with the men. They were so so so respectful. And so thankful to have visitors, even in the name of Jesus. They loved our film. It was amazing. It was not like a prison film where they shout obscenities. One of our team was Lydie, a young woman. She was locked in with us, too. (That may not have been wise...) But nobody spoke out of place to her, and no one approached her in any way. I was amazed, and pleased that we didn't have to deal with that kind of problem.

We showed the film, in french. I'd say about 80% of the prisoners raised their hand saying they understood french. It is the story of a man who sells his soul to a witchdoctor for money, but then finds Jesus, and defies the witchdoctor. Powerful film if you're plagued by witchdoctors.
They thoroughly enjoyed the film, and marvelled at the heros' courage to defy the witchdoctor. And then he didn't even die! Jesus must be truly powerful.

That was quite the experience for me. I'm praying about doing more prison ministry.
One man approached me afterwards, and said before he was in prison, he was not a believer, but now he is catholic, and a believer. He was dissappointed the priest did not visit. Our visit was such an encouragement to him. I'd like to visit him more... and see where the contact leads.

God does surprise us constantly doesn't He? I thought/imagined what the prison would be like and in some ways it was worse, in the important ways it was better.
I can't help feeling moved by the openness I saw in those men. How many free men are closed to the gospel? And these men were eager to meet a believer and hear.... wow.

Thanks for stopping by, and hearing our thoughts. :-)
Tom & Lisa

Headlights in the dark

2008-03-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

Headlights in the dark? Why?

So here is a story from the other day. As you know we ride the bus often. But usually we pick each other up in Sikasso because it can be a huge pain to travel the 1.5 hrs from Sikasso to Kadiolo by bus.They don't go direct, and often this short leg can be 3-4 hrs.

So the other day Amy (one of the girls who works with One Story in a nearby village.) was coming down from Bamako. Our car needed a new battery, so we weren't able to go pick her up in Sikasso.She took the bus Bamako-Sikasso without much trouble at all.

But had to wait in Sikasso a while, then they left for Kadiolo. She found out that the bus wasn't coming to Kadiolo. Even though her ticket said TO KADIOLO right on it. So they wanted to leave her and the rest of the passengers in Zegua. (Zegua is about 6 miles from Kadiolo.)

So she got her backpack, and arranged with a couple of other Kadiolo passengers to take a taxi bus over to Kadiolo. "When are you leaving?" She asked. "Right away" they reply. 2 hrs later,not leaving yet, 3 hrs later, not leaving yet.

She calls me, what to do. It is night time by now. So I asked Pastor Youssouf if a moto-taxi might be safe.He said "why not??" So we told her to negotiate with a moto-taxi. (A moto taxi is a motorbike you can pay to take you somewhere.)So she called back, and said, ok, we're leaving now... It was about 10 pm. Very dark, etc.

I was uncomfortable with her travelling alone with a moto taxi guy in the dark. So I got on my motor bike, and went down the dark road to meet them. I got about half way, and I saw a motorbike coming in the distance. Not them. Then another, and Yes it was her with her driver. But his motorbikes' light was almost out. Very dim. So I rode alongside until we got back into town so he could actually see the road. I was glad that she was ok, and we paid the moto-taxi guy generously for travelling so well with her. (We paid him double what he asked....)

So the story ends well, Amy went to bed in her own house and was able to get a good nights rest, we had her over for lunch the next day and got her full report on Mali travel. :-)Fun....
The above pic is what it looked like on my motorbike that night....

Here is a pic from Christmas of Lisa and I.

We're wearing the Christmas fabric that one of the other missins had made this year.

Thanks for stopping by, Tom & Lisa

Computer Class

2008-03-08T06:44:00.000-08:00

Look at the pretty ladies!

The women were so excited to find out we have a church who wants to help them do womens' camp this year. Of all our years out here, this one is maybe the most difficult one financially for a lot of them. We spoke to several who would not be going without our help. (And even with the help, may not be able to afford the required $4 co-payment.) So some of them will have to receive extra help. But we're going to be able to help as many as 40 go this year. So that is very exciting. So ladies from our church, our village churches, as well as our "sister" church in town will all be able to go.. Thanks to a Las Vegas church who were interested in helping women's ministries.

Computer Class

This is another satelite ministry going on. A local business school hooked up with Ernie to do computer training. So we have their class, about 60+ kids, come to the church to be taught windows and word and excel basics on a projected screen. It does seem like an inefficient way for them to learn, but without the projector, they have to look at 1 monitor.... Hopefully many of them can learn, and enter the computer world. Anyway it is another way to meet students we wouldn't otherwise meet, and begin to make relationships that can lead some to Christ.

Also, this is hot season. If you were going to buy your ticket to visit us, March & April wouldn't be the most comfortable months to come. Although apparantly, snow has hit hard again in US. My Canadian friends talk about -37 C. So maybe a little heat would be okay. We have a little heat. 102-111 afternoons. Heats up by 10 am. Evenings are still okay, but eventually you sweat all night too...
Yep, Mali is the life!! :-) Please send us a little snow?? I keep telling our african friends that I'm praying for 5 cm. Just enough to cover the ground. They keep saying they will die.

Thanks for stopping by, We are encouraged by your prayers & interest!
Tom & Lisa Seward

PS... Lisa and I are on facebook. If you're on facebook, and we haven't contacted you yet. Sorry. Hit us up and invite us to be your facebook friend!