Gall bladder surgery November 28, 2008

 Bendiciones–Blessings upon you all.  I have been overwhelmingly loved and emailed by all of you in the USA and around the world. Thank you for your ongoing prayers.  What I long for most is that you would not cease to pray.  Prayer is not just for emergencies!  Think about all the aspects of your life–your relationship with a sibling or infuriating coworker….when you can’t find the keys…when your kids won’t listen to you…when you feel all alone…when the headache makes you want to cry…..
 
Just REMEMBER that the Lord is closer than you know, and is in fact bending down His ear to receive your prayers.  Keep talking to Him–about anything and everything!  He already knows all of it, there is nothing that can scare Him away, because what He wants most of all is to draw near to you and restore you.
 
Having said that, I want to let you know how I’m doing physically. It’s Thursday morning, 2 1/2 days after surgery.  They tell me the surgery went very well, and the poor condition of my gall bladder only confirmed that it was the right decision to take it out.  From recovery I returned to find my hospital room filled with people! I was certainly surprised  by all the friends who stopped by. 
 
Tuesday I was still recovering in the hospital, slowly adding liquids and a few bland foods back into me. Slowly starting to walk around the room and up and down the hall.  I was discharged around 5 pm, and Marielos and Egle were wonderful to drive me back to my home. They also went grocery shopping for me and made me a vegetable chicken soup for dinner. 
 
I do things very slowly, but can get around the house about as much as I want (and yes there are stairs).  Still sleeping for several hours at a time; with little stamina to stay with the same activity for more than half an hour, but I feel pretty good.  And as long as I stick to the diet restrictions for the next 10 days I can eat normal (albeit bland) food.  I went outside yesterday for about 10 minutes and am hoping to walk a little bit more outside today.
 
Above all, I praise God for His healing and care of me during these past few days.  I also have to thank Susan, who spent dedicated two entire days to keep me company in the hospital.  And Ana Virginia has been by my side at every moment she can when not working–both in the hospital and staying here with me at the house for anything I may need.  I have no words to thank them for their loving friendship and humble actions. 
 
I promise you all that I will continue to take it easy!  
 
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November 21st: 

Next week, Monday November 24, I will be admitted to Hospital Clinica Biblica.  About a week ago, an ultrasound showed a large gallstone (about 2 cm for those who are interested).  At long last, an answer to my chest pain.  For those of you who have been receiving my updates for a long time, you may remember me asking for prayer in Feb 2007 when I had a mysterious week of pain and vomiting.  I can’t know for sure, but it is likely that I had a stone at that time too.  And that a few other smaller episodes over the past few years were the same thing. 
 
The doctors have decided the best action is to remove  my gall bladder.  I will be in the hospital overnight, then expect to be recovering in my house for a week or so.  I feel comfortable with the doctor and surgeon, and trust I am in good hands.  I also have good friends who will help take care of me/visit following surgery.
  
Thank you so much for your ongoing support and prayers. I love to hear from you!
Megan Crow

An overall view… November 10, 2008

Although hard to believe, we are rapidly approaching the end of the year.  In Costa Rica, the school year runs February – December, and many of our programs follow the same schedule.  Tutoring classes will end this week and resume next March once the kids have settled into school again.  We pray that the majority of children will pass on to the next grade; many are held back an entire year due to failing a subject (often for failing English).  There is no option of summer school or additional make-up work.

Ana Virginia and I have decided to end kinder class on December 5.  This allows me about 10 days to wrap things up before I fly to the USA to visit family for the holidays (about a month long visit). We are wrapping up the year with creative activities and playtime. The kids think that addition is incredibly easy, and they just learned how to count 10 by 10…they are working on a sewing project…they are whizzes at solving mazes…they love bouncing the playground balls…I am steadily substituting English for Spanish instructions and they can usually solve it by context….

We just finished reading through the life of Jesus…from his divine birth to his ministry and miracles to his arrest and crucifixion.  They were especially attentive during these last weeks as we have read how he was insulted, spit upon, put in chains, whipped, and degraded before the world—though he had done nothing illegal or morally wrong.  Please pray that the children will truly believe that Jesus is the son of God, come to save them from their sins.  Pray that they desire to obey God every day, and to ask His forgiveness for their wrong behavior. 

My Saturday girls keep me constantly on my toes!!   Just this past week, I chased them all over the fields in a game of freeze tag.  During Bible study/small group time we are teaching a series on emotions, and the girls have been very expressive about their feelings and events in their lives.  In addition, we keep busy with journal time, activity sheets and books, outdoor games and songs, crafts, and snacks.  We also enjoy puzzles and board games, science experiments and cooking, and acting out the lessons through dramas. 

Our end-of-the-year camp will be held January 22-25, 2009.  We will take 40 girls and 60 boys (ages 8-11) to Camp Roblealto, in the mountains above San Jose.  Daniel from the New Horizons boys program and I are teaming up to plan all activities.  The camp’s theme is survival, and our “cadets” will travel through a space journey while dealing with issues of sexuality, violence, and addictions—all of which are daily occurrences for these little ones.

Please pray for us as we work together in this time leading up to camp, and especially as we coordinate and mentor the 15 counselors and 7 support leaders who will be serving the children.  Please also pray for the provision of funds to cover the total costs of two camps ($9,500 includes the adolescent camp and the preteen camp, of which we have $3,000).  Pray for the campers, that they accept God’s transformation in their hearts and lives.

Bursting at the seams!

Our Saturday girls group is growing exponentially….

For many months we were receiving about 18-25 preteen girls, but in the last 6 weeks we have been receiving 6-8 new girls each and every week!  I now have to plan for 45+ girls. 

 I certainly praise God that the word has spread  about the Refugio Vida at New Horizons. At the same time, I’m concerned about such rapid growth, especially since we still only have 3 leaders. 

I want us  to know the girls on a personal level, and this is becoming more and more difficult with groups of 13-15 girls. 

Please join me in prayer for more volunteers and guidance as I make decisions for next year’s program.