A Good-Lookin' Brain

We thought you all might like to see my cool brain scans and the miracle that God has done in healing me. I was finally able to meet with my neurologist last week to look at the MRI from April 3 and to talk about his prognosis for me. The doctor had prepared me for the possibility that the clot may still be partially there, or may have left some "scarring" in the vein where it was, which would have been totally normal. The white spots you see on both sides of the brain in my MRI from January show active stroke. The neurologist explained that those spots indicated dead cells and that we could also expect them to be permanent.

Well, the MRI from April 3 showed that the blood clot had totally dissolved and left no damage. In addition, he could not find any trace of those white spots on my brain! In fact, he said that there was really no evidence that anything had been wrong with my brain. A "good-lookin' brain", in his words. The only thing the MRI found was a little snot in my sinuses!! Praise be to our God who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than we can ask or imagine!

Please continue to pray for me. The crisis is over, but I still have mild headaches and sensations in my body, which the neurologist says can last for a while. This has been SO much more than a health scare for me. It has been, and continues to be, a spiritual battle against fear and anxiety. God has been using it to teach me so much (which I will share soon), but I need His strength daily to walk in what I know to be true and not to succumb to anxiety. I would love your prayers, especially as we prepare to leave for Zambia in just 5 days. Thank you so much!

New Videos

We just wanted you to know that we have uploaded some new videos.  Our last week in Zambia, we recorded the worship service of Great Commission Baptist Church.  We thought you might enjoy listening to some true Zambian worship.

On the right-hand side of our website, we have a Roberts' Video Collection section.  The videos can be accessed there.  There are a total of 14 videos, but only 5 display on the website.  If you want to view some of the other videos, you can click on the link at the bottom of the Video Collection section.  If you are receiving this post via e-mail, you will need to visit our website to see these videos.

If receiving this via e-mail, go to: www.RobertsInZambia.Blogspot.com

Here is a link to one of the songs that Kerri sang with three of the members of Great Commission:  Click Here

Action Zambia Pastors Conference (Day 1)

Our fellow workers in Zambia are holding the first ever pastors conference. The conference is on biblical stewardship. Here is a short video Steve Allen put together of day 1 of the conference. Please be in prayer for the team and the pastors who are attending this conference.

If you are receiving this post in an e-mail, you will need to go to www.robertsinzambia.blogspot.com to view the video.

2 Weeks and Counting

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement over these past few months. It's hard to believe that in 2 weeks from today, we'll be boarding a plane and heading back to Zambia. Praise God for all that He has done during our time here.

We just wanted to ask for your prayers for some specific things over the next few weeks:

Packing - We have a lot of packing and preparing to do. Pray for Kerri's sanity, as she is primarily responsible for this task. Pray that we will be able to get all of the items that we need to take packed and under the weight limit.

Pray for the health of our family during this time as well. Pray that there won't be any stomach bugs or colds, etc.. that would delay us from our return.

Pray for our hearts. We have cherished this time the Lord has given us and it's going to be hard to leave our family and friends again.

Pray for our children as we travel. Pray that the younger ones would travel well. Pray for our safety as we travel.

Pray for our luggage. The airport in South Africa is notorious for "losing luggage." Pray that all of our luggage would make it to Zambia. Pray specifically for the baby formula that we are taking with us. Ellie requires this special formula because she is lactose intollerant. Pray that it makes it to Zambia as well.

Thank you again for standing behind us as we pursue Glorifying Jesus Christ in Zambia. We couldn't minister without your prayers and support.

Lydia is Walking!

Another update on Lydia. This one is provided by Sarah Melville. Below is the update from Sarah. To view a short video of Lydia walking go to: http://www.melvillesworld.com/blog/. Praise God for what He has done and continues to do!

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Yesterday (April 8), we went to visit with Lydia and her family and were amazed at how much progress she has made. She wasn’t in the living room when we arrived and it brought tears to our eyes to see her walk in the room albeit somewhat shakily and with mom very close by. We cannot tell you how much better she is doing compared to when we last saw her a couple of weeks ago. Her parents told us that she went to church with them for the first time on Sunday and Lydia told us that she liked going. This time is also such a boost for Ernest and Laikah – they looked much less tired and a lot happier, obviously so encouraged by their daughter’s improvement.

This is not to say that there is a long way to go. A physiotherapist is coming to the house three times a week which is possible only because of your generosity. He was there when we visited yesterday and we were very impressed. It is a huge blessing that he comes to see her in her own environment and without the stress of travelling to a clinic. While he was working with her we could hear her crying because her muscles have stiffened up so much the past few months. It is one of those situations where you have to be cruel to be kind although it was hard to hear her upset. We were also told that her drug regime has been reduced and this is undoubtedly helping her as she was a lot more responsive and stayed awake most of the time we were there. She has got very thin but over the last few days she is eating more and she is starting to feed herself with some foods

There is no progress yet with her sight. Please pray for this and that she will gain strength in her muscles and confidence as she learns to move around again. Do also pray that she will gain more appetite and put on weight. God is good!

From Sarah

MRI Results

This morning we received a text message from Kerri's neurologist. It read:
"Your brain and veins look fabulous! Better than we could have expected. Clot is all cleared up."
Praise God with us for an answer to prayer! We will go in to his office on Thursday for a follow-up appointment. Kerri will stop coumadin today and go on Aspirin. Pray that the transition is smoothe and that we can start focusing our energy on getting ready to return to Zambia. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for us. Please don't stop!!

MRI Friday

Just wanted to give a quick update and request your prayers. Tomorrow morning, Kerri will have another MRI to see if anything has changed since being in the hospital in January. The doctor is planning on taking her off of the blood thinners if there are no new developments in the MRI. This is the last step, medically, before our return to Zambia.

Please pray for her appointment tomorrow, that she won't be anxious. Pray also for her body to heal. Pray that as she comes off of the blood thinners, that she wouldn't have any headaches or weakness on her left side. Pray also that we would both learn all that God is trying to teach us through this recent trial and that our lives would be fully surrendered to Christ. Pray against the attacks of the enemy.

Thank you so much for being such an encouragement to our family these past few months.

Blessings