Saturday, February 21, 2009

Still hurting...

It seems like we are on a roller coaster ride sometimes...ever been there?

Tuesday we spoke with two more doctors in NEast Columbia (One is an MD of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the other is an MD with Osteopathic training), they are the first ones to spend two hours with us, talking through and diagnosing what's going on with Becky's hip issues. They were very helpful and encouraging. Here's a summary:

First things first: Becky's muscles DO feel much better, and she was able to have a couple of weeks without much pain--Praise God for the short relief! It has been refreshing while it lasted. The muscles are still well, but her bones are now causing much discomfort.
Second: her hips are displaced, one hip is out of joint, which causes continual rubbing of bone on bone, and in consequence, causes the inflammation she has in her bones, which is why no healing has come with the "rest" of the past year and a bit.
Third: she also has, according to these doctors, SI (Sacroiliac) Joint Dysfunction.
Fourth: no more wheel chair! :-)

Here's the tentative plan:
1. This Tuesday morning, 8:30 am, two to three injections into the back (SI Joint area) to reduce inflammation (please pray, this is very painful).
2. Take anti-inflammatory medicine to help with inflammation.
3. Possibly do another MRI for anything that may have been missed in previous consultations.
4. Do physical therapy so as to try to re-align the hips without the need for surgery. (Please pray for this therapy process, it will be very, very painful)
5. If no significant progress is made, and our Father does not heal in another way (which we continually ask Him to do), the doctors recommend fusing the hip bones as a last resort to avoid inflammation.

We continue to trust our God that He is in control and has a plan. He gives us strength when we don't have the strength to keep going. Thank you so much for continuing to pray for us through these "dips in the roller-coaster ride". We'll keep you updated as we are able to. Thank you so much for many of your emails, it's encouraging to know you're standing with us!

On the other hand, our Church's Missions Conference starts this next week, and we are excited to be a part of what God is doing through the worldwide Church, and can't wait for the day we will get to serve in Brazil, mobilizing, training and sending Brazilians around the world!

Ben, for Becky, (Noah) & Caleb.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Leadership

I've been doing some reading (surprise, right?) on leadership, and there's a good book written by a guy named James O'Toole, who's not a Christian at all (by his own admission) but he gets soooo close to principles of leadership that we find in Scripture! Take a look at these, and see if you "measure up". I personally have much to learn still, but I'm a work in progress--I never want to stop learning and changing for the better. (the numbers in parenthesis are the page numbers in the book)

-Leadership means responsibility, not privilege (27)-—George Washington’s view.
-Don’t ask followers to do something I’m not willing to do myself (28).
-For Washington, the public’s trust in him grew out of his manifest integrity (28).
-A leader listens to the people he serves, but he's not a prisoner of their opinions (29).
-“Successful completion of one’s short-term mission is not the clearest sign of effective leadership, but lifelong consistency of high moral purpose is” (25).
-Eventually, I may be ridiculed for my stances. However, what is significant from the lessons we have observed from the Rushmorean Presidents is that when ridicule came, they stuck with their moral principles, their commitments to integrity, even in the face of incessant pressure to give in and quit.
-learn to lead by inspiring values (11)—these are values that in the thick of the battle will draw followers.
-treating people with respect is what moral leadership is all about, and nothing could be harder (12).
-In opposition to O’Toole’s position, I believe that there is not to be a distinction between our public life and private life in the area of morality and integrity. According to Scripture, our lives are to be one and the same, there’s no dichotomy in this area.
-Leadership signs are among the followers: Are they reaching their potential? Learning? Achieving desired results? Serving? Managing conflict? Managing changes gracefully?
-It’s less a function of the technique of leadership, it’s about the function of attitudes and ideas.
-Effective change builds on the existing culture (73). Don’t try to completely introduce a new way of doing things, that’s a REVOLUTION, which isn’t good. We want beneficial development over time.
-People respond to how you treat them. If you treat them with respect, and ignore the negatives, you get a positive reaction” (98).
-Lead based on principles that are right instead of simply following practices that work (115).
-A leader has more power if it is granted than if it is unilaterally usurped (117).
-“Leaders don’t just do things right, they do the right thing” (129).

What do you think? Have you read his book? Do you agree with all of these statements above? What's been your experience? What do others say?

Monday, February 16, 2009

Great News!


Thank you for praying! In the last two weeks, we have seen an amazing difference in Becky's condition! Becky's pain in her muscles has all but disappeared, only the hip bones are a little tender still. We will see yet another doctor tomorrow to see if he knows what might be done. However, we believe that persistent prayer has made a difference!

One way God answered our prayers was by having Becky's brother, Josh, who is now a Physical Therapist, give her some tips for strength training. Almost immediately Becky improved! So now she's not using a wheelchair for getting around! What is more, we went to the zoo as a family the other day, and we ALL walked! Praise God! So, this means we can move on with life a bit now! We still ask you to continue praying for Becky's complete healing.


We will soon let you know more about our Summer plans as well as the Fall. Keep in touch!

Saturday, February 07, 2009

To eat? Or not to eat? That is the question...

What a character! He doesn't know what to do with eggs & catchup!



And here's another one...in honor of the Bacheller Uncles and Aunt:

Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Bacheller Winter Update

Winter Update
Dear Friends & Family,
It has been a couple of months since we’ve updated you. Sorry for the delay—we’ve been hoping to write once we got good news regarding Becky's condition, but that long expected news hasn’t come…yet. The last couple of months we have seen our doctor here in Columbia, SC, then interacted with a specialist in Philadelphia, and now we are praying about the next step...which is unclear. If you didn't know yet, Becky developed Osteitis Pubis, the inflammation of the bones and cartilage in the hip area. This was due to the delivery of a large baby (Caleb, 11.5 lbs). We ask you to continue praying for healing and direction of what step to take next to facilitate recovery.

On the other hand, Becky shared Monday night at the "Wives Fellowship" here at the University about 'Enduring Winter: The role of trials and struggles in our lives'. We have lived through some cold winters in the last few years, but through it all, God has remained faithful to us. It is so easy to get bitter at God and at others, but we need to continually choose to trust Him no matter what our circumstances (Habakkuk 3:17-19).
Christmas time was enjoyable for us; we stayed here in Columbia and were able to relax. Because of the economy, there was no painting available for Ben, so he took a job at a local grocery store working night-shift. He enjoyed getting to know some guys who are not Christians and to be salt and light in that environment.
Ben will be graduating from CIU on May 19th this year! Praise God! After four years of hard work and much growth, he will complete this step in life. He will have his Masters of Divinity with a concentration in Intercultural Studies, and we will then focus specifically on getting to Brazil to serve full-time with TEAM.

Caleb is growing up! He's now over 35 inches tall, and almost 35 lbs! And that's at only 15 and 1/2 months old! We are so thankful that God has given Caleb to us to love and raise. He can say many animal names along with their sounds, loves looking at trees with daddy, and his favorite food is CHEESE!!!
We also celebrated Noah's 3rd Birthday on January 4th. We took a large #3 balloon to his grave and shared memories of our first son. We still celebrate his short life, and love to talk about him. Caleb already knows who Noah is and points to his picture when we talk about him.

This summer we plan on going to Brazil for a little over a month. It will be a Vision Trip, identifying the language school, city, and housing we will be in during our first year there. We will also continue to build relationships with the Brazilians and look for opportunities to serve, mobilize, and train believers in the Brazilian Church for cross-cultural missions. Would you commit to praying for us during this time?
Also, in case you are interested--all donations sent to TEAM (www.teamworld.org) on our behalf are tax-deductible, and 100% goes to our account--none is taken for administrative costs until we leave for Brazil permanently. What a blessing!
Thank you so much for your partnership with us. We ask you to keep praying with us, and to wait and see what God will do.
In His Unfailing Love,
Ben, Becky, (Noah) & Caleb Bacheller.

For more pictures & video of our family, go to Bacheller Family Blog.