Bee - and a pain in the backside

Bee is one of the terrific young men who are serving God at Immanuel. He's been such a blessing to me, with his sincerity and desire to serve. He has such a heart to be involved in ministry. He very much wants to attend Bible College, but he dropped out of high school and would have to get the Thai version of a GED before any local Bible college (there are several) would accept him. Our church, though, ha s a good relationship with a Bible College several hours north of Bangkok, and they have given Bee a real opportunity. He can begin classes there in May and take evening classes to work toward his "GED." Here, Bee is telling the church this morning about this blessing and his plans to start school in two months!

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On an unrelated note, I welcome your prayers for a challenge I am facing. A month or so ago, I started feeling a strong pain in my right hip. It is a familiar deal. Fifteen years ago, I had surgery to repair a herniated disk in my back which at the time caused extreme pain in my left hip and leg. Two years ago, the same pain recurred on the opposite side. At that time, A series of epidural injections relieved the pain and let me go on as usual. This time, it was clear, I was having the same issue. It kept getting worse, until two weeks ago, my right foot and calf became numb and weakened. I went to the hospital and eventually had an MRI performed which showed a severely herniated disk (same one that had been operated on before.)

Last Friday, I had a procedure done to block the nerve receptors on the sciatic nerve going down my right leg and to inject cortisone into the area around the disk to try to lessen the swelling that presses against the nerve. The doctor does not necessarily expect it to work, but wanted to try it before surgery. I meet with her again Friday to determine whether we need to operate.

The good news is that Bangkok's medical system is outstanding, the best in Asia. ('Medical tourism' is big business here, as people from around the world come to Thailand for great, inexpensive medical treatment.) The hospital I go to is phenomenal and I have tremendous faith in the doctor I am dealing with. And disk surgery is far different today than it was fifteen years ago. In some cases, you are home the next day.

Still I welcome your prayers and I will keep all updated.