We recently received the autopsy report for Matthew. Let us first tell you that we had seen a few symptoms that took place as he began to "warm-up" for serious exercise. We had three tests done in November, of which the results did not show the seriousness of his heart condition. We are so glad that we did not ignore the problem. It would have been difficult to live with not having at least tried to find out what the problem was. Under the direction of the pediatric heart doctor, we thought that we were dealing with the issue correctly, but this time it happened at the end of the game, and he had never, ever, collapsed like this before. The medical examiner that performed the autopsy said that with the naked eye he could see a valve that was smaller than it was supposed to be, which caused a slight enlargement of the top left chamber of his heart. In his opinion, on that fatal night, the issue triggered an arrhythmia, which caused a cardiac arrest. We asked the doctor if we could say that he died of a "big heart", and he said that he had never heard it put so good. The actual death certificate reads “probable arrhythmia due to mitral valve disease with resultant left ventricular hypertrophy.”
Let us tell you of a project we are doing in memory of Matthew. The Lord has given us opportunity to purchase audio Bibles at good prices. These are solar powered! You can check them out at www.spokenwordofGod.org. The only English Bible these folks put on audio is the KJV! We love the product. They have about 20 languages in New Testaments and are growing. Our prayer is that this "cutting edge" mission project can help get the gospel to the whole world, focusing on those that cannot read. WE WANT TO GIVE THE FIRST ONE TO EACH MISSIONARY THAT CAN USE ONE!!! Please understand that we are not selling these, we are giving them, but we want missionaries to oversee them and make sure they fit the greatest need. We gave one to a blind lady in Mexico, and she was overjoyed to receive it! Call us if you want take advantage of this opportunity.
We are steadily plugging through our summer meetings. We thank the Lord there were two saved this week, and four last week at the services.
Sarah, Andrew, and Joshua are at Teen camp this week and are doing well. Two weeks ago, all four kids went on a mission trip to New Mexico. Andrew preached two nights of their VBS. They had many good prospects and good results.
We have had some vehicle troubles lately, but the Lord is helping us though them. We had a "blowout" on our way to Florida. It was one of the rear duallies, and we were able to make it to an exit. This caused our minds to check all the tires. My front tires also had serious issues, and the others were worse than we thought. Faith Baptist Church, of Wesley Chapel, FL, graciously bought three tires for us. The Lord provided, and He also helped us pay attention to issues even when our focus has been weak. Our minivan is also having major issues. We are trying out another van right now, and we are praying about buying it. We may choose to invest in this newer one, since getting repairs on the road is so difficult.
We not going to Trinidad this year because the dates did not line up right. The Lord opened up some new churches for us to go to during those dates, so we are thankful.
We are also working on a new recording. It should be finished by August. We are hoping to work out a way to purchase these directly from our Website.
Thank you so much for you continued prayers. The God of all comfort continues to strengthen us to continue in His service.