Prayer Requests

Dear Friends and Family.

It has been a while since I updated you on what has been going on in Ecuador. You have received a few updates from Joey related to our tournaments but it is time to bring you up to speed with a few other things that are going on. I have now been in Ecuador for nearly five months. Over all my time here has been wonderful but there have been a few speed bumps in the road (what process doesn't have them?).

One of these obstacles has only presented itself in the last couple of months and is related to my health. As many of you know, about a year and a half ago I underwent surgery for a herniated disc. I had been in fairly severe pain for about nine months and had been to chiropractors, acupuncturists, physical therapists and physicians without any relief until I finally met with a surgeon who assessed the situation correctly and cut out the herniation bringing me almost instant relief. In the last year and a half I have been relatively pain free, allowing me to be active, especially in soccer, a large facet of my work here in Ecuador.

About two months ago I started to experience pain similar to what I had felt prior to my surgery. At first it was intermittent lasting only one or two days but not limiting my activity for very long. A month ago, the pain returned with extreme severity after which I sought medical attention. Upon meeting with my doctor and assuming that I was again afflicted with a herniated disc I had an MRI which revealed that the disc was not herniated but that I have scarring from the surgery. This scarring has caused the foramen (space between vertebra where the nerves branch off of the spinal cord) to be narrowed putting constant pressure on the nerve that runs down my left leg. This pressure on the nerve causes me chronic pain, which severely limits my activities. After meeting with my doctor here I underwent a ten day treatment with some medicine. He informed me that if the medicine did not have an affect my option was a surgical procedure involving the cutting of the bone or boring of the foramen in order to make space for the nerve. In order to compensate for the instability created by such a procedure, I would also have to have that vertebra fused with the one below it. While the doctor said that this would not affect my involvement in physical activities, I know too many people who have had this procedure and are in chronic pain.

In an attempt to seek a second opinion I have tried to contact my operating physician but he has refused to comment without seeing me personally and looking at my MRI. The reality is that I wasn't seeking a diagnosis as much as to know if there is another option for dealing with the scarring now that my doctor here said it couldn't be removed because it would grow back greater than it is now.

All of that said, while the pain has not been as severe since my treatment, I still deal with chronic pain which becomes sever if I sit, sleep, stand in the wrong way. At this point I feel as though I am at a stale mate. I do not want to undergo the surgery proposed by my doctor here but I also do not want to continue to live in pain. I also don't want to fly to the US without knowing if my doctor there may have another solution especially when surgery here is covered 100% by my insurance while anything I have done state side is only 80% covered. Please pray for my back as well as wisdom for what step I should take next.

On a more positive note, as I have sought more avenues for ministry I have been asked to be a mentor to one of the boys from Youth World's street kid ministry. We have been meeting for two weeks and are still getting to know each other but I am very excited about the privilege to be a part of Alejandro's formation. Please pray that the Lord will give me wisdom as I continue to walk with Alejandro through his struggles, joys, and growth as a Christian young man.

Finally, please continue to pray for our soccer ministry. We are actively seeking open doors to share with some of the people that we have met through our tournaments and whom we are playing soccer with in another (not ours) tournament. We are starting to develop relationships with them and have been inviting them to the house to play games, watch soccer, eat, etc. and they are starting to ask questions. In addition, we are beginning to look at where else we can get involved as coaches in order to pursue our vision of a Christian based soccer academy. At this point there are a couple of communities we are looking into as well as there being a possibility for me to put together and train the Ecuadorian team to participate in the homeless world cup which will take place in Milan in September of 2009.

I know this is a lot to take in and in some cases I didn't go into much detail. I will be writing again in the near future to disclose some more details. In the meantime please join me in prayer for the aforementioned issues.

Thank you for your time and support. You have all been an incredible blessing to me and the work I am so privileged to be a part of.