Lance & Leah Patterson - Kenya - NEW

Africa

Email: pattersonlance@yahoo.com

Website: http://bbfi-africa.org/Patterson_L/

 

 

 

 

 

August 2011

Dear Pastor,
 
This is the first correspondence I've sent to you in quite awhile. We had a bit of a struggle getting home and my wife is having a continuing medical problem.
 
When we left Kenya I didn't bring a computer, but had my mailing list on an external hard drive. Then my wife, Lhey, became ill in the Philippines and we were stranded there for six weeks before she was able to travel. When we finally reached her mother's place in San Diego it was another two weeks before she was able to make the trip home to Springfield. We obviously weren't expecting to be in transit that long, but it has kept me out of touch.
 
When we arrived in Springfield I picked up a refurbished IMac at Alltech, but the address book on my mail will not read the address book on the external hard drive, so I'm going through the process of trying to rebuild my mailing list from past e-mails, but it is slow going.
 
We don't know what Lhey's problem is. She came down with something just before we left Kenya and it got really bad in the Philippines. She had panic attacks several times and hardly ate anything for ten days. Doctors told us there they could do nothing for her and as soon as we got her back to the States we took her to the hospital.
 
The main problem all along has been a feeling of a lump in her throat, constriction of throat muscles making it difficult to swallow or to breathe sometimes. In San Diego we went to the Scripps hospital where they did an endoscopy and looked all the way down her throat, through her stomach and into her duodenum. They found her upper esophagus inflamed, but no other problems such as tumors or ulcers and diagnosed it as dysphagia.
 
She was given carafate for the inflammation and it seems to have healed, but she's had other problems with intense back and neck pain, and numbness around her face and head, and sometimes into her extremities. Counting the doctors in Kenya and the Philippines, she has so far seen 17 doctors and two dentists, and nobody has come up with a definitive answer for her overall problem yet.
 
Last week she had her annual physical exam and the blood work shows no abnormalities except for a very low vitamin D level. So she is taking a very potent vitamin D pill with 25,000 iu's once a week to build her levels back up. Lack of vitamin D besides causing rickets can also cause extreme muscle pain. But that doesn't answer the numbness or the constricting in her throat which keeps coming back. She's also had swelling behind her ears and the tendons on each side of her neck swell up during the night, and then go down during the day so it's hard for a doctor to see what's happening. Along with that is a clicking sound that seems to be emanating from behind her ears. It's weird, and although a couple of doctors have suggested it's related to the inflamed tendons, nobody has an explanation for it.
 
She has trouble breathing at night. Her symptoms sound a lot like sleep apnea.  She is scheduled for a sleep study at St. John's hospital, but the soonest date for that isn't until September 15. We we're also thinking she might be in a menopausal stage, but the blood work shows no hormonal changes so that's not it.
 
A neurologist suggested it could be fibromyalgia, a disease that causes the brain to send pain signals to the muscles and the joints which has no cure, but is manageable with certain medicine. The problem is not consistent with the pain she's feeling. It comes and goes. He also gave her nexium for acid reflux, but every time she takes it she breaks out in rashes and hives. One doctor suggested a gall bladder problem, but our primary care doctor and the neurologist both disagreed with that.
 
An MRI on her brain was normal and tests for lupus were negative. When this started Lhey weighed 110 pounds. She is now down to 91, which is about an 18% overall weight loss, which she didn't need. She weighs less now than when we were married.


 

Several people have suggested she see a rheumatologist for the fibromyalgia, but the primary care doctor doesn't want to make a recommendation. So we may seek help with another doctor. It has been frustrating because the doctors seem to be afraid to make a definite diagnosis, but aren't giving us any ideas of how to proceed. 

 

All of this has made it difficult for me to work on a furlough schedule.  I'm the only driver in our house right now and it has not been possible so far to be away for long. Jonathan will be getting his driver's license soon so hopefully I'll be able to get on the road. If you would like me to report to you please let me know at this e-mail, or at 417-380-8431.

 

Jonathan is out for soccer at his school, but is struggling with shin splints. He made the starting lineup anyway. He's game and hopefully that will clear up quickly. Hannah has her green card and a social security number, so she's getting ready to get a GED. Ethan is a typical non-stop three year old, and Lhey's mother is staying with us and has been a big help.
 
We appreciate your prayers for Lhey and trust the Lord will give us an answer soon.
 
Lance Patterson


 

April 2011

In February we held our pastors meeting at Kitambaa Bible Baptist. Eighteen pastors attended and reported 206 salvation decisions in their churches over the last quarter.

The pastors met again April 1, and brought along their wives for a family relationship seminar at Heritage Baptist Church. My brother, Steve, who is working with a ministry called, “The Blessing,” came over and gave us an outstanding series of lessons in which the pastors and wives participated in the discussion. The seminar itself was a great blessing!

The early harvest has begun at Tassia Plantation and temporary workers have been hired to pick the ripening beans, so the church is continuing to meet. More than half of those still living at the plantation are attending. We are alternating between there and Kihunguro Bible Baptist, and I am helping Stephen by preaching every other week. We were turned down on our request for the property, but it’s for the best as the plantation will close after this harvest and no one will be living in the area for some time to come.

Our personal good news is that after nearly six years of waiting and trying to fulfill the US requirement of residency with us, Hannah’s adoption was finally approved on April 4, and she has her immigrant visa to return with us to the States.

Our not so good news is that our appeal for tax exemption that began in 2004 has finally come to an end. For the last six years we’ve been told every year that we would get some kind of exemption, but have never gotten it. Now we’ve been told that there will be no exemption and we must pay taxes. Our tax rate is 27% of all our income and benefits, which comes to around $11-1200 per month. We cannot afford to pay that at our current level of support and continue to do any work. This is making an early furlough for us essential.

Pray for us as we consider God’s leading for our future. We have no particular desire to leave Kenya, but circumstances have us praying about a possible field change. Pray also about my work permit which is up for renewal this month. If we run into the same trouble as we had before it may be a good indicator of what we need to do.

We are planning to be back in the States by the end of July. If you would like to have us for a meeting please contact me at pattersonlance@yahoo.com .