August 11, 2024

I am not going to lie!! This has been a really hard week and talking about anything else besides our son Ryan seems disrespectful. What Ryan and his family are going through is ROUGH, HARD, TERRIBLE....you get the idea. I posted in my blog last week that Ryan has a tumor in his nose that appears to have spread to his lymph nodes and we were waiting for results of the biopsy of the tumor. We finally got the results on Thursday which was a long wait. The results were not good. Ryan has been diagnosed with a very rare kind of head & neck cancer called Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma. It originates in the nasopharynx which is at the very back of the nose near the Eustachian tubes. It is most common in Southeast Asia and is frequently, but not always, caused by Epstein-Barr virus. Why Ryan has this kind of cancer is a mystery.

Ryan is now waiting for a PET scan and appointment with an oncologist. We will not know the Stage of cancer until those things happen. So far the appointment is two weeks away which seems like an eternity when you just want answers. Our prayers right now are centered on a sooner appointment. In the meantime, we had a tender mercy because Matt was able to talk to a med school friend who is a radiation oncologist to get a little more information and that was helpful. It sounds like the treatment will be radiation with chemo and will be brutal!! But if it does the job it will be worth it!! Surgery is not usually an option with this kind of cancer because the tumor is too close to many critical parts of your head.

I thought it was going to be really hard to leave our mission and it will be in many ways, but truthfully, I can't get home fast enough now! I just want to wrap my arms around my boy and hold him close. Please include him in your prayers. We love you Ryan and we'll be there soon!!

The only good thing about this week is that we were busy and the time went by quickly. We were busy with the young missionaries and that is always a sweet experience. On Sunday night we had our District Council at the home of some 2nd Ward members, the Barnes. They live on 60 acres of beautiful forest land and they invited us to use their property for District Council. It was wonderful to be surrounded by so many trees and greenery.

Before District Council started Elder Rowan and Elder Kent realized they were wearing the same tie. Second time in a month that has happened with Elder Rowan :). Elder Rowan's tie is older than Elder Kent's and it looks like they have changed from a pastel yellow to a mustary yellow. Which one do you like the best?

The next night our District decided they wanted to have a Movie Night for P-day. Our District has P-day from noon to 9:00 PM because most of them are in Office Staff Mtg in the morning. We gathered at Larsons for some yummy beef stroganoff and watched Testaments. Several in our District had never seen it. It is starting to get dated now and it seems more sappy that I remember but it is still a great watch!

Tuesday was MLC where we feed a group of about 45 missionaries. It also happened to be the day before President Phillips' birthday so we decided to combine the events and have cake and balloons for the President. It was a little outside of his comfort zone but he was a good sport and it worked out well! We were so pleased with the fun cake the local bakery made for us!

During MLC Elder Rowan was busy in the parking lot trading out old cars for new cars. One of our local missionaries snapped this picture of Elder Rowan in his element. Doesn't he look happy?

We also had the opportunity this week to train with the Zahlmans. Elder Zahlman will take Elder Rowan's place and Sister Zahlman will take Sister Larson's place. The Zahlmans have just completed a 2 yr mission in the Kentucky Louisville Mission as the Vehicle Coordinator & General Secretary so they are well trained. After (2) days Elder Zahlman thought that was all he needed to come in and take over on September 2nd. Sister Zahlman is sharp and knows what she is doing. Our way may not be her way but she will adapt and take the best from both missions.

It is always fun when returned missionaries come back to visit so we were happy to have Sister Womack, her fiance, and some friends drop in. Sister Womack is getting married in two weeks after being home for a year. I continue to be amazed at how quickly these missionaries are getting married. We wish her the best!

With only 3 1/2 weeks left until we return home it was time to start packing up our apartment. We wanted to get a good start on it so then we can sit back and enjoy the next few weeks. They will be busy weeks with welcoming our replacements and training, transfers & new arrivals, zone conferences, a visit to Crater Lake, and a day volunteering at the McMinnville Air Shop with the Thunderbirds! Whew!! And then we will be home to give Ryan that hug !