New York

Kristi has an appointment tomorrow at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York. We are very grateful to the Lord for all the details which led to the provision of this opportunity. Pancreatic tumors are not an easy thing to deal with, but Kristi will be seen by a medical professional who is once of the most experienced in the nation.

Today we are traveling to New York. We expect to have several medical tests and we aren't sure how many days we'll need to stay.

Yesterday Lindsey started ninth grade in the same school where she attended last year. We are grateful for friends who have opened their home to care for her.

Pray for travels, for Lindsey, and for wisdom regarding medical options.

Update

We are currently waiting at our gate in the Quito airport to travel back to the States. We're pursuing options for medical care in a handful of hospitals that specialize in pancreas surgery. After we find the right hospital we will have a better understanding of where we will be located. For now we know that Lindsey will attend school in Kansas where she was last year. Kristi is feeling pretty well, and ready to handle the trip. Thank you for your outpouring of prayers and kind words.

Update

Kristi wasn't able to have gall bladder surgery today because of challenges with her blood pressure. After considering our options and seeking counsel we've decided to seek treatment for the tumor in her pancreas in the United States. We'll be traveling back to Kansas by the end of the week. The doctors have stabilized the situation enough with the gall bladder so that it looks like she will be able to just wait to do that there as well.

Thank you for your prayers.

Update

This morning Kristi had some blood work that showed some elevated levels. This is due to the gall stones and the procedure to remove them yesterday. Because of this and because of her blood pressure being a little high they have postponed her surgery until tomorrow.

We are thankful for the understanding that Alliance Academy is showing. It's soon time for Kristi to begin preparations for the school year but they have assured her that there is no pressure and they will cover her responsibilities for as long as needed.

Thank you to each one of you who are praying for these needs.

Tumor

Here's a quick update to let you know how you can pray. We traveled back to Ecuador on July 28. Since then we have been working a lot to move in to our new apartment. Most of our boxes have finally been unpacked.

On Friday morning Kristi woke up early with pain in her abdomen. We took her to the hospital and found that she needs to have her gall bladder removed. We expect the surgery to happen tomorrow afternoon.

Also, while examining her gall bladder a sonogram technician "accidentally" found a tumor in Kristi's pancreas. This is a potentially serious issue since there is a possibility of it being cancerous. The positive side is that the tumor has been found fairly early. We believe that God providentially guided the medical technician to find the tumor in a place where he wasn't even looking. There are a lot of unanswered questions that remain to be explored in the coming days. Please pray that God's providence would continue to be evident in the care that Kristi is receiving.

Heading Back

Wow, it is hard to believe that our year of home assignment is nearly over! We leave on July 28th. God provided amazingly cheap tickets for our return. Also, some friends already found an apartment for us to move into. It turns out we will have extra room for any of you who would like to visit! In the meantime, we are on our last road trip. We have been reminded of the blessing of each of our supporting churches as we spend time visiting them! We have also been able to connect with many of our individual supporters. Without each one of you, it would not be possible for us to continue our work in Ecuador. Thank you so much!

Alliance It looks like Kristi will be teaching 4th grade math and science this year. Alliance is still needing several teachers for this coming school year! Please pray that God will provide!

Hope Begins Scott’s book, Hope Begins, continues to sell—a few copies every month. Another missionary who teaches in Mexico City recently contacted Scott after finding the book online. He wants to use Hope Begins as a text for his upcoming course on Biblical Theology. He has agreed to arrange for translation into Spanish in exchange for permission to print a few copies of the book. Scott will have rights to use the translation for his own ministry too. Pray that God will guide the team of translators to produce a good quality work that can be used to faithfully teach God’s Word. You can find Hope Begins in electronic and paperback versions at either of these two websites: www.CHRISTtruthPublishing.com www.amazon.com/author/ScottEdgren

Kids' Update One of the hardest parts of going back to Ecuador is leaving all 3 of our boys behind. David and Shelby are getting ready to move from Chicago to San Luis Obispo, California the end of July. They are looking forward to living closer to Shelby's parents. Shelby already has a job as a school nurse. Please pray for David as he interviews and decides between several opportunities. Joel is working on a painting crew in Spokane. He is enjoying his new line of work. Luke is thriving this summer working as a camp counselor in northern Wisconsin. Lindsey was able to play basketball in a June summer league. She has also been able to enjoy some cousin time and a visit with a friend from Ecuador who now lives in the States.

Pray for us as we finish up and get ready to transition back to Ecuador. Especially pray for Lindsey as she says goodbye to some very good friends. Pray that we can help her process the upcoming transition in a healthy way.

Downhill Stretch

As our days begin to feel more and more like summer, we know we are on the downhill stretch to head back to Ecuador. We all have some mixed feelings as we think about going back. We have loved being back in the States closer to friends and family here. But we also are looking forward to being back in Quito.

History Class

Scott has already received a request by national leaders to teach a class this fall on the history of Avant’s ministry in Ecuador. He will need to do some research to be sure he gets the details right, looking into the stories of missionaries who were there for decades before we were. In some ways it feels strange to think of teaching Ecuadorians about their own history, but we realize the current generation is losing their perspective on sacrifices that were made both by missionaries and by early national Christians. Studying their roots will help the church further ground themselves in their biblical foundations.

6th Grade Classroom

We had several surprises last month. Kristi has been in the Alliance Academy 6^th grade classroom for the past 7 years. She received word that the class moving up will be losing several students and only has around 25 students for next year. The school administration is left with a hard decision concerning whether we can continue with 2 teachers in 6^th grade for next year. Pray that some new students will enroll or for wisdom if that doesn’t happen.

Caring for Mom

Another surprise was Kristi’s mom falling and breaking her arm just below the shoulder as well as several bones around her eye. They were unable to cast the arm since the break was so high, so she began by using a sling. After 2 weeks the x-ray showed it was not healing correctly, so they did surgery last week putting 3 pins into her arm. Thankfully the pain is improving. Please pray for her as she continues to heal.

We had a 2-week trip planned to the Chicago, Indiana, Michigan area. Since we have been living with Kristi’s mom, we made some adjustments and cut it down to one week. Thanks to Kristi’s two sisters for helping mom out during this time.

Luke

The highlight of May was having Luke home from college for 3 weeks. But just as we had grown accustomed to having him back with us, it was time for him to leave for HoneyRock Camp in Northern Wisconsin. We had to say goodbye to him till he visits us over Christmas break. Please pray for Luke during his summer as counselor at camp.

Lindsey

Lindsey graduated from 8^th grade the middle of May. It was a fun way to celebrate her year of school in the States this year. She is excited to get to play basketball several times a week during the month of June and spend time with her friends. Please continue to pray for her transition back to Ecuador next month.

Schedule

We still have some traveling to do and will be speaking in 6 churches before we travel back. Please pray for safety as we travel and that we will encourage others towards missions.

June 9—First Mennonite Nappanee, Indiana
June 19—St. Luke Newton, Kansas

June 23—Rose Hill Langford, South Dakota
June 30—Holcomb Holdrege, Nebraska

July 7 – Spirit of Faith Omaha, Nebraska

July 14—Koerner Heights Newton, Kansas

Thank you so much for praying for us