Mobile Blogger Test

This is a test. This blog fullafaith.blogspot.com is conducting a test of the mobile blogger. This is only a test. :)

Encouragement and recognition

Coming home is never easy. Tonight at the Global Impact Celebration (GIC) Dinner, the Directing Pastor, Charles Anderson, recognized the difficulty in a very meaningful way. The GIC is a time of celebration for the church--we celebrate the missionaries the church supports that share the gospel throughout the world. At the end of the presentations from the missionaries, we stood up to lay hands on missionaries that were at tables near us. I was fortunate to be sitting at the table with Setan Lee. I was honoured to lay hands on this great man of God. :)

By the time I stood up, Charles was already laying hands on Setan Lee, and when I got up to join Charles, he said, "This includes missionaries at home," and walked behind me, and layed his hand on me. I started to cry.

I am reminded of the time that my senior pastor asked me to pray for him. Not only that, he wouldn't let me go until I prayed for him. All I could think was, "I am so unworthy, why does he want me to pray for him?" Little did I know that instances like that would teach me how to pray for others.

I received so much encouragement tonight, by various people! The greatest part of all was the recognition that I am still a missionary, just relocated. I love the quote that says, "Either you are a missionary, or you need a missionary." It's not easy to say that you're a missionary stateside, when your heart is in Ukraine. God is faithful. I'm banking on that! :)

Brain MRI/MRA w/ and w/o contrast

My Brain MRI/MRA w/ and w/o contrast was by far one of the easier tests for me. I am getting used to different tests, scans, and bloodworks. My appointment was set for 2:25pm--I was seen at 2:23pm to begin the process of the scans--impressive.

• I was smart and wore no jewelry (except for my watch, which I did have to take off). I was also sure to wear a dress, with a built in bra...that meant I did not have to wear a gown!
• Once in the room, I laid down on the sliding bed, placing my head on a raised platform with a pillow. The technician made sure that my head was facing straight up, and then he put something over my head. When I looked up, I could see right through the cage looking thing, and I could not turn my head, so what it looked like on the sides, I have no clue. Perceptions can be nice. Luckily, I am not claustrophobic like my mother. Being in the machine was not a problem for me.
• The bed moved my upper body into the machine and test started. I just laid there. I laughed at one point, becasue the sounds are so funny! I felt like I was in the middle of a rap movie.
• They had to redo that set of scans. Oops! :( Laughing makes the brain move and I was supposed to lay still.
• After what felt like an eternity of laying still, 14 cc's of gadolinium (contrast), was injected intravenously. I did not cry! I took it in my body. Unlike the abdominal MRI, this time the gadolinium was painful to my elbow, but did not make my entire body go flush. It was a much lesser amount used, and injected at a much slower rate.
• The scans continued and after a while longer, I was done. For the next two days, my elbow was sore off and on, and my muscles were incredible sore from the gadolinium. Oh well. I continue to drink lots of water!

My results--all is normal in the brain. I do not have an aneurysm. I do have some sinus disease. Maybe allergy? We are looking into it.

I thought you might want to see a picture of my brain. So here's a couple for your viewing pleasure. It has been confirmed, I have a brain! :)