That little thing in the title bar came through my email today and brought a smile. I’ve been working on losing weight the whole twenty months of this missionary assignment. It’s working … but very slowly. I’ve gotten rid of just over fifty pounds and have been stuck around that number for the last three months. One week loose about three pounds. Next week gain three or maybe four pounds, then take off four pounds. That seemingly constant yo-yo is getting quite tiresome. I’m pretty sure what that means is that I’ve got to step down the calorie intake once again, never a fun nor interesting thing to do. But, no matter how I grimace about it, I’m still fifty pounds lighter and six inches narrower! I can probably fit into a rollercoaster seat once again! In a few months I’ll even give that a try.

Nina’s older sister was diagnosed with a somewhat large sarcoma in her leg a few weeks ago. Following some tests the doctors determined that the cancer, which is not curable, can only be cut out if small enough, had spread with spots on her liver and lungs. There is little good news in this situation. Nina’s kid brother died from multiple cancers earlier this year so losing a sister is quite devastating. That’ll only leave one sibling, a younger sister. So, we’ve decided to take a very short leave-of-absence and make a flying trip into South Carolina for a few days so Nina and spend some time with both her  sisters. As currently scheduled, we’ll leave next Wednesday evening and arrive in South Carolina on Thanksgiving morning. We’ll fly back on Tuesday, the 29th. Ten days or more of solid jetlag awaits. Her sister is definitely worth it. Her whole family plus Nina’s sister, Nina, and i will be together for Thanksgiving. The cancer is progressing fairly rapidly, so our prayer is that she’ll hang tough for a couple more weeks.