Hello from Down Under

Well, we made it -- 36 hrs of travel and a missed connection in Sydney, but overall it went way better than I could have imagined. We all were able to sleep on the plane, and then stay up until (an early) bedtime and then get a regular night's sleep and wake up on Perth time. YWAM (the missions organization that the Montoyas are with) has done an amazing job hosting us with guest housing, meals, and lots of international hospitality.

I forgot to mention in the last blog that last Thursday while at UVA for chemo, i mentioned that i was feeling a tiny bit of pain in my abdomen and that i was a tiny bit worried that there might be some fluid building up again. I almost hesitated to mention it because it was so small and because my pain killers do such a good job of masking everything that I'm not as self-aware as I was (one drawback of the current strategy, but pretty much the only one :). Anyway, they said, "well let's get you down to ultrasound to be sure and have peace of mind before your trip." So they made a last-minute appointment for me. I got to see all my old friends down there (they all remember me), and -- the good news -- they could not find one drop of fluid in my abdomen that wasn't supposed to be there. I am thankful for the Drs and nurses who are working hard to give me peace of mind and who helped get me to AU.

Still haven't seen the Montoya's yet... they come in tonight from Tonga. I plan on giving them all big kisses from everyone at BRCC.