Dear Family and Friends,
The last eight months have been a wild ride. The last couple of weeks have been especially hard. We’ve had to pause and remember. A part of the Bible that has greatly encouraged us is 2 Corinthians chapter one. We’ve read a multiple of translations and J.B. Phillips resonated the most with us. It reads,
“May grace and peace come to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he is our Father and the source of all mercy and comfort. For he gives us comfort in our trials so that we in turn may be able to give the same sort of strong sympathy to others in theirs. Indeed, experience shows that the more we share Christ’s suffering the more we are able to give of his encouragement. This means that if we experience trouble, we can pass on to you comfort and spiritual help; for if we ourselves have been comforted we know how to encourage you to patiently endure the same sort of troubles that we have ourselves endured. We are quite confident that if you have to suffer troubles as we have done, then, like us, you will find the comfort and encouragement of God.
We should like you, our brothers, to know something of what we went through in Asia. At that time, we were completely overwhelmed, the burden was more than we could bear, in fact we told ourselves that this was the end. Yet we believe now that we had this experience of coming to the end of our tether that we might learn to trust, not in ourselves, but in God who can raise the dead. It was God who preserved us from imminent death, and it is he who still preserves us. Further, we trust him to keep us safe in the future, and here you can join in and help by praying for us, so that the good that is done to us in answer to many prayers will mean eventually that many will thank God for our preservation.
Now it is a matter of pride to us—endorsed by our conscience—that our activities in this world, particularly our dealings with you, have been absolutely above-board and sincere before God. They have not been marked by any worldly wisdom, but by the grace of God. Our letters to you have no double meaning—they mean just what you understand them to mean when you read them. We hope you will always understand these letters (as we believe you have already understood the purpose of our lives) and realize that you can be as honestly proud of us as we shall be of you on the day when Christ reveals all secrets.”
This text so much describes the last few months. We hope that God will keep us in North Dakota in our current roles. If we want to minister well, we must suffer to understand others struggles. This first year in western North Dakota has been one to stretch and learn. In our seasons in Africa and in Chicago we saw a multiple of times in which painful situations prepared us to serve others.
To start with news: As I came out of surgery on my spine on July 6 the pain running down my right leg
was largely gone. Also, I could again start to feel the top of my left foot and had more movement of the toes on my left foot. The surgery removed the pressure on the nerves going down my legs. I’m very thankful. Though I was making progress on healing my broken ankle, full healing would have been impossible without some resolution to my spine issues. My next doctor’s appointment is on August 23. Until then I am restricted from bending, lifting, and twisting. I’m limited in my work. If things look good, then I can start lifting up to 25 pounds and do some minimal work after this first appointment.
The final appointment is scheduled for September 23. I hope at that point to see the spinal fusion has healed and be told I can go back to work and life. Currently, my days consist of walks on the prairie, rest, reading, and doing all I can to heal well.
I had expected to receive 60% of my salary on short-term disability. Yet, last week I only received $22.69. I’ve made phone calls and sent emails but have yet to get an answer concerning what our finances will look like while I am on temporary disability leave. We’re almost out of money to buy food and fuel.
It has also been a difficult season for our son, Timothy. We thought we should also let you know how things are going for him. In August last year his supplement security income from social security for his disability was stopped. We’ve appealed and are waiting results. When we visit other families with children with similar disabilities denial and appeals process have been common recently. That has meant a loss of about $800 per month and with that loss limited how much forward progress he can make. We had been hopeful that he would have a good summer with Paralympic track. He had worked hard and was stronger and more explosive than in past years. However, he came down with a case of Covid and missed being able to go to meets. When he’s at his best his times and jumps are close to being internationally competitive. Yet, we’ve had several summers in which he becomes injured or is sick. It’s been quite disappointing. For the last two weeks he has been struggling with headaches and stomach pain. He has had one seizure in the last two weeks. We’re making appointments with specialists and hopeful he’ll eventually turn a corner.
Lastly in our difficulties has been the health of our goldendoodle, Bayley. We have her as a therapy dog and she’s far exceeded our expectations. Last month, we noticed blood in her urine and a cyst on her bottom. We’ve spent approximately $1,000 hoping a less invasive option would cure the problems. However, our veterinarian now thinks that Bayley will need surgery to remove bladder stones.
Through all of these struggles of the last month, Jana has taken great care of Timothy, Bayley, and me. I don’t know how she does it to get us to health appointments, keep our household organized, and keep all of our spirits up.
My pain has been decreasing and I have almost gone a week without prescription pain medicine. We are hopeful that this season of struggle will end. I am scheduled to do interim preaching at 3 churches later in August.
We are very thankful for how gracious so many of you were last year when I had my first surgery with a broken ankle and was out of work for several months. We ask again that you help get us through this season. We are resolved to stay on this course. If you would like to financially share the journey you can mail a check directly to us, make it out to Dave and Jana Jenkins and mail it to 11309 Main St., Killdeer, ND 58640. Or if you would rather give online through Venmo our Venmo account is @Mzee-Jenkins. Any amount would be helpful.
Thanks so much for your encouraging messages, prayers, and support so many of you have given.
Mungu akubariki (May God bless you,)
Dave
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