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Greetings Fellow Missionaries,

I am home. I flew in late last night and I have had a day of being with family and relaxing. I am going to keep this first post pretty short because it is late and I am tired. God has blessed me with safe travel home and I am excited that tommorow I will be able to share how God has been working in my life with my brothers and sisters at Park Plaza tommorow morning. I will update later this week with more details and some insights that I have gained. I hope you are all well and I ask that you continue to keep the missionaries in Burkina Faso in your prayers and to also pray that the doctors appointments this week go well.

Your Fellow Missionary,
Ryan

Better Days

Ryan had his best day so far in Burkina Faso this past Saturday.  He had taken a large supply of eye glasses with him and they had a clinic where these were distributed.  He felt well physically and the mission activity was fulfilling spiritually.  We are thankful to God for blessing Ryan with increased health and strength -- though we know he will need additional medical care for some time to come.  We are also thankful for all the prayers & support that so many have given Ryan. 

Ryan made the decision (with the advice of his physician) to come home on July 11th at 5:00 p.m. -- which is this coming Friday -- on Delta Flight 5072.  I am in Washington D.C. and will return a few hours after he gets back to Tulsa.  We pray for his safe travel and look forward to him being home.  He will be speaking on August 10th at Park Plaza about his summer in West Africa and we would love for all you reading his blog to be in attendance at that Sunday evening service.

Ryan's Dad

Prayerful Plans

Ryan wants everyone to kn0w that through prayer (his own & others) he has come to several decisions about his mission work this summer. In addition to choosing a departure date (July 10th) he will be working in the following areas for the next couple of weeks...

• He will spend much of Monday (June 30) visiting the Bible translation team that is working on providing the Word of God in the native language of the Dagara people.
• He will work in villages distributing eye glasses that he brought from the United States.
• He will continue working with one of the missionaries on a study of animism among the Dagara people (the belief that individual spirits inhabit natural objects).
• He will continue his language lessons and learning more about how to communicate with the people of that culture.

He is gaining back some of his strength and today was clearly his best day since the crisis began last weekend. He is thankful for all who have been praying for him and thankful for God blessing him in many, many ways.

Ryan's Dad

New Departure Date

Ryan met with the missionaries today and he will be leaving Berkina Faso on July 10th (assuming we can get all the flight arrangements made). Since he is easily fatigued and will not arrive in Paris until around midnight -- we are trying to arrange a stop-over in Paris so he can rest for 1-2 nights before flying to the U.S. He has several important mission tasks that he will be able to complete before leaving (e.g. meeting with Bible translators on Monday) so he feels good about fulfilling a few of his original objectives. Please continue to pray for his health and for God's guidance as he takes one day at a time.

Ryan's Dad

Discharged

Greetings fellow missionaries,

As you are all aware of by now I have been very sick the past couple of days; I can honestly say that this past Sunday was one of the worst days I have ever experienced and it is only by the grace of God that I got through it. I have been diagnosed with type 4 malaria, an amoeba similar to giardia, and a bacterial infection. I have been receiving iv treatment the past few days and I am feeling much better though I am still very weak. I was discharged this evening and if there are no problems will head back to Dano tommorow. I will continue treatment for the malaria, the parasites, and the infection for the next week or so and then (hopefully) I will be much better.

I am in a difficult position that I am requesting you to bathe in prayer. The malaria has left my body weak and my immune system down, this means that at best I will just be fatigued for the next 3-4 weeks and at worst I could have a relapse or catch a different virus/bacteria. The doctors at home are recommending I come home as soon as I am well enough to travel and the doctors here seem to think that I will be ok for a a few weeks if I choose to stay. What I want you to pray for is that I will do what God leads. I have received many opinions on what I should do and I have my own thoughts as to what I would like to do, however those come secondary to what God wants me to do. Please pray that God gives me wisdom in this situation as to when I should come home and that He leads me in whatever path is His will. I love you all and thank you so much for your prayers!


Your fellow missionary,
Ryan

ps. Don't be discouraged by this setback, God works in mysterious ways and I am confident that somehow this experience has contributed to His glory, even if I never know how.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfrot overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, becase we know that just as you share in our suffering, so also you share in our comfort."

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

3rd Diagnosis

Ryan was diagnosed with a bacterial infection in addition to the malaria and giardiasis previously diagnosed. They are trying to get his lab results sent to me so I can forward them to physicians here so we can better evaluate his condition. He definitely has improved with the treatment he is receiving but he is still quite sick.

Ryan's Dad

Malaria & Giardiasis

Ryan was diagnosed today with malaria and a parasite called giardiasis (GEE-are-DYE-uh-sis) which apparently are common illnesses in West Africa.  The missionary (Aaron) who is with Ryan said that he and his wife have both had both illnesses.  Aaron said that additional tests are being done to also determine if Ryan has a bacterial infection that would require continuing the antibiotics they are giving him.  The doctors want to keep him in the hospital one more night just to be on the safe side but medications for the illnesses would continue for a while longer.  Ryan sounds exhausted by the illnesses and the intense stress associated with the events of the past week.  I will continue to talk to him at least once daily until he is back on his feet.

Ryan's Dad