Whited Update - Praises

I just wanted to share some answered prayers with you! We are so GRATEFUL for your faithful prayers for our family. =0)

So far, Dano’s orientation is going GREAT! =0)

We got the results of Virginia’s CT scan on her birthday (Thursday), and the bump is NOTHING to be concerned about. It is a dermoid cyst that most likely has been present since birth, and it shouldn’t change at all. We’ll just keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t grow! YEA!! (They don’t expect it go away either… but we wouldn’t be opposed to anyone praying for it to VANISH!!)

Daddy’s chemo treatment went great, and he is doing very well right now… but he still needs prayers!! http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/richardmcdonald

Also, we are getting lots done as we prepare to go overseas. I have ordered everyone’s birth certificates (except Dano’s) so that we can apply for our passports (Dano already has one). We are planning on getting all the kids’ blood work done at the end of the month. Dano & I already have ours completed. We’ve checked out some Indonesian lessons (Pimsleur) from here at JAARS to give us a jump start on our language learning. We hope to complete these and eventually purchase the homeschool version of the Rosetta Stone program for Indonesian for the whole family. Thank you for your continued support of us in prayers and finances as we still have our “normal” monthly expenses and now additional expenses as we are preparing to leave. If you would like to give a tax-deductible gift, please see the link at the bottom of this e-mail. Soon we should have further information about one-time expenses for moving overseas.

Thank you for your continued interest in our ministry! Thank you for your friendship. We are soooooooo thankful to have you standing beside us in service!

Please continue to pray for God’s perfect timing in all areas.

Please pray for Wesley’s breathing. With Spring approaching, it seems he is having some difficulties with breathing. He started wheezing and needed some breathing treatments. =0( I thought we were done with them. Please pray for his lungs to clear… and while you are at it, pray for his eczema to be healed!! Thank you!!

Blessings,

Melinda for Dano & the gang =0)

Olivia, Derek, Emma, Wesley, & Virginia

Have you visited our website?

No experience required…just click the link:

http://whited-underhiswings.blogspot.com/

For tax-deductible gifts, you can give online by going to:

http://www.wycliffe.org/Give/MissionaryMinistries.aspx

You can enter Dano or Melinda Whited, and our account number is: 215422.

You can also call 1-800-Wycliffe and use our same account number to direct the gift into our account.

Or you can mail in gifts to:

Wycliffe Bible Translators
P.O. Box 628211
Orlando, FL 32862-8211

Please include a separate note indicating your gift for Dano & Melinda Whited account # 215422.

Please Pray for Virginia

This Tuesday is Virginia's CT scan!

I thought I would explain a little more for those of you who are curious what I'm talking about. I also thought I'd add some pix of my little princess since it has been so long since doing so! She's 11 months old in these pix. She'll be a year old on THURSDAY!! (more pix at the bottom)

When we were in Texas in October/November, Virginia fell and bumped her head (next to her eye) on the coffee table (a normal occurrence for babies who are learning to pull up). Well, after that (the same day? the next day? I'm not sure) I noticed a bump on her head right next to her eye, next to her brow. =0( We assumed it would go away. It didn't. At her 9 month appointment in December, I asked the nurse practitioner about it. She said it could take about a month to go away… so if it didn't go away soon, we should have it looked at. Well, it didn't go away… but it didn't seem to bother her. It wasn't getting bigger or smaller that we could tell. Well, we finally decided to make another appointment to have it looked at. That was in February. The doc we saw wanted to send her to a specialist, a pediatric ophthalmologist. Our doc thought it could be a swollen gland that is in that area.

Well, I got the appointment with the pediatric ophthalmologist (about an hour away) in February. I wasn't too concerned. Actually, I expected her to confirm what our doc said and send us home with "no worries." INSTEAD, she wanted Virginia to have a CT scan! AND Virginia has to be put to sleep for the scan!! I was pretty bummed.

She still thinks it is nothing to worry about. She thinks it feels like a cyst… most likely a dermatoid cyst which is harmless. It might be something we have removed, but right now… you can't even tell it is there unless you know it is there, if you know what I mean.

Of course, there are times when the thoughts can seem a bit overwhelming. I'm not a worrier. But I have to be honest; there have been a couple of times that my thoughts have run away. Thankfully, I remember to come back to the throne and give these crazy thoughts to God. No matter what it is or what happens… I know God is in control. I know He loves Virginia even more than I do (which is hard to believe).

Scripture that helps in times like these?

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. Ephesians 3:12 (How awesome that my God is approachable... and I can approach him with freedom and confidence!!)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:6-8 (I just think these verses are soooooooooo good for everything for every situation… give everything to God… and focus on good things!)

Now, I know that God doesn't always say "YES" to our prayers. I know he always answers… we all know that, right? He sometimes says, "yes, no, or wait." That is okay with me. I'm thankful He doesn't allow us to boss Him around. I'm glad I can't understand Him all the time. I mean… sure, I wish I could get a handle on the big picture sometimes, but REALLY??? Could I handle the big picture? Probably not! If I could completely understand God, would he be a God worth worshipping? I don't think so. And in the end… the BIG PICTURE is all about HIM, right… bringing HIM GLORY… no matter the circumstances. This life is temporary. If we cling too tightly to this world, we lose perspective. I think that even includes people. If I cling too tightly to my Virginia, I lose perspective. She's not really mine anyway, right? She's God's.

Well, I didn't mean for this post to get so long. I just wanted to ask you to PRAY with me for this truly to be NOTHING that we have to be concerned about. Please pray for her safety during the test with the drugs, etc. Please pray that she would be content before the test. She can't eat anything until after the test. Normally she gets up around 9 a.m., and I nurse her. On this day, we have to leave at 6 a.m. to arrive at the children's hospital by 7:30 a.m. for an 8:30 a.m. scan. Hopefully we'll be done & ready to go by 9:30 a.m. Dano plans to go, too. We've hired someone to come stay with the other kids. She's going to spend the night Monday night so she doesn't have to come so early Tuesday. Please pray for our kids to be safe while they are with the sitter. ABOVE ALL… pray for the Lord's will to be done!

Thank you!!

Love,

Melinda & gang =0) See the pix below.

I did the goofy hair on top to see how long her hair is!

Pa came for a weekend visit the last weekend in February. She wouldn't let him hold her until Sunday! When she did though, she had fun! =0) I think Pa enjoyed it even more!

Snow on the Farm

I was looking through some pictures and found some that Dano took around the house on February 13th when we had a "big" snow... big for here, anyway! Enjoy! Remember, you can click on them to make them bigger. Oh, some of the pictures show where the deer had a party running around in our yard!

Virginia's first time in the snow.

Dano & Virginia watching us sled.

The snowman Dano built.

The snowman Olivia built by herself (well Dano stacked the balls she rolled up).

Dano and Wesley worked on this one together.

(Notice how all the snow is almost gone after all the snowman making!)

Whited Update - We're Moving!

Where? When? Why? All of these are questions you may be asking! Well, we have the answers… kind of!

(Wesley is inside of a wing-mounted cargo pod for the Pilatus PC-6 for use in Papua, Indonesia. Dano helped with the preliminary testing of the pod for its FAA approval. The pod was designed by a JAARS missionary. One day, the pod and our family will be serving side by side speeding Bible Translation in Indonesia!)

Where?

We’re moving to Papua, Indonesia to a “city” called Sentani. In case you aren’t sure where that is… I’ve inserted some maps below. The first one shows WHERE in the world it is. The second map has Indonesia in yellow (a nation made up of many islands). Papua is pointed out. It is the left half of the island just north of Australia.

When??

Well that is the tough one. Hopefully this time next year or sooner! There are several factors that will determine our departure. 1) Dano is in Aviation Pre-Field Orientation from March until June. 2) We need to say goodbye to as many as we can… and say goodbye well. We’ll be gone three or four years before our first visit back. 3) We need YOUR help in raising our Outgoing Expenses so we can set up our home in Papua. As of now, this is a long term move.

Why??

That is the easy one. We have felt called to Papua since 2000. God has given us a desire to help the people groups there learn about Him through His Word. Did you know there are still over 600 people groups without any Word of God in their language in this region* of the world? Papua is a land with very few roads. The main form of transportation in this land is aviation. Dano will help keep the planes running in tip top shape so that the translators and other missionaries can reach the people they are working with in a safe and timely manner!

Keep your eyes open… we’ll be sending more information soon!

Thank you for praying for all the details to come together…

For Melinda’s father to be healed from cancer http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/richardmcdonald

God’s timing in all areas

Our outgoing expenses to be raised

For our discipline in getting rid of stuff

For our kids as they will be going through lots of changes over the next year

For us and our family as we face saying goodbye for a long time (of course… they or anyone else can come visit)

For us as we begin learning Indonesian to make our Language School experience easier (pray for miracles here)

We love you… and we are soooooooooooooo excited to share this news with you!! Of course there is sadness as we think about saying goodbye… but there is joy as we see how God is fulfilling a call on our lives that has been there for TEN years! God is faithful!

Love,

Melinda for Dano and the gang

Olivia, Derek, Emma, Wesley, and Virginia

*this region is known as the Indonesia-Pacific Archipelago.

Whited Update - February 28, 2010

(An e-mail I sent out Sunday.)

Greetings in the name of the LORD!

We hope this finds you well!

We just wanted to send a quick update with a few important prayer requests:

Dano starts Aviation Pre-field Orientation tomorrow (Monday... which was today)! Yea! He’ll be learning even more about maintaining the small aircraft in the overseas operations. Please pray for a great experience and time of learning.

Virginia has a bump (about 1.5 cm) on her face next to her eye that she will be having a CT scan on Tuesday, March 9^th to make sure it is “nothing.” Please pray that God will make it disappear on its own ASAP. Otherwise… pray that it is truly NOTHING! (If you don’t know it is there, you’d never notice it.)

My Daddy begins another round of chemo tomorrow (Monday). This time it will be even more intense. He will be in the hospital for 3 or 4 days. You can stay up to date here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/richardmcdonald Thank you for praying for his healing & restoration of health!

Upcoming celebrations:

Virginia turns ONE on March 11^th!!

Emma turns FIVE on March 29^th!!

Derek turns SEVEN on April 3^rd!!

Thank you for praying with us and celebrating with us!

We’d love to hear from you! We’d love to share your burdens and your joys!

Thank you, once again, for partnering with us and enabling us to serve in mission aviation!!

Love,

Melinda for Dano & gang

Olivia, Derek, Emma, Wesley, & Virginia

PS Keep an eye out for another update coming SOON! =0)

You can give online by going to:

http://www.wycliffe.org/Give/MissionaryMinistries.aspx

You can enter Dano or Melinda Whited (it is all the same), and our account number is: 215422.

You can also call 1-800-Wycliffe and use our same account number to direct the gift into our account.

JAARS Talent Show

This past Friday night, JAARS had a talent show. Both Olivia & Derek wanted to participate.

Derek (age 6) loves to draw and write! As a matter of fact, he gets in trouble all the time for drawing when he is supposed to be doing his school work. I even have to put a limit on his journal time (drawing & writing), or he would spend all day doing that. He has always been a storyteller. He's great at it, too! He can come up with an amazing story out of the blue. Now that he's able to write, many of his oral stories are becoming written stories! And many of his drawings now have a written adventure to support them. He has some pretty funny characters! So for the talent show, he wanted to display some of his work. Below you'll see some of his drawings. Honestly, these aren't his best. What is so great about his drawings is that they show action and emotions... sometimes they are just stick figures, but they are hilarious! I love them!

Olivia (age 8) has always loved to sing. Even when she was a toddler I remember when I would take her into a public bathroom, she would start belting out a song. I guess she loved the acoustics! I was always a little embarrassed! Anyway, her love for singing has never waned. She did her first duet in our church in Ohio when she was three. She's pretty much participated in just about every musical she's been able to at church since then. So of course, she wanted to sing in the talent show.

She picked "There Is a Name I Love to Hear" from a Veggie Tale CD we listen to when we drive. Olivia & Emma both LOVE singing this song. Since we didn't think we could legally play the CD for her accompaniment, she decided she would sing acappella! I can NOT believe she wanted to do this. Without trying to discourage her or scare her, I reminded her that there is a large crowd there. She said, "Well, I've sung in front of the whole church before." So I dropped it and encouraged her. Meanwhile Dano & I were awed by her courage. Below you will see a video of her singing (except the first few words because I was a little slow starting.) The second time she sang the chorus after the second verse, the crowd spontaneously joined in. It was so precious.

I hope you enjoy!

Blessings,

Melinda =0)

This drawing does have a couple of "guys" who are really showing that emotion I was talking about!

This picture of Olivia is just before she went in to sing.

Is It Practical?

I'm looking for some help! Maybe YOU can help me. You see, I've been contemplating this question for some time. Did God ever call anyone in the Bible to do something "practical?" I personally cannot think of any examples, but I know that I am far from a Bible scholar. Perhaps you can think of some BIBLICAL examples when God called someone to do something "practical."

 

From my years of Bible study and teaching, the only stories I can recall are the ones where God called people to do things that were NOT "practical." Isn't that where faith comes to play, anyway? If God asks someone to do something "practical," it doesn't require much faith, huh? If it is "practical," does that person really need God? Of course, everyone NEEDS God… but if it is a project, a calling, a mission that you can handle on your own because it makes sense, then would you call on God? And doesn't God receive Glory when the impractical, the impossible is accomplished?

 

Here are some examples that are NOT "practical" that I can think of off the top of my head. Peter getting out of the boat to walk on water, Noah building the Ark, Abraham taking Isaac to the altar, Jesus praying over 5 loaves & 2 fish to feed thousands then telling the disciples to pick up the leftovers in baskets, Nehemiah rebuilding the walls, Joshua & the Israelites walking around Jericho, Joseph leaving for Egypt in the middle of the night with Mary & Jesus, etc. This list is easy. It can go on and on. But when I try to think of ONE "practical" thing… I'm at a loss.

 

Well, those are my ponderings. I hope you'll let me know if you can think of any BIBLICAL examples of God calling someone to do the "practical." If you CANNOT think of any, please let me know that, too. Thank you!! I REALLY hope to see your entries!