Lots of Rain, But Lots of Fun

Justin has been quite busy the last few weeks. So busy in fact, that he has not been able to keep in touch much. Without cell service, he has to rely on the camp computers, and having time for that has not happened.

It has rained and stormed just about every day since camp began, but that seems to be the norm for Iowa this month. It doesn't seem to be hampering their plans at all.

Tammy and Jason got to go up for the day on Wednesday. They emailed him to let him know they would be coming for a visit, but he didn't have time to check his email, so he had no idea they were coming.

When they got there, they were able to watch Justin in action with the campers. It was raining, so they were all in the gym playing a game. They said he looked great! He has lost weight, looks great, and seemed to be right in his element. That encouraged them so much. He was surprised and happy to see them. They went to a little cafe on the lake for lunch, to the grocery store, and a tour around the camp. They were very impressed. He told them all about the kids and how incredible they are. I know he is just where he needs and wants to be.

This week Justin will be a camp speaker. His theme is Jesus, My Firm Foundation. What a great week of messages to teach the kids...and something Justin knows all about!

Keep praying for Justin. We should hear from the hospital in the next few weeks regarding the date for his next MRI. We are praying that there will be no changes and his life can go on as usual. We are proud and happy about him.

First Week of Camp

Lots of weather at the camp...at least 2 severe thunderstorms blew through this week (one was during a tornado warning). All the guys called home from the basement, just to let their worried parents know they were OK. All I heard in the background was lots of laughing and joking, so I know they weren't scared. That is the fun of being at camp--it is all fun!

This week Justin got to attend his first Catholic mass. He joked that they were more interactive than the Baptists! Justin is in charge of the rock climbing wall, the campfires and some other things, plus helping the program director and counseling. As far as he knew, nobody knew about his brain tumor yet. He was getting ready to tell them about it when one of the storms blew in...

Ted Kennedy's surgery went well this morning. His doctor said that even though the malignant tumor cannot be cured, by surgically taking as much out as they can get gives the raditation and chemotherapy a better chance. Once again, Justin's tumor is similar, but not malignant at this point. So he has a much better outlook on a normal life. I have been very interested in reading and studying about this.

Justin seems healthy and happy. Praise God for that!

Memorial Day

I emailed Justin this week to see how he is doing. He doesn't have cell phone service out in the country, so we have to use the computer. He said he is doing fine, although more tired than usual. The "hole in his head" from the brain biopsy is still soft, so when the staff did paint ball, Justin chose to help everyone else instead of participating. He is a little nervous about doing too much yet. I'm OK with that.

One more week of training, then camp begins. He is very excited.

Thanks to all of you who have shown concern for Justin the last few weeks. We appreciate it so much.

OK, OK, I Lied.

I said I would post over the weekend, but I couldn't wait. This afternoon I heard the news that Senator Ed Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. I felt bad for him and his family. I have an inkling of what they are going through.

The tumor is in the same family as the one Justin has--a glioma. However, they called it malignant. That means he is in grade 3 or 4 of the disease. Because of his age and health, his prognosis isn't very good. I just heard on the news that he might have a year to live. They will treat the tumor as they can with radiation and chemo. Justin is in grade 2, which means it is slow growing. They don't call it malignant in grade 1 or 2 because it is not aggressive. He has his youth, his health, and time on his side. It may be years and years before a change of any kind.

I emailed Justin and told him that I have the whole long weekend off for Memorial Day, so if he was going to be alone, I could come up and visit, take him out to eat, go shopping for stuff he might need, or just hang out. There is some yard work to do at the farmhouse where he lives and I was thinking of working to make that look real sharp. I heard from him later in the day. He is so busy already, there is no time for a visit! I had to laugh. What a great way to get back into normal life--90 miles an hour. He has training and all sorts of things for the next two weeks before camp begins.

The camp is used for the first 3 weeks by the Catholics in the area. They bring up their own counselors with the kids, so Justin will be the 2nd counselor in his cabin. He will be the one that runs things, the other counselor will be there to manage the kids. Nice. These are little kids, so he will do great. He will have younger kids for the first three weeks, then they will be junior and senior highers later in the summer. He will be able to get his stamina back before the older kids get there.

It is so fun to watch the Hand of God at work.

Settled In

Justin got all settled in at the farmhouse where the male staff stay. He has his own room. The window opens up to a little stand of trees, then miles and miles and miles of beautiful farm country. The front of the house faces the camp, but is a city block away. The house has everything but a dishwasher. By the looks of it, the other staff that have moved in have everything a guy could want for weekends when the camp is empty. There's a tv, a boom box, lots of DVDs, music, video games and even the game "Guitar Hero". Justin liked the looks of all of it, but he had something else in mind when he packed; books. He laughed and teased about his ability to sleep with all that going on. I have a feeling he will adjust just fine.

As soon as we got to camp, he was warmly greeted by his boss and they got right to work. And that was that. He is right where he should be, wanted and needed and happy as can be. That made me feel good as I saw him in action. I know he is happy to finally be back to work in his chosen field.

I must admit that I felt a little sorry for myself on the way home. I will miss him more this time than any other time he has ever been away from home. Funny thing is, he is closer than he has ever been! But I gave myself permission to miss him extra--I'm his mom! It's OK for me to feel happy and sad at the same time.

I'll post again next weekend. Thanks to all of you for caring and praying. Keep it up, prayer is NEVER a waste of your time. I'll keep you informed as often as necessary. God bless all of you.

Ready For a Summer of Fun

As Justin was packing tonight, we watched the staff videos from one of the camps where he worked. They were really funny, and it motivated him to be ready for a summer of fun. He will know more in the next week what his jobs will be, so I will let you know as I find out.

Justin's health seems to be fine right now. He can still get a little winded when exercising, but that improves daily. He has no headaches, racing heart or pain. We are thankful and pleased. We don't know what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future.

Speaking of the future, I will post tomorrow night when I get home from taking Justin to camp. After that I will just post once a week unless there is a change in Justin's status. Stay tuned to keep up with what he is doing in his life. I'll also post in 7 weeks for his MRI and the results. Please don't stop praying!

Workin' Man

Justin will be going to camp to work on Sunday. He got the news today. So we are planning and packing and getting appointments for a haircut and all the stuff that has to be done before one goes off to the woods for a few months. Actually, the camp is really more in the fields than the woods, but you get the idea. He is really ready to go. This is what he does and he is ready to get back to work.

Tonight we saw Prince Caspian. Wow. We really liked it. The special effects were wonderful and the land of Narnia was so beautiful. I caught my breath during part of the movie. The scenery was incredible and it made me feel that I had seen something close to a glimpse of heaven. There is a lot of war in the movie; lots of action but not a lot of blood. It is darker than the first movie, but you know the characters better, so it naturally goes deeper. I think if you have never seen The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, you should rent that and see it first. Otherwise you may not understand who the characters are.

Justin's favorite scene was with the griffins. You must see the movie to know what I am talking about. We don't want to ruin even a minute of the movie for you. It was awesome.