Greater Love has No One     (A Kidney Transplant Journey)

Many thanks to all who have united to walk with us through what some have termed an epic journey of sacrificial love and a previous gift of new life.

For those new to the situation, on Monday the 29th of September, Karla donated her left kidney to Raul, a person in our church here in El Paso. The prayers from at least thirteen groups locally and internationally, not to mention many individuals and families scattered around the globe, have been lifting both Raul and Karla up to our Heavenly Father. Prayers that Jesus would be holding their hands before, during and after the surgeries. Prayers that God would give the surgeons and the transplant teams skill and wisdom to discern and adjust, such that there would not be any bleeding, infectious, or rejection complications. Prayers that the new kidney inside Raul would take like a duck to water. Prayers that Karla would be able to have a cup of coffee while holding and reading from her Bible are just some of the many prayers that have been lifted up.

Thank you.

And please do not let up with these prayers.

Ultimately it is the power of God that matters, yet in some incredible ways, the prayers of righteous people are able to accomplish much. To God be the glory.

The Backstory behind the events unfolding this week

For those wanting to know the backstory behind this, this all started two years ago during a conversation before our weekly church prayer meetings. During this conversation, Karla learned that Raul's kidneys had failed and he was going three times a week for hemodialysis. His son had been the youth pastor for two of our children before he had headed off to do missionary work in the Middle East. Raul had been faithful in helping to keep the church clean and was an active Gideon. Now he was in great need. Karla said she would gladly see if her kidney was compatible with Raul, and if so, to proceed with donation. Her rationale was simple: she had two kidneys, and he had none.

Whoever has two tunics should share with him who has none, and whoever has food should do the same (Luke 3:11)

The path to kidney donation proved much more lengthy than either of us anticipated. The test to check compatibility was the easy part, coming back within a week. Green light! But compatibility was just the first step of what would prove to be a lengthy process of clearing Karla to make sure that she was both healthy enough to survive a donation, and that she would not require two kidneys herself. CT Scans, colonoscopies, cardiac clearance with a treadmill, and lots of blood tests were step one. Navigating this with four kidney transplant coordinators also lengthened the process, as the coordinators worked to schedule these tests and (in)numerable other ones around a busy travel schedule featuring eight international trips to Kenya, Uganda, Pakistan, Iraq, Canada, Mexico and Sudan, as well as lots of stateside travels ministering to family, friends and strangers scattered coast to coast in the US.

The gem of having four transplant coordinators was that the last one is a believer in God through Jesus Christ who prayed for Karla and all the teams just before Karla headed off to surgery.

The downside of multiple coordinators was that what could have gone quickly took longer. Yet we waited and trusted in God's supreme timing in all events (Psalms 37: 5-7). During this time of waiting, Karla would sustain not one, but two significant head injuries, one of which resulted in an emergency ambulance ride with Intensive Care hospitalization. God's purposes exceed ours, and He is able to provide comfort in all afflictions, so that we can comfort others. (2 Cor 1: 3-4)

As we got closer to the date of the surgery, the number of tests and clearances didn't decrease, yet curiously increased! However, they were all important. An Infectious Disease specialist due to all of our international travels. A nephrologist to titrate blood pressure medicines were just some of the visits in the last weeks. Meeting and spending time with not one, but two Transplant Surgeons, the last of who would turn out also to believe in God through the sacrifice of Jesus Messiah. Only God could arrange this.

As we got closer to the surgery, more people learned about this event. Some questioned (with great follow-on ideas) whether it was wise to donate given the places we travel. Some wondered whether the recipient would wisely steward the new kidney. We wondered whether the kidney transplant would succeed, or be rejected. We also wondered whether Raul would be overcome by infection in his vulnerable state (we had a dear friend of ours from our Augusta Fellowship die shortly after she received a kidney transplant due to a devastating infection). All great questions. All beyond our control, but not God's.

Cast all of your anxieties upon the Lord, because He cares for you (1 Peter 5: 7)…. And the peace of God, which surpasses understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4: 7)

Quite honestly, some of these fears are still real. Yet we believe that God is able to work all things out to his Kingdom best (Romans 8: 28), that we would become like His Son, (Romans 8: 29) with eternal treasures exceeding those here in this world (Matthew 6: 19-21). So we entrust these fears to God daily as necessary, and rejoice in your continued prayers and support.