Dear Friends, Supporters and Prayers for Roberta,
This is just a short note to remind you that Roberta is going into surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in her uterus. She shared about this in her last Tidbits.
She is entering the hospital today, July 7th (USA time). In Japan they have people who are having surgery enter the hospital 5-6 days prior to the surgery. During this time prior to surgery, she will have appointments for the typical pre-surgery blood work, meet with her anesthesiologist, go to an orientation, be interviewed by the surgeon. Most of these things in the USA are taken care of on an out-patient basis.
Her surgery will be on July 12th at 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Daylight USA time).
The hospital that she is in is the best hospital in Japan, and it is a teaching hospital. Her pastor is a retired OBGYN, so he has been very helpful to her during this time, explaining things that she may not otherwise totally understand.
They expect to keep her 2-3 weeks post surgery, which is customary in Japan. They like to keep them until they are well on their way to healing.
Roberta has a wonderful network of friends, missionaries, and people she has ministered to through the years who will be a support team. Her spirits are up. In fact she has mentioned that during this time she has had to bolster others up who are feeling sorry for her. Her trust is truly in God fully.
We praise God for that.
She has requested that no cards or emails be sent to her during this time. There is no way to receive mail at the hospital, and their postal situation is not set up to keep lots of mail. She will not have access to email, and it would be overwhelming to her once she turns her computer on upon returning home to have so many emails to respond to. HOWEVER, she fully covets your prayers.
I think you know how to pray, so we trust that you will lift them up to the One Who holds us in His hands at all times. Blessings to you,
In Christ,
Pat Kelley
MPT Communications for Roberta Stephens