Dear Friend,

Greetings in the glorious and powerful name of Jesus! As you read this, Luke Weaver is preparing to travel to Africa as a part of our focus on global outreach to spread the gospel of Jesus in Ukunda, Mombasa; and Tala, Kenya.  While in Africa, he will meet up with our dear friends Bishop George Mulinge and Reverend Randy Martin and will participate in a pastors and church leaders conference, a soccer evangelism program, a business leaders’ dinner, nightly evangelistic services, a prayer session with government and community leaders, a feeding program, medical camps, and other outreach programs.

I will not be going on the trip. Many of you may not be aware of some health issues I’ve been dealing with. I’ve known for years that I had a heart murmur. Each year my cardiologist monitored it, and at my last checkup he moved it from moderate to severe. Over the past six weeks I’ve undergone three procedures. The first procedure was a catheterization to check things out. The second procedure was to clear out a blockage and put in two stents. The third procedure was to give me a new valve. All of these procedures were minimally invasive. It’s truly amazing what God has equipped the medical community to do.  Everything is working properly, but Barb and I both agreed that it would be best for me not to make this trip.

I have not had a heart attack, the new valve is working great, and the problem has been fixed. At first we thought I was getting a pig valve, but at my follow-up visit I found out it is a steer valve. Barb told the cardiologist, “I grew up training pigs and steers, so I can handle either one.“

Thanks again for your prayers both for Africa and for me. I hope to see you soon.

Blessings,