Just got back from seeing Steven in the recovery room. He did well through the surgery and so did Phil. No problems in either case. Phil is on his way to recovery.

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let Israel now say, 2 “His mercy endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron now say, 3 “His mercy endures forever.” Let those who fear the LORD now say, 4 “His mercy endures forever.” I called on the LORD in distress; 5 The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place. The LORD is on my side; 6 I will not fear. What can man do to me? The LORD is for me among those who help me; 7 Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me. It is better to trust in the LORD 8 Than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD 9 Than to put confidence in princes. All nations surrounded me, 10 But in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. They surrounded me, 11 Yes, they surrounded me; But in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. They surrounded me like bees; 12 They were quenched like a fire of thorns; For in the name of the LORD I will destroy them. You pushed me violently, that I might fall, 13 But the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and song, 14 And He has become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation 15 Is in the tents of the righteous; The right hand of the LORD does valiantly. The right hand of the LORD is exalted; 16 The right hand of the LORD does valiantly. I shall not die, but live, 17 And declare the works of the LORD. The LORD has chastened me severely, 18 But He has not given me over to death. Open to me the gates of righteousness; 19 I will go through them, And I will praise the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD, 20 Through which the righteous shall enter. I will praise You, 21 For You have answered me, And have become my salvation. The stone which the builders rejected 22 Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing; 23 It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the LORD has made; 24 We will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I pray, O LORD; 25 O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! 26 We have blessed you from the house of the LORD. God is the LORD, 27 And He has given us light; Bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise You; 28 You are my God, I will exalt You. Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! 29 For His mercy endures forever.

This time tomorrow, I will be in prep for surgery to give a kidney to my dad. His surgery starts 90 minutes later. Please pray for us, for the medical teams, for the surgeons to have steady hands and God given wisdom, for the transplant to be successful, and for a quick recovery. May God receive all of the glory and honor and His will be done. Pray that His spirit will prompt us if we have an opportunity to share His gospel and will prepare the hearts of the lost. Thanks in advance.

We got formal approval for everything to move forward. The surgery is scheduled for November 1st, but we don’t know what time yet. There are two transplants scheduled for that day, and I don’t know if we will be the first or the second. Please keep us in your prayers.

I got a call from my transplant coordinator yesterday and got a formal approval on being a kidney donor for my dad. All of the financial pieces have been approved, so now it is a matter of my dad getting final approval from his nephrologist and then scheduling a date for the surgeries. At this point, I am anticipating that the surgery will take place the last week of October or first week of November.

I went to Atlanta on Thursday to meet with a liver specialist. After a fairly short discussion, he said that I was approved to move forward with the kidney donation. There are still some formalities involved, but we are just waiting on my Dad’s transplant team to set a date for us to have the procedure done.