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October 10, 2002
Ephesians 6:16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be
able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
 
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
 
The darts of the devil seem to be flying at us fast and furious--it seems
our work here may have caught his attention... So yet another dart has come
our way: Tuesday during a routine check up, we were informed that Karl has a
hernia that will require an operation right away--at least according to the
local surgeons. At the moment the situation is not so critical, as the
hernia is still open--Karl does not seem to notice it. But the doctors have
told us that if the hernia closes, then the operation would have to be done
immediately. The hernia is about 8 centimeters above Karl's navel (halfway
between his sternum and navel) and seems to be about 2 centimeters in
length. In Novosibirsk, the children's hospital close to our home does not
allow parents to stay overnight with their children and is in very poor
repair. For this and several other reasons, we have elected to fly to St.
Petersburg Friday, consult with the American Medical Center there, and then
have the operation (there we already know we can stay with Karl overnight).
 
Next week I am required to be in Moscow for a very important meeting for
planning our work here in Russia and Siberia--which will leave my wife
Zhanya with the children alone (another reason for going to St. Petersburg
is that her family will be able to help her in my absence). Please pray for
us, especially for my wife who always takes it very hard when the children
are sick, especially when I am away from home--at these times the devil
seems to up his attacks. Pray that God strengthen her faith, that the
hernia does not become critical before we can make all the necessary
arrangements, pray that the travel goes well and that if the operation is as
necessary as the surgeons here say it is, that all will go well. While you
are at it, please pray for our planning meeting which will run from Oct
14-18 in Moscow--that God give the mission team here wisdom, patience and
peace as we discuss and plan the budget.
 
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 
14 Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress.
 
Thank you and God's blessings,
 
Missionary Pastor Leif R. Camp
 

October 18, 2002

Dear ones,

I apologize for not writing sooner, but I do not have my own email in St. Petersburg, so I had to find another way to send this update to you all. Please do not respond to this email address, since it is not my own--it is the mission office in St. Petes and I don't want to bog them down with my personal messages. We can be called on the telephone if you feel it is urgent--country code 011 area code 812 and telephone number 321-1508.

Thank you all so much for your prayers about Karl. We have been most blessed by them. God has answered them by keeping us all in His peace and love and helping us find a good doctor to consult with at the American Medical Center in St. Petersburg who has recommended Karl have three minor surgeries at once. It turns out that Karl does have a minor hernia—just not where the doctors in Novosibirsk said it was, but rather in his belly button. What the doctors in Novo called a hernia a short distance above his belly button is really a “lipoma” or a small fat bubble that has pushed through the muscle and also should be operated on according to doctors here. There is also a small extra flap of skin that is causing Karl some discomfort which the doctor says we should have removed as well—as long as Karl is having the other surgeries done. None of the three surgeries is serious and at present Karl is not in any pain from the hernia. The doctor said we could wait but recommend having the sugeries soon, since we are here in St. Petes, we have decided to go ahead and get the surgery done. Pending the results of preliminary routine pre-surgery tests, we have scheduled the surgeries for Tuesday. If all goes well, Karl should be out of the hospital by Friday, and pending his recovery we should be back in Novo by late next week.

We ask for your continued prayers—especially that God hold Karl through this surgery as he is afraid and that God continue to bless my wife with a calm spirit.

Blessings in Christ,

Leif R. Camp

John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

October 25, 2002

Dear friends, family and supporters,

We thank God that Karl has come through his surgery fine and is now recovering at home going to the hospital for “out patient” follow up—we hope to return to Novosibirsk early next week once Karl’s stitches are removed. Karl’s operation was Tuesday morning, on Tuesday afternoon there was a fire at the electrical station which shut down the electricity for the entire neighborhood. The hospital’s electricity was back on this morning, but all the businesses and apartments in the area are with out power.

Attached is my latest newsletter—again please do not reply to this address as this is the email of the St. Petersburg Mission office and I do not want it cluttered with messages for me. Please respond using lzkcamp@online.nsk.su. You will notice that the newsletter has an extra page—there was a lot to write about this month…

Blessings,

Missionary Pastor Leif R. Camp