Emotional Day... Bone Marrow Donors Desperately Sought

Church service was very emotional this morning. Jennifer Cuellar -- one of Church For All Nation's (CFAN) former (and we hope future!) administrative assistants -- and Wayne Mangan both mounted the platform with a three year old girl whose life was saved because of a bone marrow transplant that took place last year after a donor was found for her as the result of a bone marrow donor search drive which our church sponsored.

Jennifer Cuellar wore a surgical mask because she herself is fighting a cancer this year for which a bone marrow donor must be found if she is to survive. Wayne Mangan is also fighting leukemia -- has been for two and a half years. He has a life expectancy of about six months unless a matching bone marrow donor is found. He's 50 years old, with a heart of gold...

Next Saturday CFAN is again sponsoring a bone marrow transplant drive. CFAN broke the Pacific Northwest record last year when it "swabbed" over 500 people willing to find out if they were a match for any of the 36,000 people awaiting bone marrow transplants in the United States. CFAN wants to break its own record next weekend.

I urge everyone who reads this blog to get "swabbed" (a painless, cheek-saliva swab) at your clinic and see if any of you can help someone else survive... maybe Jennifer... maybe Wayne... maybe another child like the one who was saved last year. The swab test costs $57 and if you can't afford it, the Waybe Mangan Foundation will pay for the test.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/waynemangan

Logon to http://www.churchforallnations.org/ and see today's sermon on "running between the living and the dead." If it doesn't convince you to get your cheek swabbed to see if you can save a life, nothing will...

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Roberta Paulsen (my Realtor), Jackie and I went "home-hunting" all afternoon, looking at different options. Afterward Jackie and I went to Tea Leaf for dinner because we were famished.

We talked over some ideas for the next abodes. Jackie and I will be sharing them with a builder this week, and we're getting bids on what it would cost to remodel an RV Garage into an apartment for me at a property we really like. The property owner is willing to work with us if we get a bid we can live with and still remain within our budget.

I'm days away from finding out if this condo is going to sell. An interested buyer is researching the CC and Rs and the idea of a fence. That's all that stands between a sale.

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I may ghostwrite a book the first several months of next year. That would be a first for me, but probably not a last! I look forward to hearing more about the project after the holidays when things settle down at work again.

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I have been asked to give a testimonial regarding the recent women's retreat at church next Sunday evening, so have already let Jackie know I won't be joining the family for dinner that night.

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What else? Guess that's all the new that's fit to print for tonight. Guess I'll shut up and go to sleep. It's only 7:30 but it has been one very busy day, and it promises to be a busy week ahead.