This is the week when the Christmas letters come rolling in. Some were early, and of course some will be late. Some will not show up at all. But I realized just now that you don't want to hear one of my broad and/or quirky reflections on some aspect of international ministry life!
What you do want to hear, but don't want to hear, is that I probably have prostate cancer. This is the sort of challenge that upends other challenges. My first response to my primary care physician was that maybe we could just switch immediately into "watchful waiting." I love this term because it means, basically, do nothing. Unfortunately I'm not a very good candidate for that approach.
Instead he suggested that I could get an MRI right away or be referred to a urologist. Of course, I should have said, "I'll take both, please." The MRI, although the insurance company didn't pay for it, gave more clarity. My prostate-specific blood work matched up to a likely cancerous nodule that was clearly visible on the MRI--in other words, even I could see it was there on the images.
At first I didn't want to tell anyone, but that is a dead-end strategy. So my family knows, my colleagues know, and now all of you know also. It is only likely cancer--with this cancer they don't actually diagnose it until they run needles in and grab little chunks. So that's what I have to look forward to next, preferably sooner rather than later.
Now, like breast cancer, prostate cancer is common, and I'm very possibly not the first person you know facing this. So I should warn you that the least comforting words, according to at least one of my friends, are "lots of men get it and you probably will die from something else" or some variation on that wisdom. At his advice, we are making a list, and if you would like to say that, we can put your name on the list! After all, it might be true, and some day I'd like to say, "You were right, I was wrong." When the kids were teenagers and we all had strong opinions, we heard these were the six most beautiful words in the English language. Knowing that, I have said them with greater joy whenever I get the chance, although I could probably say them much more often.
So here you have a candidate for the most unusual Christmas update ever :-). I have discovered that announcing I might die is one way to stimulate people to say nice things to me--if you'd like to join that list, bring it on, please!
I just enjoyed seeing all three of my sisters and brothers-in-law in the last few weeks, and that was great. We are normally quite widely scattered.
This Christmas Laura and I will be here in Colorado with our three grown-up kids, the two they married well, and this year not one, but three grandchildren, all uniquely cute and definitely well-loved (I'm including the grown-ups, of course) as well as Laura's mom, who is embracing the challenges of being 89 one day at a time, and now worrying about one more thing (the prostate cancer mentioned above)! Martha, you are also uniquely cute and definitely well-loved, as is anyone who has read this far ;-).
Now about those grandkids, etc. Evangeline is 3 now and endlessly entertaining. Cedar was born to Joey and Laura in February and lives just up the freeway about an hour in Lakewood. Isaiah was born in June and lives around the corner with John, Sarah, Evangeline, and Laura's mom, Martha. The three grandkids are all wonderful, but let us also add that they made our family vacation in August quite different. Martha is doing relatively well, still driving around town and enjoying visits both in person and on the phone. We got a 1999 RV last January and have made one trip out of Colorado and various shorter ventures into the mountains, although we did get turned down at one RV resort for being too old and ugly! We made zero ministry trips out of the country, but welcomed multiple families into our home on their trips back. International Women's Connection is meeting again, although outdoor meetups never stopped. Steve still doesn't like computer calls, but has done more of them than ever all the same.
And to make up for the update you didn't want to hear, here's a link to a few pictures:
With love in Him who keeps us, Steve and Laura
Steve and Laura Spinella
US: 1930 Springcrest Rd, CO Springs 80920
mail: 9685 Otero Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80920
Steve cell 719.355.4809, Laura cell 832.755.4261
<spinella@alumni.rice.edu> <lauraspinella@gmail.com>
<spinella@alumni.rice.edu> <lauraspinella@gmail.com>
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