Greetings,

Many of you have been following Marcia's journey as she has received chemo treatments for breast cancer. We are very grateful for your prayers and words of encouragement. We have felt very much supported by you all and your prayers have helped put us even more firmly in the hands of the Lord.

It has been some time now since we last gave an update, but we wanted to let you know that Marcia did finish her chemo treatments on time and was able to return to Thailand. She arrived back in Chiang Mai on May 26th, in plenty of time to see Sean graduate on June 8th. Unfortunately, our visas were expiring so we couldn't let Sean savor his graduate status long and we had to be off to the US on June 9th. After a night in Bangkok, we flew to Seattle where we rented a car and rambled around some of the Cascade Mountains and the coast of Oregon for a week. From there it was on to Ohio.

While Marcia was getting chemo treatments, she also was setting up a place for us all to live in when we arrived. So on June 17th, it was great to be able to land at Akron-Canton Ohio, then go straight to our house in Uniontown and sleep in our "own" (for the next year at least) beds. There was even food in the refrigerator. Marcia had done a lot to get things ready for us, but there has still been plenty to put away and get organized. We've also had some opportunities to get together with family and are starting to get to know the area. A special treat was a member of the First Baptist Church of Canton made it possible for us all to go see a large Christian concert called "Alive" along with the church's youth group. The weather wasn't the most cooperative but it was fun none the less.

Another challenge is to help Sean get his drivers' license! He is starting from scratch as he couldn't drive in Thailand (one must be 18 yrs. old to drive a car there). So he only has a few weeks to practice before he's off to Green Lake and then it is off to college. He is scheduled to take the test on July 6th, so please remember him in your prayers.

Marcia is waiting for word on when she can start radiation treatments. That should happen within the next week or so. She has already had the preparatory work, and is waiting for the person that determines the dosage to complete her work (and return from vacation). Once the radiation treatments begin, Marcia must go daily, 5 days a week for 7 weeks. Unfortunately, that will mean Marcia will miss the World Mission Conference at Green Lake and the conferences for missionaries that precede it.

But Duane and the kids will be at Green Lake by July 17th. They will attend two weeks of conferences for missionaries, then the World Mission Conference from July 29 – August 4th. We would love to see you all there. If you've been thinking of going to Green Lake but haven't registered yet, it isn't too late. All the details can be seen at the web site: http://www.internationalministries.org/wmc/wmc.htm

2006 has been a whirlwind for us so far and looks to continue that way for a while yet. But God is good and is looking after us and we've never been more sure that we are safely in His hands. Your prayers and support have been vital and we are sincerely grateful. I know we won't be able to see you all, but we look forward to visiting as many of you as we can in the coming year.

Blessings in Christ,

Duane & Marcia