Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of the assembly. And David said: 'Blessed are You, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is Yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all. In Your hand are power and might, and in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank You, our God, and praise Your glorious name.
I Chronicles 29:10-13

Dear Praying Friends,

Anna, Steve (a friend) and I started our prayer time this morning with those verses. Please, when you're praying for Jan, thank God for all He has been doing, and praise His glorious name. He is good and faithful and is carrying Jan through this illness. We are thankful to Him. He is meeting us in our need, and He is comforting our spirits day and night.

We are both at peace with what God is doing in our lives. Jan understands her illness, and the pathway to healing. Jan's life has been spared by God here in Istanbul. The next course in the states will involve clearing the infection from Jan's lungs. Once that is accomplished, Jan will need extensive rehabilitation to gain back lung function. Please pray for Jan's complete healing.

Last night, Jan was comfortable and able to participate in the decision making process of which hospital to go to in the states. About 9pm our time, after many phone calls and research, Jan and I decided to go to the Lehigh Valley Health Network hospital system. It meets our requirements as a very good medical ICU facility, and they have one of the top acute care long term rehabilitation facilities that Jan will need. The hospital is also within two and a half hours of family and other friends to help support us through this. Lastly, and very importantly, we have a very good friend on the medical staff who can be our advocate within the hospital.

Jan will be medically evacuated (med-evac) by a special jet equipped with ICU machines, and a staff of 2 physician specialists and 1 pulmonary nurse on board. They will start their flight to Istanbul tomorrow and we are scheduled to leave about noon on Thursday March 11 from the hospital here. We will arrive in Allentown, PA at about 9pm Thursday night. Please pray for the safety of this transfer - it is not without risk for Jan, but is a necessity at this point in her progress.

Today in preparation for the evacuation, Jan had a tracheostomy placed. It was necessary because Jan is approaching the 2 week limit for intubation, and will need an airway for an extended time in the United States. Importantly, the tracheostomy will also provide better airway for the medical evacuation to be carried out safely.

Jan has been uncomfortable today after the procedure, and is being sedated. Her heart rhythm is stable while sedated, but not while off sedation. She is still running fevers. She developed another infection today that will require additional medicines. Please pray that she will remain stable for evacuation on Thursday and not develop new problems.

Our agency has worked very hard and spent many man hours in negotiating and scheduling this incredible health necessity for Jan. It does not come without expense. The cost will be $95,000. Please pray that God would supply these funds for Jan and me to be able to pay this bill. If God is leading you to give, gifts could be sent to our account at the Home Office (Harry and Jan Gebert, #0112931-020) If you would like to give online you can give through ABWE’s website here

You have been so faithful in praying for us-we are very grateful.

Co-laborers,
Harry and Jan