In the March 18, 2009 issue of the Statesman Journal from Salem, Oregon, you can read another article about our recent visit to Ebeye. The "Man makes medical mechanics his mission" has a subtitle "Tom Lengyel of Salem helps set up and repair equipment for medical missions overseas." Click here to go to the article.

Is Diabetes a problem here in the U.S.? According to my husband’s doctor, it is.

We’re constantly getting lab tests done and then we’re constantly watching for endless weeks and months. We’re so disappointed when the level of blood sugar is high and feel great when it is lower. I feel like I’m on a constant roller coaster. When the doctor said we didn’t have to do a test every day,we breathed a sigh of relief.

You diabetics know what an ordeal daily testing is--that uncomfortable pin prick to get a drop of blood to put in the glucometer. When the number is too high – in the danger zone, it is so depressing because all you can think is, “I’m going to lose my leg, my foot, my toe – I’m going to go blind, and my kidneys are going to fail – and then you start thinking about death – when and how. I’ve had friends and family who have had to battle this disease and it wasn’t pretty. All I can say is I don’t want the disease. I don’t want to die a crumby death.

In the Marshall Islands, where close to 50% of the adult population are diabetic, the people battle these thoughts constantly. But, miracle of miracles, it has been so exciting for the people who have been attending the Diabetes Wellness Center started by Canvasback Missions, Inc. They are so excited to learn that they can live normal lives and be healthy and active. They have hope because they see that they can take charge of their lives and reverse the effects of diabetes for their family and friends.

What are they learning? Is it some magic formula? Do they have a special doctor we don't have available here?

No, it's education, education that they can apply to their lives! They are learning what a powerful healing affect good healthy food and exercise can have. These people are amazing. They live on a coral atoll where resources are so limited and they are successfully reversing their diabetes. The President of the Marshall Islands heartily endorses this program and has his meals prepared by the staff of the Diabetes Wellness Center. So many members of the community have eagerly embraced the new way of life and look forward to many healthy years, without the debilitating effects of the disease. If they can learn to change, so can we. The Marshallese are a lesson book for me!

Several newspapers in the past several months have published stories about Canvasback Missions and its activities and we believe you would enjoy reading these. Some of these are available on the public internet and we have listed here for your use.

In March, the St. Helena Star published a story about Dr. Carol Isaacs of St. Helena who was the first dermatologist to go to the Marshall Islands. Click here to go to the article.

In the February 6, 2009 issue of the Kwajalien Hourglass, a Marshall Islands newspaper, you can read an article about our recent visit to Ebeye. The "Mercy and Miracles" article is found on page 8. Click here to go to the article.

We hope to alert you in the future to other articles that are published about Canvasback Missions, and you will be able to link to the story posted here.

I can feel the excitement building

I can feel the excitement building as more and more medical personnel are calling the office every day. The anticipation is running high. We are in between trips to the Marshall Islands in January and the next one to the islands of Chuuk in May. Supplies have already been collected for the ENT team that is going to Chuuk. This tiny cluster of islands formerly known as Truk is in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean where many forgotten people struggle to survive. Canvasback has been a welcome visitor there for several decades. This time they will meet again previous patients that were given special medical assistance.

Speaking of supplies, this reminds me of a remarkable answer to prayer that involved a box that was packed for the trip to Marshall Islands in January. An important box of supplies was on its way to St. Mary's Hospital in the back of a pickup the ortho team was using, when it fell off the pickup. When they got to their destination, they discovered that it was missing. An RN on the team, Bruce Curnuck, backtracked several times over the route they had traveled to no avail. They prayed that night that the box would be found. The next day, there it was at St. Mary's Hospital. It was learned that a woman driver noticed the box beside the road. She stopped, noticed the label "St.Mary's Hospital" and decided to make a special trip there in order to return it. This confirmed a statement that Beth, Bruce's wife, had made, "It is God's trip."