HIS Radio

The email arrived with the info for our trip to help our friends. With the stated weight limit for the small plane, our family could only carry 4-5 pounds of luggage to fly on one plane. The needed medical supplies would weigh more than that and we couldn't go with out extra clothes. The high cost of fuel made 2 plane trips impossible. My weight was preventing us from providing much needed medical care to a remote tribe in the Philippines. It was crushing. Entering my teen years, I began to put on weight. Being young and active kept my weight somewhat under conrol until the kids came along. I gained weight wih each pregnancy and began to become less active. I never took off the weight gained with my pregnancies plus added 20 or more pounds over the last 13 years. 3 years ago we moved to the Philippines as medical missionaries. The hot tropical climate combines with my extra pounds to make me feel lethargic and tired; keeping me from being as active in our community. Being so much larger than the people we live among also creates a barrier to developing relationships and makes me a terrible role model for the patients in our clinic. During our year of furlough here in Simpsonville, I would like to take control of my weight, to restore my health and get back to a more active lifestyle. I have already begun this journey and lost 20 pounds during the last 10 months, but the process has been slow. The need for accountability, encouragement in exercise, and dietary help is vital for me to lose my goal of 90 lbs. I want to be a role model for a healthy weight and lifesyle to my young teenage daughter and also our patients. Having increased energy will help me to get out and about in our local community and be active in sharing the gospel. When the opportunity comes again to fly from Manila to a remote region of the Philippines, I don't want my weight to hold us back.