Our blog entry for this week has taken place over the past 4 months or so with Brother Gema and his wife, Sister Eta and their family.  We have prayed for them every morning and every night in our prayers in "bahasa", asking that Heavenly Father will bless them and help them through this trial in their lives.  This is a picture of the Urology Clinic (urologi klinik) in the Sultanah Aminah Hospital right next to the river between Malaysia and Singapore.  We have been there numerous times with Brother Gema, as he was diagnosed with cancer.  Here, we sat for 5 hours, in the very humid open room, waiting for our number to be called.  Finally, Brother Gema went in to see the doctor, got some pills and was sent home.  He was very discouraged.

 A few weeks later, we went to another hospital and had a CT scan.  The scan showed a large mass that had wrapped itself around Brother Gema's right kidney.  This picture is back to the Sultanah Aminah hospital, where the doctors decided to do a "bone scan" and see if the cancer had spread into the bones and bloodstream.  Brother Gema just sat in this long hallway, all by himself, very nervous and worried about his life and his family.  We arrived and sat next to him and tried to bring him some comfort.  Brother Gema and Sister Eta have 3 daughters, 2 sons and a grandchild with them.  Two of the older daughters live at their own homes, but that is still quite a large family to take care of.  Brother Gema had to end his employment also, since he was in so much discomfort and pain.

 Here is the sign above the door of the bone scan area of the hospital.  This hospital takes up blocks and blocks of space with over 23 buildings in it.  This is one of the government run hospitals, which doesn't cost as much for the people, but you must wait your turn and continually come back when they tell you.  The sign reads, "Department of Nuclear Medicine, Sultanah Aminah Hospital, Johor Bahru".  We really didn't like the 5 visits we had to make to this hospital, because you would spend quite a long time trying to find a parking space, then wait until a very scary elevator came down and finally get up to the 5th floor to see Brother Gema.

 As we sat with our dear friend and tried to calm him down, we were reading this sign, which is all over the place as the hospital's slogan.  It reads, "warm (or friendly), quality and safe".
We did notice that all the nurses were very warm and helpful and they did give good quality in a safe environment.  The only problem was you had to do things in "their" time frame.  Brother Gema was sent home 3 different times and was asked to return to the hospital, usually one month apart, from Aug. 25 to Sept 25 and then on Oct 24th.  After he finally went in for an MRI, things began to go a bit more quickly for him.  The MRI didn't show that the cancer spread, which was great news.  Now we just had to wait for the surgery.

 Here is our dear friend and brother in the gospel, Brother Gema.  His full name is Gema anak Enggeng.  I know it well, since I have been asked to give him numerous priesthood blessings.  We would go over to his home and have our traditional large cup of Milo (hot chocolate drink) and some crackers and then give Brother Gema a blessing, before he entered the hospital the next morning.  Then we would drive him to the hospital, stay with him and then drive him back home, only to have another appointment weeks later.  Here, Brother Gema allowed us to take his picture in front of the Department of Nuclear Medicine where he had his bone scan.

 We told Brother Gema that he looked so good in his little green pajama outfit that they give all the men in his ward at the hospital.  We love talking with Brother Gema because he speaks English pretty well and we understand each other.  While we were sitting on his bed with him, he got a letter from one of the missionaries that served here a year ago, Elder Rasmussen.  Sister Eta was sitting off to the side and she threw the letter at me and asked me to read it, which was all written in "bahasa".  I really surprised her by reading all three paragraphs out loud to her and Brother Gema, not knowing only 3 or 4 words.  She was shocked.  I think I can read it better than speaking the language, but we are coming along.

 This is Sister Eta, Brother Gema's wife.  She is the funniest lady.  She speaks Iban, which is a form of Malay from the island of Borneo in East Malaysia.  Many of our members speak Iban (E-bon) and understand Malay very well also.
Just like my wife, Sister Eta hates to have someone take her picture.  I leaned over to her and asked, "Buat kamu perlu wang teksi?", which is Do you need taxi money?  She just started laughing and walked out of the ward.  I looked at Brother Gema and asked if I said things incorrectly and he said I did not.  I found out later that these wonderful, humble people are embarrassed when you offer them help and she felt that we have helped them so much and didn't know how to react, so she walked away laughing.  We would do anything for them, they are such amazing people that are committed to the Lord and his kingdom so well.

On Thurday, Nov. 7th, from 8:30 AM until 3:30 PM (7 hours), the doctors operated on Brother Gema, making quite a large incision up, over and down the other side of his stomach area.  They removed a 17 1/2 pound tumor successfully.  This tumor was 12 inches long, 8 inches wide and 3 inches thick.  It was wrapped around the kidney, but they did not have to remove Brother Gema's right kidney.  He was so blessed and this picture is one day after the surgery.  Linda tried to tell him that he will need a pillow to laugh or cough or sneeze for the next little while, but we don't think he understood.  We are so grateful that Heavenly Father blessed this sweet man.  Now, we pray that he will "sembuh cepat" (heal quickly).  Through fast offering and others, the Lord has blessed Brother Gema and his dear family to make it this far.  His employer told him to get better and then come back to see him, so he thinks he still has a job after he recovers.  I really feel this man has a great work to do, here in the Johor Bahru District, before we go home in a year or so.  Father has blessed him well to this point, and now, we just need to get him home and let him recover.