Dear CCAM Partners and Friends,

Gioia called me and asked that I update you on her travel plans tomorrow. She is really busy and has no internet access where she is staying, so she will not be able to get a message out herself before leaving tomorrow.

The plan is to leave for the airport in Atlanta by about 9 a.m. It is a 6 hour drive. They would like to check in by 5 p.m., and the people taking Gioia need to get back tomorrow night. So we can pray that things go smoothly at the airport in Atlanta.

Gioia, Buntheep, and Roslyn have 26 pieces of luggage to check in! Six of them are included in the price of their tickets, but 20 are not. So, we can pray that the airline representatives will give them a good rate for the extra luggage, since they are a non-profit ministry helping orphans in Cambodia.

Another really important item to pray about is the carry-on luggage. Two bags are loaded with a 2-year supply of Calcitonin for Buntheep (her treatment requires one vial of it each day!). That's a lot of medicine. When discussing this with the airline, there was originally no problem. They said they could provide ice to keep it cool - an absolute essential. However, now there is some trouble, because the airline has recognized that the medicine is liquid! That's far beyond the usual amount of liquid allowed in carry-on luggage, and the airline is now balking, saying that they did not realize it was liquid before. Well, of course, there is no security risk here. Gioia has documentation from the doctors and has communicated well in advance. So we can pray for a reasonable decision from the airline, that they will allow these two carry-ons and keep them supplied with ice, so that the medicine remains cold for the entire journey.

Gioia is also concerned because her Cambodian visa has expired while she was in the US, but we think she should be able to get a 30-day visa at the airport when she arrives in Phnom Penh. There should be no problem, but we can keep this matter in prayer also.

We can pray that Buntheep will not be sick during the travel. Gioia says that she is doing much better than when she first began with the medicine, and we pray this will continue. Gioia said that her hand is better, but still stiff and sore and not usable for fine motor movement.

Lastly, Gioia says that she will be up all night finishing the preparations to leave. So we can pray for some extra energy for her tomorrow as they travel and check in. Hopefully she will be able to rest during the long flight across the Pacific!

Gioia was very upbeat. This has been a very difficult and stressful time, but God has proven Himself faithful through one of the hardest things she's ever had to do - and now Buntheep is going home! She is incredibly blessed and thankful for all of your faithful prayers and for your notes and other encouragement from all over the world. This experience has been a powerful, supernatural witness of Christ's faithfulness especially through the actions of his world-wide body. Thank you, thank you!

Let's pray them home over the next couple of days that they will be traveling. Amen.

--Joe Ginder,
for Gioia and Buntheep

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