New Year... New Hope

A happy and blessed new year to you!

The past year had been a year of blessings and trials for the Fajardo family. Through it all, God had been faithful in sustaining them and honoring Geoffrey and Tina's desire to honor Him through their experience.

The fund raising for Ethan continues. God has graciously blessed generous and good-hearted individuals and groups to give for Ethan's transplant-- and we praise Him for them, praying that God will bless them even more. 24.18% of our target has been reached thus far... And we are praying and trusting God to bring in the remaining amount so that baby Ethan can receive his new liver.

Please also continue to pray for Ethan. Increased medicine dosages, along with new medicines, are being administered to Ethan in order to address the fluid build-up in his tummy. Please also pray that his liver will not deteriorate further.

Tests are still being administered on Geoffrey. It is the family's fervent hope that he will pass the donor tests with flying colors...

This truly is a faith stretching time... The enormous need of the family is not beyond God's capacity to fill. We pray that He will help us reach more people and foundations who will join Ethan's journey... and be instruments of His miraculous work.

God is Good : We've Crossed One Hurdle

These past two weeks had been daunting and faith-stretching. Raising such a huge amount to help such a little baby boy seemed close to impossible...

Yet, when it comes to the impossible, our great God is the Expert. Two days ago, we broke down this gigantic task into 3 phases. Phase 1 covers initial tests and assessments that need to be conducted on Geof-- the primary candidate as a liver donor for his son. We were praying for God to help us raise PhP 950,000.00 by December 22.

Five days before the deadline we set for Phase 1, God helped us raise more than enough to cover 17% of our goal of PhP 6,650.000! It's amazing how God is not bound by deadlines... how He answers prayers... how he provides. The 17% is sufficient to help the Fajardos cover Phase 1. Praise God!

We thank God for you-- thank you for being a channel of God's blessings for Ethan. Your prayers made a great deal of difference. They provided a great source of strength to Geof and Tina. Your financial support is paving the way for Ethan to get his new liver-- and his new chance at life. Thank you! May God reward you and your efforts.

Please continue to pray with us, trust in God with us, and hope with us... as we focus on completing Phase 2 of our fund-raising project-- raising PhP 5,000,000.00 for Ethan's actual liver transplant.

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:20,21 NIV)

Timeline and Goals Updated

The projected schedule has been updated and detailed budget needs have also been itemized on a per-step basis. Again, we thank you for your help.

Timeline and financial goal calendar is available at: http://www.ethansfriends.com/timeline

How is Ethan doing?

Ethan continues to be a jolly baby despite his liver condition. Geoff and Tina are making sure he gets the best nutrition possible by giving him food and supplements round the clock. Signs of his damaged liver are evident like acholic stools (grayish and white stools), bloated tummy because of ascites (fluid build-up), yellowish skin and eyes, malnourishment (thin arms and legs), enlarged liver and spleen, umbilical hernia, and a few others.

The coordinator for the liver transplant in the Singapore hospital said that “with a high bilirubin level at 371umol/L and low albumin at 2.0, Ethan would need a transplant soon.”

Geoff and Tina are in the process of preparing for the transplantation by going through initial assessments as possible donors for Ethan.

Continue to join us as we trust God for complete healing of Ethan’s liver in His way... either without needing a transplant or through a transplant.

Fantastic Start

The past few days had been extra amazing as we kicked off this fund-raising to help Ethan receive a new liver. It was only last Thursday (December 3, 2009) when we kicked all of the gears in motion, and we are overwhelmed with the amount of help and support we have received from all of you.

We would like to ask for your continuous prayers. Should you wish to receive email updates, please go to http://www.ethansfriends.com/updates and sign up.