The Next Great Adventure

Dear Friends,

I guess we need to catch you up. After returning from Israel last fall, we've had a nagging feeling to return. Last fall we were waiting and waiting for the Brainstorm trial (a stem cell therapy trial for ALS) to accept us into the trial. Seth had qualified for the trial but we knew there were only 4 spots that remained open and more than a dozen who qualified, and thousands who wanted to be apart of it. Seth kept saying we should go, without being accepted. I was hesitant, feeling like we should go after being accepted. A two week war broke out and we were held off. We waited and waited. But finally in November found out that all the spots for the trial had been filled and they were no longer recruiting.  Our hearts sunk. In the meantime, we pursed a drug therapy trial that we felt like we had been guided to. It was a trial to treat the autoimmune symptoms that Seth has. So from Jan-April Seth tried a drug treatment. In the end it proved ineffective for him. The end of March, as I was feeling frustrated with the lack of options to help Seth, I said to Seth, just in passing, maybe we should purse Israel again. He again contacted Israel and they said- no, they weren't recruiting and they weren't treating anyone beyond the trial. But Seth said we still need to go. I had learned from the fall, that nothing was going to happen if we weren't there, in Israel, in their faces. On April 15th, I sat with Seth in our Seattle living room and tearfully told him, "Okay, let's go." We decided that day we would take our family to Israel in one month from the day- May 17th. We decided if we were going to go, we wouldn't wait for school to get out, we would just follow the prompting and go. In that one month time, we bought out tickets, rented our home in Seattle for three months, rented a home in Israel, prepared our children to miss school, packed up our house (with an army of friends), and left for Israel. We again were told, "Don't come, we can't help you." But we also know that there have been some patients treated outside of the trial, and so we come with a small hope that this might be apart of the plan. We felt like the window for Seth to qualify to be treated was closing, so we would give it one last try. We also decided that, we would take our family and walk on some of the most holy ground in the world together. We didn't really make "a plan" but "plans" to move forward. We decided we would spend the month of May-June to purse the trial in Israel with the option to extend our time in Israel for another month until mid July if needed. After the first month, if things didn't move forward or we didn't feel like we were suppose to be apart of the trial, than we would travel through Eastern Europe for the month of June/July with the kids. Returning to our families in Utah for the month of July/August and returning home to Seattle mid August. This is our "plans" and could change at any moment. So now you find us in Israel. We already have lots of stories to share of the miracles of this past month getting here and we know there will be many more to come. We are excited to share this with you. A GIANT thanks goes out to our Seattle village for helping us, once again, pack up our house, feed us while we did so, and said goodbye to us for another Christensen adventure. Another GIANT thanks for those who encouraged and supported through words and prayers with this decision. We could not have done this without you. Once again, we see what an incredible family and group of friends that we have. We are forever grateful for your support, to not only us, but to our children as well. And with the fog of jet lag, my eyes are filled with tears at the thought of you reading this and continuing to support us from a distance. We love you and can't wait to share this next adventure with you.