quick updates and thoughts
September 7, 2010
Happy Anniversary to my beautiful bride!!!! – Maria and I celebrated our 8th year anniversary by sneaking away for a day and night at a beautiful cabin near the Great Smokey Mountains. We had a wonderful time together. The cabin was great, beautiful view, quiet, great outdoor hot tub, and all things good. We sat in the hot tub last night staring at the stars and marveling at the vastness of God. To think that those stars were all put there by Him and are held there by Him is overwhelming. We shared in the words of David that “such knowledge is too wonderful for me and too lofty for me to attain.” Yes, the Lord is BIG! He is MIGHTY. And He is LOVE. He is all we need in this life and eternity. So, we had a great time sharing our lives together and reflecting on what the Lord is doing in our lives. We have had some incredibly challenging years in our marriage, but by His grace we have remained committed to walking through those times together. And now the Lord is doing some deep work and healing in our lives and we rejoice in what He is doing and what He will continue to do. I am blessed to have such a beautiful and God loving wife.
We began our morning in prayer on our knees together, yielded to our great and mighty God, surrendered to His will for our lives. We talked about how frail and fragile is our human soul. We are so delicate. We break so easily. We get distracted too quickly. We forget too often. We remember too much. Yes, we are a delicate people. Thank the Lord for His grace and mercy. In Him we press on and seek more and more to become like Him, while our frailty and fragility simply remind us that we are not yet home in our permanent place, therefore we continue to long and yearn for our complete redemption when He comes to take us home.
We are so thankful to our friends, the Prevost’s and the Brown’s, for taking care of Isabela and Susana while we were away. The body of Christ is such a blessing!
Back to Haiti next week – I will be heading back to Haiti next Wednesday to Sunday. I am looking forward to getting back and spending time with many people that I have come to know and love. I will be bringing a bunch of school supplies to give to the orphaned children. I will be visiting with the children in the homes where they are currently staying in order to determine what needs remain. Our sponsorship program should be up and running very soon. I will also be meeting with another young guy I know that just started up an orphanage in Titanyen, an area outside of Port au Prince. I will be assessing his orphanage and will be praying about whether or not the Lord will have us work with him and the children. Since Global Outreach has a mission base right there in Titanyen, I will spend the night there visiting with the other missionaries, and then I will fly home Sunday morning.
I am also very excited about the progress that we are making with regards to getting large amounts of meals shipped over so that we can expand our feeding programs. we have a contact in Florida who we are currently working with. They are currently filling a 20 foot container with Kids Against Hunger meals that will be shipped to us in Jacmel. They plan to start doing this a few times per year so that we have a consistent food supply coming in for the feeding programs and orphanages that we are wanting to help. Please pray for the logistics to be worked out with regards to shipping and receiving.
We have a team coming in December and another possibly in November. The December team is a college group that is coming down to hand out Christmas shoeboxes to several hundred children, including of course the orphans that we are working with. They will be shipping the boxes over within the next few weeks to insure that they arrive by December. Please pray for the details to be worked out and that the boxes arrive in time.
I am happy that our 4 wheel drive pickup truck is now in our possession. Thanks to our Ministry Director Fenel, who traveled to St Mark for 3 days to work on getting it out of customs and then to Port au Prince for a day to get it registered and insured. So, now we have a pickup truck to be able to haul supplies and food.
Pray that the Lord continues to give us vision and direction for what we are to do in Haiti. There are so many needs and so many possibilities to minister, but we just want to be in step with the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Update on Susana – Susana had surgery a few weeks ago to have the tumor removed after getting back tests that showed that it had shrunk by more than half its size and that all the other tumors were gone. The surgery was very successful as they were able to remove 90% of the tumor and they cauderized (seared) the remaining 10%. She is healing great and is feeling great. Tomorrow, we go back to the hospital for her last round of chemo here before we head off to Duke for 3 months for her stem cell transplant. So, we are getting ready for a long stretch of time where we will be away from home and in the hospital every day. Please pray for God’s strength over us.
We are so thankful for how she has responded to treatment thus far. She could not have responded better. So, we pray that she continues to respond so well that these tumors never return…ever. My prayer is that Susana lives to be a very old woman, seeing both her own children and grandchildren grow up. And I’ll make sure that her house is next door from us so that Maria and I get to witness as much as possible. Anyway…that’s our prayer. And I will continue to pray everyday for that to happen.
I don’t know all there is to know about prayer. Its a mystery that I will never understand on this side of heaven. I mean, prayer doesn’t change God’s mind and direction. He already knows the beginning from the end. But what I do know is that Jesus gave us models and examples for prayer, and the 2 examples that keep me on my knees for my daughter every day is the story Jesus told about the man that asked his neighbor for bread late at night because he had a guest. The man kept banging on the door because it was late at night and his neighbor did not feel like getting out of bed to answer the door, but Jesus said that the neighbor will finally get up and give his bread away simply because of the other man’s persistence. So, this teaches me to keep being persistent in praying for Susana’s healing. The other story that Jesus told was about the woman who was wronged and went to a judge day after day demanding that she get justice. Jesus said that even though the judge does not fear God or care about this woman’s case, that He will grant her justice simply because she is persistent. Again, I am encouraged by these verses to continue praying for my little Susana. Jesus states, “Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks is given, and everyone who seeks, finds, and all who knock, the door is opened.” And I am reminded also of the story of David and Bathsheba when they had their first child who died as a result of God’s judgment on David for his adultery. But, even though he was told that the child was going to die, he fasted and prayed like never before. He sought the Lord. He pleaded for mercy. He did not stop. And it wasn’t until he received word that the child died that he finally got off the floor and ate. So too I will remain on the floor pleading for God’s mercy until the Lord answers in one way or another. and I hope you will all do the same.
Personally – God continues to draw me closer to Him than I have ever been. I am still brought to my knees every morning and sometimes even throughout my day. I stand in thankfulness for what He has done in my heart. My soul longs to know Him more. I long for Him to continue to radically change my heart and bring it to life. I long for Him to radically change my marriage and make whole all that has been broken, and restore all the lost years that the locust swarms of sin and selfishness have devoured. I long for Him to use me to lead my family into greater truth and righteousness. I long to see Him heal my daughter. I long for Him to use my family to reach the lost and minister His love and truth to the poor. I just want Him to be the absolute center, to borrow the words of John Piper, that Jesus would be the sun in my universe in which all the planets of my being would orbit around in harmony and order. That is my prayer.
We’re goin’ to Jackson
July 28, 2010
Ville that is. Yes, Jacksonville, FL will be another home away from home for us for a month or so. We just learned today that Susana’s radiation treatments (after she finishes chemo) will take place in Jacksonville, FL. So, we will be there for about a month or so since radiation treatment is every day I believe. But this won’t take place for another several months. However, our doctor just told Maria this morning, “Keep your bags packed from this point on.”
So, here’s the prospective timeline: Susana is going into the hospital this afternoon for her 4th round of chemo. WE NEED EVERYBODY PRAYING as this particular round is supposed to be very difficult with a lot of pain and weakness and all that comes with that. She will be inpatient for 5 days. Then, once her counts come back up, they will take all new tests and scans and images to see how much (pray that it is not how little) progress has been made with the chemo and if the tumor has shrunk enough to a point of doing surgery to remove it. If all is good, then they will do the surgery.
After the surgery, she will get one more round of chemo, which will be an extremely intense round that will basically destroy her bone marrow. That is why, immediately following the chemo, we will go to Duke for the stem cell transplant. We will be at Duke for 3 months!!! the first month will be inpatient, and then the other 2 months will be outpatient everyday. So, we’ll be living near Duke for 3 months.
Then, we will be heading down to Jacksonville, FL for about a month while she gets radiation treatment at one of the best hospitals for radiation treatment. So, we’ll be floridians for a month…Oh happy joy…not!!! Sorry fellow floridians, I just don’t have great love for the sunshine state…y’all need some mountains!!!
Once she finishes radiation, we will come back home and she will get antibody treatment for a period of time, I’m not sure how long. And then, that will be it!!!
Oh how we pray that that really will be it. That by the end of her treatment, their is absolutely no sign of cancer and that it is gone forever by the power of God. Oh our hearts yearn for that day. But we are not there today. And so we continue in our fight with the knowledge of our great and mighty God who goes with us. His grace is sufficient in ALL things. Neither death nor life will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Please remember to pray for Daisy Love as she is in a very serious fight for life. She is going through chemo for a second time as her Wilm’s tumor has returned with a vengeance. Pray for her and the Merrick family as they lean on the everlasting arms of our Father during this most difficult time. To follow their story, go to http://prayfordaisy.com
Oh how thankful we are to be part of the body of Christ. I don’t know how we, or anybody else in this situation, could ever make it without the knowledge and trust in a sovereign God who is in control of EVERYTHING. Our hearts can only find great comfort in this truth alone – that He is in control, and that He is good.
Thank you for all your prayers. You have given us much strength to continue in this vigorous fight.
Answered prayers in so many ways!!!!
June 30, 2010
Regarding Susana – Every prayer we prayed (and every one you have prayed) has been answered! The line put in her chest was successful without any problems. Thank you Jesus! The stem cells were all harvested in one day! Thank you Jesus! She is doing great and we will be going home tomorrow morning after a quick check up and quick platelets. Thank you Jesus! Lord willing, she will begin her next round of chemo sooner than scheduled since her counts are so good.
Regarding our mission work in Haiti – We prayed that we could start getting food on a regular basis so that we can both feed the orphaned children that we are trying to sponsor as well as start up several feeding programs in the rural communities where we are ministering. Well, we have already had one mission agree to give us food enough to provide for the orphaned children daily as well as enough food for one of the schools that we are ministering to. And now, I have just been put in touch with Kids Against Hunger in Orlando and they are wanting to send us a 20 foot container every 3 months!!! Thank you Jesus! With that much food, we will be able to further develop several feeding programs, especially way deep in the mountains where there is so much poverty. Please pray that we are able to work out some of the shipping logistics so that we can start receiving this food as soon as possible.
One of the things we now need is for churches or individuals to help financially sponsor some of these feeding programs. We will certainly have the food, but now we will need additional money for each program so that they (or we) can purchase oil, charcoal, and bouillon so that they can cook the food for the children every day. And I know that the Lord will provide…
I will be going back to Haiti from July 15th – 22nd. We have 3 teams coming in July (Islego Missions Team from July 10th-17th, Calvary Chapel Uncasville Connecticut from July 17th – 24th, and Calvary Chapel Castlerock Colorado from July 24th – 31st) and I am very happy that I will be there to be part of some of those teams. The Lord is really growing this ministry. We just stand amazed!
Thank you all for praying for our family and for the ministry that God has entrusted to us. He is faithful