Dan and Nisha

Dan and his girlfriend Nisha came to visit. It was really nice meeting her. We very much enjoyed her company, she was funny and very smart, but what was especially nice was that she was very accommodating to our hectic schedule with John doing radiation and Chris finishing Chemo. Dan and Nisha did get a chance to explore the SoCal beach area which is always very interesting, a whole different lifestyle then mainstream America. They were able to do the Ruby's on the pier lunch, always a must.

John finished the radiation. We now wait anticipating that God will use it for His purposes. Chris begins his internship with Oxy this week. We are excited for him as he is very excited. Oxy has been very gracious to work around Chris's treatment weeks. God really has been good to us.

New Treatment and a visit

This is an incredible busy week. Chris has a week of chemotherapy, never a fun time. Dan and his girlfriend Nisha have come to visit from Chicago and John begins the 5 days of Tomo Therapy at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. This is the second part of the new treatment plan that we believe the Lord has opened up to us.

John usually has claustrophobia in these machines, but he said that this time as he was listening to a CD of "Who Christ is", it gave him peace and it was also good because the technicians had to listen to it also as he had his treatment. Our prayer is always that God would be glorified no matter where we have to be in this process, so we gives thanks for even this small opportunity for the Lord's name and character to be lifted up.

In the midst of this Dan and Nisha have come to spend a few days with us. Originally we did not plan all of this chemo/radiation stuff to be going on while they were here, but even in that God has a plan. Dan and Nisha will have a chance to check out the beach scene and hopefully do some exploring while in Newport with John. Not perfect for them but thankfully they have been very flexible, and we are just glad to see them.

Relay for Life

Last Saturday, our church youth from The Way Fellowship participated in Relay for Life. Bakersfield sponsors the second largest relay in the entire nation. Very big event. Friends from our church stopped by our tent site through out the 24hours of the event, taking turns walking around the track, fellowshipping and of course eating. Several even spent the night and walked in the middle of the night. It was truly a wonderful day being loved on and just watching everyone enjoying each other. Duke was the king of BBQ, he even went to another site and took up cooking for them.

We want to especially thank John Mitchell and his wife Sally. They organized this event with the youth and God used them in a mighty way to not only bring support to the cause of cancer but to bring our newly forming church family together, where we could feel even more connected to each other. You are so wonderful John M. and true friend. Thanks again and again for all you did.
One of the more moving events is the light of the Illuminaria's. They represent people who are currently cancer free, fighting cancer or are in memory of someone. All the light are turned off and they line the track. It is a very powerful time. We pray for God's victory over this disease. He is our God who heals us.

Passing the Crown

Chris and his friend Emily went to the Stockdale Prom last night. If you remember Chris was crowned Prom King last year so he went this year to pass the crown to the new prom king. He and Emily made a smart pair. Emily was very beautiful and Chris was of course very handsome, even with a bald head. He wears it well.

So, what do you want to do?

So, what do you want to do? That was the question from John's Kaiser Neuro Oncologist. He basically was out of options of what John should do next. The tumor continues to grow and we have apparently exhausted all the usual protocols for this type of cancer. Which put everything into an interesting perspective. Surprisingly we are not worried about it. We believe that our God is always faithful and that if this door is closed, then we will trust He has already opened a new avenue.

As we have shared we are in a new direction and the attitude of the Kaiser doctor further confirms we are the right track. The Kaiser guy did not have a clue about the treatments we were exploring through Hoag Hospital and was unsupportive, which with his general "don't really care attitude" gave us peace that it was the right path.

On another note, Chris does not have a staph infection, but another type that came from being in our hot tub, his low immune system caused him to be susceptible. So that was good news, however the bad news is that the infection delays his treatment. Groan. The delay puts him having treatment while Dan is visiting and when John will be having his new radiation treatments. It is alway something.

A New Direction

Today John had the gamma knife procedure. This procedure was to stop the advance of the tumor. The area where the tumor is heading is radiated to stop it. The process went well, we started at 6am and got back to his dad's house about 2pm. The actual procedure only took 30 minutes, but all the prep took lots longer. The machine that does it is really amazing.

Part of the prep was to do a detailed MRI of John's brain which showed that the tumor was still spreading, the latest treatment was ineffective. The doctor we have met at Hoag Hospital, Dr Christopher Duma is really wonderful, seems to really care and gives a sense of peace with the new direction we believe God is opening. He suggests high dose radiation for the rest of the tumor, it is quite large now, and then follow up with surgery to remove what we hope will be a dead tumor.

As we know, it is all in our Lord's hands, we thank Him for the wonderful doctors He brings into our lives to care and treat John.
~ Blessings, Dawn

To our Lord be the glory

Tomorrow, April 28 we are heading for Newport Beach Hoag Hospital. Through John's dad we consulted with a doctor there who had a treatment called Gamma Knife Prefexion. It sound like it has promise to be used of God to treat the tumor. The procedure will be on Wed morning. We are praying for God's provision and that this treatment will be used of Him to bring us the victory we have been contending and believing God for.

We once again thank you for the prayers. John's health has deteriorated dramatically over the last couple weeks, and even the last few days. His mobility and speech are very limited. We just wait in expectation, knowing that no matter what, God truly is good and He will turn all to His glory.

Blessings ~ Dawn

A fair bit worse

Well that was how John put it after his brain scan today. I suppose we were not surprised, he has been having some physical symptoms that would indicate this is so. However, this just what we see physically, we are not going to be discouraged.

I was convicted today, through the voice of my hair dresser of all things, that we (our family at least) need to be proclaiming God's word verbally over our family every day. Proclaiming "in Christ" scriptures and not giving ground to the enemy and his attempts to defy the promises of God.

The next step medically from what I understand is for John not to do chemotherapy, but to take some sort of new treatment that is a blocker, which should not make him feel sick. So we will join that treatment with a new battle plan, the active, spoken, powerful word of God.

Relay for Life

Our family is participating in Relay for Life with our church The Way. The youth of The Way have formed a team in honor of John and Chris. We are very blessed by their desire to support our family through this event, which is scheduled for May 3rd in Bakersfield.

If you would like to help support John and Chris through Relay for Life you can do so through the link below.

Youth of the Way Relay for Life

Chris and John each have their own page you can go to also linked in the roster list of The Way team page.

Our Faith

"Our faith will never be stronger than the God we perceive"

I am redoing a study I did last year with the ladies of our church plant. The study "Believing God" was very profound for me last year and as I look over my study book, I am reminded of just how much God spoke to me during it. It also makes me realize how easy it is to have revelation and then with time for the strength of that revelation to fade. The conviction of what I discovered being overshadowed with the weight of the day to day struggles of earthly circumstances.

A couple of key points for me were:
1. All attempts to define God cannot help but minimize Him. God is just to big, awesome, magnificent, majestic...for us to define.
2. God entrusts greater supernatural empowerment to those who believe He is who He says He is.

Lord light that fire of uncompromising faith!!

Prayer in a Square

A dear friend from the Middle East days and I reconnected this week. It is funny how when you hear from someone you haven't seen in a while it just gives you such a sense of family - that knowing that no matter how long its been since you talked it just doesn't matter, you just begin where you are now.

She has a picture on her website that when I saw it I was totally captivated by it, it was exactly how I feel. So I just wanted to share it - people often ask how are you, this picture is how I am. Totally dependant upon prayer, boxed in by His love and yearning to hear from our God, submitted (or at least I try to be) to hearing from Him. I am sure if I move out of the box of His protection I will be overwhelmed.

"Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever"
Psalm 73:25-26

It is well with Chris

Just heard from Chris, he had an appointment with the surgeon who as Chris says "messed up my leg". Praise You Lord, the report was very good. Everything was healing very well, even some of the concerns about mobility - Chris is having trouble with getting some of the muscles to work properly - was not a concern. They will be completely restored by the power of our God. We will rest in that truth. But it is always wonderful to have man confirm what we believe God has already accomplished.

Thank you Lord for Your blessings and mercy to us ~ Dawn

It Is Well With My Soul

Two Must Reads

A girl I knew from many years ago sent me an e-mail and recommended this book, I must say it is amazing. I highly recommend it.

The Shack by William F Young





Susan Sakka, a friend of mine was on a rabbit trail on the internet and came across the original text of this book written in 1859. It was in old english and difficult to read so she found out it was rewritten in modern english a couple years ago. The vision of this young girl is truly amazing. If you want to get excited about Heaven, and want a fire lite for saving the lost, this book will inspire you.

Nine Days in Heaven by Dennis and Nolene Prince

Major Change

Starting yesterday John is working from home. The effects of the continued Chemotherapy on his body have made going into work very difficult, he has problems writing, reading and often difficulty with speaking. This is of course a major change for us, but we are looking at it as a opportunity. An opportunity for John to get healthy physically, the last couple years of not feeling well have kept him from basic exercise, so we will be trying to slowly do things like walking and the elliptical strider we have in our house to build endurance. Also it will be an opportunity to press into spending time with our Lord as well as helping more strategically with The Way, the church plant we are part of.

It may seem discouraging for John to stop working, but we really feel it will be a time of opportunity. We are standing firm on believing for the complete restoration of John and Chris. We will not give into looking at the circumstances as negative, but will see the circumstances as leading us into a new phase of our lives which will open doors that would not have been available before.

A friend gave me this quote she heard from Chuck Swindoll,

"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised
as impossible situations"

We thank all of you for your continued prayers and support. We serve a good God and even if things do not happen in the way we would like them to, it does not diminish the fact that our God truly is GOD.
Blessings ~ Dawn

Oops, wrong product

Anyone who knows me well knows that I like to keep my house clean. It gives me pleasure to clean it all in one day, then I feel like I have accomplished something. Usually I like to clean on Monday's, so today after Chris finally woke up, I set to work. First I vacuumed, then cleaned bathrooms (always such fun) and then I thought, I'll not only vacuum the hardwood floor, I think I will polish and clean them too.

Well we have quite a bit of hardwood flooring. So I got out my hardwood floor cleaner and set to work. After I was done it looked really shiny, I thought wow this floor really looks nice when it is polished. So I tip toed around it, trying not to step on it until it dries. I waited and waited, touched it and realized it feels kind of oily. I didn't remember it being so oily last time I did it, and it was not drying. Hum, so I went to the spray bottle I used and guess what? It was not the polish for the hardwood floor but the furniture polish. Now, let me assure you, they are not the same thing. So I had very slippery oily floors, and was not to sure how to get it off. I am still working on that actually. I have tried to soak it up on swiffle dry floor dusters, clean it off with another floor cleaner and well I hope it eventually dries off. What a mess - and I only have myself to blame. Humbling really.

Only Passing Through

I have just started a new study by Beth Moore called "Stepping up", a study of the Psalms of Ascent. It is such a timely study for me. I am doing it along with 3 other ladies who have been my rock through all of the trials over the last year or so. One of the statements Beth makes is:

"We need to change perspective, that whatever we are going through is not where we are staying, we are only passing through"

Oh Yah! That statement really speaks to my heart. We are only passing through, this life, these trials are only temporary, and believe me I can not wait for the time when I can see the end result, either here in this life or in heaven.

Chris is struggling through this week. It has been difficult as the combination of the chemo and radiation has taken a heavy toll on his body. Today he had a nose bleed that would not stop for a long time - I was almost worried we would have to go to the hospital. But after calmly praying over him, it did stop. His blood counts are very low - so he is what we call a boy in the bubble. We have to be very careful to keep any source of infection away from him and then to top it off he has had a fever. So we have been trusting our God, and for me praying for the "passing through" of this trial.

The good thing for today was doing the study, hearing and really being excited to move into a new level with the Lord, and seeing God restoring Chris, answered prayer for the fever and nose bleed. Might seem like small things, but it is a delight to acknowledge the Lord for His provision.
~ Blessings, Dawn

Begin Again

Well Chris has began his chemotherapy again. It is with a heavy heart that we walked into the center where he gets his treatment. But the light in the midst is seeing nurses and patients who have walked with us over the last 1.5 years. What a weird place to be - however we are trusting our God, that He will use this for His glory and there is a purpose for this continued trial.

Chris is doing both radiation and chemotherapy, so it is a double whammy. The radiation is on his leg, to make sure all the rogue cells have been killed. We proclaim them withered. He is doing a high dose chemotherapy, so we are in constant petition before the Lord for no harm to come to the healthy cells. Chris feels lousy, but we just keep him bathed in prayer. He will do 5 days of the chemo, and then 2 weeks off, then repeated. Not sure how many times he will do the cycle. The radiation is for 30 sessions and he just finished the 11th today.

Each day I am trying to find something good that happens, to be grateful for. Today my friend Rille brought lunch for Chris and I, but even more she shared some of the what she heard at her womens retreat. One scripture she shared was Romans 8:28, it was like a sweet reminder from God. Thanks Rille.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

No Change

It is funny how those two words can mean so much. Today, John went and had his brain scan. This is always a time of battling anxiety vs trust. Trying to see things through my spiritual eyes, to know and believe that no matter what - God is good.

Well that said, there was NO CHANGE in the scan. This is very good news, it is the first time since July that things have not looked in the natural worse. So we give praise to our God, knowing that He is the one who has sustained us.

Lord, I have heard of Your fame. I stand in awe of Your deeds, O Lord.
Renew them in our day in our time make them known. Hab. 3:2

Seeing God's Provision

It was an interesting week. Chris spent most of it on the couch, lots of rest and just waiting as his leg continues to heal. He can move around with quite a bit of pain with a walker. Yep back to the walker. By the end of the week he was lifting the leg fairly well off the ground, which was a good improvement.

Many wonderful friends from The Way and from The Oaks brought us food throughout the week. We are so blessed by so many amazing people who show us such love. Thanks again and again to all of you.

On Wednesday, we got a call from Dan. He had just been in what could have been a very serious accident. The car he was in had lost control on the icy roads in Chicago and was hit by a semi-truck on the passenger side. If it had hit a foot or so closer to the passenger front door, Dan would likely have been very seriously hurt. But praise the Lord, Angels were truly protecting Dan. He was very badly bruised, and had to spend a night in the hospital. But he is alright. It was so scary but we really saw God's provision. It is especially hard because we are so far away and unable to "take care of him", but he has a girlfriend who is making sure he behaves himself and heals.

On Thursday we saw the radiologist who will do the radiation on Chris's leg. So that will start this next week. Not happy with Chris having to do this radiation, but we will place it in God's hands and pray for wisdom. Chris will also start the Chemo this next week. It looks to be a much easier schedule for him, that would be a nice bright light for Chris.

On Friday, I took Chris to see the surgeon. Wow as I write this I realize we had quite a week. No wonder we are so tired! Anyway, Chris's leg looks very good. The surgeon was very pleased with how well it was healing and the mobility. Chris will have to exercise it a lot to keep the mobility during the Radiation. Thats were I come in, I asked if I had permission to pester Chris to do the exercises. I was given the green light.

And now it is Saturday, Chris has several of his Cal Poly friends coming this evening and staying the night. So they will have lots of fun. What a blessing, all the friends that Chris has and how they have really gathered around him and supported him.