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Dear Friends, There is no doubt that God orders the steps of His children. In fact, Psalm 37:23 says: The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delights in his way. We who have been made righteous by the blood of Jesus are called on to delight ourselves in his way. Please bear with me as I highlight how God has ordered our ways for the last six months:
Follicular Lymphoma is slow growing, so its symptoms are difficult to detect. It took a completely unrelated matter to warrant an MRI where it was discovered...a God thing!
I was scheduled for a rather complicated biopsy procedure in Colombia. This was delayed three times, so I contacted my primary care doctor in Bolivar Missouri. In four days, he had me scheduled for a PET scan and a face to face with one of the best oncologists in southwest Missouri...a God thing!
By May 24, the biopsy verified that I had stage 3 Follicular Lymphoma. It covered a 144 cubic inch area of my chest and stomach. On May 29, I started a six-month regimen of six chemotherapies...another God thing!
After the third session on July 24 and 25, a follow-up PET scan on August 12 showed that the area had been reduced to 32 cubic inches. That is a 78% reduction. Even the doctor was amazed with the progress...again, a God thing!
Can’t you see God’s fingerprints all over this situation? I can! And God calls on me to delight in His ways. These are just things related to the sickness itself. There is a whole litany of things that have occurred to prove that He has His eye on every detail of this journey: He provided us with a very nice car. Our son opened up the entire bottom floor of his house for us to stay. We have family and friends close by. We also have a church family that is thriving in Colombia in our absence. Interestingly, what we call “God thing”, King David called “benefits”: Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: 3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; 4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; 5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. (Psalm 103:1 – 5)
The Lord willing, I will to continue the chemotherapy through October. We believe with all our heart that God will clear up the remaining 22 percent! We will keep you posted of the progress through our Craig&Fran Facebook account. My temporary phone while in the US is (417) 766-5129.
Thank you so much for your prayers.
Sincerely,
Craig and Fran
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