Cathy's dad is sick (again?)

Here's a prayer request for Cathy's dad. We found out last week that one lobe of his lungs (there are five lobes) has collapsed and he has something wrong. Cathy's dad thinks it is an infection, while the doctors are concerned that, somehow, the cancer has reappeared.

This caused quite a stir for us; Cathy wants very much to spend time with her father, and I would like to work along side him at the church. After his healing in January we were not expecting this.

Please pray that God's will be done in all our lives, especially Cathy's dad. Please pray for his health and healing. Finally, please pray that God will provide a means for us to spend more time with him, especially Cathy. Thank you.

Cathy's dad is healed! No more cancer!

Wow! Got a call from Cathy at 12:45. She just got off the phone with her dad's, and the doctors have declared him healed!

As you may recall, Cathy's dad had cancer. Back in August Al found out he had lung cancer, which then spread. The chemo seemed to shrink the tumor, but they had to discontinue treatment due to complications with side effects. Al almost died, made a miraculous recovery (and the hospital staff nicknamed him the "miracle man"). Then a spot appeared on his brain, which disappeared but was replaced by another one. The doctors decided to wait to give him time to become stronger for more treatment as his heart was having troubles.

Now, there's no trace of the cancer, none at all! The doctors say that the only thing left of the cancer is the scar tissue in his lungs. Al's heart is reportedly back to normal. Wow.

God is good, all the time. Praise Him! :-)

Georgia Demographics and Health Care

Most of you know that I want to move to Georgia and work along side Cathy's dad at church and in the community. The idea is to do this outside of my day job hours... but who knows, maybe I'll win the lottery (I should buy a ticket).

CiteHealth offer a lot of information in one place. It's supposed to be about free information on health care providers, but I found a lot of demographics data about Georgia and a whole lot of other states. Since my father-in-law's church ministers to people who had drug and alcohol problems, it was interesting to see that there are no rehab centers near him. Who knows, maybe CiteHealth doesn't have a complete list.

According to them, Georgia only has 3.6% of the workforce in IT jobs... so maybe if I move I can find a decent job (still hoping for that transfer, though).

Oh, and get this: they give you a Starbucks card for linking back to them about their Health Care Reports. Since I am posting this anyway, I'm getting Cathy some coffee!

Georgia and Back

Several friends have noted that I have not been keeping up with the blog and emailed their concern. Thanks! Some of you have noticed that we went to Georgia and came back without blogging about it. Part of that is due to the business surrounding that trip, but that was a month ago now. So, first...

Georgia.
I bought a ticket for $146 and flew out to Georgia on 10/17. Cathy met me at the airport and we happily drove back to her dad's house together. We attended Cathy's sister's wedding on Saturday. I got to preach twice (Sunday and Wednesday) and generally attended morning Bible studies and tagged along with Cathy's dad, Al, as much as possible.

Al's cancer had progressed much like a faith journey; there was a spot on his brain scan, and on a re-check the spot had dissappeared and been replaced with another one. Each health chalenge is met by God's grace, and new challenges come along, another opportunity to trust God. Al's health is in God's hands, and we all think that is a good place for it. The doctors are convinced it is a matter of time; Al thinks God is not done with him yet, and it is a matter of His time.

I have received a great deal of education which should prepare a pastor for a position of ministry. I look at what Al does, though, and know that education along is insifficient to do what he does daily. Rather, God's grace alone is sufficient for the task, for which Al says he does not measure up, and for which I would see myself falling far short of acheiving. When I first met Al, I thought that what he does is admirable, but something I could not do. Later, I found it admirable, and would consider helping on occasion. Then, I considered the possibility of being an assistant pastor, but I decided that I could not lead such a ministry. And now, I know for sure such a ministry is beyond my power, but would willingly labor in it.

The church campus is large to me, sitting on 22 acres, most of which is undeveloped. I looked around and saw great potential. It is in this context that I heard God's call, to my surprise and no small distress, that He wanted me to serve as Al's successor. As I already stated, I am unable to fulfill such a task on my own power, and my own inability terrifies me. It was Friday evening that I knelt with Cathy and prayed, and accepted in my mind that Al was going to ask me to take his place; not long thereafter, Cathy's dad did, indeed, ask me to do so. By faith, I have accepted what we each believe is God's will. Since then, I have come to a peace that God, in His sovereignty, will provide and direct.

I was unable to preach on Sunday before we left because I wanted to see my longtime friend and brother in the Lord, Ted Chandler. Saturday came surprisingly quickly, and we left early on Sunday in order to drive up to Indiana and see the Chandlers. Ted & Angela encouraged us in our decision and ffter sharing a meal at Cracker Barrel we pressed on. We stopped at St. Louis (MO), Denver (CO), St. George (UT), and got home. We were very happy to see my kitties and doggy again.

I had previously inquired about a transfer to Georgia but I was told that there is no room right now; payroll in Georgia is already full. That means the company is needs to either make a lot more money, or someone in Georgia would have to retire or quit. *sigh* God will work it out. So, that's the update on Georgia.

Finances
Cathy and I are looking to refinance the triplex so we can afford it. After all, we're expecting God to provide a means for us to move East. My original plan involved being bi-vocational, essentially getting a transfer and working at the church with every spare hour. Now, I don't know, but the first step is to make living more affordable.

Cathy is still looking for employment; we joke about working at Starbucks, where she could get inexpensive coffee. She is thinking about a mailing place, though, as well. We'll see how that works out.

Cats
The cats are all doing OK. Boaz is very much himself and seems nonetheless for wear since his surgery; the only difference with Boaz is his increased affection for us. Bubba just got his nuts removed today, but male kitties recover so soon that you would think they didn't notice being at the vet at all.

Graduation
I graduate the second week of December. Thank God.

There are a few other things, like Cathy's car getting keyed, but God seems to be teaching us to be less attached to material things, so we're not looking to get that fixed immediately. We went to Disneyland as we had two passes which were expiring, and we stayed Big Bear for a timeshare sales pitch and $75 (free money!). On the way back from Big Bear, Cathy and I discussed and debated passages about Satan whether we give him too much credit; what a suitable wife for me!

Cathy driving to Georgia again to see her dad

So Al, Cathy's dad, had two operations scheduled, one for his throat and one for his lung. He had trouble breathing afterwards and would have died but was resuscitated.

He had the throat surgery Tuesday was recovering at the hospital when he “flat lined” and had to be resuscitated. The doctors are saying he had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia used for the surgery, and this was a reaction to the allergy. I'm not sure what that means, but that scared the family.

Al is under observation but expected to make a full recovery.

Cathy is still quite spooked and is driving out to see her dad. Please pray for Al’s recovery, and please pray for Cathy’s safety in travel. Thanks. She should be there Saturday afternoon.

Cathy's Dad's Cancer is Shrinking!

Got an update on Cathy's dad. The chemotherapy is nearing completion, and the tumor is shrinking. Short of a miraculous disappearance, this is what we prayed for. There are two surgeries planned, one for the tumor and one for his throat.

Update 3 on Cathy's Father

Cathy heard from her step-mom yesterday. Al will be starting chemotherapy in one week. He'll be treated daily at the clinic for four weeks. It's quite a drive, almost two hours (something like Dahlonega, GA).

If the cancer shrinks in four weeks, they will operate, Al will recuperate, and we will all celebrate, because that would be it -- no more cancer. If it does not respond in four weeks, the chemotherapy will continue until Al goes into remission.

I am praying this works the first time around. Cathy's sister's wedding is in late October, so Al would have time to recover. May God grant our requests!

Update 2 on Cathy's Father

Al's cancer has indeed spread (previous post).
:-(

He is not a candidate for surgery, but they think chemotherapy may help. However, Cathy is not sure Al would undergo chemotherapy willingly.

More on Monday...

Update on Cathy's Father

Here's an update on Al, Cathy's father.

The lung capacity test results are back and they are good. They met with the surgeon today and feel very good about him. The surgeon is wondering about the initial diagnosis, though; he thinks the prognosis is better than initially expected. He is reviewing the findings of the first doctor before proceeding.

The cancer is in the upper part of Al's left lung. The inflammation caused by the cancer spread to his larynx, which caused him to lose his voice. The first doctor thought the inflammation had spread from the left side of Al's larynx to the right side; this could mean the cancer spread from the left lung to the right lung. The surgeon does not think this is the case, but he wants to make sure.

The other bright spot is that the cancer is growing very slowly. They have at least two months to determine the best course of action. This gives us much more time to plan our trips and get the grandkids to Al.

The possibilities of Al's treatment are:

1. the cancer has not spread, it is large-cell cancer, they remove one lung, he lives normally in remission.
2. the cancer has not spread, it is small-cell cancer, they treat him with chemotherapy, he goes into remission.
3. the cancer has spread, he gets chemo.
   

Come what may, the timing is much better. Please ask God to prevent the cancer from spreading, and that God grants mercy upon Al and those who love him. Thank you!

Cathy's father has lung cancer

Cathy's father has lung cancer. His name is Al.

The results of the initial test came back yesterday; it's not the type of cancer you can leave alone; it is not benign. A lung capacity test has been scheduled for Monday, 08/13/2007. If that works out, the doctors will arrange for an operation to remove the cancer; up to removing one lung.

Cathy is understandably concerned. While we had been praying for this for about three weeks now, I had expected it to be benign. We are making arrangements to be present before and after the operation. Cathy's brother and his family will be going, too.

Al is a pastor out in Georgia. Our plan is to ask (and receive) an eventual transfer to Georgia, then begin working with Cathy's dad's church. Cathy would work there most weeks, and I would work there on weekends and after office hours. So, they're looking forward to our eventual arrival. We have plans for several years of working side-by-side until Al's successor can be installed (I think he is hoping it is I, but I'm thinking we'll just get through this and get to Georgia, first).

It is another time to ask for God's grace to trust Him and His will. Please pray that the upcoming tests are good, that the surgery and scheduling all work out, and that God grants mercy upon Al and those who love him.