encouraged.

Last week was very discouraging, as my dad's health seemed to be declining daily. There were days when my dad seemed so near to death that I thought he might just give up. But each day he kept fighting courageously, refusing to give in to death. My dad has lost a lot of things, but he has certainly not lost his will to live!

We continue to take things day by day, and my dad keeps fighting. Yesterday was the first sign of my dad's health moving in a positive direction. The hospice nurse came in the morning and said that the sore on his back is finally starting to heal, which is a HUGE answer to prayer! Then, later in the evening, my dad was able to sit up in his chair and talk to us for a while. His mind seemed sharper yesterday than it has in a long time. After a week of discouragement, I left my parents' house last night feeling very encouraged. God continues to show us His mercy daily, and His hand is evident in my dad's situation.

So, I remain cautiously optimistic. I know and believe that God can still heal my dad. He could heal him instantly, or He could heal my dad through a long and painful process of recovery. I also know that it's a lot messier than that. Sometimes good people do not receive the answers to prayer that they seek. But that won't keep us from praying.

One of the most inspiring things for me has been seeing my dad's faith grow amidst such adversity. At times when he could very easily be cursing God, my dad cries out to Jesus for help. He encourages us daily to keep believing, to not give up on him yet. And I pray that you would join us in believing. God is not done getting glory in this situation...

Tough Days Ahead

My family continues to receive overwhelming support from family and friends during these difficult times. Thanks so much to all of you who have offered words of encouragement, and thanks especially to those who continue to intercede on behalf of my dad. It means so much. This is the latest news on his health.

In recent weeks, due to his bed-ridden state, my dad developed a nasty pressure sore on his lower back. Over time, the sore began to grow and then became infected. On Monday, my dad was admitted back into the hospital and was in very critical condition. We almost lost him Monday night, but praise God the antibiotics fought off the infection that threatened his life. He has spent the past few days in the hospital, barely hanging on to life. He seems to struggle with nearly every breath, and his mind really seems to be going on him as well. I was, however, able to have one good conversation with him on Tuesday in which he shared with me his last "pearls of wisdom" for me. I will cherish those forever.

Today my dad will be taken by ambulance back home, where hospice will take over care of him. His desire is to die at home. At this point, the doctors say he could go any day. I would be surprised if he makes it another week. These are very difficult times for our family, and it looks like there will be even tougher days ahead.

Please pray:

• for a spirit of peace to overwhelm my dad and my family during this time
• for my dad's spirit--that he would be prepared to meet the Lord
• for the Lord to release my dad from his pain
  
• for my mom--she suffers with my dad
• for a miracle. Our God is all-powerful!

Thanks so much, and I love you all!

Adam

What a blessing it has been to be a part of this family!

Prayer Warriors

Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,

As many of you might already know, my dad has been battling cancer for about two and a half years now. Throughout much of this time, he has been experiencing extreme amounts of pain as the cancer eats away at his bones and presses up against nerve clusters in his back. At the same time, up until this week, his doctors remained optimistic that they could keep the cancer under control. Two days ago, however, we received the news that we were hoping to never hear: the cancer is out of control, there is no longer anything the doctors can do, and my dad has about 6 months left to live. This was obviously a devastating blow for my dad and for our entire family. In this situation, we are forced even more desperately onto our knees to pray for God's miraculous touch.

I'm writing all of you to ask that you join me as an army of prayer warriors interceding on behalf of my dad. I'm asking you to join with me in believing Jesus' words in Mark 10:27: "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." You are all my brothers and sisters in Christ, and I'm asking you to help carry this heavy burden with my family and me.

Here are some specific ways you can be praying:

• Pray for relief from the intense pain that my dad experiences on a daily basis.
• Pray for strength for my dad. He has lost about 100 lbs. now, and he can barely walk.
• Pray for strength for my mom. She has faithfully remained by my dad's side through all of this, often enduring sleepless, pain-filled nights alongside him.
• Pray that both my mom and dad can find moments of rest and peace during these difficult times.
• Pray that if these are our last few months with my dad, that they would be filled with meaningful and joy-filled experiences for my family.
• Pray that the Lord would intercede with a miraculous touch, for HIS glory!!!

Please take time, even now, to bring these requests before the Lord! He hears our prayers!

Blessings,

Adam

Update on My Dad

My family has continued to receive an outpouring of love and prayers from many people as we walk through this difficult time with my dad's health. Here's the latest update so that you can be praying more specifically.

My dad has continued to suffer in excruciating pain as the tumors press up against nerve clusters in his back. A major prayer of ours for some time now has been that he would receive relief from that pain. God willing, that prayer will be granted today through a minor surgery. My dad will be having surgery later this afternoon to receive a pain pump. Basically, a small incision will be made in his abdomen to place a pump inside him, with a tube wrapping around under his skin to his back, where most of the pain occurs. The pump will be filled with meds which will be released directly to the point of pain in my dad's back. With this built-in pump, relief from the pain should be as easy as simply pressing a button.

Please pray...

• that my dad's frail body (he's lost about 90 lbs) will have strength to make it through this minor surgery
• that this new form of medication will relieve much of the pain that my dad has been enduring for so long
• that the doctors might have wisdom throughout this procedure and in the days ahead
• for restful, sleep-filled nights for both my dad and my mom
• for HEALING!

Thanks again to all of you who are praying. You are such an encouragement to my family and to me!

The Power of Prayer (and the Problem of Pain)

Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. (James 5:13-15)

Most of us have read this passage of Scripture before. We know that prayer is important--that God hears our prayers and answers them (though not always in the way we want). As good Christians, we "know" these things...

At the same time, most of us have known other good Christian people--people just like us--who have died too young. They begged God for healing, but God was silent. They believed in God for healing, but He had other plans. We all know someone like that. And I think, if we were honest, that messes with our heads sometimes. We have lots of questions for God:

God, why do you allow pain and suffering?

God, why didn't you heal ____________ ?

God, can you really hear me? Where are you!?

We all have these questions. And, sometimes, because of these questions we begin to doubt God. We may still want to trust in God, but our faith is shaken. And often times, for this reason, we stop praying. We disobey the command in James 5 to pray because we're afraid that God won't answer our prayers. We're afraid that God won't show up and do the miraculous. We don't want to look like idiots when God doesn't show up, so we simply don't pray.

Most of you know that my dad is terribly sick. In fact, if something miraculous doesn't happen soon, my dad's time left on this earth could be very short. His chemo treatments have not been working. The doctors aren't sure what else they can do. It's getting down to crunch time, and it's time that we seriously get on our knees in prayer.

Tonight we will be putting James 5:13-15 into practice. My dad has called the pastors and the elders of his church together to pray over him and anoint him with oil for healing. We are trusting God for a miracle. It's scary...I mean, what if God doesn't show up? But yet in faith we know that God has the power to heal, and in obedience to His Word we are asking for His healing touch.

PLEASE JOIN US IN PRAYING FOR A MIRACLE!!!

One more closing thought. About a year ago, I ran across a passage of Scripture as I was reading through Isaiah that shed some new light on situations like my dad's. In the first two verses of chapter 57, Isaiah writes:

The righteous perish,
and no one ponders it in his heart;
devout men are taken away,
and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
to be spared from evil.
Those who walk uprightly
enter into peace;
they find rest as they lie in death.

It's difficult to think of things this way, but I really do just want my dad to be restored and healed. And I know that in his glorified, eternal body, my dad will be in peace and free from pain. Selfishly, I want many more years with my dad, but God knows what is best. God may choose to heal my dad by "sparing him from evil" and allowing him to "enter into peace." And who am I to argue with God?

But regardless of God's answer in this situation...

WE MUST PRAY!!!

The Latest on My Dad

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for my dad. Here's the latest update:

My dad is still in the hospital. He was discharged briefly last Friday night, but his pain levels shot right back up, and at 3AM Saturday morning my mom had to bring him in to the ER. So, he's been stuck in the hospital again all this week, as they try to keep his pain at a tolerable level and try to figure out how to best attack his cancer.

We received some pretty rough news this week, as CT scans were done on my dad's hips, pelvis, and tailbone. Essentially, the cancer has eaten through my dad's pelvis. There is a gaping whole where it should be, leaving basically just a shell of fragmented bone. As I mentioned earlier, the bones in the ball joints of his hips are also dead. As if that wasn't enough, his tailbone also has fractures and seems to be breaking apart. Needless to say, the pain involved with all these complications is more than most of us could ever imagine. Our most common prayer right now is that the Lord would provide relief for my dad's pain.

My dad is also on an incredible amount of narcotics to keep the pain bearable. In fact, one doctor recently said that if a healthy person took one dose of my dad's medicine--which he takes hourly--it would be fatal. His body is simply fighting so hard against the pain and the cancer that it goes through the narcotic drugs at an incredible rate. Another way that you can be praying is that they could slowly ween my dad off of the drugs so that he can return home soon.

Next week, they are sending my dad down to a tumor specialist in Indianapolis. Some major decisions will need to be made soon, potentially involving some surgical procedures that could put my dad in a lot of risk.

Please keep praying!!!

Another Update

My dad is still in the hospital, and they have been able to finally get his pain under control. The doctors have also figured out what is causing all the pain. Due to a lack of blood flow in his hips, the bones in the ball joints of both of his hips have died. Today is an important day, as my dad will be meeting with his oncologist and neurologist to try to decide what to do next. If things continue to get worse, hip replacement surgery is an option, although my dad's body is not in good shape for a major surgery like that. Other options include trying to stimulate the hip area in order to return blood flow, in hopes that the bones might regenerate, or simply continuing my dad on heavy doses of pain meds to keep him from being so debilitated by the pain.

Please keep praying that the doctors will have wisdom today in what steps to take, and continue to pray especially for strength for both my dad and my mom.

Update on My Dad

Many people have been asking how my dad is doing. For those of you who don't know, my dad has been battling cancer in his spine and tailbone for more than two years now. This past week, he received some more discouraging news. The cancer has recently spread into his lungs, where numerous tumors are growing. As if that wasn't enough, he continues to battle excruciating pain, especially in his hips. The doctors are still trying to figure out the source of that pain. I know that many of you are prayer warriors.

Please pray...

• for my dad to receive a Spirit of encouragement during these discouraging times
• for my mom to remain strong during these difficult times, as she has for two years now
• for supernatural wisdom for the doctors to know what drugs to use and how to best fight off these aggressive cancer cells
• for complete healing. We serve a God who loves to restore the broken and has the POWER to do so! "Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I am willing,' he said. 'Be clean!' And immediately the leprosy left him." (Luke 5:13)
• for God's will to be done...that however He chooses to "heal" my dad might ultimately bring Him all the glory.
  

My dad, brother, and me in Wisconsin a few years back.

Urgent Update: I just got a call from my dad. The pain has become unbearable; something is wrong. My dad is checking into the hospital this afternoon to try to get the pain under control and figure out what's going on. Keep praying!!!

Please Pray for My Dad

I know that many of you have been praying for me regularly throughout my time in Africa this year, and I want to again say "thanks" to all of you...you have no idea how much it means to me to know that other believers around the world lift me up in prayer before the Lord!

Today I have a specific prayer request to share with you. I'm sure that many of you know that almost 2 years ago my dad was diagnosed with cancer in his spine. He has been through radiation and chemo several times to try to keep the cancer contained. For much of the past two years, he has lived in severe pain, but thankfully the treatments seemed to be doing their job. Recently, however, it was discovered that his cancer is growing again. He has a tennis ball-sized tumor on his tailbone that is going to require immediate radiation and chemo treatment again. My dad is in need of a lot of prayer.

Please pray...

...that my dad would be able to continue trusting the Lord during this difficult time, and that God would provide my dad with the strength he needs. Pray also for relief from the excruciating pain that my dad has been living with for so long.

...for my mom. Pray that she would continue being strong for my dad during this time. Pray also that she would be able to get the rest that she needs.

...for the doctors. My dad met with his oncologist, neurologist, and radiologist this week to determine what steps need to be taken. Pray for wisdom as they look for new medicine and new treatments to stop the cancer from growing and spreading.

...for me. I am struggling being away from home right now when I know that my family really needs me. I love my dad, and I wish I could be there to support him. Pray that God would give me strength during this difficult time.

...for a miracle. Our God is Jehovah Rophe...the God who heals. Pray that God would perform a miracle in my dad's life for HIS glory.

Hangin' with my dad...a few years back.