"Field Posts"

"The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." Proverbs 16:9 When we left Haiti on June 1, we had big plans for the summer. We had prayed through these plans and felt they were God-directed. Even looking back at how some plans weren't quite coming together before we left makes me realize that they were God-directed. He knew what we were going to find out on June 23rd.  My cancer diagnosis sure threw us for a loop, as it would anybody, but on top of that we were faced with so many questions and decisions to make: where to go for treatment, choosing the treatment option best for us, where to live, where to send the kids to school, etc. We were faced with so many changes for how we thought our summer was going to look and even bigger how the next year is going to look. Through July we were able to still do many of the fun things we had planned, but once August rolled around we had to put off our plans so we could instead make new plans to start ...

Surgery is done, and it went extremely well.  Becky was able to go home within 24 hours of finishing surgery.  Frankly, we are amazed at her progress.  She is certainly tired, and moving slowly, but we are grateful that her spirits are high, the incisions are clean and doing very well, and physical range of motion is more than we anticipated.  God is answering the prayers of many. Here are some updated praises and prayer requests... Praise for good surgery.  The Dr.'s were very pleased, we are pleased, and the at home nurse was amazed at the good work that the Dr.'s did. Praise for coming home so quickly and praise that the recovery has not been as hard as we expected it to be.  This doesn't mean it isn't hard! ;) Praise for the HUGE numbers of people praying and supporting us.  Watch for another update on this soon. Praise for meals coming over the next couple of weeks from friends. Pray for continued recovery.  Pray for no pain, greate...

After what feels like a million doctor appointments, consultations, tests, a second opinion and being flooded with information and statistics, it is finally time to start treatment. So ready or not, here we go... Surgery comes first and is scheduled for this Thursday, August 18th. Please pray for the surgeons, for clear steady hands and wisdom during surgery. I expect a 1 to 2 night hospital stay and then home for recovery. Please pray for us as family during the recovery time, as Rob will step up into many of my usual responsibilities and for the kids as they adjust to Mommy resting more. Chemotherapy will start a few weeks after surgery. They will look thoroughly at the cancer removed during surgery and use that pathology as well as how many lymph nodes they find affected to decide the course(s) of chemo. The oncologist sees two options for chemo that depend on the aggressiveness of the cancer they find. I may receive a less aggressive and shorter course of chemo or a more agg...

We are just overwhelmed with gratitude and thankfulness... When we came to the US for a 3-month furlough, we never expected to find ourselves staying here for a year. Cancer was not on our radar at all. Within three weeks of landing on US soil, we were stunned and looking at a much different reality for the year ahead than we ever imagined. Since my cancer diagnosis, life has been a whirlwind of doctors appointments mixed with working in the fun things we had planned. We've really been able to enjoy fun times with our family and with extended family and cousins. Rob and I still got to take the 2-night anniversary getaway we had planned months ago. We are really thankful for these opportunities amidst the madness of a million appointments. As you can imagine, we've been working hard to figure out our living situation for the next year and make a decision on school for our kids. When we first arrived, Rob's parents graciously made it clear to us that we could stay w...