How quickly time flies and soon we will face the end of another year! How grateful we are for the Lord’s goodness!
FAMILY UPDATES
Illness made its rounds among our family members these last months. Aside from the usual cough and colds, John had dengue hemorrhagic fever (which included 5 days stay at the hospital), Ben had amoebiasis, Jonina the flu, Mandee roseola and I had food poisoning and urinary tract infection. Thank the Lord the episodes were brief and without complications.
Doug joined a sprint triathlon in which participants had to swim for 1 k, bike for 30 k and run 7.5 k. He clocked in at 2 hours, 29 minutes and 45 seconds. He finished first in the 50 and above, there were only 2 in his age group! We are just proud that he was able to complete the event without any injury or sudden death!
He has been busy teaching at our Discipleship Training Schools in YWAM. Just last week he was in Mindinao and the weeks before that he was in Iloilo (another island) teaching at a ministry training center. His last trip for the year will be in November when he helps lead an outreach team from our church to Thailand to help build a training center on the edge of the golden triangle.
Doug has been really pleased with the results of the small groups ministry in church. Members are getting to know each other better and are showing care through prayer and fellowship.
Jonina is gearing up to finally get her driver’s license. After the triathlon, she drove home to give Doug a break. After a while, Doug said: I didn’t have a heart attack during the event but I’m close to having one right now! I exchanged notes with another friend whose 17 year old just got his license and I found out that parents and teenagers who are driving is like a lighted match near gasoline! It is an extremely volatile situation! If we had 3 brakes in the same car, it would be more bearable! Problem is, Ben is at Jonina’s heels and started taking driving lessons this week. I don’t know if we will survive having 2 teenagers at the wheel! Maybe I should start walking!
John and Mandee’s lives continue to revolve around facebook and the internet. How these social networks have changed the way people connect! I am amazed at how Mandee comes home to quickly turn on the computer so that she can chat with a friend she spent the whole day with at school! John is no different. At one discipline situation, he was not allowed to log in to facebook for a month. When his punishment was finally over, his wall was peppered with messages like: are you dead? What happened to you?
HEALTH NEWS
In late September, I had a CT scan which was compared to the one I had in China in April. I was so happy to hear that the scans showed that tumors have shrunk, there are no new masses and my other internal organs look fine! There is still evidence of bone metastasis but I will no longer need to take oral chemo meds because my monthly biphosphate infusion will take care of that. I am so thankful that I will be off the meds after my 8th cycle. Every time I took the meds, I had a different set of side effects. The doctors in China gave me a whole list of side effects and I was checking them off as they appeared. I am just thankful that “sudden death” is not one I had to check off!
I have officially appeared with my real hair since middle of September which is, surprisingly for me, very curly! I call it my chemo perm --- the most expensive perm I’ve ever had! But I am thankful that I don’t have to wear scarves or a wig any more.
I continue to be well and strong. I have gained more weight! I am now 51K and should be exercising soon to redistribute my new fat from my midsection to other parts of my body! I still have to pace myself and make sure I get enough rest. This last cycle of chemo meds has been sapping my energy so I just take a nap whenever I can.
THANKS AND PRAYERS
We thank the Lord for his constant provision for our financial needs. When I needed about CAD300 for the CT scan, I prayed to the Lord and the next day, Doug bumped into a friend who asked what my needs were. That same day, he gave the amount so that I could have the scan.
Without having to take the oral chemo meds, this will surely lighten our financial load. However, I still intend to take supplements to help my body’s immune system and fight off inflammation. The biphosphate infusion will be for another year and a half since the oncologist told me that the usual period of treatment is 2 years. So please join us in prayer as we continue to look to the Lord for our provision. We need to see weekly miracles in this area!
We would like to thank you again for all your prayers on our behalf. Thank you also for the texts, email messages, phone calls and letters we have received which encourage and strenghten us in our continued journey of faith. We realize more and more that we could never make it on our own! We are so grateful for your love and concern and pray God’s rich blessing on you and your family.
Grateful hearts
Marla, Doug and family
P.S. For more details on our happenings, you may check out my blog: marlasharpe.blogspot.com
