About a week ago Luis, our oldest, casually came over and asked me to come take a picture of his “full line”. I knew exactly what he was talking about, even though it is technically called a “chain stringer”, but that was not important and I was so happy for him. Fishing, and actually catching fish, has been a fun hobby and a gift from the Lord to him, especially in the last several weeks. I enjoyed fishing when I was a kid as well. I love seeing our kids do hard things. There are many steps to fishing: getting a worm on a hook, casting, waiting patiently, actually catching something, and then the entire process of getting the fish off the hook (tricky…can we say fine motor skills?), even through to scaling it (stomach of steel required) and preparing to eat it. With the help of friends, family, and a little maturity he is growing to be quite the fisherman. We will eventually tackle the last part: frying the fish.
Even though our current stage is not easy, Chris and I realize our line (to use Luis’s words) is full too. Fish are not hanging from our line – we will leave the fishing to Luis. As we look at our line we are rejoicing over encouraging testing results, time with friends and family, faithful prayer and financial partners in our Wycliffe ministry, and three kids that are doing pretty good in the midst of a major transition.
While we haven’t spoken to Chris’s doctor the initial reports for his PET scan are in. It includes words like “unremarkable” and “completely resolved”, and “normal”. From what we can understand with our limited medical knowledge we feel very encouraged by the report, yet another gift from the Lord. We will update with more specifics once we have heard directly from our medical team, next Monday, August 7th for round 4 of chemo.
Please keep in prayer some of the symptoms Chris is starting to experience. He has had early signs of neuropathy (numbing) in his finger tips, he starting to lose some of the hair he does have, general fatigue, and other minor symptoms. Overall, these responses are expected for those in chemotherapy, and his response is quite low in discomfort since the symptoms do not significantly affect his overall quality of life.
We do not share to boast in anything but the Lord’s goodness, his mercy, and his ability to provide and heal.
What is on your line that the Lord has supplied?
Jeremiah 9:24
“Lord, you are great and does marvelous deeds. You alone are God” (Psalm 86:10). Praising God for all he has done and continues to do for your family. LaGrave Church and its prayer team continue to pray for you.
Dear Chris and Rebecca, you live only 5 minutes way from my home. Maybe a short visit some time? or you all come to my place for supper? Let me know and many blessings , Barbara C.
Praise the Lord for everything that is “unremarkable” in those reports. Praise God for your bodies response to this process; how the cancerous activity has decreased, and minimal side effects. I pray your neuropathy is limited and only temporary. Your chemo-marathon is halfway over. Praying with you every step
God is so good and faithful!
We have learnt from doctors that ‘unremarkable’ is ‘boringly good’ which means nothing for the doctor to do. And this is great news!
May your children grow in marvelous ways in this season which they couldn’t have in the ‘normal unremarkable’ life in Thailand. 😆 I know, it’s not boring but the kids have routine and know what to expect which doesn’t stretch them like this is doing. God has reasons for this to grow each ione in your family and it sounds like you are all embracing it as well as possible.
2 Samuel 22:2-4
(and the entire chapter!)
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—
from violent people you save me.
“I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and have been saved from my enemies.
Our God is everything; probably like you, we are trying to live and move and have our being in the reality of that. He hears our prayers: nothing is too great for our God.
How could I forget: Luis YOUR FULL LINE OF BEAUTIFUL FISH ARE DAZZLING!! That is no small victory!! Way to go Luis! xoxox
Hang in there, we are rooting for you!!!!
Becca, I had emailed you yesterday about bringing some pre-packaged snacks over … something the kids will need once school starts. Please check your email as I asked what kind of things they like. Chris’ lab reports are nothing short of miraculous … just incredible … and we give great thanks to God!
Judy
Thank you for this very good reminder to think about the “full line” that God supplies. Grateful with you for the good words in the initial report from the PET scan….so wonderful! I continue to pray.
Rejoice in the little things, the small steps that sum to real progress. Praying this trend upwards continues with little discomfort. Also, I need Luis to come down and teach a refresher fishing course. It’s been years for me! 😉
Love the picture! Such good news! Thank you, Lord!
So great to see Luis so happy and accomplished. Continuing in prayer as they start school and you go into round 4.
Wow! Our God is truly Great! ‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word…just know thus saith the Lord.
https://youtu.be/-DdgkvnsHjM
Wow! Our God is truly Great!
https://youtu.be/-DdgkvnsHjM
So appreciate these updates. Boasting in the Lord brings us all great joy and increases out faith in the goodness of God. Love you!
One of my favorite songs is “The Goodness of God”:
“All my life you have been faithful,
All my life you have been so, so good.
With every breath that I am able,
I will sing of the goodness of God”
Wonderful news about the (unofficial) PET scan results! Rejoicing with you in answered prayers – my mom also recently got a good PET scan result. Continuing to pray!
Thank you for the update. Again, it sounds very familiar: the neuropathy in the fingertips, the beginning of hair loss, and, best of all, a positive PET scan result after the third treatment. Great news! May God bless the good things that people have been allowed to discover about how our bodies work and how medical treatment can help.
Thanks for taking the time to compose another cancer treatment update that blesses all who track your journey. Our prayers continue to follow from a close distance.
Our family has a full line just by having your precious family here with us for a season. God gives us different seasons and I am so thankful and blessed HE gave us this one!
Love the picture of Luis!!!!
You are so very much loved and we are blessed by you each day.
Love,
Dawn & Doug
Praise the Lord for Chris’ wonderful progress toward complete healing. The Lord is indeed faithful. Jesus said, “I will make you fishers of men,” and you and Chris have been doing that through your ministries. We pray that Luis will one day become a fisher of men also. We are praying that this will be a time when your family will grow closer to one another and will grow stronger in the Lord.