Dan

Thank you for your prayers. The last 2 days have been much calmer than when I wrote last time. Tonight, our dear friend, Sherrie (who was in our Singles Class about 28 years ago) wrote this: "I was thinking about you today. I thought of all these scriptures as I read Dan's blog. So, I thought I'd share these scriptures with you. These verses uplift me when I feel overwhelmed. I've been reading them a lot lately as so many things come upon my life all at once. I hope these verses help uplift you as you prepare for your trip to Romania. The Lord is with you. He will never abandon you. God is with you. Love, Sherrie H."

"Jesus saw the many people and Jesus felt sorry for them. Jesus felt sorry for the people because the people were worried and helpless. The people were like sheep without a shepherd to lead them (Matthew 9:36)."

"Jesus said, 'The Father gives me My people. Everyone of My people will come to Me. I will always accept every person who comes to Me. I came down from heaven to do what God wants Me to do. I must not lose any person whom God has given Me. But I must raise up those people on the last day. This is what the One who sent Me wants Me to do. Every person who sees the Son and believes in the Son has life forever. I will raise up that believing person on the last day. This is what My Father wants (John 6:37-40-SEB)."

Paul writes, "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it [my problem] away from me. But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:8-10-NIV)."

"Don't worry about anything. Instead, let God know what you are asking for in prayer. Tell Him all about what you want. And, be thankful. God's peace, which goes far beyond all human understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus . . . I have learned to be satisfied in any situation. I know what it is to go without and I know what it is to have plenty. At all times, I have learned the secret of being full or going hungry, of having plenty or very little. I can do anything--by the One who gives me the power . . . My God will fill all of your needs with His wealth in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6,7,11-13,19-SEB)."
Thank you, Jesus for keeping your promises! -- Anne and Dan

Posted by Anne at 08:21 PM | Permalink

One good thing we have to say about our doctors was that they did not try to "kid" us about the seriousness of Dan's condition. Once they were sure it was cancer, they painted a word picture preparing us for the worst possible things that might happen. As days grew into weeks, and weeks grew into months, what we actually saw was the miraculous power of prayer working in our lives.

Dan is amazingly strong. He strides along confidently as he carries 40 pound boxes to Fed Ex to ship to Romania, or to his family in Oklahoma, or to our kids. Yes, we are still discovering things that can't be disposed of in the estate sale. Now, if God will keep our minds strong so that we don't "fall apart" and just start throwing everything in the trash : > )

The 5 estate sale ladies are working as hard as they can...but we are always in their way, and they are constantly under our feet. Many times a day, they bring something to show us that we have put in the estate sale. They ask, "Surely, this is precious to you. You do not intend to sell this do you?" Or, they ask, "Aren't you going to store this somewhere until you return?" Today they were surprised to learn that we are not going to ship our couch to Romania. I wanted to say, "Do you have any idea how much it'd cost to ship a couch to Romania? Are you aware that Romania has couches?" We just said, "No, we are not shipping furniture to Romania. There is good enough furniture in our nice apartment."

Saturday all 5 ladies will be here again setting up tables, putting every little thing out on a sale table where it can be seen. Dan and I may drink gallons of chamomile tea to keep us calm AND get our suitcases packed with what we do want to take for ourselves. I wonder if I absentmindedly prayed for patience, or strength? Somebody must have prayed that for us because we are having 50 opportunities a day to work at staying calm. ; > )

In answer to my request that God give me a scripture tonight that will be helpful to me and to our loved ones who read the blog, listen to what He said, "...the Lord will be your everlasting light and your days of sorrow will end....The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn..."Isaiah 60:20; 61:1-2.

The entire 61st chapter of Isaiah is one of my many favorite chapters. May your days of sorrow end, may He bind up your broken heart, and comfort you who mourn. -- Anne and DAn

Posted by Anne at 08:30 PM | Permalink

Ten days ago, Dan had the last radiation treatment. The first 27 attacks of radiation on his thigh were "not that bad." The last 6 were very intense. After those 6, his thigh felt like it was sunburned all the way through to the bone. The special gel with aloe vera crystals helped his skin. Even though small blisters rose, his skin did not break. His energy level dropped severely. The doctor says that by Friday this week, his energy level should begin to improve. Dan has not complained. He rests when he has to. He leans on Jesus and is okay.

If you read our last report, you know that Dan asked the Oncologist, "Do you know any reason I should not go to Romania the end of May?" And, you will remember that the Dr. said, "No, there is no reason for you not to go. Go to Romania!" We are into the countdown.

Eleven days...say goodbye to 7401 Maple Drive, NRH, TX. In fifteen days, on May 26, 2008 - we board Delta #1630 at 6 a.m., and say goodbye to Texas. We praise God that each day we get something accomplished. We had the mistaken idea that once our children took what they wanted of our possessions, the rest would be easy.

But we were not counting on cancer entering the picture. Life has many surprises. Without Jesus to lean on, we'd never have made it this far. The fight with cancer is a lonely one. Everyone has their own challenges to deal with, their own life to live. Some days, our battle, combined with moving, was almost too much. Each time I lost my courage by listening to Satan telling me, "It's too much! You'll never be able to do all that you have to do," I could not keep from being filled with despair.

However, God is faithful. He'd bring to my mind that I am not alone, and that prayer is very powerful. As soon as I'd begin to pray for God to help me defeat my negative feelings, my mood would always lift...and I could go further.

When I really knew I could not finish this job alone, Rosemarie, one of our LST Workers, offered to help! She comes two days a week to help me pack. Having her to discuss the best way to pack this or that makes the work easier. Her companionship while we work together has been invaluable. We have shipped two boxes to Dan's family in Oklahoma, 4 boxes to our son in California, one box to our son in North Carolina, 16 boxes of books, clothes for the Red Cross, stuffed animals and a child's drawing board for Pro Nobis Counseling Center, and a few of our things.

We're going to make it because God called us to Romania. (He does not call you to serve Him and then drop you.) We praise our God for His faithfulness. In the face of all kinds of adversities, God carries us. "Though I walk through the Valley of Death, I will fear no evil for you are with me." Psalm 23:4. Isaiah 25 expresses our thankfulness and praise. I hope you will read the entire chapter. Isaiah 25:9 says, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in Him, and He saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in Him; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation." -- Anne and Dan

Posted by Anne at 05:05 AM | Permalink

Today the chest x-ray today showed that Dan's lungs are healthy. The blood tests showed that all things are good. In 40% of the sarcomas like Dan had, the malignancy migrates to the lungs. Dan is one of the blessed 60% who have no problems in the lungs.

Dan's team of doctors want him to return in 3 months to have another chest x-ray, etc. After a very thorough examination and long discussion, with the Oncologist, Dr. Anderson, Dan said, "I have one very important question. Do you see any reason for me not to go to Romania the end of this month?"

With a big smile on his face, Dr. Anderson said, "No, I see no reason for you not to go to Romania. You have a work to do there that you love. Go!" And, then, he added, "If you have any concerns, you can phone us!" Yes, with Skype, we can phone the U.S. from Romania for $.02 a minute. And, with Prayer, we can reach God. We give credit and praise to God for Dan's healing.

God is good! God is always good! -- Anne and Dan

Posted by Anne at 10:32 PM | Permalink

Dan graduated today from radiation, got the certificate for outstanding courage and cooperation under radiation. We are thankful to God that his skin is still whole. His energy level is fairly good. We see the oncologist in the morning, Friday, 9:30 for blood work, and chest x-ray. May 23, Dan is to have an MRI as the final check to see if he is truly in shape to go to Romania.

God heard your prayers, answered your pleas that his skin and muscles not be damaged. I believe He also answered your prayers that Dan be free of cancer. Because the radiation did not touch any of his organs, his energy level remained fairly good throughout. Last week, he was tired, but continued to function...even taught his Thursday afternoon Bible class at the Retirement Center near us.

If all his tests turn out well, on May 26, Memorial Day, we will board Delta #1630, departing DFW at 7 a.m. Changing planes in Atlanta, we'll refuel at JFK, arriving in Bucharest the next day, May 27, at 10:20 a.m. their time (2:20 a.m. Texas Time/8 hours later in Romania than in TX). We are thankful to God that we had enough air miles to upgrade to Business Class with recliner type seats. Dan usually can sleep several hours in such a chair. I, on the other hand, have never managed to sleep more than 20 minutes on an airplane.

After such a long trip, we will take a day of rest in Bucharest. The next day, Wednesday, May 28, Adolf will pick us up in a rented van...and take us to St. George. It is a lovely 4 hour drive across flat plains covered with crops of sunflowers, corn, maize. Then up into and over the Carpathian Mountains (also known as the Romanian Alps). Once on the other side, we drive through Brasov, a city of 300,000 people, into a beautiful huge valley. The excitement begins to build as we exit Brasov because we know that in 30 minutes we will be in St. George to be reunited with all the good people God has sent to us to mentor.

God keeps bringing Jonah to my mind. You remember, in the Old Testament book of Jonah, Jonah ran the other way when God called him to go preach to the people of Ninevah. God prepared a great fish who swallowed Jonah and kept him in the belly of that big fish for 3 days and nights. Through suffering, Jonah learned it is more blessed to listen and obey God.

We pray that all of you, dearly beloved, will learn how to listen to God and obey Him. We are still learning. He has made us stronger, our love sweeter, our life more rewarding. God is good! God is always is always good! -- Anne and Dan

Posted by Anne at 08:44 PM | Permalink