December 29, 2005

We thank all of you who have been praying for my health. God has heard your prayers.

As many of you already know, I (Henry) was diagnosed on December 9 as having a melanoma lesion on my neck and on my right shoulder. The shoulder melanoma was diagnosed as a number four, which alarmed my physicians. Although Lottie and I were scheduled to travel on December 17 to the United States for a two-month home assignment with the Worldwide Ministries Division of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we had to cancel our trip.

On December 19 I had surgery to remove the melanomas. At the same time they removed the central lymph gland (sentinel), which was carefully analyzed. On December 21 the anatomical pathological report came back as negative for cancer cells. The results of the more precise immunochemical analysis were also negative, and we received this good news yesterday, December 28. Several other MRI and X-ray exams have also failed to reveal any indication that the melanoma had spread to any secondary location. Today my surgeon removed the stitches on all four incisions made to remove the melanomas and the sentinel lymph gland and has released me to travel to the USA.

We were able to get tickets for the evening of Saturday 31 December. This means that we will have a very happy New Year passing through four time zones on New Year’s Eve! We will arrive in Houston around noon on January 1, 2006. Obviously, we are grateful to God for the favorable health reports. We are very eager to meet our commitments to the PC(USA) and the local churches that have so faithfully supported us all these years.

After finishing these tasks we will return to Brazil to continue our ministry in new church development in Rio Grande do Sul. To God be all the glory!

Henry Haswell

The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 146