28 August 2008

God’s unwavering presence

Dear Friends and Family,

I am sitting in the waiting room of the Interventional Radiology Department on the fourth floor of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Our son Everett is about to undergo an MRI-guided biopsy of a spot on his right pelvic bone—yet another critical moment in his 11-month struggle with bone cancer. Les is with him as the nurses prepare him for the procedure.

With the addition of vincristine, temazolomide, and irinotecan since May, a month of radiation in June, and your prayers throughout Everett’s illness, the cancer which originally spanned a full 16 centimeters within his left pelvis has shrunk to a mere 2.5 centimeters. It is finally small enough for Dr. Lin, the surgical oncologist, to begin planning for surgery in October. He will remove Everett’s left pelvic bone, where the tumor originated—and where it remains most active—and replace it with a metal, custom-made artificial bone. Before proceeding to surgery, however, Dr. Lin needs to evaluate this new spot on Everett’s right pelvis that the radiologist noted in the last scan.

When Dr. Lin called to tell us about the needed biopsy, I was in Shreveport, Louisiana, where my father was undergoing surgery. Les was with Everett in Houston, preparing for another trip to Bangladesh.

Realizing that the results of this biopsy will have a profound impact on Everett’s prognosis, Les canceled his trip abroad to be here with Everett today. The biopsy results will be out in three to seven days.

Once again we ask for your prayers, for we are at one of those junctures upon which all else hinges. Please join us in lifting up Everett, asking God to continue enshrouding him with love, mercy and healing. Pray especially that the biopsy results are favorable, so that Everett may proceed as planned towards surgery.

Everett’s illness has taught me that God’s love, though immeasurably deep and all-encompassing, does not shield one from the painful hardships of life. The apostle Paul, who gave his all for the Church, suffered repeated beatings, shipwreck, and imprisonment. We, too, after
19 years of missionary service, are not spared. But God’s unwavering presence comforts us.

God is with us here on the fourth floor of the MD Anderson Cancer Center as Everett undergoes this decisive procedure, and God will continue to be with us no matter what the biopsy report reveals. In all things, even in the depths of sickness and suffering, we know we are never, ever alone.

Yours in Christ, Emmanuel,

Cindy

The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 89