Can you believe it? Tomorrow is the day I go to Milan!
Around 4 AM my Dad will take my Mom and me to Terontola, the closest train hub station. From there we will be taking a train to Florence, and from there another train to Milan Central Station, where we will take a taxi to the hospital.
By 9:30 AM we should be there!
Here are three ways you can pray:
Traveling mercies. I can’t believe my Mom is willing to spend a whole week in the hospital with me! It is a long way from home!
Melodee and the kids. Another blessing is that Melodee’s mom Anne surprised us a few days ago and let us know she was coming to help out while I am away! She arrived today! And just in time too…Melodee has had high fever now for a few days. (Also, please pray I don’t catch Melodee’s bug!)
Surgery on Thursday and recovery for a week or so. Surgery has been confirmed for Thursday. Then recovery, biopsy of the tissue and evaluation of what I need to do next.
And about our Easter…
How was your Easter?
Ours was amazing! We had a full church, many unbelievers attended, the choir did a great job and my message went well! Praise God!
Thank you for all your encouraging notes, prayers, gifts! We couldn’t do it without you! We have received so much encouragement!…Another supporting church has asked to help out, other supporters have increased their support, an anonymous person gave me money for the trip Sunday and a new believer in our church has offered to pick me up when I am ready to come home!
God is good. All the time. You know it’s true. If it weren’t true, then nothing else He said would be true. God is everything he says He is or nothing at all! He would not be reliable! But God is true and God IS reliable!
Here are a few examples:
Choir rehearsal
1. Cancer:
My tongue surgery is scheduled for April 24th, with admittance on the 23rd. I will be in the hospital for at least a week. But being after Easter allows me to direct the choir and enjoy family time! I have also been asked by the other pastors to preach. It is both a great privilege and a great responsibility.
Dealing with cancer has helped me ask myself: “If this were my last message, what would I want to preach?” I have decided to preach a message on why the resurrection of Jesus gives me a solid foundation for my faith.
2. Antonietta:
My land lady, Antonietta, has started listening to Radio Luce, our radio outreach. We continue to have spiritual conversations with her, as well as her husband Ernesto, who a few days ago admitted to me: “I think I am going to die soon.” He really didn’t have a clear explanation as to why he feels that way, but it gave me the opportunity to share of the hope and truth we live by.
At the game dinner in Montebello
3. Over-priced grocery store:
We all have to admit that we have an over-priced grocery/convenience store that we go to when we are in a pinch. I go to one in the nearby town of Montebello. I have had many opportunities to share the Gospel there, and we give them Bible calendars every year. One of the deli ladies gave us some of her home made Wild Boar Pasta sauce! Then she invited us to come to a social meal where she was cooking! Another lady opened up to me in line at the cash register. She said that she never goes to mass because the ladies that go to mass are the same ones who steal from her store. I share the gospel and even *gulp* gave her a tract.
4. Delegating:
One of the blessings of my illness has been to have to delegate things I love doing. The one thing I love doing is leading worship. I finally asked my substitutes, Jeremy and Vincenzo, if they would be willing to lead even when I am in church! Another brother, Giuseppe, plans the worship service. Now I just need to work on training deacons and preachers!
5. Provision:
Noah found an interesting horse on one of our city errands!
We continue to marvel at God’s provision, despite the increasing costs of life and health care needs. I have had one of our churches decide to allocate monthly money toward my cancer-fighting supplements. We have had people give me money for my frequent trips to the cancer center in Milan. Our insurance company promises 100% reimbursement for my hospital treatments…more than they would do if we resided in the States!
God is at work. We are unworthy of His goodness toward us, and even of the kindness many of you show to us. Please pray for God to be glorified and for much fruit in all we do!
Eva smiles
We close with a new addition to our website: our most recent presentation. It is a slightly updated version of the presentation we shared with you last time we were in America. Once it leaves this page you will always be able to find it on our “Why Italy” page.
If you were one of the OVER FIFTY PEOPLE who signed up for our prayer chain, I have some blessings to share with you.
Cenni had most of the tumor removed from her brain last Thursday and she was already in church Sunday! I will try to get you a picture of her for you as soon as possible! She said that she has never felt so close to God as she does now.
I gave the signup list to Donatella. She had tears in her eyes. Tomorrow night she is going to read each one of your names in our prayer meeting. Thank you for praying!
Speaking of tomorrow…
Tomorrow morning we are heading to Milan again for my follow-up visit. (Thanks to my dear friend and mentor Steve Standridge for asking!!).
Here is where it gets interesting…by we I mean me, Claudio, Melodee…and Eva!The point of the visit is to evaluate the MRI and to schedule the surgery. Imagine…five ours on a train with a six month old! It will be great!! I am so excited for Melodee to be there to meet the doctor and make decisions together. Please pray for wisdom for:
Scheduling the surgery
Deciding to do the surgery privately through our insurance or through the national health care system.
We are so grateful to God for each one of you who read this, pray for us, give, to keep us going! We truly feel like the richest people in the world!
PS.
We finally have some updated pictures on our website!! Click here or go directly to our Downloads page.
I am excited to share with you the best bad news that I could have hoped to receive. However, if you are bored with all this medical stuff…please don’t feel obligated to read on!
But first, let me just say that the response to the invitation to participate in our prayer chain was amazing! We had over fifty people sign up!
I may have not been 100% clear about how it works to be a part of it, so let me answer the most common questions I got:
How many days do I need to pray for? The people in our church will be praying for me at least for six months to two years, or until we get clear news that I am in remission. Cancer is a chronic situation that does not go away in a day and does not always stay away. In my case, it is my third time. So you can decide how long you want to commit for: one day, one week, one month, one year, five years (when they would officially declare me cancer-free)…it’s totally up to you! We will not turn down any prayer we can get!
How much time do I need to dedicate to it every day? Again, that is up to you. Most people take a break in what they are doing and pray for a few minutes and then go back to what they were doing. Some people will probably pray for a full hour, but I doubt they will just pray for me in that case.
Which time is best if I am flexible? The time that you are most likely to do it. If you already have a regular daily time that you pray for us, you can just make it a part of that time.
And now, a quick note about my visit to the “Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori” in Milan. ****WARNING**** Graphic information that might not be suitable to queasy stomachs!
In front of Milan’s “Skyscraper” with Claudio
Claudio picked me up at 5:30 AM to take me an hour away to get the train that brought us to Milan.
We arrived in Milan a little after noon. My visit was at four. A whole day of travel for one hour, but it was worth it.
One of the best advice I got was from our friend Petra, that you probably remember from my last letters. She said to ask people that God give you peace in these situations.
I was uneasy most of the day, but the minute I shook hands with Dr. Riccio a calm took over.
For over an hour he asked questions, checked me, checked my CAT scan and answered our questions.
In my heart (and through my research and advice from friends in the medical profession), I was convinced that I did not want to do radiation treatment. Dr. Riccio is against radiation treatment in my case.
He gave me a clear theory of why I have cancer (after eliminating the hypotheses of chain smoker or alcoholic). He gave me two options for my cure: 1. Continue picking at my tongue every time that a new tumor shows up. 2. Do a wider and deeper cleaning of the entire incision area to remove the offending area and then some dental work to remove the abrasion contact, which he considers the main offender. This was his suggestion. This will mean a least a week in the hospital in Milan, as soon as we can set a date.
If the cancer is not limited within the area that will be removed, he will probably suggest removing up to half of my tongue. But this is the worst case scenario. So, as you can see, it really was some good bad news:
I found a doctor I am confident in (Claudio and Serenella felt that way about him too).
It seems the cancer has not spread beyond the tongue.
So far it seems I will be able to avoid permanent damage, whether by radiation, chemotherapy or a more drastic removal of tongue tissue!
Yesterday I went to the doctors here in Perugia to thank them for their many years of care and to let them know that I will be followed in Milan. They were as gracious about it as I could have asked for. Even the doctor I talked to seemed to think it was a good idea!
Of course, I continue to see God through this trial. I spent an entire day with two new believers, who used their gifts to serve. We were able to witness to three people on the train ride. The church has shown its love for me by their gifts and prayers…and that makes it all worth it!
Written on February 18th (my visit update will be next!):
Thank you for your prayers through my adventure with cancer.
Tomorrow is a big day: I am heading to Milan’s National Cancer Center for a private consultation with a renowned doctor there.
This is just one of many blessings we are experiencing:
Serenella, a sister in our church lined up the visit for me.
Claudio, a brother in our church, and Serenella are coming with me. They are both detail-oriented people…they just want to make sure that I get as much out of it as possible!
The brothers and sisters of the Centro Evangelico Battista insisted on paying for our trip and even for the appointment! (I had asked God for help with that!)
Another sister of our church is coming this evening to watch the kids so that
Melodee and I can have some time alone before the big trip.
I got my CAT scan results yesterday, so I have the most up-to-date documentation. (The results were not conclusive, they suggest doing an MRI as soon as possible.)
As you can imagine, we have our ups and downs emotionally since we received news of more cancer. But, hey, so did Job, right? A few days ago the Lord gave me one short verse that has really carried me through these days: And the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand shortened?” (Numbers 11:23, ESV) I thank God that his hand is not shortened, whether it be for quail or for cancer.
The encouragement has been overwhelming for us.
In my last e-mail I mentioned Daniele, a friend in northern Italy with a brain tumor.
When he and his wife Petra found out the news that I had another malignant ulcer, they asked us if they could call us to encourage us. That Friday they called us to share with us the peace that they have and how even cancer patients can minister to others. Daniele had enough strength to say two words: yes and amen. Petra asked him if he agreed with her that God was using him through this sickness. He said, “si.” At the end when I prayed for them he said, “Amen.”
Those two words communicated more than many speeches we have heard before! That Sunday, just two days later, Daniele went to be with the Lord.
We feel so blessed that he would decided to spend almost an hour of one of his last days on earth to minister to us. Pray for Petra and Manuel as they grieve the loss of Daniele.
Finally, I have an invitation for you.
Prayer Chain
Our brothers and sisters have started a 24-hour prayer chain for me, and two other people in our church. Roque is a pastor from Venezuela with Leukemia and Cenni, who attends with her husband and two children, has a brain tumor. The last time they did a prayer chain for me I was cancer-free for almost two years!
The biggest challenge is to get people to sign-up for the slot between 1 and 5 AM. I got to thinking: in America, EST that would be 7 to 11 PM, not to mention the rest of the time zones, where it would be even earlier! If you are reading this, chances are you already pray for me…would you be interested in joining the prayer chain? I will personally write your name in the slot. Or another slot, if those don’t work for you. Please let me know if you would like to join this prayer adventure! You would be praying along with people from our church and from around the world.
God is good…all the time. It really is true that with the trials come greater blessings. I pray that this lesson not be wasted on us.
