Dear Brothers and Sisters,
It was over a month ago that I wrote asking you to please be in prayer with me, for my dad and family, as I'd just learned that he'd been diagnosed with advanced bone cancer…At the time, I wasn't even sure I'd arrived home in time to see him alive…
Thanks to all of your prayers, I arrived safely in Oakland, California in early November, and will most likely be here until mid-January, 2009. I had been planning to be in Oakland this Christmas anyhow, from Dec. 22nd - Jan. 15th, so that I could be here to celebrate mom's 80th birthday on January 12th. ' Dad's illness just brought me back a little earlier…
Thanks to all of your prayers, dad is making a valiant and most grace-full fight for his life. So far, he's had two "successful" operations to repair his left shoulder and right hip bones that had fractured because they'd become so fragile… And just this past week, he's begun radiation therapy, to last three weeks, till around the 7th of January. His has a large tumor on his spine, and on his hip and shoulder and in his skull…
YET, he keeps insisting he "feels" no cancer in him, and he "feels" no death in himself! His attitude is miraculously upbeat with everyone he meets! It is as if he's becoming a "new man" right before our eyes! Surely, this could only be so because of the work of the Holy Spirit of our Lord Jesus in his heart, amen!
My mom has also not been well (congestive heart failure), and for awhile when dad's condition had seemed to deteriorate, hers had also taken a turn for the worse; indeed, she told us clearly that if he died, she did not want to live, and that she's never wanted to be the one to have bury him…
I cannot thank you sufficiently for praying for us…I know it is because of your prayers that both mom and dad are struggling to live and be here on this side of the river of life, for just little while longer…My prayer requests at this time are as follows:
- A truly lovingly gracious heart towards my parents and family…
- For me to be a true blessing (in words and in deeds, equally) to my sisters as they most stand in need of salvation and in other ways in their troubled lives…
- For the surpassing peace of our dear Lord Jesus to saturate my parent's hearts at this time…
- For dad to have a healing/positive response to the radiation therapy that has begun…
- For all to go smoothly and affordably with the funeral/cemetery arrangements we are seeking to put in place for both mom and dad…
- For my sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews to be at peace and rise to the occasion gracefully, whatever the occasion may be, and may they come wholly to Christ during this time…
- For me, much energy and strength and deeply abounding health to keep up this amazing pace physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually…
- And for wisdom and clear leading regarding my travel plans to return to Nairobi/Southern Sudan in January…
Thank you all so very much for your loving support at this time…
May you each enjoy the deep joy of Immanuel this Christmas, and I pray much more of His presence with you now, and in the coming New Year 2009, amen.
In the Great Love of our Lord Jesus, Ingrid
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