February 28, 2008
Dear Friends,
Warm greetings from Honolulu, Hawaii! We arrived 1 ½ days ago and we are enjoying ourselves immensely! It is truly a dream come true to be back here! Thank you to all of those who helped make this dream possible. Being in this paradise is therapeutic for both body and soul! (See the picture of the girls with the beach we went to yesterday in the background.)
On Monday I had a CT scan in Phoenix and we received the results upon our arrival in Hawaii on Tuesday. The scan showed that there has been minimal shrinkage in the tumor on my heart which is encouraging, especially considering the fact that this is stage 4 and tumors tend to grow at a rapid rate!
Our doctor says that she is not surprised at the result as this is a process and it takes time to shrink a tumor, especially when taking a natural approach. The tumors have most likely developed over several years, so it’s no surprise it’ll take several months, maybe even years, for them to disappear. Before she called us to give us the results she had spent some time seeking the Lord as to what He had to say (isn’t she amazing?) and she got Habakkuk 2:3, which was very encouraging. She believes that God IS going to heal me and that He will do it in His time and His way. We agree!
We plan to use the next two weeks to relax, pray and think about how we should proceed. Our initial plan is that we will continue with the treatment we are doing and explore some additional options. We plan to remain in the U.S. although we hope to also continue to a degree with the things that God has been leading us in related to ministry, while prioritizing my health of course.
An interesting little bit of information is that my doctor told us that if we choose to go to Europe to follow through with our commitments there in April and May, she is willing to come over for part of the time and continue my treatment there! Now that’s what I call service! Wouldn’t you agree?!
The conference we attended last week (Raising the Dead) was absolutely amazing! God spoke to us, challenged us and did MANY things in our lives! Even CammiAnn was SO excited she didn’t want to go to the bathroom because she was afraid she would miss something! I went up for prayer twice (once the speaker actually called me out and had a word of knowledge about me having a tumor on my heart!) and both times that I was prayed for I sensed a release take place. I sense that what happened was that God removed the stronghold that gave cancer the right to take hold in the first place and that with that removed it is a matter of physically working to remove it through natural means.
On Sunday Shanie and I spoke in a Romanian church in Phoenix. A good friend and former co- worker from Romania now lives in Phoenix and he arranged for us to be able to speak there while we were in the city. We have been so blessed to learn that this church has been praying regularly for us since we received the news about the cancer! We had a wonderful time there as the whole service was in Romanian and made us really feel RIGHT at home! How we miss Eastern Europe! It was also wonderful to have the opportunity to speak and share the testimonies of what God has been doing in our lives. (See the picture of us with doctor Vanessa Edwards, who was with us at this service.)
We want to thank you for your prayers, your concern, encouragement and support. Words can not express how much you mean to us!
Blessings,
Peter, Shanie, Elizabeth, Amanda and CammiAnn
Prayer requests:
o Our vacation in Hawaii (2/27 – 3/11), that we would relax and have lots of fun!
o Shanie, who is fighting a persistent lung problem that is causing quite a bit of pain and discomfort.
o Wisdom as to how we should proceed with Peter’s treatment and for Dr. Vanessa.
o That we will continually experience God’s peace, joy and hope and that we will grow in our relationships with Him.
