Dear Friends
We messaged earlier in the week about our Health insurance problems.
Today our request for them to cover John's bone marrow transplant was rejected again...doctors have begun a 3rd and final appeal.
John is due to be admitted tomorrow.
Friends, please pray; we have spent the last year planning for this and God has provided for us to be able to do this, not just financially but also in Ian (John's Brother) being a perfect match. We have been praying this whole year and have always had God's peace.
This is out of our hands; only God can make this happen.
Join us in praying by faith for a miracle tonight or early morning; we will go the hospital tomorrow by faith.
Today has been painful for us; there have been times we have proclaimed that God is faithful and chosen to stay hopeful and there have been moments of extreme disappointment and fear.
We must remember that God is more powerful than any person, company or decision on this earth and He is the one who we will trust.
Much love to you all, I do hope we can message you again tomorrow, this time with a miracle story!
John and Amanda
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Bone Marrow- 1 week
Dear Friends
It's now under a week till John is admitted into hospital. I (Amanda) keep saying to people "It's John's last Monday at work"; half with laughter, half with extreme sadness. Working with my spouse has been a major blessing and I cannot imagine him not being by my side.
As we make preparations for this coming week, we see many things that need to fall into place; some we can control, others we cannot.
There is still a small amount of unpacking to do in our apartment; our good friend Jeremy curbed us some new small dressers which will be a major help! We are so pleased we serve a God who meets not only our emotional and mental needs but the practical!
We are also in the process of ensuring our health insurance is going to cover John's treatment; we are pretty confident this will be resolved but please pray for a breakthrough here.
On a praise note! Last week when John and I were at the hospital the valet parking assistant wrecked our car door! Why praise you ask? Well first they said, "don't worry we will fix it for free and in the meantime we can give you a car". Anyway long story short they said the car would cost more to fix than the blue book value of the car so they gave us the car back and a check for $1500. Again, why praise? Well we went to a local garage who will fix it all up for $640! Leaving us with $860 to keep!
Both of us know this next year will be expensive and so this provides a safety net for us! How wonderful is our God.
We want to thank you all for getting behind us, loving us, praying for us, giving sacrificially to us and being wonderful friends
We love you all
John and Amanda
It's now under a week till John is admitted into hospital. I (Amanda) keep saying to people "It's John's last Monday at work"; half with laughter, half with extreme sadness. Working with my spouse has been a major blessing and I cannot imagine him not being by my side.
As we make preparations for this coming week, we see many things that need to fall into place; some we can control, others we cannot.
There is still a small amount of unpacking to do in our apartment; our good friend Jeremy curbed us some new small dressers which will be a major help! We are so pleased we serve a God who meets not only our emotional and mental needs but the practical!
We are also in the process of ensuring our health insurance is going to cover John's treatment; we are pretty confident this will be resolved but please pray for a breakthrough here.
On a praise note! Last week when John and I were at the hospital the valet parking assistant wrecked our car door! Why praise you ask? Well first they said, "don't worry we will fix it for free and in the meantime we can give you a car". Anyway long story short they said the car would cost more to fix than the blue book value of the car so they gave us the car back and a check for $1500. Again, why praise? Well we went to a local garage who will fix it all up for $640! Leaving us with $860 to keep!
Both of us know this next year will be expensive and so this provides a safety net for us! How wonderful is our God.
We want to thank you all for getting behind us, loving us, praying for us, giving sacrificially to us and being wonderful friends
We love you all
John and Amanda
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Details of the Bone Marrow Transplant
First of we wish to apologize for communicating this information in such an impersonal way; we would love to be able to call you all one by one and hopefully we will get to speak that way before the transplant.
We saw the doctor yesterday and signed all the consent forms so it's happening!
The doctors are confident that the procedure will heal John. There is 80% success rate! This means an 80% chance that Ian's (John's brother and donor) immune system will totally catch and begin to build cells in John's bone marrow; essentially completely replacing John's immune system with Ian's healthy immune system. John tells me that Ian used to say when they were kids that he wishes he could give John his immune system! How amazing that he can!
John is admitted to Brigham and Women's hospital on Friday the 1st October. He will have 4 days of chemotherapy; this will suppress his immune system (the little he has) to avoid it fighting Ian's. On the 7th October the transplant will happen. This will be painless for John but quite painful for Ian so please pray for quick healing for him.
We believe God is working...God has healing for John...please join us in hoping and praying...it's going to be a long and hard year but one which could end with the best news ever!
Monday, September 13, 2010
New Seasons, New Challenges
Well it has been quite a year. Our first year of marriage has been filled with joys and deep heartaches. John's illness before the wedding and his recovery, death of Amanda's father and John's grandmother this summer.
Through our trails God has richly blessed us and provided for us. A new apartment, an increase in finances and a year of fruitful ministry with YWAM Boston.
As we approach our first wedding anniversary our newest challenge looms. John will be having a bone marrow transplant on the 7th October. We have been praying and preparing for 10 months.
John is healthy right now so you are probably asking why we would do this. John has a severe immune deficiency which results in him becoming seriously ill about once every year or 2; the episode before the wedding was the worst; we nearly lost him. This prompted us and his doctors to rethink. Instead of managing his condition we should be trying to heal it. That is why are doing this. The possibility of healing is one we cannot ignore.
Even through our fear, we have God's peace. This next year will look different than any other; John will need to be at home for a year; no public places apart from the hospital. John will be continuing to work for YWAM Boston at home, several projects he is working on and Amanda will be carrying on as normal working with DTS.
We ask for prayer. I (Amanda) am still so broken from loosing my father; watching John willingly become sick fills me with fear. I fully support his decision and I believe this is going to work however the fear is great.
John needs prayers of strength. He has walked through so many illnesses in his life. Pray this would be the last for a long time; pray it works, pray he can finally be healthy and have the immune system that most of us take for granted.
We will be updating you at every stage...
Through our trails God has richly blessed us and provided for us. A new apartment, an increase in finances and a year of fruitful ministry with YWAM Boston.
As we approach our first wedding anniversary our newest challenge looms. John will be having a bone marrow transplant on the 7th October. We have been praying and preparing for 10 months.
John is healthy right now so you are probably asking why we would do this. John has a severe immune deficiency which results in him becoming seriously ill about once every year or 2; the episode before the wedding was the worst; we nearly lost him. This prompted us and his doctors to rethink. Instead of managing his condition we should be trying to heal it. That is why are doing this. The possibility of healing is one we cannot ignore.
Even through our fear, we have God's peace. This next year will look different than any other; John will need to be at home for a year; no public places apart from the hospital. John will be continuing to work for YWAM Boston at home, several projects he is working on and Amanda will be carrying on as normal working with DTS.
We ask for prayer. I (Amanda) am still so broken from loosing my father; watching John willingly become sick fills me with fear. I fully support his decision and I believe this is going to work however the fear is great.
John needs prayers of strength. He has walked through so many illnesses in his life. Pray this would be the last for a long time; pray it works, pray he can finally be healthy and have the immune system that most of us take for granted.
We will be updating you at every stage...
Monday, August 23, 2010
Outreach on Friday
“Why do you go to church?” I asked Jen, a mother I met in Brighton MA at our outreach on Friday.
“Because the people there have purpose, I want what they have” She responded. I was so privileged to share with Jen that she could indeed have what they have, that this “purpose” comes from a relationship with the living and loving God!
Later on I saw a woman approach our team; I went to meet her as she walked. I recognized her; it seemed she recognized me too! We had met many times before at a local church we work with. She had just been released from hospital; she needed prayer; “I saw your team and I knew God had sent you here to pray for me, it’s a divine appointment!” Our team prayed for her; she wept with joy.
We stayed in Brighton around 3 hours and most of this time John was speaking to Tyrone, a local teenager. “I don’t believe there is any evidence for God” He said. They talked about science, evolution and the evidence of God on our planet; it was a deep conversation.
“I guess that makes sense, but if God is real then how do I know which God he is? There are so many religions, they can’t all be right” Tyrone asked; now engrossed in the topic of God. John talked with him about the uniqueness of the bible, its historical accuracy, archeological proof; he also spoke of the character of Jesus. Tyrone intently listened to every word, asked questions and even as our team went to leave he did not stop wanting to talk. “I think I would like to go to church” he said. Peter, one of our new team members knew of a good church for Tyrone and agreed to take him.
Towards the end of the outreach I felt a tap on the back of my leg; “Excuse me?” a little girl asked; “Yes” I responded. “Would you like to be in a parade about God?” she announced sweetly.
I smiled, “Of course, what do you want to say about God?”
“I want everyone to know how good and loving He is”
Such sweet, simple faith.
To God be the Glory!
“Because the people there have purpose, I want what they have” She responded. I was so privileged to share with Jen that she could indeed have what they have, that this “purpose” comes from a relationship with the living and loving God!
Later on I saw a woman approach our team; I went to meet her as she walked. I recognized her; it seemed she recognized me too! We had met many times before at a local church we work with. She had just been released from hospital; she needed prayer; “I saw your team and I knew God had sent you here to pray for me, it’s a divine appointment!” Our team prayed for her; she wept with joy.
We stayed in Brighton around 3 hours and most of this time John was speaking to Tyrone, a local teenager. “I don’t believe there is any evidence for God” He said. They talked about science, evolution and the evidence of God on our planet; it was a deep conversation.
“I guess that makes sense, but if God is real then how do I know which God he is? There are so many religions, they can’t all be right” Tyrone asked; now engrossed in the topic of God. John talked with him about the uniqueness of the bible, its historical accuracy, archeological proof; he also spoke of the character of Jesus. Tyrone intently listened to every word, asked questions and even as our team went to leave he did not stop wanting to talk. “I think I would like to go to church” he said. Peter, one of our new team members knew of a good church for Tyrone and agreed to take him.
Towards the end of the outreach I felt a tap on the back of my leg; “Excuse me?” a little girl asked; “Yes” I responded. “Would you like to be in a parade about God?” she announced sweetly.
I smiled, “Of course, what do you want to say about God?”
“I want everyone to know how good and loving He is”
Such sweet, simple faith.
To God be the Glory!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
News from our team that went to Iceland
"We don't know of another team that has even seen one salvation!"
This was the reaction of the church in Iceland that our team worked with on their recent mission trip. At first they were weary of us; they explained that many teams had come but had been more of a burden than a blessing.
"But not your team" they said "You were an amazing blessing"
Our small team of 30 spent 2 weeks on the streets of Iceland, performing our drama's, dancing and sharing with the people about the God who loves them! The ground was hard, many had tough questions and were not used to meeting Christians, but God did some amazing things!
Lives were changed, people were healed both physically and spiritually.
Before our team landed we had heard there was anything from 3000 to 6000 Christians in Iceland. When they left they had seen 328 make decisions to follow Jesus!
This was the reaction of the church in Iceland that our team worked with on their recent mission trip. At first they were weary of us; they explained that many teams had come but had been more of a burden than a blessing.
"But not your team" they said "You were an amazing blessing"
Our small team of 30 spent 2 weeks on the streets of Iceland, performing our drama's, dancing and sharing with the people about the God who loves them! The ground was hard, many had tough questions and were not used to meeting Christians, but God did some amazing things!
Lives were changed, people were healed both physically and spiritually.
Before our team landed we had heard there was anything from 3000 to 6000 Christians in Iceland. When they left they had seen 328 make decisions to follow Jesus!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Tour begins tommorow...
http://encountertour2009.blogspot.com/
I (Amanda) will be updating YWAM Boston's Official Encounter blog at the address above; please check for updates :)
Tour starts 7th April 2010 and ends 15th May 2010
I (Amanda) will be updating YWAM Boston's Official Encounter blog at the address above; please check for updates :)
Tour starts 7th April 2010 and ends 15th May 2010
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