Grace, in San Antonio with dear friends, learning and growing, becoming the woman of grace He has molded her to be.
Sam, in Denton, pursuing his future, and here at home, pursuing our future, as a family, and as a band.
Mom and Dad, and Johanna and Sarah Anne and Matthew, far away in California, settling into their apartment, into their life, and into the routine at the clinic, seeking God's peace through the passing days.
And James and I, here at home, continuing our lives, moving forward with what He, our Father in Heaven, has for us.
Today is Mom's birthday, and the thought of her, and all the years our family has spent together, tugs at my heart. How do I put this feeling into words? This incredible, wistful longing for my family to be together again, mixed with an unbelievable hope that, as Johanna said to me in a chat,
"the Lord wants to do something in EACH of us... and when He has done that work, He will bring us back together again."
And those works are beginning. The Lord is working in us, and through us. Here are Dad's words on their experience so far at the Issels Clinic.
"The care Bonny is getting is very diverse. She gets an IV bag each morning which contains a long list of vital nutritional components for building her immune system. We both meet with one or two of the three doctors available to us. Today we were told that the initial blood test revealed many good levels, including in her liver. She also has massage, acupunture, hyperberic oxen chamber, and sauna treatments, all natural ways of building the body to fight the disease. Even this description barely scratches the surface of all that we are experiencing.
At Issels there is quite a team of caring people who have had many good results with their treatment protocol outside of traditional western oncology and medicine. One thing that was obvious to us our first few days is how careful they are in mentioning anything spiritual. One of the doctors who spoke to us on Tuesday, during lunch, was talking about drawing from a higher power and used the term, "the infinite energy of the universe". He said to be "relentless in your pursuit of this positive energy connection". Whoa now! This, at first was disturbing. But, as the Lord confirmed through another speaker today, God is not limited by this in our lives and rather uses it to strengthen our resolve. Our "relentless pursuit of this infinite energy" is not to an unknown force. His name is Jesus, our Savour, and Friend. He has called us by name. We are His. Bonny told this doctor that her hope was not in Issels but in Jesus. He agreed."
Dad told me stories of Mom, of the light she is in that place. Her condition is rare, and it is easy to be discouraged about ever finding a treatment that could work, but, as Mom spoke, in her own words. "I am not trusting this IV (they are feeding treatments into her body through the IV) to save me. I am trusting Jesus to save me."
There are no truer words than those, no greater hope than that. No matter what comes our way, we must trust Jesus to carry us through it. Pray that we will find our trust in Him, that His strength, unending, will buoy us up in this struggle.
And for that, thank you. Thanks to all of you, for your prayers, and your thoughts, for your donations, and the efforts you are making on our behalf. We are blessed beyond belief by the army that surrounds us.
I will try to post again soon, as soon as we hear more definite results from the doctors at Issels.
Emma
and all of us from Rambellwood
