We believe!

All,

                First, let me thank you for the outpouring of love and support for Becky, me, Gretchen, and Lindsay and their families. We are surrounded by God’s presence not just in our faith, but in the faith each of you brings. It is impossible to describe the tremendous feelings of peace and strength this gives us and our words can never thank you enough; but we intend that we will have many, many years to thank you. On Sunday, a visiting Pastor preached on God’s Great Love and the healing and other powers of His love. You are each examples of God’s Great Love, and we are blessed we have you around us.

                Our Pastor gave us a book called Health Food Devotions by Kenneth E. Hagin. Becky and I have been reading this daily. In it he quotes 1 Peter 2:24: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” As written in His Word, I want you to know that I believe I am healed and that is what I want all of you to believe in your hearts and in your faith. I have really never felt any differently – only God could have brought that peace and strength to me and to us. I placed myself in God’s Healing Hands from the start and nothing that has been told to me has swayed me in the least from this.

                I wrote the last paragraph before this one so as I tell you where I am physically, you know where I am emotionally and mentally. Today we met with the Radiologist and he gave us a better explanation of the PET scan. The news was not as good as we thought. The lungs, kidneys, and liver are clear. However, the activity described around my throat is really in two sub-clavicle lymph nodes which are cancerous. They are small, but they are there. These are not operable and so any future surgery is questionable if it will not improve my chances for survival. I am now categorized as Stage IV vice Stage III. Survival is not 0%, but greatly diminished by about half. We are continuing the chemo and radiation which is at as high a dose as it can be allowed and tolerated. This is just a report.

                I was unphased by this report and it did not change in the least that I believe I am healed and is what I ask each of you to believe and pray and hold in your hearts – have no doubts; only God’s Love could have given me this kind of strength and peace when he told us this. I believe the chemo and radiation will reduce the cancer to nothing and no surgery will be required. I was in the small percentage that should have ever developed esophageal cancer according to my lifestyle and I will be in the small percentage for which no surgery will be required – I BELIEVE!

                I also want to reach out to your incredible love and prayer to pray for some friends of ours. First, I would like you to pray for our Pastor’s son Jed and all the Soldiers in Afghanistan – please pray for their protection and safe return. Second, please pray for our friends Bill and Peggy Greenwell. Peggy’s sister, Sue, died the end of last week of breast cancer. Please pray for peace and comfort for Bill, Peggy, and Sue’s family. Third, please pray for my sister Barbara that her heart would be healed and for her husband Jim and that his heart and kidney would be healed. In particular for Jim, he has only one kidney donated by my sister. He has recently had indications there may be problems with the kidney. It may be caused by one of the medications he is receiving, and so please pray for discernment of the problem and that it is easy to solve.

                Thank you all again for your Great Love and support. I thank God each day for what he provides me and each of us and for His Healing. I AM HEALED! I BELIEVE!

Sid and Becky