The Fight Continues and God is Working!
Gail's Journey
The fight continues and God is working!! On Friday, I got the results of my CT scan that was done on Wednesday. Dr. Yee explained that the tumors all appear stable. There are still many tumors throughout my pancreas and liver, and my lymph nodes throughout the region are enlarged. There is a small lesion in my right lung they are watching, but it has not been called cancer yet. Of course, we wanted to hear that they were gone or at least smaller! However, the fear that they were getting larger, that I experienced while awake in the night before my appointment, was laid to rest. We were grateful to hear the word, “Stable.” As I reviewed my report later, the radiologist also mentioned some more calcifications seen in the big liver tumors, which indicates the treatment is working on them.
We continue to pray for healing, knowing that God may not yet be done with this disease as he works through our struggles and trials in ways that would not have occurred if all was going well in our lives. We are growing and God is using us in new ways. We are praying that the cancer will not mutate to deflect the chemotherapy which is what pancreatic cancer is known to do. But we have God’s power and He will lead the way!
It is hard not to worry at times, but I know that any fear and worrying does not come from God but from the evil one. When it comes, we have to take it to the Lord and not allow our minds to stay there for long. I keep coming back to “trust”. What a powerful word and action! Christ has been faithful to us all of our lives and has proven that He can be trusted. After all, He is the God of the universe, has created and holds together all that exists and formed each cell and design of our bodies. He can be trusted!!!
The only fear we are told to have is to “fear the Lord” and throw away other things or “gods” that get in the way of our relationship and service to Him. As we see in Joshua 24:14, “Now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.”
I Samuel 12:24 reads, “But be sure to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you.”
It is easier to trust Him when we consider the great things He has done for us!
Matthew 6:25-26 reads, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?”
We are still experiencing the promise in Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” We are able to laugh and enjoy our family and friends. Even the nurses’ call our room the “party room” due to the laughter they hear during my chemo treatments. It is good to share God’s joy and laughter. We also had a great time of prayer during the chemo treatment on Friday!
The newest door God has opened to redeem the trials and struggles of this illness and Glorify His name through it is “Gail’s Girls”. If you missed my last blog, please read it as it explains this new venture. We are so excited to see what God is already doing! I will be sharing more updates in this work to train and support young women leaders in Southern Asia who are transforming their communities and planting churches while dealing with poverty and persecution. We are working through Stadia, who has partnered with Enhance Ministries, who are working in Southern Asia. We are the catalyst family to raise support for a transformation center where 25 women, identified as leaders in their communities, will receive training and support for 3 years. Their communities are being transformed through education in hygiene and first aid, trade skills to make a living, clean water, care and love to orphans and the elderly, leadership training, and starting home churches and Bible studies to teach the good news of Jesus! Stay tuned for more to come.
In the meantime, please continue your prayers. We sense God’s presence and peace surrounding us. Your prayers are holding us up! I also hear God saying, “Keep moving, I am not done with you yet!” I am inviting all of you who sense God’s calling and want to help, to join me in building a legacy (mine and yours) to help support “Gail’s Girls” as the kingdom of God is on the move in Southern Asia. You can go to https://stadiachurchplanting.org/gailsgirls/ or www.gailsgirls.org to get involved and learn more. You will see some videos from our family soon. Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers!!