FEBRUARY 14, 2010

Gary is absolutely having the time of his life being back in ministry. (Pictured here with Pastor Jun Mostrales) This time last year, Gary was getting ready to go back into the hospital for another cycle of Methotrexate. He was still experiencing headaches from the brain tumor which was a concern for us. At this time, there were still some doubts as to Gary living much longer, let alone, ever being able to return to the Philippines. Last week, Gary had a PET/CT scan done and from the initial report, it looks like he is still cancer free. His blood work up was all normal as well. He will still need to see his oncologist here this week and his doctor at Mayo Clinic will look further at the scans, but initially, it all looks good! Today, he is feeling poorly. We do not know if it is just a matter of him being worn out from a long weekend, or if he is coming down with something. Appreciate your prayers! I am so thankful, we have friends and loved ones praying for Gary and our family. We would love to be able to continue doing ministry here in the Philippines.

JANUARY 29

For those of you who do not know, we have a Shih Tzu, named Charlie. Charlie was given to me from Gary for my birthday 5 years ago. He follows me around the house and is sad when I am gone. He has been such a joy to our family, that we have talked about getting another one. Gary said that he wanted the next one to be HIS dog, but he said he didn't want to get one until we were confident that the cancer would not return. Today, I found a precious little girl and brought her home to Gary. Gary named her HOPE because to him, she represents just that. This week, we found an oncologist here in Manila, who will do the necessary scans. She told Gary that he is a miracle! She said that as she was reading the update I sent when making the appointment, she was saying to herself, "How am I equipped to handle this case.... he is a dead man" Then when she read that he was cancer free at this time, she rejoiced and was amazed. The blood test she did this week have all come back normal! Please join us in praying that the PET/CT scans will do the same.

DECEMBER 28

One year ago today, Gary was going through, and had been going through weeks of excruciating pain. We did not have much hope that he would live long enough to celebrate my birthday a month away. (See DECEMBER 28, 2008) Today, Gary is free of cancer, and he was able to play golf with his father, Robert Phillips and long time friend and fellow missionary Herb Hayes, on a newly built course overlooking the South China Sea. Gary's father, told us the other night that all through Gary's journey with cancer, he had one picture in his mind .... Gary being able to golf once again with him. Today was a very special day for the two of them and we just thank the Lord that He has brought Gary this far. How wonderful to be able to enjoy God's beautiful creation, have great fellowship with fellow missionaries, and make special memories with his father.

Gary's stamina is still not back to normal, but each day we see an improvement. He was able to drive the ball and play better than he had in October when he first tried. Thank you for your prayers!

DECEMBER 21

Just an update on Gary's health. He still tires easy and does not have his stamina and strength back, but every day we see an improvement. He is going to try to golf 9 holes tomorrow using a cart. Hopefully, he will be able to gain strength each day.

We did get the final report of the last PET/CT scan and it was clear of cancer. We rejoice in that! Gary has struggled with his right eye, tearing alot and at times painful, so he went to an eye doctor last week.... mainly because his reading glasses were not working for him. *smile* We have used Dr. Reyes many times and he is a member of fellow missionary Lance Gotcher's church. He was well aware of what Gary has gone through these past two years. He ran the usual test and was concerned that the right eye appeared to have a little cloudiness in it, indicating cataract. He put Gary on another machine to test his eye and we had to wait for the results.

After the test were back in, Dr. Reyes called us back in his office and explained that he put Gary on the test because he was concerned that the damage to the nerves on Gary's face and/or the brain tumor, might have done some permanent damage to Gary's eye, causing him to lose his sight. He had tears in his eyes as he explained how relieved he was to see that the damage was very minimal.

There is some loss of Gary's peripheral vision, but considering all that he went through, it is nothing to be alarmed about. He put Gary on drops because his eye is very dry, and prednisone drops for a month. We will then go back and see if there has been any improvement. Gary has already noticed that his eye does not hurt or tear up as much as before, so we feel the drops are helping.

On another note... Before having the stem cell transplant.... in fact most of Gary's life.... he has had terrible cracked heels. He could never walk around barefoot or wear sandals. Since the transplant, his heels are as smooth as a babies! Just one of those funny, unexplained things that happens with cancer.

This past Sunday, we were able to reunite with our church we turned over just before going to the States. Faith Baptist. You can go to http://www.phillips2pi.blogspot.com/ to read about it. Thank you for your prayers!

BACK TO THE PHILIPPINES!

We made it back to the Philippines on Dec. 2. Gary's MRI came back clear. We are still waiting on word of the PETscan , but the doctor acted like he expected that to be clear as well. Words just can't express our joy to be home at last. God has been so good to us! So many times, I thought I would be making this journey without Gary. I am so thankful he is by my side!Our people at Bethel Baptist Church, Quezon City, gave us such a warm welcome. They surprised us by acting as if they really did not know us ... greeting us very unemotionally. After the worship service, Pastor Jun announced, "Let's welcome Pastor Gary and family!" Then BOOM BOOM, confetti was flying and they all swarmed us, hugging, kissing and crying for joy. What a reunion! Many talked how Gary is a living testimony of what God can do. So many thankful hearts, lifting their praise to God for allowing Gary to return.

The choir sang, "It is Well with My Soul", and they had a short video of a little golf ball, who was a long way from home and went through rough times but finally made his way back. It was a great picture of what Gary's journey has been like. I am having trouble with slow Internet loading it, so will try later.

We are anxious to get back to the work God has called us to do. Please pray that Gary will recover his strength and stamina and be able to accomplish all that he feels God is leading him to do. Thank you for your prayers!

NOVEMBER 3

Just wanted to give a few updates on what is going on in Gary's life and others that I have asked you to pray for. Get ready .... it's a long one! *smile*

Gary and I spent the majority of October in the State of Ohio. We were visiting several churches that support our ministry in the Philippines. This was exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. Gary had the opportunity to preach many times and although it was tiring, he enjoyed it tremendously. He still has a long way to go, to get back the same level of energy and strength he possessed before getting sick.

His hand continues to improve with physical therapy. I have noticed small changes that has brought back a certain level of independence for him. In a few weeks, Gary will be getting a checkup. They will be doing all the scans and MRI to see if he is still free of cancer. We appreciate your prayers concerning this.

We have booked our flight back to the Philippines and will be leaving December 1st. Please continue to pray for Gary's health to improve. He is anxious to return to what God has called him to do.

In my last post, I asked you to pray for our son-in-law, Andy. He was diagnosed with Clark level 4 melanoma that was large, ulcerated, and vascular. (meaning into the veins.) After surgery to remove more tissue in his arm, remove a lymph node and PET scan, the doctors say there is NO active cancer elsewhere in his body.

We praise the Lord for this good news, but also know that Andy's journey with cancer is far from over. This kind of cancer is very aggressive and has a high return rate... 85%. It is something that he will need to keep an eye on for the rest of his life. Please pray for Andy, for our daughter Becky and three kids as they take this journey with Andy. If you would like to read more about Andy, go here Andy Wileman

A few post ago, I mentioned Zach Smith and how miraculously, his cancer was gone. The cancer is back now, in a different spot. My heart just aches for Zach and his family, knowing what emotions they must be feeling at this time. Please pray for Zach. This week he starts a new chemo program. Here is Zach's writing about this new development. Zach Smith

And last, an update on myself. I did have surgery on my rotator cuff. They sewed one tendon back together, moved another back to it's rightful place and cleaned out all the areas that "old age" had creeped in. *smile*

I am one and a half weeks post-surgery, no longer needing prescriptive pain killers. I will have to keep my arm in a sling and sit in a rehab chair that raises my arm for me 6 hours a day for four weeks. I can not use my arm whatsoever, which makes it hard to do most things ..... like typing one handed at this moment.

I have learned that I am much better at being the caregiver than the patient. I told Gary the other night that God really didn't need to bring this into my life as a lesson for me. I understood full well the difficulty and frustration that he has felt these past two years not having the use of his arm and hand. The truth is.... I did need a lesson....

I admit I have felt sorry for myself. I have voiced daily my concerns of not being able to fix my hair. Of how hard the seat of the rehab chair is, and how uncomfortable I am trying to sleep at night with this crazy sling on.

Shame on me. My difficulties do not come anywhere close to what Gary has gone through or what Andy and Zach are going through now. Most of all, they don't compare to what Jesus went through to pardon my sin and the sin of the world.

"Lord, help me daily to count my blessings and give You honor and glory each day!"

SEPTEMBER 26

I have several request for you today....

1. Please pray for Gary.  He has not been feeling well this week and has had to cancel the three physical therapy sessions.  His eyes are painful and the right one continually tears.  He is just experiencing extreme fatigue and a general feeling of malaise.

2. We also need to you pray for our son-in-law, Andy Wileman.  This week, he received the news that he has melonama.  They will be doing further testing to find out the extent of the cancer.  As you can imagine, this is hard on our daughter Becky and her kids, after going through it with Gary.  Andy is a policeman for Collinsville, OK.  We are praying that this has been caught early before it has spread to lymph nodes or organs.

3. And last, for me. I will be seeing a specialist on Tuesday and will need to have surgery on my rotator cuff. I am having a hard time dealing with the thought that I will be unable to help Gary for a time period.  There is never a good time for surgery, but with Gary feeling so bad this week, I really am dreading it.

I appreciate your prayers!  It is so wonderful to be connected to believers all over the world that know the importance of prayer! What a comfort.

ANSWERED PRAYER

God answers prayer. Sometimes it is not the way we may expect or want, but He does answer according to His purpose and will for our lives.

A month ago, I asked you to pray for Zac Smith (see in archives). He had been diagnosed with stage four cancer and had been undergoing chemo treatments. To most of us and even medical doctors, his prognosis did not look good.

Today, halfway through his proposed treatment plan, Zac heard the news that he is FREE of cancer! His doctor said he had never seen anyone react to the treatments like this. All because of the thousands who lifted Zac up in prayer! You can read here Zac's own words on his wonderful news.

I can rejoice with Zac, his wife, parents and sister so much more, understanding what those few words meant to us when we heard them such a short time ago. Thank you for praying for Zac and thank you for continuing to pray for Gary.

SEPTEMBER 13

This weekend marks the one year anniversary since Gary received his diagnosis of cancer. As many of you know, Gary had been ill for a long time before doctors had figured what was causing his pain and paralysis.

Today, at our sending church, Lifepoint Baptist in San Angelo, TX, Gary was able to preach for the first time since April 08. This was a very momentous and emotional day for Gary. He loves preaching and has missed doing it this past year and a half.

He told me this weekend that he was nervous about preaching because he was not sure if he would be able to. Partially because it had been so long since he had been behind the pulpit, but also because the paralysis that he still has on the side of his face sometimes affects his speech.

I told him that Lifepoint was the perfect place to do this for the first time, because the members would be listening to him with ears of love. It would not matter to them if he preached the same as he had done in the past.

Gary was very emotional after the services today. Being a preacher has been his life and he loves it more than anything. He told me he was just so happy to be back at it. If you would like to hear his message today, you can go here , click on video for the September 13th service.

God has been so good to us to give Gary the opportunity to continue serving Him. We appreciate your prayers! We know he would not have been here today without them!

NATHANIEL IS HOME!

Thank you so much for your prayers! Nathaniel came home from the hospital today! I was pretty emotional tonight, thinking how just a few months ago, we did not know if Gary would be able to see Brian's son come into the world, and now Gary was able to spend the day holding and talking to this precious blessing! God has truly blessed us!