Monday, November 20, 2006

A Celebration of David's Life

Dear friends,

At 1:24pm on Saturday 18th November, 2006 David went home to be with the Lord.

This came as a great shock to many of us. We loved David and many around the world were praying in full faith for his recovery. The family were with him, singing with him on several occasions over the past week. The presence of the Lord was very beautiful. He regained consciousness for a short period just before his passing and each one of the family spoke special words to him and he was able to respond to each one.

The celebration of David's life will be held at the Evangelical Community Church, 19-23 Holland Road, Blackburn South, Melbourne on Friday 24th November at 11:00am for the viewing and 11:30am for the service followed by a luncheon.

We would appreciate your continual prayers for the family at this time. We are gathering forces to continue the vision of OBC worldwide - The Online Bible College.

With our special thanks and appreciation,

Paul and Bunty and Rebecca,
Elena, Jessica, Stephanie and Jordan.



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Thursday, November 02, 2006

Update on David

We so appreciate your faithful prayers on David's behalf. He has begun a mild chemo. Though his energy levels are low he is eating some solids and is slowly gaining in strength. Please pray especially that his energy will continue to increase day by day.

The recent scan he had showed that the cancer had not grown or spread since the last scan (about 3 months ago) so we praise the Lord for that. We believe it is because of all the prayers that are going up to the Lord for him.

We are believing the cancer will now DECREASE! We are fully assured of the faithfulness of God!

With many thanks for your faith and prayers,

Paul and Bunty



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Friday, September 08, 2006

Miraculous Update

I've just posted in "The Journey" a testimony of what God has done for me in the last 24 hours (see "The Cords of Death"). I encourage you to read this, when you are able.

I'm overwhelmed by the grace, mercy and love of the Lord toward me. And so, so grateful for your prayers. Thank you for sticking with me in faith, during the difficult times. Our God is faithful!

Friday, August 04, 2006

Testimony to God's Amazing Grace

As you will be aware from my previous post, I was admitted to hospital (despite my earnest desire to avoid it at all costs!) a week ago today. As it turned out, the reason was that I had been trialing a new liquid laxative (anyone who has had experience with stomach or bowel cancer knows that constipation is a major difficulty, and this is further compounded by the constipative side-effects of analgesics such as oxycontin and endone).

Well, I had a severely bad reaction to the laxative -- serious inflamation of the bowels -- and this is what sent me to hospital in quite excruciating pain and feverish discomfort. But this time was different from the previous two admissions - I had a quiet confidence that God was with me and I knew that He would pull me through.

And this is exactly what happened. X-rays revealed that the obstruction and inflamation, while serious, didn't require surgical intervention (which was my primary concern), and so I simply fasted until the blockage was resolved naturally. Within three days, I was on my feet again and ready to return home.

I'm so grateful to the Lord's help during this trying time. His grace truly is amazing, as the song goes, and my heart overflows with gratitude to him. After all, I deserve nothing (isn't that the meaning of "grace"?), and yet the Lord loves me and ministers to me all the same.

I also want to share some other good news. Last week I underwent another CT scan and blood tests. Both came back with good results. The cancer hasn't spread to other organs in my body (one concern was that it may have spread to my brain), and although my upper colon now shows some thickening of the walls (previously it was just my stomach), the cancer has advanced hardly at all.

On top of this, I just had some blood tests done. My doctor was concerned that, due to poor digestion in my stomach, I may not be getting vitamin B12, and may also be deficient in other nutrients/minerals/trace elements. If so, I would need to get regular B12 injections. However, my blood test shows that everything is completely normal...even iron and B12! My liver functions are excellent, cholestrol is perfect, even my blood pressure is exemplary! In fact, if it weren't for the cancer, I'd be fit as a fiddle!

The real credit for all of this goes to God's praying people. Thank you so much for standing with me in prayer. I'm looking forward to sharing even better news in the near future!



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Monday, July 24, 2006

Critical Prayer Point

I would greatly appreciate your prayer on my behalf right now.

Two days ago, I began to experience the onset of bowel obstruction. You may remember from my posts in January and February that this is what sent me twice into hospital earlier this year.

It came to the point, on Saturday night, of deciding whether I should go into hospital. I couldn't eat or drink, which meant that I was getting dehydrated. My vertigo had returned with a vengeance (this has nothing directly to do with my cancer, but is a separate condition I'm fighting at the moment), and I was feverish. My doctor recommended that if the fever didn't break, I would need to admit myself into hospital.

My family, and many others, were praying earnestly. My fever broke, I began to be able to eat small portions - and more importantly, to drink fluids - and I felt my strength returning.

Over the last 48 hours or so, however, I've experienced a number of breakthroughs and apparent reversals. On Sunday morning, for example, I had a high fever, was feeling nauseous, and although I could eat and drink small portions, I knew that the bowel obstruction was not yet fully over.

I went before the Lord personally in prayer, asking him why I was experiencing these breakthroughs, followed by reversals. The Lord took me to the story of Joshua's battle with the Amalekites in Exodus 17:8-13. In verse 11, we read:
"As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning."
While Moses prayed with hands lifted up, the battle went for Joshua, but when his hands lowered, the battle went against Joshua. This is, I believe, a picture of what I'm facing right now, and we as a family and a church have taken up the challenge to pray through to full outworking of the victory we have in Jesus Christ.

There are two possible outcomes for me this week:

1. I end up in hospital (which may mean surgical intervention)
2. I come through this crisis in full victory (and, I'm praying, full healing)

Obviously, we want to see the second, not the first. Prayer is what will make the critical difference between these two outcomes.

Just to put you in the picture, so that you know how to pray, at present, I'll share with you what I'm facing. I'm battling potential fever (obviously not all the time, but on occasions), vertigo, nausea, increased pain, as well as potential bowel obstruction. Since Saturday, I'm now eating and drinking, which is a major miracle in itself, but my stomach is extremely loud (much gurgling and other noises). I can also feel the lump of the cancer in my stomach. Furthermore, I've lost another 5 kg (11 lbs). I'm down now to 63 kg (138 lbs), so obviously I'm praying to see this reversed very quickly.

Pain has intensified, but is largely still under control. Every time I feel pain, I call Elena and my parents, and we pray together, and the pain immediately lifts. But like Joshua's story in Exodus 17:8-13, this is an ongoing fight of faith and prayer, until the Lord's resolution comes fully through.

I'm experiencing extraordinary grace from the Lord. I should have been in hospital already, but the Lord has rescued me from this, and I continue to look to him for the complete resolution. I believe that this is not just a battle over my life, but I am on the frontline of what God is going to do in many, many more lives. I'll share more about this later.

Thanks for joining me on the frontline in prayer and intercessory warfare.

David





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Saturday, July 22, 2006

Praise Report - Aubrey Winstead

Some news for those who have been praying for little Aubrey Winstead...
Praise the Lord!!!

Aubrey's protein levels have been going up!!! So, they are sending us home today and we are trusting that she will no longer have this issue...

We have an appt on Tuesday to follow-up... They will be checking her protein levels... If they aren't good enough, they want to re-admit us... So, please pray for good news!

This has been a rollercoaster but we are so thankful to have your support and prayers every step of the way... God is so good and we are so thankful for His answered prayers and healing!

Love, the Winsteads

Jacob and Carissa
Winstead
jakencaris@earthlink.net

Let's keep lifting up Aubrey before the Lord's throne of grace!

David


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Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Prayer for Aubrey Winstead

I've been praying for little Aubrey Winstead (3 1/2 years old) for some three and a half years now. She is the granddaughter of two dear friends of mine, Skip and Terri Weir (see http://www.weironamission.org).

Little Aubrey was born with a congenital heart defect, which has required countless surgical interventions -- and far more suffering than any 3 year old should endure. My situation pales into insignificance when compared to what Aubrey and her family must endure.

For this reason, I felt it important to share their prayer request on the Prayer Firewall, and I ask you to take up Aubrey's cause in intercession before the throne of God. Here is the latest news report that I've received from Skip and Terri.
First the good news: We were able to get enough pictures on the echo for them to be satisfied and we do not have to do a sedated one tomorrow... So, thank goodness for that!

The not so good: Aubrey is still suffering from the **Protein-Losing Enteropathy Secondary to Congestive Heart Failure which is causing her protein levels to be low... The problem with her protein levels being low is that it allows the water in her blood to seep out of her veins and it can leak into her lungs and around her heart causing heart failure... Since she hasn't been eating, she's not getting the nutrition she needs to help that level go up... But the problem can persist whether or not she eats what she needs to... If they find that this surgery has not helped to resolve the problem and a better diet also does not cure it, they will have to do another catheterization in a couple months... If they still cannot find a resolution for the protein loss issue, the only option left is a heart transplant... For now, they are giving her albumen (which replaces the protein in her blood) through her iv and hoping that with that replacement and a better diet (along with time for her body to adjust since the surgery) she will stop having this complication... In the mean time, we are waiting and our hospital stay has been extended until Friday or later depending on what progress they see...

Soooooo, we need prayer! We just need this protein loss complication to cease and desist! Please pray over Aubrey's mental and emotional stability so that she can be happy, calm, and return to her normal behavior and diet... The prospect of more tests and a longer hospital stay is very emotionally taxing on all of us... And the idea of facing a heart transplant is unbearable... So, we are asking you to believe for Aubrey's total and complete healing with us and just lift her body and spirit up in prayer with us... We are asking for and believing for a miracle to put an end to Aubrey's suffering and allow her a long, healthy, happy life! Thank you for your persistence in prayer with us and for the showered support... We are so blessed!

**Protein-losing Enteropathy (PLE)The abnormal loss of protein in the stool, resulting in crampy abdominal pain, diarrhea, fluid retention and swelling of the abdomen, extremities and eyelids. PLE is a rare complication of the Fontan operation, and occasionally other forms of congenital heart disease.
If you would like to encourage the Weir/Winstead family, find out more information, or subscribe to their regular updates, you can contact them directly at weirfamily@weironamission.org.