Update Tuesday - Of Healings and Goodbyes

It was a quiet summer evening, or perhaps early fall, when a number of people from our Sanctuary Milton family gathered together for prayer.  The evening was dedicated to prayer for our middle son who had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and whose surgery date was quickly approaching.  Under the leadership of our friend and pastor Jim Danielson, we gathered, Jim anointed our son's head with oil, we laid on hands and prayed.  What followed was a whirlwind year, but one in which we saw the global church surround us in prayer and one in which our son was restored to full health with incredible results. 

Fast forward five years and we are now in Hamilton, a move whose roots we trace back to that time in Milton, and to our son's illness and sickness.  This past fall we had another shock of bad news when my father Gerry, and member of our Wednesday Fellowship@Locke was diagnosed with esophageal cancer.  Thinking back to that time in Milton, and my friend Jim's leadership to gather together, anoint with oil and pray, I gathered our Fellowship.  We gathered, we anointed with oil and we prayed.  This past Wednesday we had the opportunity to hear an update from Gerry who had just finished a very aggressive five week's of chemotherapy, and was about to finish up the coinciding radiation.  He was able to share about his appointment with his oncologist who remarked at his ongoing health and asked out loud, "How do you still have your hair?"  Gerry never lost any hair, has not really been very nauseous or ill and has had very little ill effects from the treatment.  His treatment team is absolutely amazed at how he has come through this aggressive treatment with so few affects to his overall health.  Lord knows that we, and our extended family of faith have experienced times between these two amazing events in which healing has not occurred and we have been heartbroken.  But here, with another case of good news, we pause to celebrate.  What a witness it has been, and what an amazing thing for some of our younger Fellowship members to be able to see.  We continue to pray for Gerry as he prepares for the next stage of his treatment and details for surgery are put in order.

With the celebration last week, also came a bit of sadness as we prayed for and said goodbye to our friend Hitomi.  Hitomi is a young lady from Japan who has been attending our Fellowship.  She has an amazing heart for the underprivileged in our city, often volunteering multiple evenings a week to go out into the cold and serve with street mission programs.  Hitomi is heading back to Japan because of VISA requirements but hopes to be back in a year.  She had fallen in love with Canada and its people and is a great example of a servant.

As we prayed for Hitomi asking that she would take all that she has learned here home with her,  it has given us pause to reflect on the possible impacts of our ministry here in Hamilton.  As we teach, disciple and equip people from around the world, there is a very real possibility that they will be returning home either temporarily or permanently and the implications for world missions is quite amazing.  So we head into the coming week's and months with great humility but also renewed passion and energy for what God may grow out of these small beginnings.  We thanks you for your continued spiritual, physical and financial support.