At MD Anderson In Houston

Friends and Family,

We arrived in Houston Tuesday evening and started our experience at MD Anderson Wednesday morning.  They are very thorough and very busy!  They do scans here until 11:00 at night.  The place is amazing - it is like a city - there are so many people here. You don't have to look far to see someone far worse off than we are - we have so much to praise the Lord for!

When we came out we asked some of you to pray that we could be finished by Friday because we had gotten an email that said to plan on being here thru Tuesday.  Well, PTL, they were able to get all testing done and see us for our final consult.

We did not get the news we were hoping for.  When the doctor saw us with the results of the scans he said that the tumor in the lung is the same size which is good news but that there is a small tumor in the liver and one near the colon where his last surgery was.  They are both small which is good and he is not eaten up everywhere with cancer which is another praise.

They recommend chemo but they don't give us much hope of it being successful.

We are in the process of contacting a doctor  in Germany who has had a lot of success with another type of therapy.  We will first find out if they think Mark would be a could candidate for this therapy and then pray about whether or not we should go down that path. The process he is using is immunology - for those interested the web site is http://www.immunologyfoundation.org/
While we didn't get the news we wanted we know that God is sovereign and we trust Him completely.  Ultimately we can go to 10 different countries and try many different therapies but God is our healer and He alone knows the number of our days and that alone is what gives us peace.

We covet your prayers as we seek God for what He wants us to do and what path we should go down.  We also ask prayers for our children as this is hard on them and we just hate to see them going thru this.

Before we left I had asked God to give me a word and He gave me Psalm 112:7-8 (look it up in NIV) - it talks about us not being afraid of bad news - He does not want us to be afraid but to TRUST in Him.

We will be back in Atlanta Saturday evening.  On Monday we will hit the ground running back in our regular life but also looking for what we are to do next.

We love you all and thank you ahead of time for your prayers on Mark's behalf.

Praying for Healing,

Mark and Lee

Psalms 103:1-4 

Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies.

James 5:14-16 

Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.  Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Update 7/17/12

Dear Friends and Family,

It's been awhile since I posted anything so I thought I'd better give everyone an update!

We got back from Hallelujah Acres and felt so blessed to be able to have spent a week there learning about nutrition and how God made our bodies to heal themselves. He gave us everything we need.  Ultimately we know it is up to Him but He provides the natural remedies that we need!

The beginning of June was Cameron and Caitlin's wedding which was just beautiful!  Picture above is of Mark and myself before the ceremony.  We were just in awe of God's timing in that Mark had such a hard time in the hospital in May but he was able to not just be present but feeling healthy and good at both of our kids weddings that were only 6 weeks apart and the hospital stay was in between weddings!

Diet is going well - we are really getting used to it and have learned to make many new dishes - we have had some great dishes and some not-so-great!  It is VERY time consuming - we are doing most of the prep work together - Mark has been great to jump in we are having fun trying new recipes.  The longer we stay on the diet the easier it is becoming - even the cravings for the old junk food are dissipating and we are honestly enjoying our new diet plan.  We are trying to juice once a week and that is quite a process in an of itself - Mark is doing all green juices and I'm doing carrots.

We found a restaurant near the airport that is 100% raw vegan which is exactly how we should be eating - we went there for our anniversary - it was awesome - we wish it were closer but at least we can go there for special occasions.

I'm finding that just as with my cooking before I enjoy making desserts the most!  I made a "cheesecake" this week-end for Mark and he loved it - he's had some everyday!  It is all raw - crust is almonds, coconut and dates - filling is cashews, lemon, honey, vanilla and water made into a liquid and you pour it over crust and freeze it - topping is blackberries and dates - it is very good and very healthy - just an example of what we are doing.

 God is really doing a work in Mark - He gave him a message and it is turning into something that is really touching lives.  He has been able to speak to several groups so far and it has been very impactful - he is working on a book and we are seeing many opportunities coming our way as a result.  More on that later.

We are getting ready to go to MD Anderson in Houston next week - they will put him thru a battery of tests, we will be there for 3 days and on the last day they will give us the results of the testing and tell us what they recommend.  We know we could get great news that the cancer has shrunk or is gone, that it is the same or that it has spread.  We are praying for good news - we have absolutely no idea, don't have an inkling of what it may be.  In the past we may have had a suspicion that it was back because of symptoms but right now Mark feels great!  He still hasn't put on his weight from losing it the last surgery but when you aren't eating meat, dairy or sugar it's kinda hard to put weight on.

Thank you for your continued prayers - please pray specifically for faith for us both as we head to MD Anderson and get results of testing.  Also that we will listen to the Holy Spirit and know which path to go down as far as treatment or anything He has for us.  We are praying for great results and we know He can do it!

With much love and gratitude for who He is and what He has done for us,

Mark and Lee

Joshua 1:9

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

Isaiah 40:31
Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

Isaiah 41:10
'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'

Update on Hallelujah Acres

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, we only have a half day left here at the Hallelujah Acres Lifestyle Center.  Mark is doing great!!  We are so thankful to be here - we originally had planned to be here last week but because of surgery we had to put it off a week.  We know that like everything else God's timing and plan is perfect!

The people here have been wonderful and the group that we are with this week are terrific - below is a picture of our group with our leaders yesterday when we drove down to Hallelujah Acres in Shelby, NC.  We have learned so much this week and are very excited to implement everything into our lives when we return home.  When we came here I was worried that I would hate the food and always be hungry but I can say it is exactly the opposite!  We have eaten delicious raw food every day and I even like the juicing.  Mark has done more juicing than me and the difference in how he looks from Sunday night to now is actually pretty dramatic.  We are both convinced that this is the path that God wants us on - the correlation to the nutrition plan here to the scriptures is awesome.

We both feel renewed and rejuvinated and couldn't be happier with our experience here.  We highly recommend it to anyone!

Mark gets his staples out next week - he is still having some soreness in his abdomen but nothing out of the ordinary.

We're looking forward to a great Memorial Day week-end with all our kids and grandbaby in the North Georgia mountains.

Thank you again for all your love and prayers,

Mark and Lee

Jeremiah 29:11-13

 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.   Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Lamentations 3:22-23

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail. 
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Day 1 - Hallelujah Acres Lifestyle Center

Dear Friends and Family,

We arrived here this afternoon and have already had orientation, a couple of classes and dinner - so all I can say right now is that the food is amazing!  If I can learn how to fix fresh veggies like they do we will be set!  It is very exciting!

There are 7 other people here - a very good group - I know we are going to learn a lot!

We are so thankful for this opportunity and for God allowing us to come here.

We're very excited about the whole week!

Thanks for your prayers - you can specifically pray that Mark can regain some of the 14 pounds he lost after this last hospital stay - before we had our first meal I was worried about that but now not as much!

Gotta run - they want us to get plenty of rest - they keep us pretty busy!

Much Love,

Mark and Lee

Home at Last!

I'm so thankful to report that Mark is home and resting and ready to fully recover!  We are so thankful to put this hospital stay behind us!  It was a rough one and we're ready to leave it behind us and move on!

We are planning on heading to Hallelujah Acres on Sunday and are very excited about learning all we can about nutrition and getting on this healthy diet!  Currently Mark cannot each much so we are just eating all organic veggies and fruit and taking his diet one day at a time.

We are blown away by the love people have shown us and are so thankful to the Lord for putting so many wonderful people in our lives!

Thanks for the prayers and support!

Much Love,

Mark and Lee

Doing Better! Praise the Lord!

We are so thankful that they removed the NG tube today and he is starting to feel SO much better!  In fact, I helped him clean up, took a walk and now he's sitting here listening to praise music and looks 100% better!

Our hope is that tomorrow they will start him on clear liquids and maybe he can go home Monday - it could be Tuesday - we will wait and see!

We are looking forward to a good night's rest as we hardly got any last night - I think at 5:00 Mark had been asleep a total of about 30 minutes - he just couldn't get any relief from the tube so tonight is going to be good!!

Thanks for your prayers!

Mark and Lee

Friday, May 11, 2012

Dear Friends and Family,

There really isn't too much to update - Mark's condition remains about the same.  He still has the NG tube in which is very painful - the doctor said he may be able to take it out tomorrow - I sure hope so!!

We don't know exactly how long we will be here - we have to wait until everything internally starts working again and they see that he can hold down his food.

We were talking (well, kind of talking since he can't talk) about how thankful we are that this didn't happen two weeks ago when Jessica was getting married!  And how thankful we are that he has time to recover before Cameron's wedding.

Below is a picture of our crew at Jessica and Dennis' wedding.

We had to put Hallelujah Acres on hold for a couple of weeks but still intend to get there as soon as Mark feels up to it.

We are praying for a quick recovery and hope to get him home asap!

Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts - we are truly blessed to have friends and family who love us so!

Much Love,

Mark and Lee

Isaiah 30:20-21

 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them.  Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”