Before I say anything else, I'd like to say thanks to all of you who encourage us. What an incredible feeling to know that hundreds are praying and begging God to show His glory!
Yes, I had an appointment this last week with my oncologist in Winnipeg, Dr. Wong. He confirmed that I will be having surgery on my left lung on August 7th. He wasn't comfortable with doing more chemo unless we absolutely have to. All chemo would really do is buy me more time. We were really excited about not doing more chemo now, but the reality still is that my cancer is growing rapidly.
Earl & I were at camp most of this last week. We came home Tuesday night and rested at home and then I went to Physio on Wednesday. Physio doesn't seem to be doing a lot yet. The stretches that I do are pretty hard on the rest of my body, so it's hard to be disciplined.
Today begins the last week of camp. I still believe that God wants us there, but it has been incredibly hard. One of my big struggles has been not being able to physically do all the things that I would love to do. I've taken it pretty easy and haven't been very involved. Being such a 'doing' person, this has been quite stretching. I was able to share my testimony on the anniversary of my diagnosis. I was able to share with the campers how God can use the scariest thing in our lives for something beautiful. I can honestly say that I have become a better person due to my journey through cancer. There are things that I have learned that I never would have had I not gone through this. I shared with the campers my dream of using my experience to encourage others, especially children, who are going through cancer or other similar trials.
This has so far, been my highlight of camp.
I have to admit that the future is pretty scary. Knowing that medically speaking there isn't much hope, forces you to think about life and the gift that it is. Some days I get so tired of fighting and wonder when it will ever be over. I still believe God has a much bigger plan than I can even imagine, but the truth is-there is no guarantee that that will involve me living until I'm 70 or 80. He might be glorified more by my death than by my life.
And so these are some of my thoughts. Thank you for your prayers and please keep them coming. It's my desire that one day soon, we can announce that I'm cancer free, however, that is not best for me right now.
Those of you who are living not too far away....
Feel free to come visit us at camp on Wednesday night
Ramona

...so...how to cover two weeks of life in one short blog??...let me first write about the last Toronto appointment before I mention camp. On monday afternoon we flew into Toronto...we took the subway to the hospital and made it there an hour before Ramona's CT scan. The 8:40 p.m. CT Scan was uneventful except for the fact that it was a little late. And I appreciate the offer Marion to use the AIM appartment, but Ramona and I knew we would be tired and only around for one night....so we stayed downtown...Ramona's appointment at 9 a.m. the next morning with Dr. Waddell gave us some pretty discouraging and scary news. Ramona's lungs are not clear. The left lung has atleast 6 tumors the size of loonies and the right lung, the one they cleared out 4 weeks ago already has one more tumor about the size of a loonie. This means the cancer is once again growing fast....if no more tumors grow, Dr. Waddell said that these would be easy to remove...the problem is that we don't know how many more will grow. Surgery for the left lung is booked for August 7th.....i don't know how describe the doctor's expression...he was hinting that they may need to do chemo if the lungs look too bad...this part is up in the air right now. We have an appointment with Dr. Wong (Winnipeg) where we will, I'm sure, talk about this. Please pray hard. This is pretty scary news we're hearing. There is no proper segway to change topics now, but I wanted to end this blog on an encouraging note. While we were at camp (and I'm sure now too) a lot of good things were happening. Kids were not only having fun and getting hit with paintballs, but were becoming Christians as well. It was powerful for everyone to hear Ramona's testimony last week. Ramona is taking a break from camp this week and resting. I plan to return to camp for Thursday and Friday of this week and depending how things go, we'll probably both be at camp the last two weeks.

For now,
Earl

In the last week our lives have changed drastically. Last Monday, as Earl & I were sitting by the table and I was swallowing my herbs and eating a nectarine, I was reminded of Beaver Creek Bible Camp. I've volunteered there for 7 years and it's a well known fact that nectarines are served a lot. I asked Earl what he thought about BCBC and immediately he asked, "You mean being assistant directors?" Just that Sunday, Evan, the director of Beaver Creek mentioned the need for assistant directors. However, it never once crossed our minds that we could fill that role. When Earl mentioned assistant directors, we were both shocked. He hadn't been serious, but after the words popped out, we both realized that it would indeed be a possibility.
All day Monday, Earl & I had been amazed at how well I was feeling. We never, ever thought that a week after lung surgery we would be considering going to camp for 5 weeks. We both thought I'd be way too sick. Well God is a God of surprises and we definitely felt his direct leading that we head to camp. As soon as we realized the possibility, Earl & I were both filled with peace and a gut feeling that in a few days we would be at camp. There was no question in our hearts that God was leading us there.
So Earl & I arrived at Beaver Creek Bible Camp Sunday afternoon, knowing we should be there but not at all feeling prepared or adequate. The week has been going incredibly well. Earl & I have been so incredibly encouraged. Earl especially has had many opportunities to encourage campers and cousellers. I long to do many things, but my physical restrictions limit me. I have been involved in a lot of organizational things. God has also been drawing me closer to Him through some incredible staff members. I believe God wants us at camp, not just to encourage others but also to challenge us to draw closer to Him.
Today Earl & I are leaving for a wedding in Saskatoon. We'll be coming home on Sunday and heading back to camp. I have an appointment in Toronto with my lung surgeon & a CT scan to see what is going on in my left lung. This appointment is on the 17th of July. We will be at camp when we can but obviously work around my medical appointments.
Thanks so much for your continuing prayer.
A year ago today, the word 'cancer' was mentioned for the first time. My needlepoint biopsy was done, my first CT scan and my first IV. Hopefully this journey is almost over.
Ramona