June 11, 2005

Hey everyone,

This is by far the most difficult email I've ever had to write. Excuse me if I ramble a little. I'd last written that our doctor was going to try to get the results of the biopsy yesterday. He called at 10pm last night and said that the samples did come back positive for cancer. Looking back on it, I think he had a pretty good idea that it was when we were in the office. He has been great and has already talked with the oncologist and the surgeon. He set up an appointment for Tuesday morning with the oncologist. We will call the surgeon on Monday. He also said that from the preliminary results of the biopsy and the exam he did, that it didn't appear to have spread to the lymph nodes and that the type of cancer is "better" than others. Needless to say it was a very late night for us.

This has been a whirwind week and has pretty much knocked both Tim and I to the floor. That being said, I don't if I have ever felt as at peace and at rest in God as I do right now. I know that family and friends are truly praying for us. Tim had been reading his bible when Dr. Dickinson called and had just read, "When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid." While this is scary and something we never thought we would face, (at least not so young), our fear is truly overshadowed as we trust God. I recently gave a seminar on praying for our children at a retreat. My notes from that have been a great guide for me to read over and over again that God is a God of peace and that we can truly take our refuge in Him. I read in my notes yesterday, "Christians are to live with the understanding that God's purposes realized in the future require some pain in the present. While the believer is being personally attacked ..., he is being personally perfected by the Lord." We honestly see this as an opportunity, for us and for others to grow. Yeah it sucks, it will be painful and hard; but it will pale as we see His purposes that we will see in both the future and present.

Please continue to pray for us. The next couple days of waiting will be a little difficult, please pray for continued strength and the attitude that we have been blessed with thus far. Also please pray for wisdom for the doctors and that treatment is swift and effective, and of course, that we don't have any problems with our insurance.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your thoughts and prayers. You all are very much a part of my healing process and we are praying for each of you as well.

We love you, Tim and Linnea