I apologize for being a little slow on getting this post up. Jonathan didn’t get his to me until yesterday. I had thought of just posting up an update on my situation, but couldn’t get motivated to have to share less than good news.
When they went to do the surgery last Monday, they found a large tumor that had involved my pyloric valve, part of my pancreas, as well as some of my colon. They also saw some nodules in my pareneal cavity and they sectioned on of them and they were also cancer. Therefore, they merely performed gastric bypass surgery to try to allow me to start eating again, and they are recommending chemotherapy once I get my strength back. So we are trying to consider all the possible treatments to pursue and praying for wisdom in making a right decision.
I have been very encouraged by all the cards and emails we have received from friends from all over. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. What a privilege to be part of the brotherhood. Here’s this week’s report from Matthew’s Ridge
During the past week or so here in Matthews Ridge, we’ve been trying to make arrangements to attend the Special Assembly Day in Mabaruma on April 24. We’ve been talking with all who have expressed an interest in attending to get a count of many will be making the trip. I traveled to Port Kaituma on Wednesday to conduct a group Bible study, and while there I talked with a couple of the boat captains to see about the details of hiring a boat. And so arrangements relating to attending the assembly have been going smoothly. And although anything here relating to travel and being somewhere far at a certain time can be hard to nail down, we know that Jehovah will bless our efforts to attend this special day of instruction from Him.
From reading past blog entries, you may be familiar with a young man here named Eno, who has been a solid Bible student for some time. He had to make an interesting decision this past week, and seeing his trust in Jehovah in making this decision really encouraged me. For a while now, conditions at the place where Eno lives have made it a real challenge for him to focus on his service to Jehovah. He has said how on a number of occasions there have been relatives or friends of the family that beat him, try to get him drunk, or try to get him to engage in sexual immorality. Although he is only 14, he said he has been thinking much about and praying to Jehovah about trying to move to somewhere where there will not be so much pressure and temptation to do wrong. He said that his family told him that if he tries to leave, they would send the police after him. However, this past week he decided it was time to leave. He came and told us he feels that he has to get out right now, but he is nervous about doing so. We told him that no one can make this decision except him, but we encouraged him to rely on Jehovah and be confident of Jehovah’s blessing on his efforts to safeguard his spirituality. I had just finished reading the second part of the question box on pages 22-23 of the February 15th study edition of the Watchtower the evening before while I was waiting for someone. And so as Eno and I were talking, this came to mind, and I went and got it and shared a few points from it with him. That afternoon Eno moved to another location. He told me that he knows life won’t be as easy as it was before, but he said that living somewhere that will help him to serve Jehovah faithfully is all that matters to him.
One of the Bible students here in Matthews Ridge who attends meetings regularly brought one of her family members with her to the meeting this past weekend. He said it was the first time he had been to a religious service in almost a decade, but he said that he really enjoyed it. Andrew, who studies with the Bible student mentioned at first, said he is going to try to fit this man into his weekly schedule of Bible studies. I always find it encouraging to see ones who come away from a next church feeling malnourished spiritually, or who feel dissatisfied with religion altogether, experiencing the joy and contentment that come from being taught real truth from Jehovah.
The pictures included with this week's entry are of the need-greaters currently here in Matthews Ridge at our family study (from left to right: Jonathan, Andrew, Justina, Aletha), and of a tree stand out in the bush used for hunting that I saw on the way to some Bible studies.
