Week of Oct 12th 09

M.W.--I received this from a past co-worker of mine this morning. Please keep this family in prayer. Thank you! * Would you please include Tim M in your prayers. He is 24 years old. Tim has a 'mysterious' problem/ disease/ possible tumor that Drs. are unable to detect. It is very sad that with our modern technology and medical knowledge of today, Drs. throughout the U.S.A. are unable to find the real problem. He has been in hospitals around TX & now has been at John Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland. (Those of you that know my brother Allen, he trained there while doing his training as a Dr. & it is a great hospital.) Tim has been there almost 2 months now. His mother is coming home to Bastrop tomorrow, so I can find out more details, but I do know he had at least one surgery on 10/06. Some opinons in TX were that he may have a small tumor in his chest cavity, but no one could find it. He has been critical/ life threatening for many months now.

Tim's Daddy is in Iraq. He was recently home on leave to be with Tim before he went to John Hopkins. His Daddy is now back in Iraq. Sadly, NONE of the medical expenses are being covered by the military benefits of his father. As I said earlier, Tim's mother will be home tomorrow & I'll find out what, if any positive results were determined at John Hopkins. She has sent me short & quick emails. Not any good news, just that he had surgery & made it through. She also added that he will have many, many more months of therapy/ recovery. We can all certainly count our blessings when we know of situations like Tim's & his family. Our church assisted his mother with her flight back to Austin tomorrow, because she has exhausted LOTS of money of her own. This family certainly needs support now & will need it for a long time. Thanks for you thoughts & prayers.

Love,

Janet

* Dena was in a car accident last night by the performing arts center, she takes community college classes in the area. She had surgery this morning to put a plate in her wrist and has fracture her fingers on left hand. She is in a lot of pain and could use a lot of prayer to help her with the pain. She is at Breckenridge and we hope she is released tomorrow or Friday. Thank you. God blessed her because they had to use the jaws of life to cut out portions of her car to get her out and she has just her wrist and fingers hurt. From her mother, Lucia

Week of Sept 21st 2009

• TCC Church Family ~
  As you may know, Bridget and Mike Wildschuetz from our church gave birth to baby Faith on September 10th. What you may not know is that Faith was born without eyes, has very small sinuses and is having trouble getting enough oxygen on her own. Faith is being cared for by the great doctors and nurses at the North Austin Medical Center off of Parmer and MoPac. As you can imagine, it has been difficult to stay in Kyle while trying to help care for their new baby girl. They were able to stay in the hospital for five days, but they are now having to stay in a hotel or drive back and forth from Kyle. The doctors have no idea when Faith might be able to go home.....it could be days or weeks. Once they take her home, there is a chance she will need to be on oxygen which is a heartbreaking thought for a new mom!!
  This family needs our help!! I hope that you will join me and rally around this family to lift their spirits and remind them that they are not in this alone very scary situation; we are here for them, and God is here for them!
  First, and foremost, they need PRAYERS....lots and lots of PRAYERS!!! Prayers that Faith gets to come home soon, prayers that she does not have any other developmental delays, prayers for her breathing system to mature, prayers for the doctors and nurses caring for her, prayers for Mike and Bridget to have the strength to care for this beautiful baby girl.
  Also, we would like to try and give them a Visa gift card to help them with the hotel, meals, gas and other expenses they are incurring right now on top of all of the medical expenses. If you can contribute,please drop off your donation to the TCC Offices by this Friday or give them to me or Melanie Barnes at church on Sunday. A $10-20 donation would be AWESOME! Please make checks payable toMelanie Barnes.
  One immediate need they have is for their lawn to be mowed. Is anyone able to do this for them this week? What about next week? If so, please click here or copy and paste the link below into your browser and log that you can do this into the spreadsheet. Their address in Waterleaf is at the bottom of this email. I am trying to get Bridget to let us know what other needs they have like laundry, grocery shopping, etc. I will let you know what I find out. Thankfully, Michelle and Rafael have stepped up and are caring for their dog. That's so great!!
  Needs spreadsheet: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Ar8v6BptS5efdE5OMkI5UG96M2EwSXc0UjZNb1NSWGc&hl=en
  Once they finally are able to go home and get into a "normal" routine, I would like to coordinate a dinner delivery for them for at least the first two weeks. I will send out another email about this when I find out when they are coming home. Let me know if you are interested in participating.
  CG LEADERS: If you think your group might want to help this family in some way, please forward this to your Connection Group members.
  The last year has been tough for Bridget and Mike. They are from St. Louis and all of their family lives out of town. Mike was laid off recently and has had trouble finding a job in the field he is trained in. Mike's mom is here until Tuesday helping out, and Bridget's mom plans to take leave from her job as a teacher to come help them out. But, eventually, they are going to be completely on their own.
  Feel free to email Bridget words of encouragement or post something on her Facebook wall. I know she would appreciate hearing from you. Her email is at the bottom of this message.
  In case you don't know Bridget and Mike, here is a photo of them along with a great picture of baby Faith:
  
  Below is the most recent update written by Bridget on her Facebook page talking about the latest report from the doctor:

  Possible that when we eventually take her home she would still have to be on oxygen. MRI results only tell us structure not function as I originally thought. Dr. was not real clear on this. So really we have no idea how Faith will do with learning and development in the future. She is also doing a lot of shallow breathing.

  Contact info:

  Bridget's Email: bfitzpa78@hotmail.com
  Subdivision: Waterleaf
  Address: 640 New Country Road
  Blessings,
  Vanessa Petrea & Melanie Barnes
  Vanessa's Cell: 512.653.8658
  Melanie's Cell: 512.294.1726
  
  
• Please pray for my husband Russell. He turns 30 today!
  Just pray God's heart as He reveals it. Please agree with me that Russ will invest in relationships with other Christian men...--S.H.

• I'm being admitted into St. David's hospital tomorrow (today) at 10a and will have to stay 2-3 days. My hip has not gotten any better so, I am having a total hip replacement. Good news is I will be up and walking Tuesday or Wednesday I haven't walked in over a month with any weight on my right leg I've had to use crutches for almost 2 month or risk fracturing my femur. More good news I'll be pain free very very soon too!!!! Samantha
• 
  

Week of June 28th 2009

• S.W.--Please pray for Douglas Fisher, TCC greeter. His twin sister died; 3 months ago his mother died.

National Day of Prayer Request

MW--Just heard that the National Day of Prayer will not be acknowledged publicly in Washington. Since every day should be a day of prayer, I would like to suggest that we all start something new. Not just for tomorrow, National Day of Prayer, but for every day from here on. Set your cell phone alarms to go off at noon daily to remind you to PRAY for our country, our leaders at every level!! Praise and thank God for His grace and mercy that He gives us as a Christian nation! God would be SO happy to receive our prayers all at once! Thank you!

April 10th 2009

Please pray for us: we arrived home at 2:30pm Friday, and our house had been broken into. The front door was wide open. We had some TV's and laptop stolen. Pray for peace for our kids to feel "safe" in their home, they are very upset, and for God's will in financial/insurance transactions. We also praise the Lord that it was only "stuff" that was taken from us, and God is STILL in control!!!Thanks,Rhoades family

April 9th 2009

Christina: All, I would like you all to please add the brother of one of my dearest, oldest and closest friends on to the hope mail chain. Here's some info about VP, he lives in Tennessee and is very ill. Thanks so much for praying with me.

Just wanted to send a positive update on VP. Each time I’ve spoke to him in the past few days he sounds really good and in excellent spirits. Today I listened to a good 5 minute Voice mail on how good he feels, how blessed he is, and how blessed he is to have the loving family and friends he has.

As you may have known, Vance was scheduled to have a radiation treatment on the area of his removed brain tumor -4/7/09. All went well and he’s feeling remarkably good so soon after the treatment. Most often a patient receiving this kind of radiation treatment is expected to feel pre operative systems for at least a week. He has only experienced a slight light headedness. No headaches or nausea. He’s expected to take steroids for 7 days to keep any swelling down.

Last week - Vance did have a “hiccup” in his recovery progression. He felt himself increasingly short of breath. He thought it would get better after a few days. Well needless to say, he wound up in the emergency room being diagnosed with having a pulmonary embolism in his right bottom lung and a partial pulmonary infarct in his lower left lung. They are currently treating him with blood thinners to dissolve the blood clots. As serious as this is, I understand that this (pulmonary embolisms) is quite common among patients who have had major surgeries. It is particularly dangerous for those who have had brain surgery as they are not supposed to take any blood thinners for at least 14 days after surgery. We can thank God that 24 days had passed for VP and he was out of the “danger zone”. He will continue to take the blood thinner meds until his blood level reads 2.5-3. (Not sure what that means either but it’s in my notes). Also taking these meds had no effect on his radiation treatment. He says that he can almost take a full breath now and that it’s getting easier to breath with each passing day.

Next Steps - Vance will be going in for immunotherapy 6 weeks from now. I know you’re saying “What?”, but the spots on his lungs are extremely small (less than 2mm) and they have a base line to be able to determine any growth over this time. According to the doctors, the end results will be the same whether he has it done today or in 6 weeks. The 6 weeks will give him time to heal and be better prepared for the upcoming treatment. To make sure everyone is on the right track, Vance and Amanda will also be seeking a second opinion from the MD Anderson doctors.

As for the remaining tumor on his kidney, that will be the last phase of the treatment. I will keep you posted as I know more.

April 7th 2009

M.W.--Just received this very sad email from friends in SA. Please pray for this mom and the whole family.

"Michael was in a very bad auto accident in September 2007 in Louisiana.
Well I had the phone call every parent dreads last night. My son is gone.
He and Shanna were trying to reconcile and had moved to Buckeye, AZ in December. Things were going good for them. Shanna had a job managing an apartment complex in Phoenix and Michael was in an electrician apprenticeship program because he didn't have his tools any more to do millwright work. I talked to Michael on Sunday afternoon and he sounded good. He said Shanna's parents had come up with a big truck and brought all the rest of their household goods and were staying the week to help them get unpacked and organized. Always when I hang up with Michael on the phone, Tom, he would say "Love you bye" and hang up. Sunday when I talked to him I said "Michael, do you know that I love you?" He said, "Love you too, Mom" but I said, "I know ...but do YOU know that I love you?" He said, "Yes and you know I love you." It wasn't a big thing then, not that out of the ordinary, but it is a big thing to me now.

He complained of a bad headache yesterday afternoon and went in the bedroom to lay down. Shanna's parents were there and Shanna went in to wake him a few hours later and found him on the floor, not breathing. They did CPR until the ambulance arrived and the EMTs did CPR all the way to the hospital. Even the hospital tried for a while, but they couldn't revive him.

There will be an autopsy but we won't know the results until Thursday. My best guess at this point is a cerebral aneurysm which would have been painful as far as the headache but instantaneous once the aneurysm burst. He was only 30, Tom. He and Shanna were working things out and he was happy."

April 6th 2009

N.H.--My sister’s friend just called her and they are being asked to leave their rental home, unless they catch up their rent. As it turns out her husband has gambled away their money and the money they did have left, he just took that to go gamble some more. While he was gone the utility company came and shut off their electricity. I don’t know if there are any kids involved in this relationship but they are in a state with snow on the ground and a couple of the windows are broken so this woman is going to need prayers for peace and guidance as to where to go and what to do. Sorry for the lack of details/names. It was a quick conversation and my sister was being vague, out of respect for the family. Thank you.

Jan. 31st, 2009

E.G.--Please add me to your prayer request concerning my housing situation. My house goes on auction Tuesday and this still gives me some time to have to move but I'm not sure how much. Being that I'm compulsive (ha-ha) I've already contacted my real estate agent and started looking at rentals...I don't want to purchase at this time. I looked at numerous properties yesterday and found what I think is the perfect house for the kids and I in Plum Creek. Please pray that the application process goes smoothly, that he will hold the property for me for one month, and that my application is approved considering my situation. On the bright side the property is actually managed by my real estate agents father...YEA...so there aren't as many hoops to jump through!

Jan. 24th, 2009

J.W.--My sister's father-in-law, who is also a good friend of mine and Trey's - Esteban, passed away early this morning (Saturday, Jan. 24, 2009) after a long battle with cancer. Please pray for Johanna and Steve, all of Esteban's extended family, and especially all of Esteban's grandchildren -- that God's comfort and peace would surround them.

Jan. 21st, 2009

N.H.--This is from a friend of mine I’ve known since middle school. Please keep her family and her dad, James, in your prayers.

"My dad's liver has stopped working, the cancer has spread and there is nothing that can be done for him except try to make him as comfortable as possible. The doctor has said he probably has about 2 to 3 weeks. Please continue to pray for him and our family and thank you.
Serena"

Late Friday, Jan. 16th, 2008

From Cole: Please pray for Dan and Melissa Buchanan. Her mother passed away last night.

January 16th, 2008

Hello All
Some of you may already know, some may not, but I would like to share some recent developments with Arlene's Health. The developments are not good and we share this, not for pity sake, but for the sake of battle.
Arlene has been battling breast cancer since first diagnosed Mar 1996. She had been declared as being in remission, however it mastisized into the lungs. Additionally when first treated in 1996, the linear excellerator radiation had scarred the left lung with over radiation. In the short term it would not be a problem, however in the long term there would be issues.

With the mastisized cancer and the scarring of the left lung, today Arlene is faced with severe challenges that need to be placed in God's hands. Arlene's left lung is declared non functional, and the right lung has been diagnosed as having cancer; a spot on the lower outward side, and a spot on the higer outward side. A byproduct of the cancer is the fluid build up which deminishes the lung capacity ( how much Arlene can inhale.) Arlene has had procedures to remove the fluid, and more recently, two attempts to bind the linings of the plueral cavity and lungs to together and seal out the fluid. The procedure was partially succesful, but the areas that did not bind created pockets where the fluid is collecting. She is experiencing increased breathlessness and her capacity continues to deminish.

We ask you to agree with us in the Biblical Sense. Like Moses, Arlene's arms grow weary and we call to our friends and family/church family to pray for us, specifically for Arlene. And in terms of praying specifically, I share with you the latest, as of today, Thursday, 1/15/08.

Yesterday and Today, Her pulmonologist and her oncologist have told her that without Chemo treatments, her life expectancy is estimated 3-6 months. With Chemo, it would be "Very Rough" and she would more than likely get very ill and suffer side effects that , in the doctor's terms, would hospitalize her. If she gets past the sickness, her longivity may be extended! Arlene will decide on this difficult decision. Please pray for wisdom for her and a miraculous healing that will glorify the LORD!

Thank you all, God bless

Bob and Arlene Chavez

December 24th, 2008

C.W.--Just heard from my friend Cece (in New Mexico) that she has breast cancer. She's scheduled for a mastectomy and reconstruction. Please keep her and her family in you prayers.

December 23rd, 2008

N.H.--I wanted to send out a prayer request for my friend/co-worker, Veronica. She had a miscarriage last night. Any miscarriage is bad but this makes # 3 or # 4 and all the other pregnancies never made it past 5 weeks. She was 4 months along this time. Please pray for her and her husband, Steve.

M.W.--Pray for my friend Elida who fell and injured her already torn knee.

November 13th, 2008

Please pray for Pat B. from our church....her father just passed away. God grant her incredible peace during this very difficult time.

September 16th, 2008

Hi All~
Please be in prayer for Michael Geiger. This afternoon after school he slammed his finger in a door at the school and bent the nail back at the cuticle. They're on their way to the emergency room right now (5:07) to have it looked at to make sure it's not broken. Bram is on his way to be w/ them until Bryan can get there. Be praying for Frances, too. She was pretty shook up when I talked to her. Apparently there's a LOT of blood.

Blessings,
Sandi F.

Bryan and Frances are still at the hospital. The anesthetic wasn't working so they had to put him all the way under. The doctor will remove Michael's fingernail and sew it up. He also has a bone chip at the tip of his last digit but it's small enough to let be.

Hopefully they'll all get some rest tonight.

Thanks for your prayers.

Bram, Sandi and the Geiger Gang.

Sept. 2nd, 2008

• Christina H.--I would like to add a prayer request for a coworker of mine, The Ross Family. My coworker Donny R. passed away on Sunday and I ask that you keep his son Don R. who is also a coworker of mine and their family in your prayers. We still don't know the cause of death. Thanks for all the prayers .

August 20th, 2008

Elida R.--Please pray for our children, John and Christi, children, Terah and Jordon Barnes. John accepted a position as a Youth Minister in Aledo Texas 41/2 months ago!!! (close to Stephenville, Texas) Since then, they sold their home in Colorado and have been living day to day with friends and neighbors. They found a home to buyin Texas 4 miles from where John will be working. They have submitted all their paperwork to the Broker and Lender but have not been able to close as of yet. They feel defeated and need alllllllll our prayers that God's will will be for them to have a permanent home for them and their children and answer their prayers. I greatly will appreciate it if you keepthem allllll in your prayers.

July 31st, 2008

• Karen M.--We need prayers for the "Floria's". As everyone knows Sandi is expecting very soon. They are trying to get a room finished before the baby comes. They are all staying with Sandi's Mom while Brahm and who ever can help works on the house. Pray that God would provide the help needed to get this all done; and that it would get done before the Baby comes. Blessings, Karen

• Trey W.--My mom is in the ER in Denver with a stomach virus. She was dehydrated and couldn’t even stand up this morning. She is in a lot of pain and running a high fever, possibly due to an infected cut on her foot (probably diabetes-related, and something she was ignoring).
  
  Would you please pray for her? Specifically for the pain to subside and for the fever to go down so that she can go home today. She and my dad do not have health insurance, so there is extra stress added in there as well. Thanks, Trey