The natural and the supernatural

Another update from John - this time on what treatment is available to him. Please keep praying and believing in our great God to perform a miracle...

As you are all aware, today was surposed to be a meeting with the Oncologist to discuss the use of Chemotherapy in the fight against my cancer. Well, over the last few days that has been changed and moved to Friday, and then I received a call from my Professor's secretary asking me to go to a clinic with him at 2pm today! So that is what happened.

As Jo was unable to attend my father offered to come, which bearing in mind he found last year very hard, was quite a surprise. Anyway he was brilliant and it was great to have him by my side.

Basically the prof just went through what they had found on the PET scan - really what should have happened last week. He explained that the cancer was not just confined to my liver, but was in the cavity around it and within the abdomen. All these things made it impossible to cut the stuff out and therefore Chemo was the only option.

I asked what the prognosis was and got back what I think my head knew but my heart had not fully registered.....that chemo does not cure the cancer it purely reduces it in size for the time being. Therefore it purely adds time - it will however kill me at some stage. How long that is, will depend on the choice of chemo used and the way the cancer reacts to it. My cancer is apparently a very rare form, so I don't think they can really give any idea.

We discussed where I should have the treatment and I have opted for Mount Vernon hospital as it is more accessible and will allow my dad to get there in the car and support me - he is afterall 87 and London driving is a nightmare even for the best of us. Anyway the hospital is one of the top cancer specialists so I am happy with this. Contact with them will be made tomorrow and an appointment will hopefully come through fairly soon (needless to say the other appointment has been cancelled).

So we now have to wait and see.

It all sounds quite negative but what the Prof has said is what happens in the natural - but we believe in the supernatural, so this can still be cured. God can intervene and that is what I now need you to be praying (not that you haven't already!) and also that it doesn't spread any further.

Family are all ok and seem very strong. I had a rough day on Sunday - just a few blubbers (!) but my heart was greatly warmed when my eldest son, Ben, came in and gave me a big cuddle and told me that I didn't have to be strong all the time!! You know I am so proud of my kids and I thank God so much for my family - they are all such a blessing.

OK thats it, it's bedtime and I'm still working, despite not sleeping well. So thank you for your love and care and watch this space coz I'll be back real soon!

John Read more!

How should we specifically pray for John?

A friend of mine, (Lou Bailey) was praying for John the other night and sensed that as we pray, we need to pray specifically against multiplication of the exising cancer cells.

An enemy increases power by adding to its troops, so we need to pray that no cancer cell would divide any more (which obviously is what leads to tumours and further spreading of disease)...praying that the enemy would advance NO further.... because He couldn't because of the power of prayer. Read more!

"Well... we're not giving in!"

We've had another update from John - this time with those crucial test results and his reaction to them...

Hiya,

A really frustrating afternoon. Basically they couldn't find the scan and therefore couldn't advise as to what the situation. The woman we saw was completely useless - no access to the computer, no knowledge of me, no idea of how to deal with a problem. Well, anyway, we left her with the agreement that she would try and track the scan down and phone us by 7pm this evening.

It was therefore not a surprise to get a call at 7.30 (!!). However in many ways I wish she hadn't!

Apparently the scan showed that I have extensive discease in my liver area, such that it cannot be operated on, and further nodules over my abdomen (peratinium). The only course of action is therefore Chemo.

So, next Tuesday they will have an Oncology meeting and then in the afternoon they will meet with me to advise what they think they can do. This is not good news and is very serious.

Needless to say we gutted. We have told the boys and have had what I am sure will be the first of many communal blubbers!

Right. Well we're not giving in. The battle might have begun but nobody is going to raise a white flag on this - and please that includes you lot. God is amazing. We saw that last year and whilst I also know that we have seen others this year not make it through, I claim the right to see God's healing power and I will fight for as long as it takes.

Please pray for us over the next week, its not going to be easy and I need to be giving strength to all those around me.

Please pray for my parents, sister, Jo and the boys plus all of Jo's family. Hey can we also add in my work colleagues who are really watching all this and really do care.

Thanks,

I'll be back sooner than you can imagine

John Read more!

"Tomorrow is D Day"

Well tomorrow is D day! The day we find out the results of last weeks scan (which incidentally wasn't too bad! - just about 1.5 hours of lying absolutely still.....aaaah!)

The appointment is at 3.30pm at the Royal Free and Jo is coming along to support me. We really could do with being totally covered by prayer as these are tough trips and hearing all that is said can be a little tricky.

Please pray for the lads, they are quietly finding it hard and they know just as much as we do how important tomorrow is going to be so please pray for their strength and for our ability to explain all that the meeting brings.

Please also pray, obviously, that the scan shows not "hot" cells next to the artery.

Well, thats enough for me to cope with and it is late, so good night all and I will try and be back with you tomorrow,

Thanks for all you do,

John Read more!

So what is God saying now?

On June 6th 1944, 130,000 allied troops invaded the coastline of Normandy, France, in what was the largest single day invasion of all time, known as D-Day. It was a bloody battle, and there were many casualties but by the end of that day a bridgehead had been established.
The allied troops had gained a foothold on foreign soil and if they continued to stand their ground and not retreat it would now only be a matter of time before they had won the victory.

Well, in some small way, I believe we have taken ground from the enemy this summer on Re:Act, and a bridgehead has been established. We have seen some amazing answers to prayer, many people becoming Christians, signing up for Alpha, being healed or having a person experience of God. Many of you have experienced God use you in ways you never thought possible.

When we take new ground, we establish a bridgehead. It is not unusual for the enemy to contest the ground we have taken. We need to learn how to stand our ground, (check out Eph 6: 10-18).

For many of you Re:Act sparked a personal breakthrough in your relationship with God. The challenge you now face is are you going to stand your ground and not allow the enemy to rob you of all God has done in you, or are you going to retreat and go back to how things used to be.

In addition to this I believe God may be challenging your generation, (and even more specifically, all of us who experienced Re:Act this summer) to stand our ground and refuse to back down or retreat on the issue of praying for John to be fully healed of cancer.

Are you guys up for this? I would love to hear from you Read more!

The story so far

In June 2007 I felt God was speaking to me about praying for a breakthrough in healing and the supernatural on Re:Act 2008. Around this same time I received an email from John informing me that he had diagnosed with cancer and been given about 3 months to live.
I was quite surprised by my immediate response – an unusual level of faith that John would be healed and that I should ask him to commit to being on a Re:Act team in 2008. I felt, if we saw a breakthrough in God healing John it would be a step towards us seeing a breakthrough in the supernatural and healings on Re:Act 2008.

I met up with John (about one week after he had met with Matt Summerfield to arrange his funeral), to tell him what I was feeling. I was taken back by how positive John was, how passionate he was about his faith and the overwhelming sense of peace and trust he had in God. I told John I believed God was going to heal him and encouraged him to consider booking onto a Re:Act team, which was scheduled to take place after when he should have died. At the time John wasn’t sure how to respond to this and explained his concerns about not wanting to raise the hopes of his family who were doing their best to come to terms with the fact that John was not likely to be around in a few weeks time.

Following an amazing sequence of events which included some amazing answers to prayer and God using the skills of medical service, I had the privilege in introducing John to you at the Re:Act training residential where he was able to tell you his story of how God had healed him of cancer. Read more!

An update from John

[Another email sent by John, just yesterday... 1st October 2008 - if you're confused about how this relates to Re:Act click HERE for more information...]

Firstly thanks for the overwhelming response to the last email. You are amazingly caring people. So many wise words (I didn't know there was that much wisdom available from my friends!). They have uplifted me and I am rapidly returning to my place of peace that I so longed to find.

Today I had the pleasure of going to a "Refresh" day at Urban Saints (Crusaders, if you're my age!). This is a day of prayer and reflection led by an outside preacher, church leader or other learned christian. I went just to have a time of quiet and a time to reflect, but in fact found God speaking straight at me! Be strong, be courageous. trust me and push through even it appears too tough. Remember I am always there...........so I guessed that a lot of that was directed at me. He certainly got my attention! It turned out to be a time of assurance and strengthening, a time of hearing God through all sorts of people. Unexpected and so timely.

The staff team then all prayed for me with an amazing passion that humbles me totally - I just wonder how often I pray for anything with the passion that was shown this morning (guys you are amazing and I love you, like family).

So I am much much stronger than when I last wrote - but then again I recon I need to be. The scan is tomorrow at 9am and will last between 2 and 4 hours (!) - what am I going to do for that amount of time? If they expect me to lie still they've got another think coming! Anyway, the scan looks as though it won't be quite as bad as I had been advised - no lead piping (sounds like part of a Cluedo crime) and no radiation for 6 months. I think I will purely glow for a couple of hours!

If you read this in time - and I know I've left it late, please pray that:

1. I will cope with the scan. I am finding lying still for more than an hour very hard, even at night.
2. That my stomach pains will go - I have had bad pains from excessive trapped wind (huh, you get the full works with me guys!) for ages now and it really does wake me up at night or cause real pain during the day. So relief from this, at least in the short term would be brill.
3. That the scan shows everything is ok. Its hard to imagine - but we do have an amazing God and it would be foolish to not ask!
4. For Jo and the boys as they quietly wait for answers.

Thank you as always for being there. You have already helped me and have lifted me to a more peaceful place. Naturally I'll be back writing to you as soon as I have more to write, but for now thats about it,

Thanks again,

John Read more!

"So why am I writing... Well, it's back!"

[The following email was sent out by John on 24th September 2008 - if you're confused about how this relates to Re:Act click HERE for more information...]

Following a CT scan in July that the NHS has only just got round to dealing with (yeah, admin is still not their strong suit), it showed signs of an increase in soft tissue around the scar tissue that occurred where they chopped "Livalot" off from his nasty counterpart ("Livalittle"). Well they they then booked me in for an MRI scan and on Tuesday (yesterday) I went for these results.

The MRI scan shows that the new soft tissue around the scar tissue, is likely to be cancerous - whether malignant or benign they can't be sure. The problem, as though I need more, is that it is very close to the main artery - this means that if they find that the tissue next to the artery is malignant, then they cannot cut it out - only hit it with chemo, which may or may not have any effect. Clearly this is not good!

The next step is a nuclear scan at UCH (apparently this is horrid and involves a lead tube being put into the throat and then particles being fired along it. It means that I become radio active and cannot go near babies and things for a few months!!) What the scan does however is to highlight the good and bad cells (hot or cold as they are defined). This should then mean that they can decide the best way forward.

I have an appointment with the Profs team on 7 October, so by then the scan must be done and assessed, so it looks as though it will start moving fast again.

I know last year was bad, but this one scares the hell out of me for some reason. I don't have the same peace that I had then - maybe that will come after the initial shock - I do hope so because this is chewing me up!

The family have already found it hard - I had Jo in tears when she got home and Chris sobbing his heart out at bed time. I know I have to be strong to carry them, but really I feel like getting under the duvet and sobbing too!

I have no right to ask you to ask for your help again, but you were all so amazing last time - so if you pray (and I know that isn't all of you, but if you do) please do include all of us in those prayers (Jo, Ben and Chris and all our family) and do feel free to pass this on elsewhere. Your prayer support was amazing last time and I know it made a difference.

Sorry - not the most uplifting of emails I've ever sent.

Catch up again soon, when I might be slightly stronger/ more positive! Read more!

Re:Act - not just a one-off experience?

Regular readers of this blog will have noticed an apparent change in direction recently... from the wider story of God's impact on UK communities to the very personal, individual story of one man. John used to work at the Urban Saints Support Centre and was a key member of the East team this summer.

If you were part of Re:Act this summer, you'll probably remember his challenging testimony about how God healed him of liver cancer over the last 12-18 months. The Re:Act core team believe that John's story and his own journey is symbolic and even spoke (and is speaking!) prophetically about what God is doing through Re:Act 2008 and beyond.


So as part of seeing the principles of Re:Act taken out into EVERY community, we encourage you to join us on John's journey and stand with him in his experiences.

Did God really 'only' heal John for the benefit of a good story at a mission trip?! Or does he want to see healings and miracles happening ALL THE TIME EVERYWHERE?! What do you think? Read more!