The Night Before Surgery........

This is Danina writing for Kristi.  My parents and I arrived this afternoon to join Billy and Kristi at the apartment we have rented near MD Anderson for the month. Billy's parents arrived soon after us.  As seen in the picture, Kristi is wrapped in her blanket that is covered in the words from Jeremiah 17:14 "Heal me Oh Lord and I will be Healed, Save me and I will be Saved. For YOU are the One I praise!".  In true Kristi fashion, she is trying to get down the last glass of "torture" to clean her system out with a smile and a wine glass to make it more festive!

Surgery is scheduled for first thing in the morning.  We are to be there at 5:15a.m. and they will get her started as quickly as possible.  It is expected to last at least 8 hours.  Pray for us as we wait.......we were all joking earlier that we wanted the Dr.'s to give us some medication too!

Kristi had the opportunity to share her testimony with her Dr. today.  When he saw her smiling as he entered the room, he told her that he was surprised she was still smiling with the weight of the surgery before her, and that it was okay for her to stop smiling now.  He said that he felt the weight of not wanting to have to do this surgery.  This opened the door for Kristi to share her story and her faith.  Kristi told him that she could smile because she and Billy had been through so much and God had walked through all of it with them:  Lost their house to a fire, Billy lost his job, she got cancer, she lost her job and 2 days later learned that her cancer had returned.  Dr. Levenback just laid his head down on the table when she said all of this!!!!   Billy told the Dr.'s to make sure they got a good night's sleep and ate a good dinner!!  : )

Thank you for the ways so many of you are caring for my sister and my family and joining us in this journey.  We are touched by the prayer meetings that were held tonight, those of you fasting and praying for her today and tomorrow, the financial gifts that have allowed us not to be distracted by concern for our physical needs while here, and the many notes and texts.  God's grace abounds!

We are trying to go to bed now, but none of us really wants to face tomorrow.   However, the words of the song "I don't know about Tomorrow" keeps coming to mind "Many things about tomorrow I don't seem to understand.  But I know who holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand".   Billy is reading to us from the devotional "Jesus Calling"....He has read the dates of her birthday, their anniversary, his birthday and Alyssa and Isaiah's birthdays.  Each date was so fitting for each person.  What perfect and life giving words!!  God's word is our strength!  His Promises are TRUE!!

We will write and update as often as possible.

"Trusting an unknown future to a known God"  Corrie Ten Boom