Kelly Rosenthal Journey

God has been so gracious...

2011-04-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

Hi friends,

God has been so gracious through so many of you. In my last update I shared that I was released from my Pastoral position at New Harvest. Right after that the Leukemia kicked up and set me back physically. Then Gabriela had a flu that lasted two weeks. I then caught it and it turned into Bronchitis. The three of these aliments kept me down until March. Yes March. It was very touch and go for me dropping my weight from 200 lbs to 165 lbs. Gabriela was a great nurse, school teacher, and mother during all this. It was God's strength that kept her going. I won't even mention the kid's illness during this 4 months. Thankfully, we are all out of the woods and doing well.

The amazing thing is that through this time of not being able to work, God saw to it that we were cared for through many of our friends. Out of nowhere we started receiving cards and monetary gifts from people we ministered with over 10 years ago. A neighbor's brother who I have only talked to 3 times over the fence, walked up to Gabriela handing her 20 $100 bills saying God told him to give this to us (how often does that happen?) Well it's been happening. Many of you were prompted to send gifts. At first is was very difficult and humbling. People have done my yards, cleaned our house while sending the family on a date, dropped off food items, and loved us in many ways. We praise God for all of you.

The amazing and exciting thing is our expenses have been covered for the last 5 months. I added up all the gifts and...get ready for this...it totaled what I would have earned if I was still working at the church. Gabriela and I just sat on the couch crying and praising God. We sense God is tell us, "It's time for a sabbatical to rest and heal. I have your needs covered." I had no choice through the sickness, I couldn't work, but now being well, we hear God saying wait and rest.

So that's what I'm doing. We have found a church to invest ourselves called Mountain View Community Church. The kids love it and are making friends and being challenged spiritually. They are asking a lot of good questions. Sarah had her first "word from the Lord" last week. She was upset and angry at her siblings, so she sat on her bed and opened her Bible. It opened to Psalms 4. Her eye focused on verse 4 - 5, "Be angry, and do not sin, ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Offer right sacifices, and put your trust in the Lord." This was her first time to experience God's personal word to her situation through the Bible. She shared it with a new sense of interest in God and the Bible. This excites me being concerned that my kids will see Christianity as something we do instead of a relationship we live. This is an answered prayer - "Thank You, Father!"

Finally, I will leave you with a ministry idea I am praying about developing. I would like to serve God using my shepherding gift as a Pastoral Care provider. I am not a licensed counselor, but I have worked years with married couples, those engaged, and families that have loss loved ones. I sense God's smile and my cup is full in these ministry situation. Pray with me about creating a ministry that provides Pastoral Care and Guidance to couples and families. Many smaller churches don't have the staff to meet these needs and Funeral Homes often have families without a church affiliation that I could offer this ministry. I would also market the ministry in the community and through people that know me. I would be a 50C3 that would offer tax deductions for support and services. I'm still in the "dreaming" state, but have written up a proposal that I am submitting to a ministry board that would act as my 50C3 umbrella. I am praying as I go - listening for the Lord to release me to further develop this ministry or however His leads. I would appreciate your prayers as well.

Again, a long update. From the Rosenthal's to all of you - thank you for standing in the gap for us in prayer. Thank you to many that have graciously sacrificed and shared financially with us. We are touched deeply and our faith is growing. God smiles at His church being the His hands and feet.

We love you,

Kelly
krosenthal62@att.net - Kelly
kngplus4@sbcglobal.net - family

Transitions: Jan 2011

2011-01-17T14:01:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Much has and is going on with the Rosenthal family and I thought it time to update our friends. We would welcome and ask for your prayers. Here’s a brief bullet point update:

• In October of 2010 I was released from employment from New Harvest Church. It was a surprise for us and was sudden. I clearly see God’s hand in releasing me from NHC. Gabriela and I prayed for God to do something over a year ago and we see this as God opening the door to a new assignment. We just don’t have that direction yet and feel a need for healing.

• In November 2010, Gabriela and I joined Kingdom Ministries for a teaching seminar in Honolulu, Hawaii at the YWAM training center. We assisted Kingdom Ministries in their prayer seminars and worked with student missionaries as they prepared for one of 3 missions. It was a great time to get away and minister in a beautiful setting.

• Medically I thought I received a physical healing from the Lord. In faith I felt prompted to discontinue my chemo and depression meds and all was well. While in Hawaii, my health declined and once returned to the mainland, blood work showed that the Leukemia was (not original ALL, but a different type of Leukemia – CMML) had elevated my white counts to an alarming 168,000 (normal 10,000). Confused by the healing I understood, I started my chemo meds and now back into safe levels and feeling well. We are trusting the Lord though we don’t understand the healing received and the return of the Leukemia. This too has been a painful reality.

The family is well. Kids all continuing being home schooled by their fantastic mother and doing well. We all just returned from a vacation planned last year to the Tahoe area. We joined our friends the Johnson’s from Yucaipa, Ca and the Delisle’s from Ripon, CA. There were 14 kids from 3 to 15 and 6 adults in a large mountain cabin in Strawberry, CA. The snow was great and we built a toboggan run where the kids sled for hours. We had a great week in community including great meals, worship/devotions and a lot of fun and play. These families are family to us and the kids are best of friends. This was another wonderful time for healing and reflection.

• Spiritually, we are growing, looking for a church home and planning to meet again with our small group. The kids have discovered a devotional tool called SHAPE as a way to read through the Bible in a year with daily journaling. I am very encouraged by the spiritual interest of Andrew, Sarah , Brianna and even Anneliese. I am praying for the day that their faith moves from following mom and dad to becoming their personal walk with Jesus. We all are waiting on the Lord to see what my next assignment will be and it’s developing our prayer life and faith as God faithfully provides and directs.

• Job wise, there is nothing on the horizon. I really don’t know how God is leading and have little desire to pastor at this time. I still am doing premarital counseling with couples, but need some time to heal before jumping back into ministry. I would like to move towards a counseling profession, but will need further education. Presently I have started two home businesses to pull in a little money to extend our saving as I look for full-time employment. I am making crosses for Disciple’s Cross, selling them either locally or selling them to the company to fill their orders. You can learn more about the story behind the business at www.disciplescross.com. If you would like to order any crosses from me, they make great gifts and I sell them wholesale at $5 each. In stores the cost is $10 to $15 dollars. Contact me at krosenthal62@att.net if interest. The company can’t make enough of them.

Secondly, I have just become a representative for Fortune Hi Tech Marketing advertizing companies and products through the web through a personal webpage where friends and family can purchase products from major companies and pay for services like Dish Network or their cell phone/internet monthly services. By using my website these Companies give Fortunes a piece of their advertizing budget and Fortunes pays me. This type of relational advertizing is making big money and Fortune is a reputable company. Several key Christian leaders and many pastors in Fresno are involved in this venture and have built a great support team to broaden the scope of this business helping many people earn additional income in this economically difficult time. Fortune paid incentives to introduce others to join the network and create this “web kiosks” to sell products and services that most people are using every day. I would love it if you would consider purchasing or paying for existing services through our website. It will help the Rosenthal family financially keep our home as I look for full-time employment. If you would like to know more about helping us or becoming a Fortune representative please email me at krosenthal62@att.net. It would be a great blessing to me and my family if you would inquire. It’s simple and would provide you a kick-back on your regular expenses and make you some additional money.

God is very good, actually the greatest good and we daily are finding grace and hope in His Word, through prayer and a few wonderful friends. Please pray for our hearts to heal, a local job to allow us to keep our home, and continued healing from Leukemia. Pray for my children’s continued emotional and spiritual growth and a sincere faith in Jesus. I am thankful that Gabriela and I grow closer and stronger through trial, but pray for wisdom and endurance as we seek the Lord, lead our family and continue to minister as the Lord directs.

That’s my lengthy update…thanks for your interest and prayers,
Kelly

2010-08-09T12:21:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering...
Kelly is feeling well but his blood is not well. He is working full days and if you saw him you wouldn't know that he is ill. His face and eyes are bright and he is as handsome as ever hubba hubba :) He has been diagnosed with one or both of the following, Mylofibrosis (bone marrow disorder where it produces scar tissue rather than healthy cells)
Chronic Leukemia (Our Oncologist has never seen someone go from an Acute Leukemia to a Chronic Leukemia)
the diagnosis is based on how his body is behaving, there are no cancer markers in his blood. His white blood cell count has been elevated as high as 65,000 and normal is around 10,000 and his spleen has been enlarged. At that point he was in a lot of pain and needed Vicodine.

We went to our Naturalpathic doc and he did a magnet treatment along with a laser treatment and the spleen got smaller and the pain went away. The Oncologist also has Kelly on a maintenance therapy for Chronic Leukemia which includes daily chemo pills. The Naturalpathic doc also has him on a redgiment of products to help heal his blood. His blood counts have come down but still fluctuate. He is monitored monthly by the Oncologist and sees the Naturalpathic Doc about twice a month. There are no cures for these diagnosis and both have about a 5 yr. life expectancy. (by faith we are not accepting these diagnosis) His blood shows no cancer markers. It is all based on how the blood is behaving.

We believe that God has spoken life over Kelly and certainly has provided for us to see our naturalpathic doc and has lead us to scriptures that talk about soul healing and taking off yolks and that healing will follow, (really just the process of sanctification).

Kelly suffered a deep depression after we left CDA and has been on anti depression meds ever since. I believe that this depression and what precipitated it broke down his body and made him susceptible to cancer. The wounds he experienced when we left were profound and were mounted on some very old wounds within his soul and I believe it was a breaking point for him spiritually, physically and mentally.

Recently, I have been listening to a CD series that a friend gave me called. "Your Body, His Temple" (God's plan for achieving emotional wholeness) put out by Life Outreach International
I have been amazed to learn more about how the brain works and how thoughts, belief, emotion all have a physical effect on our bodies and how 85% of diseases begin with our metal health. I love how God keeps confirming what He has shown me with regards to Kelly and his health and healing.

Recently the Lord has been calling me out to deal with my food addiction and weight issues and I am finally beginning to walk in the victory that has been mine for a while but was too stubborn to appropriate. I am challenged to a greater degree to die to myself while not loosing myself and being fully submitted to Kelly and his leadership in our home. I thought I was submissive but there were some subtleties that the Lord has revealed recently and I am working on. God has also shown me how these issues are directly connected to Kelly and his health. I praise God for his work in our lives!!!
Anyway... just a brief update. I hope that this makes sense. I also hope that you all are well with each other, God and work/school. I know that you pray for us, thank you sweet friends. Blessings to you, Gabriela
P.S. IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING... THE BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PICTURE IS MY NIECE JULIE WHO CAME TO CAMP WITH US!!!

2010-05-12T15:19:00.001-07:00

So long since we have updated this...

It is hard to know how to update. Kelly has been given several new diagnosis over the last year. Most recently our Oncologist diagnosed Kelly as having CMML. This is a chronic form of Leukemia with no cure and a two year life expectancy. For some time now Kelly's white blood cells have been elevated from between 9 - 10 thousand to as high as 32 thousand. For this reason we decided take some maintenance chemo. with the hope that this will bring down his counts and it has. Thank you Jesus.

At this point we are not embracing the diagnosis and are continuing to have Kelly's blood monitored and regularly seeing our Natural Pathic Doc.
There is power in our words so I am still holding on to God's words of life over Kelly and at the same time we want to be responsible to do what we need to do for his body to heal.

Please pray for us as we seek the Lord about continuing chemo.
Please also pray for us as we look for a new Oncologist that would be more open to alternative forms of treatment.
Please also pray for Kelly's continued soul healing. (we are both going through a prayer ministry once a week to work on the soul issues.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Love, Gabriela

p.s. We recently welcomed a new member to our family. His name is Theodore Rosenthal and he is a one year old cackapoo! Theodore means "God's gift" and that he is! We thank the Orduno family for giving him to us!

New News?

2010-02-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

Well, I can say for sure that life if never boring. Kelly went to his oncologist last Monday and was given some new news. He still is not showing any signs of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (thank you God!)but now there are a low number of immature white blood cells in his blood and they have markers that indicate that they are cloning themselves. Our oncologist has told Kelly that he now has Chronic Leukemia. The lab results say that the test are suggestive of this information. With regards to the other diagnoses that have been given this last year and a half... the tests no longer show the chromosome abnormality. As far as Myelophibrosis, there has been no change in the levels of scar tissue or inflammation of his liver. With Myelophibrosis, his test should be showing an increase and they are not. So what is what?
Here is where we have landed...

We are not embracing the diagnosis of CL.

We are not going to take any chemo (doc. wanted to start Kelly on "maintenance" treatment for Chronic Leukemia)

We have given our updated labs to our Naturalpathic doc and he is consulting with other doc. that he works with. (waiting to hear from them)

Kelly is reading up on how to strengthen his bone-marrow nutritionally.

Our trust in not in blood test, Doctors (natural or otherwise), nutrition etc... We have gone to God with our concerns and requests and trust that He will continue to lead us. We know that He has an opinion about Kelly's health and we want to know what that is. After a couple of days of dealing with fear and discouragement, the Lord has reminded me that He has spoken life over Kelly and that we are in a process of being stripped of things in our lives that Kelly and I used to find "life" in and now God wants us to find Life in Him alone. We thank Him and praise Him for his work in our lives.

Please pray that we would have willing hearts,(the stripping process is painful). Please also pray that we would be wise in the decisions we make and attentive to His leading.
Thank you ahead of time for praying and thank you for reading this.
LOL The Rosenthal's
p.s. Kelly is feeling great and is functioning at 100%!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-16T15:07:00.001-08:00

Hello Dear Family and Friends

We apologize for not updating our blog regularly. The good news is that there isn't much on the health end of things to give an update on! We praise God that the results of the bone marrow biopsy came back Leukemia Free! (Thank you God!) There is still presence of scar tissue in Kelly's bone marrow and Kelly will have a scan of his liver and kidneys at the end of Dec. to check to see if they are enlarged. Our Oncologist believes that this might indicate Mylophybrosis (sp?) This is a bone marrow disorder that has a poor prognosis. The good news is that the blood counts did not show an increase in scar tissue. We are also sending our results to several other Doctors, via our Naturalpathic Doc., who also know oncology and they will give us their opinions. We are waiting to hear from them and then we will pray and ask the Lord what to do next.

We have strange feelings about this new development. We believe that Kelly is healed and he is feeling 100% physically! We continue to ask God for direction and confirmation. Our biggest requests have been that the Lord would heal Kelly of the ringing in his ears (a constant, loud, frustration) and that the Lord would deliver him from depression. He is functioning well but feels a regular heaviness and lack of freedom in his spirit.

He is such an amazing man and I respect him so much. He has been through so much and he continues to love, serve and long for more of Jesus. He is an incredible husband and father and a terrific pastor. I feel confident that God is at work in him in these areas and the all of this will pass in time. Please join us in praying for these things. Thank you so much!

The kids and I are doing well and counting down the days until winter break from school! Homeschooling is going well, (a lot more work then I anticipated) but well worth it. I love seeing the kids get time to just be kids and play with one another and be good friends. They are loving their labs on our school campus,(piano, science, language and art). And finally we are so blessed to be in our new home this Christmas! We love it!!!

Thank you to those of you who read this and pray for us. You are greatly loved and appreciated. Lastly, I want to share with you that the Lord blessed my with a very vivid dream recently. In this dream I was in our old house, upstairs. And I heard the voice of the Lord saying something. I looked out the window into our neighbors back yard and I saw Him standing in a cloud, surrounded by angels. In an instant every part of my wanted to run, so as to not be exposed and simultaneously all of me wanted to run into His arms! Both of these feelings hit me at once and I was paralyzed with great fear. I finally think I understand what it means to fear the Lord. I wasn't afraid of Him or for myself. It was definitely a feeling of awe. This dream has blessed me and motivated me to remember that He is coming back soon! Oh blessed day!!!! Merry Christmas to you all and I hope you are blessed at the remembrance that our Savior lives and is coming again!
Sincerely, Gabriela

More to the Journey?

2009-10-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

Hello dear family and friends,
Kelly is having a bone marrow biopsy this morning. Our oncologist had agreed to continue monitoring him even though we have not continued with treatments. Recently Kelly's blood results have been questionable. The doctor has detected some scar tissue and Kelly's white blood cells are elevated. As I am sure you can imagine, this is a bit concerning. We are praying that we can keep our thoughts captive and fears before the Lord. I continue to sense that the Lord is asking me if I will trust Him. He is also gently reminding me daily of how He has spoken life over Kelly. Bottom line is that we don't know what is ahead in our journey and the task before us is to trust. We covet your prayers for just that and of course complete healing. One friend recently prayed that Kelly's results would baffle intelligent minds, I love that. I am encouraged that God knows what is ahead and I will wait on Him. Thank you dear ones.
Sincerely, Gabriela

2009-08-05T22:26:00.000-07:00

Where has the time gone? We have had such a wonderful summer! The kids and I enjoyed regular summer activities, no hospitals or doctor app. this summer. Much fewer sitters needed and a lot of good times. We were able to go to Southern Ca. to see my sisters and have the kids play with cousins,(we hadn't had a chance to go down to visit since Kelly got sick). Some family members surprised us with a cash gift and told us to do something fun with the kids...so we did! We took them to The Wild Animal Park and to Lego Land! We spent the rest of our time around my sister's pool relaxing. Then we headed off to Forest Home Christian Conference Center for our week of Family Camp. This has been our tradition for the last number of years and it was wonderful reconnecting with old friends that share that week with us as well as inviting some dear friends, the Delises, to join us. What can I say except, it was a taste of heaven! We thank God for the time away and for the wonderful blessings. Do you ever feel that you just can't take anymore blessing? God is so lavishing! On our way home from camp, we found out that the short sale house we were trying to buy went through! We move in Aug. 14!! We are all really excited and very busy with packing, getting ready to home school, and a full plate of ministry. How good it is to have so many wonderful people and opportunities fill our lives. Kelly continues to feel well and we daily thank God for the miracle of his health. Thank you for your interest in our lives and for your prayers. If you read this blog, please send us a note as to how we can be praying for you, we would consider it an honor to due so. Sincerely, Gabriela
p.s.our new address
1068 N. Citadel
Clovis, Ca. 93611
same home # 559-434-7731

2009-06-12T22:45:00.000-07:00

Hi dear ones. Kelly had some blood work done on Monday and our Oncologist was not happy with the numbers. He wanted to do a more in depth analysis to see if there was any cancer coming back. He is concerned about Kelly's white cells being elevated and his hemoglobin not going up.

Just another opportunity to learn to trust Jesus more. Every time something comes up, (and "somethings" are always coming up) my heart jumps and emotionally I take a ready stance like...a football player ready for a play. I am always tempted to be scared of the unknown then my gracious Jesus calms me down and reminds me of what He has already spoken over Kelly. "Kelly lives!" He also reveals to me how very much I need to grow in the area of trusting Him. I am seeing how I cognitively get that He is totally trustworthy but there are places in my heart that don't get it yet and I know He is healing those places. I am beginning to see that without trusting Him, I can't receive His love for me very well and without His love, my life has little power to walk victoriously and in freedom. It's His love that frees me! Does any of that make sense?

I almost forgot to share that the blood test results came back today and there was no sign of Leukemia! Thank you Jesus! We are coming up on two years without any cancer and only 4 months of a 2 year treatment plan! I have to declare the miracle of God's hand of healing!!! We look forward to sharing the test results with our Naturalpathic Doc. and see what he think about the elevated white blood cell count. We will keep you posted.

Anyway... our camping trip never happened. I got sick and the weather didn't cooperate. So plan B was to set the tent up in the backyard! The kids loved it! We even had a campfire and ate smores. We all went to sleep in the tent until I realized, at around 1 a.m. that Kelly had jumped ship and gone inside to sleep in our comfortable bed! Actually I was glad for the excused to move us all inside for a better nights rest.

We are now the proud parents of a preschooler, 1st grader, 4th grader and 5th grader. School is out for the summer and I am looking forward to a great summer, especially since the last two summers have been so taxing.

Well, thanks for reading the blog and for your prayer. We love and appreciate you all.
Sincerely, Gabriela

Good News on the Meds

2009-05-24T19:49:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

If you read my last blog I shared about my concern taking depression meds and their possible spiritual effects on me. I am experiencing a numbness emotionally due to the meds and really desire to get off of them. The good news is I feel at peace about taking the drugs and don't believe there is a spiritual stronghold in taking them. My holistic Doc. has treated over 70 patients with depression and has been successful in 80% of them being able to come off the meds within a 3 to 6 month period. This was very encouraging. I may get free from this numbness yet.

We are heading to the Sequoia's tomorrow as a family to check out camping sites for a future trip or trips. Hope all is well with you and your family.

His blesses,

Kelly

A Rest in the Journey

2009-05-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends-

We haven't updated the blog due to busyness and not knowing what to say. We are still in remission. My last bone marrow biopsy was clear of Leukemia. The chromosome abnormality from our last bone marrow biopsy was not detected. They did find scar tissue in the bone marrow which is a first. The Dr. said this could be Mylowfybrosis which is similar to Leukemia except its not cellular like Leukemia. They don't know why this happens and the Dr. said there isn't a cure except to enhance the bone marrow production. The scar tissue crowds out the bone marrow like leukemia.

We are not concerned and will continue to monitor it. We have the confidence that the Lord has healed me and promised me long life. We want to give Him praise and glory for this and not live in the fear of "what if." It's a faith journey for sure. We are continuing with diet and supplemental support for my body and I feel as normal as before being sick.

We are going through a spiritual journey of faith and deliverance with Dr. Espana. I am realizing the effects of the spiritual warfare and brokenness of the world that has been affecting me. I don't understand a lot of it, but in faith am walking with God in uncharted waters. I see God at work around me and even through me, but my heart has barriers that I,at present, am not able to break through. Dr. Espana has been taking us through some deliverance through prayer, confession and repentance. Areas and things I haven't consciously been aware of that are hindering my spiritual freedom. My reality of God doesn't fully line up with the truth of scripture. I struggle with this and I want more of God, but the more I want to experience His resurrection power, the less I "feel" Him. I know God is faithful and I will continue to seek Him. I need to be willing to wait on the Lord and not try to figure out why and fix it. This is hard for me.

Gabriela and I are praying about the depression meds that I have been on for 6 years. We are wondering if these meds are emotionally closing me down. I tried to go over one of them earlier this year and it was emotionally revealing. I began to spiral into a depressive state and just couldn't endure it. As soon as I started back on the med I sensed a dumbing of my emotions. I'm doing well, but we are wondering if the meds might have a spiritual ramification. Mind altering drugs could allow spiritual strongholds. We know this is the case with illegal drugs, but we have begun to question if this might apply to other legal drugs. There is a verse in the O.T. that implies that witchcraft and drug use are from the same word "pharmakia" (spelling off)where we get the word pharmacy. I don't know if this applies to us. Be praying with us and if you have insight on this, I would be open to listen.

Kids are doing well. We still are waiting on the possible home purchase. The bank hasn't come to a decision to accept our offer. It's been two months, so hopefully within the next month we will know. Gabriela and I are also praying about home schooling the kids next year. Having Sarah and Andrew in public school has been good in many ways, but at the same time we haven't liked many of the things they have been exposed to and bring home. We have seen the system actually harm our kid's self-image and place demands on them that we question are appropriate for their age and development. We have a good charter school option and church co-ops in the area we are considering.

That gives you an idea of what we are dealing with and I appreciate your continued interest and prayers. I would love to know how you are doing and how I can remember you in prayer. Our email is kngplus4@sbcglobal.net if that is an easier way to communicate with us.

I hope you know God's smile today and are walking in the fullness of His love for you. It's His love that transforms us.

His blessings,

Kelly and family

Praise God with us!

2009-03-30T14:36:00.001-07:00

Hello dear family and friends,

We saw Kelly's Oncologist today and got the bone-marrow results back and they were cancer FREE! This July will make it 2 years in remission! There was a new abnormality and an old one not present. The chromosome 13 abnormality did not show up this time and the new news is that there was scare tissue in the bone-marrow. Doctor said that they do not know why and want to do a scan of Kelly's spleen and liver to check for enlargement which might indicate Mylophibrosia (sp?) Don't know much about that yet.

Anyway....We are looking forward to several days at the coast over Spring Break. Our dear friends, the Shamshioan's are lending us their beach house again. (Boy, do I feel spoiled!)

I praise God for how He is bringing conviction in both of our lives and we feel a call to purify ourselves, (a painful process and oh so sweet as well).

If the Lord lays us on your hearts to pray, we would love prayer regarding our awareness of the Enemies attacks on our hearts and minds.
On a side note, please pray that the Lord would open the door to our buying a home that we have made an offer on but ONLY if He wants us there. (I love this house!) The owners have accepted our offer but it is a short sale and we are waiting for the Lender to approve our offer. This might take months to find out.

Thank you loved ones and may you know God's passionate love for you and His delight over you.
love, Gabriela

2009-03-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

Hello dear family and friends,

Kelly is feeling well and is working hard. He had a bone-marrow biopsy March 6th and just yesterday heard from the doctor's office. He was told that there were some abnormalities found in his results, but nothing that needed immediate attention and that the doctor wanted to go over the results with him. So he will be seeing the doctor soon to get the scoop.

We also went yesterday and spoke with our Naturalpathic Doctor. We are continuing the "soul healing" process and are now asking God to prepare us for what He will be doing in our hearts. Kelly is feeling somewhat overwhelmed in this process but regardless, we keep calling out to our heavenly Father asking Him to lead, guide and heal us from the inside-out.

Our family is doing very well. The kids are especially excited about their Papa's birthday today and joyously celebrating his life. This weekend was special as we were so proud to see Andrew earn his yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do. The girls are also busy with Wi Fit, ballet and gymnastic classes. It is a joy to see our kids enjoying life and each other. We thank God for the scholarships to do all of this and for the constant joy that our kids bring to us.

God is continuing to do His good work in me and teaching me to trust Him more and to understand His love for me more and more. I keep thinking of the song,
I want more of Jesus, more and more and more...
This is my hearts cry! I am excited and confident about the work that He is doing in us.

Please pray that we would not be ignorant of the enemies schemes, that we would be strengthened for the journey and that God would sustain us with willing spirits.

thank you dear loved ones! Gabriela

2009-01-22T11:23:00.001-08:00

Hello Dear Family and Friends,

Since our last blog Kelly has told our oncologist that he will not be continuing chemo. Our doctor agreed to monitor Kelly on a monthly basis. We are very grateful for this. We continue to work with our Naturalpathic doc. here in Fresno. He is also a pastor and has been talking to us about pursuing the healing of our souls.

He explained that we are all born body and soul and our spirit comes alive when we become Christ followers. These three part of a person effect the other parts. Every emotion causes a chemical reaction in the body and every experience is stored in the soul weather memories are explicit or implicit.

In my soul I have memories, both good and bad, and likes, dislikes, preferences etc.. Some of this stored information is good and some of it is not. For example, why do I want to eat a piece of chocolate when I feel stressed out rather than turning to God for help. I know that there is a physical reaction to chocolate, serotonin levels and all that but... I cognitively know that the better help in times of stress is God.

The work of the Holy Spirit in us and show us the beliefs that do not line up with what our spirit might already know. Have you ever had the thought, "I know that God loves me and will always do what is best but some how it doesn't reach my heart? And I still worry." This is what I am talking about.

The Holy Spirit goes into the soul and helps us "work out our salvation" or simply the process of sanctification. As Beth Moore said in a recent study I took, "I want my theology to match my reality."

I feel like I am rambling a bit, sorry. Anyway, I am just starting to grasp this whole thing and so is Kelly but we both feel a confidence that God is leading us and preparing us for a work that He has prepared for us and we are both excited about it.

We are still prayerful as to the direction we are taking with regards to treatment and remain open if the Lord leads to chemo but for now, we believe that He has us here and is giving us an opportunity to take an inward look and work on living in the freedom that He has already provided us.

We covet your prays during this process because we are not ignorant of the enemy and his desire to steal, kill, and destroy the work and image of God in and through us.
Thanks, Gabriela

Happy New Year...2008 has been good!

2008-12-31T18:58:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,
It's New Year's Eve and we just finished a great turkey torita soup without the toritas. We will spend a quiet evening playing a game or watching a movie with the kids and end the year thanking God for 2008. We have been so blessed this year. I am healthy and back to ministry full time. The kids are doing great in school and we are growing together. Gabriela seems happy and spiritual focused - connecting with women here. We have a huge support system of friends praying for us, investing time in our kids, and have hope in the next steps of prevention.

The Stanford Doc called and spoke with Gabriela last week. After our visit he contacted the lab that did my chromosome testing and then met with the oncology staff discussing my case. Their findings where inconclusive. They couldn't tell why my chromosome 15 was missing on some of my cells. They did not think it was connected to the leukemia or an indication of a pending relapse. They denied that any previous treatment could have caused it and recommended that I continue chemo where I left off. I don't know what to think about this, but prayerful that they are right about it not being an indication of a relapse - even though this chromosome has been linked to acute leukemia. I finish up my naturopathic treatment this week and will be tested next week to see if the frequency treatments show an improvement in my immune system. It's really an amazing science. I can also test some other alternative medicines using this frequency treatment to see if they would have a beneficial effect on my immune system. This way I am not using products that don't specifically work in my body. The way it works is that every disease, medication, and substance as a frequency. So by creating a substance's frequency and directing it into your body, it as if you are taking that substance. We found seven substances out of 30 that are used for leukemia, that responded positive in my system. So bi-weekly I have been receiving these frequencies. The goal is to see if these substances will keep my immune system at peak fighting force. The body was designed to fight cancers, so the hope is that my immune system will detect the cancerous cells and kill them before they can multiple. What I am not clear about is because Leukemia is a white blood cell, can healthy white cells detect that it's cancer and kill it - and can they do it fast enough to prevent the Leukemia to over take the blood system. I'm still trying to get a clear answer, but no doctor has been able to affirm this either way. If you know anything about this, please let me know.

As a dear friend Monica wrote,"Our trust is in God" and everyday He gives each of us life, whether we have cancer or not. I know that He is good and I can trust Him regardless of what awaits my family in 2009. He has loved us well through many of you in 2008. Thank you and His blessing to you and your families. Kelly

Stanford was a flop...

2008-12-17T18:58:00.000-08:00

Hello
Gabriela and I headed to Stanford on Tuesday as recommended by our Oncologist. The question was if our chromosome 15 issue was an indication of a pending relapse and if Stanford would recommend a Bone Marrow Transplant at this time. My question was more about understanding the chromosome 15 issue. To make this short, the doctor said it wasn't an indication of a relapse and he would not recommend a transplant at this time with my history of Mucor.

The reason the visit was a flop in my option is that the doctor didn't have my test results and after I gave them to his medical assistant, he still hadn't read it. I had to point out information that led him to need to do a further investigation and get back to us. Gabriela asked about alternative protocols and trials. Specifically we ask about the German study using Methadone on ALL. He never heard of that study. Our local news station highlighted the story. Why didn't this doctor - an expert on Leukemia not know something that is huge in possible future treatments? I wasn't impressed and at that point felt we were talking to another narrow focused doctor that treats only with chemo and radiation with no real knowledge of other protocols. It's sad that doctors aren't more rounded. They are directing people's lives. The psalmist warns us not to trust in men, but that our trust must only be in the Lord God.

Our next step is a geneticist to address the chromosome issue. I really want to understand this before we take any action. Please continue to pray for us. It's hard to have a "specialist" tell us we need to return to chemo. We don't believe that is the right step presently, but there is always that sense that we may be wrong. We are at peace regardless, but always questioning. I know less than the doctors and they know less than I need them to know. Anyway, thank you.

We are considering a home purchase and working with a great Realtor. The market is right with the housing bottom pretty close. Interest rates are very low. It's been nice to be free from a mortgage, but having a home would be great for our family to really settle down.

Would love to hear from you. We are not having anyone commenting to the blog, so I don't know who is out there. Would love to know how to pray for you.

His blessings,

Kelly

Something Unexpected...

2008-12-13T20:17:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,
I met with Dr. Pascuzzo to find out the results of my biopsy last Monday. I had fully expected to be in remission and I am, but there was something unexpected. The biopsy testing includes a chromosome analysis. In the past this always was clear. My Leukemia was a T-cell type, not chromozonal. Well, some of my cells had abnormal chromosomes. Chromosome 15 was deleted in 8 out of 20 cells. This particular chromosome has been linked to leukemia. The Doctor wasn't sure why this has occurred but suggested that it could be an indication that a relapse was ahead. The report emphasizes that this deletion of Chromosome 15 is not an indictation of a relapse, but that it should be monitored.

My doctor recommended visiting Stanford again to get their opinion on this and if they would recommend a bone marrow transplant at this time while I am in remission. You can't be transplanted if you have active cancer. So I have an appointment this Tuesday to get their thoughts on this new development. After reading the report, I sense the analysis to be more positive - that my bone marrow is in excellent shape and that the chromosome issue is just something to watch. I do think that my doctor knows that we have loss confidence in Western Oncology and are researching other treatment protocols. I think that might be the reason to recommend a second option from Stanford.

Brianna turned 6 years old today and has lost her two upper front teeth. We had 15 girls over today and Brianna had a great time. They grow up so quickly. The rest of the family is doing well and getting ready for Christmas.

From the Rosenthal Family, we wish you His best and that you will know His love in deeper ways through the holidays. Merry Christmas!!

Kelly and the Rosenthals

Living Thankfully

2008-11-26T19:59:00.000-08:00

Dear Friend - May this find you well. The Rosenthal family is getting ready to start a Thanksgiving tradition. This year we are going to include our kids in the preparation of the meal, the house, and our family devotion (Ps 103). In the afternoon we will visit a local convelessient home to deliver cookies and the girls will sing a few songs for folks. Then its home to dinner, a visit to friend for dessert and home for a movie - Princess Bride. That's the plan, so we'll see how it goes. We hope your Thanksgiving is full of praise for God wonderful blessing (read Ps. 103).

On the cancer front, I had a bone marrow biopsy on Monday and will find out next Monday the results. My blood work is good and we anticipate the results will still be that we are in remission. I haven't discussed with the doctor that we are not planning at this time to continue with the chemo regiment. He wants to start on Monday with in intravenous chemo. It's called an "induction phase" which means a heavy dosage of chemo which will depleat my system. It will be a difficult conversation. The doctor will warn me of all the possible reasons we should be continuing and the danger I am putting myself in by stopping. He will tell me this is the time to stay with the treatments to ensure the best long-term results.

These possibilities are concerning to me and I waver in my heart. I don't have confidence in the Western approach to treating cancer, yet I don't know enough about the alternative approaches other than a few books and some web study. It just makes more sense to build up your body to fight disease than to kill the body with the disease and hope that the body will recover. Alternative routes to recovery have and do work for many people, but not all. Chemo works for many, but not all. It's feels like a crap shoot. I have tried the chemo and it has almost killed me with the fungus and debilitated me with radiation. It did knock out my Leukemia, but that is not a reason to continue with chemo for me.

If the Leukemia was to return, I wouldn't rule out chemo and I may be open to a maintenance dosage while using the alternative non-toxic approaches. But we feel I need to try the healthy non-toxic approach. I can tell that many friends and associates think I am wrong for stopping. It's hard because they could be right. I'm not confident of that, but as you can tell, I am still wrestling with it. I just don't know enough and haven't found a doctor that isn't biased to their training and are for the most part ignorant to alternative approaches. Therefore I don't feel I can trust them. I don't question their hearts and convictions, but they don't know enough.

God hasn't given me any clear guidance. Gabriela and I are in complete agreement at this stage - stop chemo and go alternatives until my condition changes, if it should change. Our hope and greater confidence is that the naturopathic and alternative cancer non-toxic treatments will address any future leukemia stem cells that might still exist in my body. Ultimately we trust the Lord and believe He has, (Gabriela believes that He has) or will heal me. So I share this with you our friends to have you continue to pray. I would like our oncologist to continue to monitor us even if we stop the chemo. He may not and I will need to have an oncologist that will. I will let you know the results of the biopsy and my conversation. I think I mentioned having a naturopathic doctor that is advising a protocol to strength and remove the heavy toxins in my body from the chemo and living in our environment. I really am feeling great! He is also working with us to build up my T-Killer cells which are part of our white cell makeup and they are what kills cancer cells in all bodies.

This update has rambled on to long. Again, His blessings to you and your loved ones.

Kelly

Our present direction...

2008-11-02T17:07:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

This is Kelly writing to give a quick update on my continuing journey. It's wonderful that you care and take the time to check the blog and pray with us. I feel blessed and loved. Thank you.

Gabriela and I feel very united and at peace about stopping any additional chemo treatments at this time. I stopped my pill regiment three weeks ago and will await a bone marrow biopsy Nov. 24. We feel confident that it will continue to show I am in remission. At this time I will hopefully have changed oncologists. I approached the Cancer Care Associate administrator two weeks ago to ask if they had oncologists that were open to alternative treatments to our western protocols. Surprisingly she answered yes and that the Association was even starting a Eastern medicine study. She had a doctor in mind that would work with me if I wanted to try an alternative approach. So I meet this doctor on the 12th.

I was also given a book to read entitled, "Outsmarting your Cancer" by Tanya Pierce. I've started many "cancer books" only to put them down, but this book really has been an answer to my prayers for guidance. It speaks of the causes and nutritional care to fight cancers like most books, but Pierce documents several alternative nontoxic treatments that have been used with wonderful results and have better results than chemo treatments. Pierce gives history and treatment development information as well as case studies and contact information to purchase or contact doctors. It's very well done and I am shocked that I wasn't told of such options by my doctor.

Gabriela may have mentioned that we have been visiting a naturalpathic MD who has also given us great insight to the body and how if functions. He is able to use my blood test results to address my fatigue and detox my body. He is also a believer and ministers to the spirit and soul with the Word and prayer. He has opened my eyes to a spiritual realm of battle that is so freeing.

So all this to say that I am hoping, with the doctors, to design a nontoxic treatment protocol that involves nutrition, a balanced supplement package based on my bodies needs, and look into a few of the alternative treatments to maintain my remission. As long as I am in remission, I see no need to consider chemo at this time. For ten months after I contracted the fungal infection I wasn't able to continue the chemo protocol and still remained in remission. We have learned that with Leukemia, the longer you are in remission,the greater likely hood you are of staying in remission. The chemo treatments initially arrested the Leukemia, but the treatments haven't done anything to keep me in remission. They have only opened me up to other illnesses and have physically harmed me. Therefore, I can not in good faith continue to put my family, friends, and church, through this up and down roller coaster of treatments. It's barbaric and there are alternatives I am now aware of and believe are a better route to sustained recovery. We have learned that the rest of the medical world has come to see this except for our western medical community. So for now we are walking forward in the faith that God has healed me and are seeking to be wise in sustaining that healing.

I still am looking for God to confirm this direction. We feel God has provided a lot of insight. I would still like to have some further direct confirmation, but He has told us through several sources that this cancer will not take my life. I know I will live and continue serving the Lord and with greater fervor and fruitfulness. There are many that would disagree with our present direction and we appreciate your prayers and input. I am cancer free and believe I will stay that way. We can all agree and pray for this together.

Thanks again for reading this and I love the responses and shared stories. God is true. He is the Greatest Good. We get to know Him as the beloved. Regardless of what we face in this broken world, He is faithful and can be trusted. He is glorified best when we live fully alive in Christ. Let's push on and live in the reality of God's Word and our identity in Christ. It's such a superior life - God is and He cares!!

His blessings,

Kelly

2008-10-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

Thank you for your prayers! Kelly's hair and strength is returning. He has been working full weeks and is no longer dealing with headaches. His appetite is slowly returning and he is enjoying being in a smaller pant size, (I wish I could say the same.)

Kelly is still on the oral chemo and that will last another couple weeks. After that he will be having a bone-marrow biopsy. The chemo at present makes him feel yuck but... it is "doable". His blood counts all look good and we are so thankful.

Right now our biggest prayer request is that the Lord would answer our fleece. We are asking Him to give us direction regarding further treatment. We want to know if He has already healed Kelly or if we should continue on the path we are on. We don't want to be foolish either way and we are confident that the Lord has an opinion about what we should do.

We know that not continuing with treatment will go against conventional thinking and medical advise but... we also have been loosing confidence in the process. Kelly is willing to go down this path if the Lord directs that way but we also wonder if Violet Huckelberry's prayer last year proclaiming Kelly's healing was about the fungus and cancer.

I am sure that for some of you reading this will be alarming and maybe even sound foolish but I want to assure you that we are very prayerful and seeking out wise counsel from both sides of the issue before us. WE NEE PRAYER FOR DIRECTION!

We are claiming scripture that, "If anyone of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him." and God has said, "Call to Me and I will answer you, I will tell you great and mighty things that you do not know."

So thank you ahead of time for your prayers for us and praise God with us that He will give us the direction that He promises.

Sincerely, Gabriela and Kelly

P.S. I had a CAT scan that came back normal and am waiting to see a Urologist to investigate why I have blood in my urine. Thanks for praying.

2008-09-30T21:25:00.000-07:00

Hello dear family and friends,
What a crazy and exhausting couple of months. Kelly's MRI showed that he has Mastoiditis, an infection in his mastoids. Exactly where are the mastoids, I don't know except that they are in our heads/ sinus area.

ANYWAY... on Friday Kelly had tubes put into his ears to help him hear better since the aftermath of cranial radiation caused inflammation in the tissue of his head and the fluids were not able to drain or flow properly preventing him from hearing well and also the reason for an infection in the Mastoid area. Some of the fluid was drained and his hearing improved. That's the good news... the bummer news is that now Kelly is dealing with continued fatigue, head aches, general yuckiness from the chemo, dizziness from the fluid adjustment in his head.

I am sure you can only imagine how difficult this has been on him. He has spent days in bed. I have to share with you how very amazed I am by this man I get to be married to and also amazed to see how God is using this suffering to do His good work in Kelly. The stripping process is painful but, "What Satan intends for our destruction, God will (and is) use it for our good and His glory!

Kelly went to work today and was able to take time to rest in the incredible recliner the church bought for him and is pretty much done and straight to bed when he comes home.

I am beyond tired but so encouraged by what the Lord is stirring in Kelly as well as what He is stirring in me. Oh how I love that He is always at work. Thank You Jesus!

Prayer requests
1. God's will to be accomplished both physically and spiritually

2. Kelly's healing and regaining of strength

3. The work of undoing and breaking yolks to continue, (Is. 58) Please read if you are unfamiliar with it. It will help you in knowing how to pray for us!

4. My health (There are traces of blood in my urine and I am being scheduled for a CAT scan this week or next.

Thank you is not enough expression... We love and appreciate all of you who lift us up before our Father. God bless you!
Sincerely, Gabriela

2008-09-22T10:57:00.000-07:00

Hello dear ones,
Kelly's fatigue is beginning to pass. All of his test have come back clear and today he is having an MRI done to check the fungus in the dura of the brain. It is a check to make sure that is not the cause of the fatigue. There are no other symptoms so we feel confident that the results of today will also be clear. Our Oncologist said that his fatigue most likely due to the radiation but no one has said that Kelly had Somnolence Syndrome but we think he did. ANYWAY...

We learned today that Kelly begins a five week oral chemo. regiment tomorrow and after that he will have another bone marrow biopsy. We know that this is the next step and a forward movement but neither of us is looking forward to it. I do have to share with you that God laid Mark 16:17 & 18 on both of our hearts separately.

"And these signs will follow those who believe: They will speak with new tongues;they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover."

These verses are what God lead me to in my quiet time with Him when Kelly was deciding to return to treatment and I believe it!!!!

Thank you again for you prayers and love. May God's blessing come back to you double portion. Sincerely, Gabriela

2008-09-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

Hello Dear Ones,

Kelly's apt. went well today. His counts are looking great! The doctor said that he was very encouraged by this but he still does not know why Kelly is so fatigued. Tomorrow Kelly will start up chemo again. He will be getting spinal injection of chemo and the doctor has ordered an analysis of the spinal fluid to see if something shows up there that might explain his fatigue. One of the possibilities is that the Leukemia is in his nervous system. Kelly's type of Leukemia likes to hide in the nervous system. If it is there then we are out of remission and I'm not sure what??? The doctor did say that he didn't expect that because there would be other symptoms, like head aches, fever, blurred vision...

So...., We still think it might be Somnolence Syndrome but the doctors don't seem to be familiar with it. In any event, Somnolence Syndrome can't be treated, it just has to run it's course, (extreme fatigue for several weeks.}

Kelly has really been struggling with being so laid out. It is crunch time at work and things are mounting in all areas of his life. Very frustrating. We have talked about how God is in control and that NOTHING happens in vain, including this present trial. God knows Kelly's condition and his responsibilities and He dose not waste ANYTHING! God has a plan and will accomplish all that concerns us. Thank you Jesus for the assurance of your word. You will never give us more then we can handle.

We will know the results of the spinal test in a couple of days and will update you as we can.

Prayer requests-

Please pray for the internal work that God is doing to undo all false yolks (Is.58)

Please pray for Kelly's complete recovery

Please pray for our kids' hearts, they miss dad's presence.

Please pray that I would walk close to God and live and move and have my being in Him.

Sincerely, Gabriela

2008-09-07T19:39:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family,

A quick update before I put the kids to bed. Kelly has been sleeping about 20 hours a day. It is difficult for him to think and function. He is constantly thirsty and has no appetite. We are going to see the Oncologist tomorrow and he want us to begin chemo tomorrow. We would like to get to the bottom of the fatigue issue before we start chemo if that is possible.

Kelly's radiation ended in mid July so the fatigue at this point, after weeks of feeling well is concerning. We will keep you updated as soon as we can. Thanks again for all your encouragement and prayers. Love, Gabriela

p.s. Please include the kids in your prayers. Seeing their dad so debilitated over these last three weeks is taking it's toll. I keep reminding them and myself that God will not give us more then we can handle and we can count of that! But boy, I sure am tired... When I am weak, He is strong!

2008-09-01T14:19:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

I am sending out a prayer request. In the last week and a half Kelly's stamina has plummeted. It has been so fast and so severe that we were sure the Leukemia was back. We went to the Oncologist on Wednesday and his blood counts were good. His blood smear was clear of cancer and his x-ray showed no difference in his lungs with regards to the Myucor. This information was a relief but we are baffled about what is going on right now. Kelly has lost his appetite and can barely stay awake. He is extremely fatigued.

We are wondering if this is an after effect to radiation treatment or if his body is fighting some other infection. The doctors have put him on an antibiotic but so far there has been no improvement, in fact, he seem to be even more tired. Today is Monday and he has been sleeping most of the day. We will call the Oncologist tomorrow as well as his general practitioner to see if we can get some answers.

It is baffling that he has been off of chemo for a month and a half and was functioning at about 75% and now he is at about 20%.

I have to say that thinking that the cancer was back was difficult for both of us. We were concerned but now we are just perplexed. ANYWAY... thank you for your prayers. Sincerely, Gabriela

Thanks for the responses...

2008-08-16T17:35:00.000-07:00

Hello again,

I haven't spent a lot of time on the blog and have failed to check your responses. WOW, what a huge encouragement. Many of you share similar experiences with trying to make sense of your reality and what the Bible says is reality. It really helps to know that I am not alone or handling this incorrectly. I am encouraged to continue to seek Him and find greater intimacy.

Micah Foster, our Student Ministry Director sent me a link to a worship song that is really amazing [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4xsWldmqAo]. The story behind the song was what encouraged me to make it a point to worship. That's one thing I have seemed to stopped doing in this battle. I am determined to pull out my worship CDs and put aside my teaching CDs, and spend more time in worship. I love to sing and I don't anymore. I notice in Church Worship, I remain silent and worship in my heart - a good thing, but I need to allow the emotions of worship and it's truth wash over me. Why haven't I been doing this? It seems so odd that I would have forgotten it's importance. Thanks Micah...

I am still awaiting the State's review process to see if the Neumega injections will be approved. I haven't seen the doctor - I think I missed my appointment this week(?). I don't think he will want to start treatments even if my count is high enough because it will only drop after the first week or so and we will need to wait another 30 to 60 days before my system recovers. The good news is I am still in remission as far as we can tell. As Gabriela said, We will do our part and trust God to keep me strong. I am really not all too excited about the treatment and if I can't take it, I'm trust that God is giving me this window of endurance and strength for a good reason.

I am enjoying the ministry; training new leaders, counseling couples in crisis, and investing in my kids with great intentionality. My wife is delusionally in love with me...I'm a very bless man, even with Leukemia. Thank you for sharing your prayer requests with us. I am looking forward to following up with you as I pray.

2 Peter 1:5-11 (NASB)
5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

His Blessings,

Kelly

2008-08-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,Thank you for your words of encouragement and prayers, they mean more then you can imagine. First let me say that we had a great time at Forest Home. Kelly was tired from the radiation but had a break from Chemo due to a low platelet count. This enabled him to participate in much of the events of the week. I could tell that the week away was good for all of our hearts. Our kids had fun and it was great to reconnect with old friends.
When we returned home we celebrated our 13 year anniversary and Anneliese's 3rd birthday. Kelly made her a rice crispy treat cake since she is allergic to wheat and eggs. She loved her barbie cake! Kelly also decorated the office lunch room for us to have her party there with the church staff. It was magical. He is such an incredible Papa!

Upon our return Kelly went back to the oncologist and found out that his platelet count was still too low to continue treatment. The doctor had prescribed some shots that will help in the production of platelets but the insurance denied them. We appealed the denial and were denied again. These shots are very expensive and the insurance company normally doesn't approve them unless the platelet count is even lower then what Kelly's is. The problem is that we can not continue with treatment until the count is up. Kelly has spent hours on the phone talking to the insurance company and explained that we don't have another 45 day to wait for their appeal process, we are going on 5 weeks now without treatment.

We don't know what will happen but we know the One who does.I know that God is sovereign so my thought process goes like this, "Kelly's platelet count is out of our control, we are doing all we know to do to get things moving and are being obedient to what we feel the Lord is directing us in so, all we are responsible to do is walk with Him." When I lay the burden of Kelly's treatment and overall health on Jesus, my burden is lifted and we move on.

Right now Kelly has been working like a madman. (nothing new as those of you who know him well can attest to.) He is working long days, planning ministry, counseling people and investing in our family. I know I've said it before and I don't mean to sound corny but... I am married to an amazing man... how very blessed I am. Thank you Jesus!

We will keep you all updated as we know more. For now I would ask you to continue to pray that Kelly would hear God's voice as he follows Him daily and pray that IF it is God's will for Kelly to continue treatment then please make the way possible.Thank you dear friends and family, Love, Gabriela

Looking to grow...

2008-07-06T18:53:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

It's been a while since I've blogged about my process. We had such a long reprieve from doctors and treatment it almost felt like life was returning to some resemblance of "normal". It's been great to feel so good and pretty much back to living. With being cleared of the fungus threat we needed to return to the chemo treatment. I think Gabriela expressed the difficulty emotionally that decision was for us, but it seemed the best decision in light of the history of this cancer. So we have been back on the plan for two weeks and seeing the typical complications.

I really don't know what to write. I what to stay in touch with friends and really desire the prayer support that we felt so carried by during the critical periods of the fungus and operations. Because my health has been good, we have lost touch with many friends through the blog because we haven't consistently updated it. I trust the Lord with stir in people the need to pray as we enter this new chapter.

I would like to share a little of my mental and spiritual process. It seems difficult for me to stay "connected" spiritually and emotionally to my faith when feeling physically bad. I seem to get consumed with just enduring the situation. I feel lost to know how to pray and as I pray I feel very alone. I have been trying to understand this. It's not that I don't have faith or that I question God's love, presence, or faithfulness, but the really of these things feels detacted from my reality. So I am trying to mentally recite the truth I know and separate that from my reality. My reality doesn't determine reality. I think I have been living my faith based on how my reality aligns to what is true of God and allowing that to determine the quality or connectedness to God. I am sensing that I need to live outside my reality and accept the reality of God apart from my experience. Does this make any sense? I vaguely see that this adjustment is essential to "faith" in it's truest meaning. Believing God in spite of what I feel or am experiencing - whether it aligns with my experience. Some might call this "blind faith", but I am seeing it as a truer understanding of what it means to believe God based on His Word. Again, I vaguely am seeing my health issues as a means to develop an understanding of God and what it means to walk with God when life seems so contrary.

Something else that I am realizing at a deeper level is that God's presence is given through people. I want God to meet me, commune with me, speak to me, and when I don't sense that, I retreat to self flagellation and doubt. The reality is God speaks, encourages, and expresses Himself through people. Last week in the mist of feeling sick and alone, wrestling with accepting that this will be our life over the next year or so, two elders of our church called and wanted to meet me to pray. As I share my feeling and God's seeming distance, I realized that God was meeting my need - not in the way I preferred it- between Him and I so I could coup alone with life, but by heightening my lonilness and bringing these men to express his love in community. I'm the Community Life Pastor and want to be community for other, but don't see how vitally I need it. It's been and will be an on-going lesson for me.

I have pondered and rambled enough. I hope that I have given a window into where I'm at and how God is using all things in my life for good. We are planning a week's vacation to Forest Home Family Camp next week. There are three other families from Trinity Church that we will join from our small group community there. Our kids love the Johnson family and remain best friends with the distance. My prayer is that the Kids build lasting memories. Presently I am co-facilitating a group of twenty men through the "raising a modern day knight" curriculum that focuses on calling boys into manhood. I hope to gather the dad's in our fellowship to spend some time going through this material.

As always, thank you and keep praying. If you respond with a comment, tell me how our family can pray for you. It would sure help us feel like family with you.

His blessings,

Kelly

2008-07-01T15:20:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,

Kelly is doing well. He seems to be handling the treatment okay. He is obviously tired and feels yucky (my word, not his description) a lot of the time. He has told me that it is his goal to not get grumpy as he struggles feeling sick.

He has had his first complication already. (this has been a discouragement for us both) After his spinal injection of chemo this last Friday, he developed a headache that floored him. He spent about four and a half days in bed because being upright worsened the headache. The headache was due to some spinal fluid leaking out into the injection site and when the spinal fluid is off, even a tiny bit, headaches occur.

We made two trips to the E.R. this week. The first trip Kelly was treated with an IV bag of caffeine. We asked the attending doctor how that works and he said, "no one really knows" Well, it did work and then Kelly was wired on caffeine so he started to walk home from the hospital rather then wait for me to come get him. Mind you, it is June, in Fresno, hot, smoked filled air and he has just left the E.R.. Can you say, crazy, caffeine driven man? When I picked him up he was more than half way home.

Well, the caffeine worked for several hours but the headache came back that evening. We went back to the E.R. and were sent home after no anesthesiologists were available. So... we went back this morning to the out-patient area and Kelly was treated with a blood patch and released after several hours. He came home, rested, ate, got dressed and off he went to get his radiation treatment, do a hospital visit and to work!

I don't know weather to strangle him or just appreciate and admire him all the more. He is an amazing man and I am such a blessed woman.

Thank you for your prayers sounds redundant but believe me that knowing you all are praying is one of the most comforting things to us right now. We feel Jesus loving us as He moves in the hearts of His people to pray for us. So, we are truly thankful.
Sincerely, Gabriela

Here we go again...

2008-06-19T22:18:00.000-07:00

Dear friends and family,

It is hard to begin this blog because there is so much to say and it is hard to know where to start. Kelly begins chemo treatments tomorrow. Actually he took his first chemo pill tonight and begins radiation and spinal chemo tomorrow.

You might be wondering how we got here. This is the long part of the story but a Readers Digest version is that after learning more about this disease, collecting wise counsel from many and with much prayer, here we are. Kelly feels strongly that the words of healing we received from Violet Huckelberry (see blog from Nov. 3,2007)were about the fungus. His treatment of the fungus ended 9 months short of what the specialist said it would and that fell in line with the 6 month time frame that Violet had shared with us as a word from the Lord. We truly feel that God has spared Kelly's life and now understand that the fungus should have killed him. Thank you Jesus!

As Kelly has sought the Lord in this, the Lord has been very quiet. I am amazed at my husband's courage, integrity, wisdom and faithfulness to the Lord. I personally am at rest following his leadership and consider it as such an honor to be married to such an amazing man!

Kelly's regiment will be very tough for a while and will last one and a half years. He begins with radiation every day for 12 days while taking oral chemo every day for 40 days and spinal chemo treatments every Friday for 9 weeks. It sounds daunting to us and we have no idea what to expect, except that Jesus will be with us every step of the way. Oh, how I love His presence!

I have to share with you all that as I struggled in coming to this point I told the Lord that I love Kelly's body, it's mine, I am one with him and although chemo felt like medicine this first time around, this time it feels like poison. As I poured my heart out to Him, He lead me to Mark 16. I vicariously opened up to this passage and my eyes caught the red lettered words of Jesus. He was speaking of things that are true of believers and in His list it says, "and you will drink poison and it will not harm you..."

Now, I told Kelly that I certainly don't want to make scripture say what I want it to say but, what are the chances that I would open up to something like that at this point in my life? All I can tell you is that it wasn't emotionally satisfying but my heart was filled with His peace. God's word is alive and active. What an amazing blessing to have it.

"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

We are certainly not looking forward to this next season and the hardship it will be for our family as well as our church family and the ministry, but we know our Redeemer lives and that He will faithfully walk with us. All glory and praise to Him!

Please pray for our kids. You might remember that last year we were not able to go to our Family Camp vacation at Forest Home, which has been our tradition. This was very hard on the kids because they were looking forward to seeing old friends that they desperately missed. I am not sure what will happen this year. So, please pray that we can go and if we are not to go, pray that their little hearts will be prepared.

I covet your prayer for our family, we love and appreciate you more than you will ever know.

Love in Christ, Gabriela

A Week of Questioning

2008-05-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends,

First let me thank you for your faithful prayers for Kelly and his time away. He will give an update on his time away on a later blog.

When Kelly came back he made an appointment with our Oncologist to talk about taking out his meda-port and let him know that we are taking his present condition as a healing from the Lord and will not be continuing on chemo.

Upon receiving his preliminary blood work back, we were surprised that he had lost an entire unit of blood over the last month and a half. Dr. Pascuzo also expressed some alarm over seeing immature white blood cells in the sampling (all possible signs of cancer). A bone-marrow biopsy was scheduled to determine if the Leukemia was back.

Well, what can I say... we were shocked, totally didn't expect that news. Kelly has been felling great, looks great and has been working hard. Personally, my mind was reeling. "What was it that the Lord had spoken to us and what does all that mean if the cancer is back?"

I had that old fear grip my heart again and then... I heard the Lord speak to my heart, gently and softly, "Hang on... don't loose faith." I spent a couple of days with a heavy cloud over my spirit but as I spent time in God's word, He brought me to passages that led to some beautiful times of personal repentance. Then He encouraged me with Isaiah 58. He lifted my burden and filled me with peace, confidence and a call to arms! I love how faithful He is and how very personal He is. I just LOVE Him so much!!!

My call to arms was to wake up from the sleeping state of "regular life" and remember that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of darkness... God spoke my identity to me about three years ago and that is that I am His warrior princess - so the battle is on and I need to fight on my knees! I am so thankful for this wake-up call.

Good and surprising news! Kelly's biopsy showed that there is no cancer! He is still in remission. The low blood count is his body still recovering from heavy chemo and fungus medication. The count had come up a half of a unit in the week and a half between readings. The immature white blood cells were not abnormal. The doctor wants him to begin radiation and chemo right away and begin on his spin and brain. I asked how that might effect the fungus and we were told that it might get reactivated and then we would do both treatment of cancer and fungus.

You might be asking why more chemo if he is in remission. We have been told that there is still a year and a half or more chemo treatment that is standard for Leukemia and that Kelly must finish this regiment.

So our questions are many to the Lord. Is Kelly in fact healed? Will You please give us another confirmation Lord? Are we supposed to finish the chemo regiment? What will that do to Mucor Mycosis Fungus? This fungus, as you might recall, was located in the dura of Kelly's brain and if it crosses that barrier and enters the central nervous system, it will kill him. If the cancer comes back, it can kill him.

All I can say is that I am so thankful that God is personal and cares about these things and above all that He is sovereign and I can trust Him. I honestly and not worried (a miracle in and of itself!) and I believe that Kelly will live many more years on this earth serving the Lord and continuing to grow in his Christ-likeness.

Thank you for taking time to read this. I feel a bit awkward in sharing all of this, it is only my perspective and I am sure you are all wondering were Kelly is at in his process. He presently is on a camping trip with our son Andrew (Bass Lake!) and will be back in a couple of days. He will be writing his update soon.

We would still covet your prayers as we continue on in the Lord. I know our enemy is real and even more, I know that in Christ we, "overwhelmingly conquer". This life is not "It" We are a part of His story and it is much bigger and grander than what we can imagine. As for me, I am holding on to Jesus for the ride!!!
With much gratitude for all of your prayers, Gabriela

Join me

2008-04-22T12:34:00.000-07:00

Hello Dear Friends and Family,

Please join me in prayer this week.

No knew news. Kelly is feeling well. The reason for this entry is to ask for prayer. Kelly is on a solitude retreat out at the coast for the next four days. Our gracious friends, the Shamshoians, lent Kelly their beach house and he left this morning, bible and journal in hand. Kelly has been sharing with me that he feels a disconnect internally and wants to seek the Lord with this focused time away.

It is my prayer that as Kelly processes this last year, God would heal his spirit. I believe that God has performed a miracle in healing Kelly's body and I feel confident that He will be glorified through the internal work that He will do in Kelly's spirit.

Please join me in prayer for Kelly. Pray as the Lord leads you. I am confident in your love for Kelly and I appricitae you.
Love, Gabriela

Fungus Farewell...

2008-03-20T08:07:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

Well as we hoped, the fungus seems to be well under control and we are stopping the medication. The MRI and CAT SCAN still showed some pots, but they don't know if this is past scaring, just dead cells, or something else. Therefore we are going to stop the medication and see. This is great news and we are thanking God for this victory.

Still no word or sense of direction on the chemo, but we will wait until the end of the month and then decide what is next. I would appreciate your prayers at this time. It's just started to hit me that we can begin to live again. What I mean is, life felt on hold while dealing with the illness. Though I had the peace that God was going to deliver me, I still stopped in some respects progressing life. I don't know if I can explain it.

What was an uncomfortable wake up call this week was the realization that I have been living day to day in the way I parent, pastor, dream, etc. Because of this I have been very short sighted in my efforts. Now that I am coming more into the reality that I have some time, I am seeing the state of things and it is a bit overwhelming -- what I need to do to "get back on my game". I need to give myself some grace, but at the same time, I feel the urgency to correct these areas that are lacking. I am wrestling with shame, embarrassment, frustration, and inadequacy. It's a new walk or deepening walk of dependence and trust in the Lord. Thanks for your prayers.

The family is doing well. We have family in from Mexico and San Diego today and are planning a trip to Yosemite. Gabriela is dealing with back trouble that may be kidney stones (she has been suffering with this for almost a month). We are again looking to the doctors for a clear diagnosis to treat her. the Kids are well and on Easter break this week. Gabriela is making each day a special event for them. She's a good lady, wife and wonderful mom!

I hope this finds you well. We would love to hear from you and know how to pray for you. We aren't receiving many log entries and feel a bit lost on our friend's life at present. May you be experiencing God's peace in whatever you are facing today, and know His love for you. Have a blessed Easter Celebration as you reflect on Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.

His blessings,

Kelly

The wait continues...

2008-03-14T13:44:00.000-07:00

Hey Friends,

The picture is of the kids and friends on our recent Disneyland trip. They really had a wonderful time and we enjoyed them enjoying themselves with the Johnsons.

I don't have any new news other than I had hopefully my last CT Scan and MRI today to verify that the fungus is cleared up. I will meet with the Doc on the 19th and know for sure. We feel pretty confident that the fungus in nolonger a threat. It is amazing that the Lord delivered me from what should have killed me. The cancer is still in remission and our hope is that I have been delivered from that as well. Still no word from the Lord confirming this. I believe we will wait for specific guidance the rest of March and if I don't hear from the Lord, we'll make our best decision based on wisdom. If this is the case it really is a crap-shoot. There is no assurance that the chemo will treat the cancer for good and there's nothing to determine if the remission isn't for good. Of course the docs say the remission will end without further chemo, but I should have come out of remission already. I hope the Lord will give me the specific direction to take.

So keep praying for healing and for the Lord's direction.

His blessings,

Kelly

2008-02-28T10:43:00.000-08:00

Hello Dear Family and Friends,
Kelly's last doc. apt. went well. It still looks as if March will be the end of the fungal treatment. We are still in the process of seeking the Lord's direction for further treatment. I(Gabriela) feel as if the Lord has asked us to purify ourselves as we seek His direction. We are both spending time in prayer and Kelly has set out a flees to the Lord. (Old Testament practice in seeking out God's direction). We are new to this practice and eagerly await God's response.

Please continue to pray for our direction and also for the pain in Kelly's shoulders and upper arms. It's getting really bad and the doctors are not sure what the cause is. We are trying some natural methods of treatment to see if the pain might be linked to the toxicity levels in his body.

A praise to report is that through this flu season, although Anneliese, Andrew, Brianna and I all got sick, Kelly and Sarah remain healthy!! I have been hit hard by a number of things and Kelly has had to pick-up the extra load and has done GREAT! I truly am married to an amazing man, (almost 13 years and he still makes me laugh and makes my toes curl!)

Thank you for your prayers, love and support. It truly means more to us than we can express. Thank You Jesus!!!

GOOD NEWS...Fungus clearing

2008-02-09T17:12:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

That's right! My recent CAT scan and MRI showed that the fungus in the lungs was clearing up and the swelling in the Brain Dura was significately improved. I imagine another month and Mrs. Huckleberry's prophesy will be comfirmed as the Cancer is in remission and the fungus will be completely gone from my body (March will be 6 months from the time Mrs. Huckleberry prayed that in 6 months you will be healed). This is a new experience for me of God's speaking into our situation. At the time the words and prayer was very comforting, yet now it stretches my faith and brings me joy. So praise God with us for His glorious, gracious, and healing work in our lives!!! (Picture is of Andrew on his 9th birthday - January 7, 2008)

What's next? That is the question I am now seeking God's direction on. Continuing the chemo treatments while in remission is the doctors recommendation. I'm not afraid or unwilling to complete the treatments. My posture has been to take their advice unless the Lord makes it clear that I should not. Gabriela has asked me to not do anything until God makes clear which way to go and not to do anything until that happens. I am still unsure of the posture to take and figure God will direct. It's not like He doesn't have an opinion or wouldn't want me to know, but He may want me to grow in my understanding or faith in some way. So I am waiting and listening the best I know how.

This week Gabriela and I have been asked to speak at a Marriage Event on Valentine's Day. We are speaking on the topic of Trusting God in Marriage. This will be a first for us and I am excited to have this opportunity to expand our ministry experience and I pray, minister to couples. I guess we are entering the years where we have enough life experience to have something to share. Pray for our success in ministering to couples by encouraging them to trust God personally, together as a couple, and for oneanother when one's trust wavers. Pray also that we would be healthy (Gabriela has walking pneumona), and protected from the evil one's scemes - we would see them and counter them. His blessings to you.

In my next blog entry, I'll update you on how our time went. I hope you know how your prayers have shore us up these past 8 months. It's a very new experience to sense the spiritual support - I can't explain it yet. It's as if we have been surrounded by a heavenly host. I must keep intercessory prayer central in my life. It has power, influence, and brings God's peace to those prayed for. Thank you. I am learning and seeing God in so many new ways...

We love you,

Kelly
P.S. My spell check isn't responding - I hope you had a good laugh!!

Still Waiting...

2008-01-26T15:21:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

We just returned from a wonderful week away visiting friends and spending three days at Disneyland. The kids were beside themselves waking each day to explore the parks. I'll let Gabriela fill you in on the specifics. It was great to see the kids laugh and play after having to deal with so much this year.

On Monday I will have an MRI of the head and a CT scan of the chest to determined where the fungus is (or prayfully isn't). My hope is that it is gone in the brainlining and we can hopefully stop the medication. I believe the Doctor wants me to continue the fungal meds for a while, but the dosage should drop. I am still not feeling any real illness from the fungus. I have soreness from the medication, but that is doable. I am expecting the fungus to be gone.

Having a week away on vacation sounds relaxing, but it really is not a time to reflect or pray much - not with 4 kids at Disneyland. Gabriela and I both feel a bit dry spiritually. We need a vacation now that we have been on the "kid's vacation." As our week returns to normal I'm sure we will fall back into our disciplined times of devotion and prayer. I do hope to hear from the Lord regarding the next step. I would like to know something either way, but if the Lord is silent, I will continue as the Doctors say. I can't chance the cancer getting an advantage and placing me in a worst state. My family needs me and unless the Lord tells me differently, I will continue the treatment.

I am so thankful for those that follow this blog and pray for us. I wish I had more to share and could be more specific with how to pray and what, but the facts are, we are still waiting...

I would ask you to pray with us about:
1. Gabriela and I have been asked to speak at a Marriage Dessert on Feb. 14 in So. Cal on the topic of Trusting God in marriage. We need wisdom, creativity, and an outline.

2. Time to refresh our hearts with the Lord amist the busyness of life.

3. Guidance with training up our kids...consistency, character, and transformation.

Thank you and His blessings,

Kelly

Life is never boring!

2008-01-16T12:25:00.000-08:00

Hello All,
Stanford is the Nordstroms of Cancer treatment centers! Wow! Although the wait and drive were long, we were thankful to get even greater clarification about T-Cell, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. And thankful for a new friend that we met there who shared with us that she is a witch. She gave us her e-mail address and I look forward coresponding with her.

Kelly was a bit discouraged in that there really are not many conventional methods of treating this disease. Same drugs, different combinations and/or sequences. Although his bone marrow biopsy was clear and he is considered to be in remission, according to protocol, he is far from cured and it is far from even being something to rejoice over.

Don't get me wrong, the doctors all concur that it is "good" that Kelly is in remission in light of the fungus (if he were not, he would be dead). But the doctors believe that Kelly is far from being done with treatment (about 2 more years of chemo).

At this point our biggest request is that prayers are lifted up asking our Father to give clear direction at to what He wants us to do. Personally, I cant' explain why I have such a confidence in what Violet Huckelbarry and Claudia Eller said, (see previous blog entries.) I believe that some time in or after March Kelly will again baffle the doctors with the miraculous recovery they witness and they will not be able to say that Kelly is a poster child for any medications or procedures but that his recovery is nothing but a clear sign that God is alive, involved and desires to show Himself strong on our behalf and sometimes He heals our physical diseases!

My heart longs to have the Lord speak directly to Kelly. He has been through so much this last year and for those of you that know him, you know that he is a work horse and lives, very much in the present. I believe that his heart needs an extended time of solitude in order to process what he has gone through and "feel" it. Then I believe that he will hear from the Lord. Now I know that the Lord can speak whenever and however He desires but I also know that scripture gives us this pattern of the discipline of solitude as we seek His voice.

I have shared this with Kelly and he thinks that a time away would be nice but that there is not time for it. I told him that we just need to ask Jesus if that is what He wants and if it is... He will make the way.

Thank you for your continued love and support through this journey we are on. Praise be to God who is faithful beyond belief, gracious and merciful and is able exceedingly, abundantly beyond what we ask for or even think!! We serve and awesome God.

P.s. Another praise!!! We had a huge scare last night. Anneliese was coming down with, what seemed to be, a cold and was restless through the night. I brought her to our room at about 1 in the morning and at about 2 o-clock I felt her jerk her little body and then stop breathing. Kelly turned on the light and our precious little Anneliese was staring up at the ceiling, pupils dilated, not blinking, stiff body and not breathing. We called 911 and as her lips turned blue, I breathed some breaths for her and then prayed life over her and that if there was any demonic activity that they would be sent to the feet of Jesus for their judgment. She slow began to breath again then the ambulance took her to Children's Hospital (just so happens to be the very next exit from our house. Amazing!) The doctors told us that she had a Febrile Seizure. Her temperature was at 105 and had spiked too quickly that her little body didn't know what to do, consequently, the seizure. We learned that this is not so uncommon for young children, (5 and younger 1 in 200 chance) but that now she will have a 1 in 25 chance of seizuring again. Scary at first then the Lord reminded me, through my dear friend, Tammy Delisle, that God is still on His throne and in control and I refuse to bow to fear. I will only bow to Jesus!! Thank you Lord!

2008-01-14T14:54:00.000-08:00

Oh dear friends and family,
We are so sorry to not have updated our blog recently. Right now we are about to leave to speak with a Leukemia specialist at Stanford. We don't have any updates with the fungus or the cancer. Things have actually been busy with "normal life" kind on stuff. Birthday for Andrew, kick off or community groups new session, homework, play dates for our kids... oh how sweet life can be. We love all of you and appreciate your prayers. We will let everyone know what the specialists say.
OH!!! Side note... A family from our church has given us a 3 day trip to Disneyland!! We hope to go the week on Jan. 20th. Pray for Kelly, (stamina, endurance) Lots of Love, Gabriela

We Wait...

2007-12-17T07:32:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

We hope your holiday is filled with peace. We are continually feeling His peace and it's because of how gracious our God is and because of your prayers and encouragement. Thank you...

We are at a waiting point in my recovery. Our Oncologist wouldn't really comment on the cleared Biopsy. He doesn't want us to abort the chemo treatment and feels the present remission will not last and the Leukemia will return. He would not comment on the differences between the remission in August where the cancer was present but not advancing to the present cleared results showing that there are no Leukemia cells in the biopsy. This was disappointing, but I understand his position and medical training. I have requested a second opinion to Stanford Medical Center.

The fungal infection in the brain dura is hopefully diminishing with the medication. Tests are still being done to see if I should/could be on both fungal medications to knock it out. The Docs on the case are discussing neurosurgery if the fungal mass increases. A future MRI is planned, but as long as the symptoms of headache and neck pain don't increase, we will give the medication some time to work.

I have been pondering Psalms 86 a lot over the last week or so. It's a prayer of David's to hear God's voice for direction. During much of the last 8 months it's been hard for me to hear God. Between the physical fatigue, hospital medications, and my own personal dealing with cancer and a deathly fungal infection, it frankly has been hard to be intimate with God - to the point of hearing Him. Please don't take this as me being carnal spiritually. It has more to do with grieving the losses of this illness and how it has turned our world up side down. I think it something you need to experience to understand. I feel God's love, peace, and presence daily. I just don't hear Him regarding the cancer or fungus. Do I follow the Docs direction (which has saved my life, but also placed me in life threatening positions) or by faith receive the guidance of prayer through biblical prophecy? Or both, yet how? I'm abit confused. That's why your prayers have been so important. I have had several people share that they have heard from God, including Gabriela, that I will be healed from this and even as soon as by March 2008. That doesn't align with what the docs say or the treatments that they are advising.

I am at a place where I personally need to hear from God. That's why Psalm 86 has been my prayer and will continue to be my prayer as I seek Him. Honestly, this is very new for me. I need more than circumstantial alignment or fleecing (as many use to hear from God). I desire that the still small voice that Elijah experienced. I don't know if God will speak to me that way, but He will speak. Pray I have spiritual eyes and ears to hear it.

Again, thank you for your prayers...there's a warfare going on and I need you to stand with me.

His blessings,

Kelly

Doc...amazed and calls me a poster child!

2007-12-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

We traveled to San Jose and met with Dr. David Stephen, an Infectious Disease M.D. He and another doc spent over 2 hours with us. He was frankly amazed when he saw me expecting a emaciated sickly person and instead seeing a health looking person. You honestly wouldn't know I was sick with a deadly infection. The fungal infection I had in the lungs and sinus is one, if not the worst, fungal infection you can get and is often fatal. He told us that my case was one of the more complicated cases he has seen. He basically said I should be dead if not very sick. He used the word miraculous to describe my present condition (Your prayers are responsible for that - thank you!!).

The infection in the lungs and sinus is clearing up well. The brain dura's infection is in line with my sinus, so it is pretty clear that my swelling is due to the infection crossing into my dura. It's isolated away from the nervous system and not in the brain. It seems to be contained and not progressing at this time. Mucor is a very fast moving infection and would have been much worst if something wasn't restricting it. The thought is the medicine and my immune system are working well. I believe the Lord's gracious hand is also at work.

The course of action is to continue on the medicine while the Doc is seeing if he can test my original "bug" with the Ambizone (a drug I was on that was worst than any chemo I received) would be helpful to take with the present medicine to fight this infection faster. He is also testing how much absorption the medicine is actually getting into the blood system. I have increased the medicine and now wait.

I am experiencing some neck discomfort and head pressure which acts as a reminder that I am dependent on the Lord. The Doc says I will probably need to be on anti fungal therapy (drugs) for a year. Gabriela keeps reminding me that the Lord gave us a "word" that I would be completely healed by March (read earlier blog entry about Violet Huckleberry and Claudia Eller). It would clearly be the hand of God to see this all cleared up by March 2008. Then the question for us is what does this mean. Do we continue to pursuit a bone marrow transplant? The chemo regiment? or just continue with the supplements and dietary changes?

Please pray with us as we seek God's voice. We believe He will speak and guide us. He always has in the big decisions of our lives. How does He want to bring glory to Himself though this? That's what we are seeking to know clearly. THANK YOU FOR PRAYING AND ENCOURAGING US.

Love you all,

Kelly

Oh, went back to the gym for the first time in 8 months. It was painful and will be tomorrow, but so good for my soul. I praise God for His grace and presence!

Good NEWS...Clear Biopsy!!!!

2007-12-05T08:54:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

I have an appointment with an infectious disease doc in San Jose to give us a second opinion on how to address the swelling in the brain dura. My last MRI showed no change for better or worst. The doc here just doesn't know what the answer is to treating this. We don't know if it's the fungal infection or something else and there is no way of really knowing without brain surgery which we agree would be foolish at this time. I am not having any physical symptoms from this swelling so hopefully this specialist in San Jose will have some direction to give us.

I also had a bone marrow biopsy a week ago and unofficially was told that the preliminary results show that the bone marrow is "clear" of cancer. We don't know exactly what that means, but it definitely means that we are in remission. The bone marrow being clear of Leukemia means that the cancer is not being produced in my body. It's possible that it could mean that I don't have Leukemia cells in the blood and at present I am cancer free!!! This would be great goods and I won't find out until next week when I see the Oncologist. Praise God. My last biopsy in August showed that the cancer was present but hadn't increased since my diagnosis. I haven't had any chemo sense that biopsy because of the fungal situation and the surgeries. I personally believe that the food supplements I was on put my body in a self healing mode. God created our body to fight diease when there is a proper nutritional balance in the body. For the 6 weeks before the biopsy I was taking high doses of these supplements because other people had given testimony that their bodies experienced similar results with cancer. We are in awe!!!

We are so thankful for the prayers, encouragement, and support that many have given us. We are not out of the woods completely, but seeing the meadow of healing ahead. God is amazing in the way He created us. We are feeling very blessed and loved. REJOICE WITH US and give God PRAISE for His marvelous grace!

We will report on today's appointment and the doc's advice. Keep praying for us. It was hard to get use to the idea of cancer and possible death. It's seem hard to see life as a cancer survivor. We don't have that prognosis yet, but pondering the hope feels so odd at present. Can I begin to hope, dream, plan our lives again? What additional stewardship would the Lord ask of us? I can't express what feeling such hope brings to my soul.

We love you all,

Kelly

update

2007-11-16T19:57:00.000-08:00

We received a call from our infectious disease specialist who said that after looking at Kelly's MRI he realized that the issue in the durum was worse then he had thought it was after only reading the report. He feels that an much more aggressive treatment is needed at this time. He wants Kelly to go back on the original fungal medicine, Amphataracine. Kelly said that this medication is far worse then Chemo. Dr.Lutz wants Kelly to be on it for a month, every day. It is a daily 3 hour infusion process.

Well, you can imagine that this was not good news and very frustrating. Kelly feels strongly that he doesn't want to go back on this med., (Last time he was on it, it damaged his kidneys and made him feel horrible.). Kelly also believes that since there is not definite evidence it is the fungus that is effecting the durum, he doesn't want to be treated with guess work.

The only way to know for sure what is going on is through a pathology which can only happen if they open Kelly's skull and the doctors have said that it is too much of a risk. Both our infectious disease specialist and Oncologist are on the same page as to what they feel we need to do at this point.

The Oncologist also felt that it was vital that Kelly feel confident about the course of treatment and that it would be a good idea and helpful to get another opinion. So... we are being sent to San Jose to see a specialist with Mucor Micosis.

We were also told that Kelly's blood counts look great!!!(Thank you Jesus!)Indicating that he is likely still in remission and this gives us some breathing room to address the fungus issues. The Oncologist also said that it would be a good idea to go and see a Leukemia specialist at Stanford at some point.

We feel good about these decisions and feel peace and confidence in the Lord. He is in control of EVERYTHING! and we praise Him for it.
Thank you again for your prayers! Please pray for direction, God's internal work in our hearts, like mindedness and of course healing.

2007-11-15T11:21:00.000-08:00

Hello dear family and friends,

Kelly went to our infectious disease doctor yesterday. We asked if the increase of inflammation in the durum was a sign that the fungal medication might not be reaching the sight. Our doctor said that that could be possible but that he felt the increase in inflammation was due to the fact that Kelly's immune system has been built up and is now simply fighting harder. Time will tell.
These next few weeks will be very telling. Kelly has a bone marrow biopsy on Wednesday and the first week in Dec. he will have a CT scan to check his lungs and sinus for fungus and an MRI to check the durum in this head to see if there is any improvement. Once we have collected all that information we will need to make a decision regarding what is next for treatment.
Of course our hope is that God will have used the nutritional supplements that Kelly has been taking to greatly help Kelly's body to do some self healing. Ultimately our hope is, as has always been, in God. We believe that God is healing Kelly.

Right now our prayer continues to be that the fungus will die off and that Kelly's bone marrow will be restored to produce healthy, mature white blood cells. We also continue to pray for direction with regards to treatment.

I am also praying about the work that Jesus in doing in our lives personally. I am convinced that every situation in life holds opportunity for us to grow in our Christ likeness and that it is His desire that we come into greater and greater freedom. I am excited about the future ministry opportunities that God is preparing us for now. Please pray for us that we would be willing participants in the work God is doing in us and not resist Him or miss the opportunities by being too distracted by "life" things.

Please also pray for Kelly today. His sinuses are really bothering him. We don't know if he is fighting a cold or if the fungus is acting up. He sees an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor this afternoon to check it out.

We love and appreciated all your prayers and concern. Sincerely, Gabriela

2007-11-08T16:34:00.000-08:00

We met with the neurologist yesterday and were very surprised to hear that Kelly's scan was worse than the one taken 6 weeks ago. The lining in his head, Durum, was even more swollen. This was a bit confusing because the sinuses and his lungs show a definite improvement with the new medication and he also has not continued to have headaches. We were both a bit discouraged yesterday.

We see our infections disease specialist next week and will hear what he thinks is needed. Kelly is feeling a bit frustrated and somewhat like a Ginnie pig.

Thank you for your prayers. We trust God is intimately involved and we look forward to seeing how He will resolve the brain issue. The good news is that the fungus is not in the brain tissue and Kelly will have another MRI in four weeks.

Thanks again for your prayers.
Sincerely, Gabriela

Word of encouragement

2007-11-03T22:03:00.000-07:00

Hello dear friends,

We had a great time away! The beach was beautiful and our dear friends, the Shamshoian's lent us their amazing beach house. It was refreshing to my soul to look out over the ocean and see the sun shinning on the water and remember how my Father loves me. Our kids had a fantastic time playing on the beach and my mom graciously kept us with our crazy life. Her visit was a joy and blessing. Kelly had a bit of a hard time dealing with his limitations physically and grieved not being able to be the husband and father he is used to being. We adore him regardless and were so thankful for the time away together.

Kelly met with our doctor and scheduled a bone marrow biopsy for the week of Thanks Giving. We are praying specifically now that God will restore Kelly's bone marrow to health since that is where abnormal white blood cells, (Leukemia) are being formed. We are also praying for direction, as to what the next step will look like for treatment.

Kelly also had an MRI this last week and we will get the results some time this week. We will learn if the lining in his brain is still swollen which the neurologist suspected was caused by the presence of the fungus. The good news is that he has not had any headaches since his lung surgery, except for the ones he says I have given him, (ha, ha, he is such a funny guy!!!)

I have had the opportunity to share with some of you what a wonderful thing God did for us on the day of Kelly's lung surgery and I want to share it with all of our family and friends who are praying for us.

While we were in pre-op, waiting for Kelly's surgery, a sweet little old lady dressed in a lavender suit with pink lipstick and her hair all done up nicely, came by Kelly's bed and asked if she could pray with us. She must have been in her 80's and as sweet as can be. We said yes then she took Kelly's hand and asked him if he knew the Lord Jesus and his personal Savior. He said,"yes Mam, I do." She then told us a bit of her story of how she began praying for people before surgery after her husband had died and how she loves doing it. So began her prayer... in the middle of praying she stopped and said, ooh, ooh. We looked up at her and she said, "I have never felt such a strong presence of the Lord before in anyone. Do you feel that?" Kelly looked at her then at me and I could tell that he really didn't feel anything different. She apologized and went on praying that his surgery would go well and that the doctors would have skill and so on..., then stopped again and said, "A word of the Lord always needs to be confirmed. I believe that the Lord is saying that you will not die from this. God will use this in many peoples lives to bring glory to Himself and you will be healed in six months time." Then she added exhortively, "God is healing you and you just need to accept it and give thanks."

Well, I grew up in a wonderful christian church that was very conservative and was kind of warned that charismatic type of things can be dangerous because they can be swayed by emotion so I haven't had much exposure to such things as a "word from the Lord" I believe that God does speak to us through His word and I know my personal time with Jesus has been very intimate as I have sensed Him impress things on my heart, but there was something different with this lady.

First, she didn't know what kind of health issues Kelly was having or that his life was even threatened. She didn't know if he was in for his appendix or brain surgery. She didn't know that the week prior to this surgery Kelly had been in a place of resignation and afraid to get his hopes up that God would heal him because he didn't want to be disappointed. She didn't know that Kelly was in a position to influence many people to bring God glory.

All these things got my attention and at the end of our prayer time she looked at me and said,"You look as if you were expecting this." And I was expecting a miracle that day.

Aside from the blessing of what she said, since that day I have been delivered from all fear and anxiety. If you know me, you know how huge this is. All my life I've lived like the character, Much Afraid, from Hinds Feet on High Places with fear and anxiety as my constant companions. I felt, for as long as I can remember, a dark cloud linger just around the corner of my heart stealing my peace and joy and I have prayed constantly that the Lord would help me to walk in His truth. It has been over a month and I have not had a moment of fear or anxiety. I used to hope that Kelly would be healed and believed God can do anything but now I have assurance that God will heal him.

About 4 weeks later, a friend from church told me that on that same day and at the same time of day, (between 2 and 3 in the afternoon) she had been walking and praying out on the beach for Kelly the day of his surgery. She began with this statement, "A word of the Lord always needs to be confirmed." Then she said that the Lord told her that Kelly's illness was not unto death but for the glory of God and that God will also use this trial to heal me of trust issues that I've had.

I praise God for these women and the freedom and encouragement I have received. Kelly and I believe what they have told us but are still humbly seeking God's direction. Our dependency on Him is sure and He is showing Himself to be steadfast on a daily basis for us and our kids. Thank you again for all your prayers and for taking the time to read my extra long blog today. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you my favorite part.

The little old lady's name is Violet Huckelberry. (She gave me her business card.) How sweet is that!!!

It's working...

2007-10-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

Great news yesterday. The fungus is disappearing. Whether the anti-fungal med and/or the supplements, who knows, but the doc was very excited. I'll know more specifics on Monday when I see him. I was able to put in a full week of work this week and feeling much better. Thanks for your continued prayers.

Gabriela's mother flies in tonight for a couple weeks and next weekend we are getting away to the coast for three days. We are looking forward to a little R&R. We will keep you posted as we approach the chemo decision in November. I am really praying that the nutritional supplements cause my body to do some drastic self healing before I see the Oncologist.

His blessings to you,

Kelly

Trying something different...

2007-10-13T11:09:00.000-07:00

Hey Friends,

It's been a different week coming of the narcotics. Nasty stuff. I feel like a druggie. We have about 3 to 4 weeks before we will be starting chemo, should the fungus look like it is in check. We have been using a nutritional supplement program while taking chemo that we believe has allowed me to keep most of my hair and deal with the side effects relatively well.

We became aware that this supplemental product in large doses has had some amazing results in helping the body to self-heal itself in a relatively short time (6 week regiment). After much prayer and gathering a team of wise people in our care circle, we are going to attempt this supplemental program for four to 6 weeks. We have 3 weeks before the chemo can start and will try to hold our doctor off a fourth week, before doing a bone marrow biopsy to determined the state of the cancer.

We have heard testimony of people being completely self-healed with the same cancer and fungus that I have. In the past I tended to disregard such products, but the evidence is very difficult to dismiss. Some friends have stepped up to pay for the supplements (over $4000) for a 6 week supply. Regardless of the results we will need to continue chemo in order to qualify for a bone marrow transplant. Our hope is this product will react with my body to fight the cancer and fungus, so that the chemo regiment might be shortened.

Pray with us as we attempt this alternative approach. We would love to see it have as favorable results as it has on thousands of other people. The supplement don't claim to heal, but to place the body in a position to self-heal. It makes more sense to me than killing my body with toxins hoping that enough good cells remain to restore the body (Chemo).

Just wanted you to know and ask for specific prayer. Thanks.

Kelly

I'm down to my college weight...WOW!!

2007-10-09T20:45:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

We apologize for not being better at updating and are so overwhelmed by the number of you that regularly read this and pray for us. It amazes me...it shouldn't because we are the body of Christ, but it does. Thank you for dropping us a line of encouragement on the blog.

Yes it is true! I have dropped to my College and Air Force weight of 197. I have to admit I don't have the same College physic. The worst is having a sagging butt. I never had to ware a belt, but did for fashion etiquette. Now if I don't ware a belt my pants fall off. It is actually quite humorous to look at myself with the newly added scar from the lobectomy. Maybe it's the loss of my lower lobe that broke that 200 lb. mark (joking).

The surgery went well and after a week of rest, I'm winded, but feeling able to work a bit. They graciously allow me to come into the office and look busy. I have a wonderful church family. Today was a difficult day emotionally and I was able to breakdown with the pastoral staff and they just loved on me, spoke truth, and help me further process the grieving process as I deal with the temporary loss of strength and stamina. I am so appreciative for them...just amazing men. In sharing this with Gabriela, she cried with gratitude that the Lord brought to this church to walk this journey. It's all and more than I could hope for.

The kids are doing well. Andrew loves to read and is starting the Narnia Series. Sarah is finding her place at school and struggling a bit social. She is so strong and can be overwhelming to her playmates. Please pray for her adjustment. Brianna with her beautiful curl always wants to plaster her hair flat and part it down the middle, (oh, that 70's look, yuck.) She is probably too influenced by her Barbie Princess videos. I need to write them and ask for a curly haired princess in there next product line. And Annaliese...as cute as can be learning too quickly from having older sibling all the bad habits as well as the good ones. All and all their are enjoying life and pray for "papa" everyday. They are a delight!

Gabriela is my best friend and a jewel of godliness and support. She is feeling God's comfort in some neat ways that I'll let her share with you. Her mom is flying in from Mexico for a visit tomorrow which is always a blessing.

Regarding our next segment in this journey, I meet with my oncologist this week and we with set up a start date and regiment of chemo treatments. The concern is the remaining bits of fungus in my lungs and head. Starting chemo could aloud the fungus to grow and spread. The hope is this new medication will keep the fungus in check and we can get through the chemo and find remission. Pray that this will be the case.

Again, thanks for the prayers and encourage. It means more than you know.

Love - Kelly

2007-09-25T00:09:00.001-07:00

Hello dear family and friends,
What a day! Kelly's surgery went as planned and the doctor removed his lower lobe and a small amount of the middle and upper lobes. The doctor said that the mass was the size of a tennis ball and that the hope now is that without this absest in his lung, Kelly's body will now fight the fungus and pneumonia better. Kelly has a painful week ahead of recovery but, tonight he was thankful for epidurals! (I know how that feels!) I would love to share more of the special things God did for us this day but I have four little ones who will need me early in the morning so I must go to bed. We are so thankful for the prayers of the saint!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are bless and encouraged beyond what you can imagine. Thank you Jesus for how you love us through your people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sincerely, Gabriela

Don't dispair...there's a lot of hope!

2007-09-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

Hi friends,

The last blog entry reflects the despair of our hearts, but doctors always give the worst case scenario to prep their patients. We visited with the neurosurgeon today and it seems that the lining membranes that cover the brain are swollen. Because this lining backs up to the sinus, he believes it is the fungus that is causing the swelling. The good news is that the barrier between this lining and the brain tissue is durable and the fungus at this time isn't a threat to the brain.

I have started a new medication that has shown to combat the fungus. So we will give this medication sometime and in a month have another MRI to compare the brain linings. We are also hopeful that the medicine will help with the random spots on the lungs.

We are scheduled for surgery to remove my right lower lobe of my lung on Monday. I really don't relish the idea of parting with body parts, but this seem to be the only means to get me to a place to resume the chemo treatments.

Other encouraging new came today as several people committed to cover our medical co pays, which is money we don't have and would have had to nickle and dime payments to honor them. We have a very gracious support base in our church and it constantly overwhelms me. We are so blessed to be part of this body of believers. I honestly am baffled by this. I know I shouldn't be as a pastor, but I am.

I am feeling pretty good and working whenever I'm not seeing a doctor or visiting the hospital for a test. The lung surgery will set us back a month or so, but hopeful after this we will be able to get back on track and get cancer free.

So many of you have called alarmed by the last blog entry. Thank you and know that once again God is strengthening and encouraging us daily. Your prayers and concern touch me deeply and you are teaching me how to be a better lover of people.

For His glory,

Kelly

2007-09-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

Well, we were warned that this would be an emotional roller coaster. Monday and Tuesday were especially difficult days for us. We learned that Kelly's MRI came back abnormal and that there is swelling intra cranially. He has been having head aches. It is possible that the fungus has traveled into his head. The scan showed that the brain matter is clean of fungus for now but that there is extra fluid. We also learned that Kelly's spot in his right lung has grown and is growing fast. They have done a broncoscopy and a needle biopsy and they were inconclusive. Kelly will be having lung surgery Monday and the doctors expect to remove between 40 to 65% of his right lung. There are other spots on his lungs and if it is the fungus, the infectious disease specialist be lives his current medication will treat it. We meet with a Nero Surgeon tomorrow. We expect that they will want to take out some of the fluid and see if it is fungus and if so, implant a shunt and treat is for several months.

Oh dear family and friends, this hit us hard. We thought the fungus issues were behind us. "We would have despaired unless we had believed that we would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." (Ps.27) Honestly we were pretty hopeless for the last two days and yet, God as blessed us with His presence and we are at peace. Things are not looking good but things did not look good for the Israelites when God told them to cross the Jordan river when the river was flooding onto the river banks. Our God is mighty, strong and The great physician. Ps. 27 ends with "Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord." And so we wait in Him.

It is my prayer that God would do a miracle and spare, not only Kelly's life but also his lung and brain just like He did his eye and sinus cavities. I know you will join us in prayer, thank you thank you thank you!!!!

This is what we know today. Our battle is not against flesh and blood, (fungus and cancer) but against principalities of the air and evil forces that are at work around us. Kelly is alive today, (and for that matter, so are we), God is our Good Shepherd, His grace is sufficient. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. He has commanded us to bring our requests before Him and so we do and in my years of walking with Jesus, as I have brought my requests before Him, He has been faithful to align my heart to His and for now, we both want Kelly to live for many more years.

Be encouraged dear friends and family, we are by many of you who have called and written us telling us that you are praying. How very blessed we are.

Living moment by moment in His presence, Gabriela

Good new!

2007-09-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

It is so nice to share good news.
God has answered our prayers! Kelly got the results from the bone marrow biopsy and the leukemia has stayed put this whole last month while we have been battling the fungus!!! This was tremendous news. The main concern, besides the fact that the fungus kills most people, is that while Kelly's body was being stimulated to produce white blood cells rapidly in order to kill the fungus, we feared that his body would be producing leukemic cells (which are abnormal white blood cells). So... the fungus is no longer in his sinus' and the doctors seem to think that we have the upper hand on it and... the cancer is considered to be in remission! This does not mean that he is cancer free. We will resume chemo in a couple of weeks and begin where we left off. The reason this is so significant is that each set back to treatment lowers the percentage of survivability and although we have had many bumps in the road, we have not been set back! Thank you Lord!!! Kelly will be speaking with a lung specialist to determine when and if surgery is needed, (the spot on his lung might be scar tissue or fungus or pneumonia???) The results from his lung biopsy will be clearer this week.

On a personal note, we were able to go to Jackie and Lee's wedding! What a blessed event and beautiful bride! We stayed with our good friends, the Johnson's and had a great weekend. Thank you all so much for your prayers and please, please, please don't stop. Sincerely, Gabriela
Prayer requests - Staff infection in sinus', pneumonia, stamina (especially this weekend while I am on a women's retreat.)

2007-09-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
Kelly is having a needle biopsy done on his lung this morning. The results will determine weather the dark spot in his lung is the fungus or dead tissue from the fungus. They will also decide weather or not to do surgery. We don't know when chemo begins again but hope to find out soon. Kelly looks noticeably better to me but, he is still feeling extremely fatigued and pretty yucky.
Thank you for your continued prayers, love and support. Please pray for Kelly's heart. It has been very draining and disheartening to feel so bad, so consistently.
On a lighter note, we are hopping to go to Redlands this weekend to attend Jackie Williams and Lee Maas' wedding! We are so excited for them!
Lots of love, Gabriela

2007-08-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

Quick up date.
Kelly met with his ENT, (ear, nose, and throat) doctor yesterday. He confirmed to Kelly that God indeed had answered our prayers. He told Kelly that the fungus was only an inch away from possibly being very grave. We continue to praise God for sparing his life. A sinus swab was taken, (oh, what fun!) to check on the fungus. We are hoping that the results will be clear and we can get back to the chemo treatments. (Hopping to get back to chemo sounds crazy! I guess it would be better said that we want to move forward.)
Personally I am praying and expecting that the fungus will be cleared and that we will not have lost any ground with the cancer. Kelly has been taking some supplements from Mannetach and trying to eat according to the Makers Diet book. I say trying because his appetite is not good with the fungus treatment. I am encouraged that we are giving Kelly's body all that we can in order for it to fight off the fungus and cancer.
We, of course, covet your prayers. Also, we want you to know that your comments on the blog are a huge encouragement. Thank you for walking with us through this journey.
Love, Gabriela and Kelly

2007-08-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

Hello dear family and friends.
Well, we certainly are learning a lot about ourselves through this process and one of the things I am learning is that I isolate when I am struggling. Sorry that we have not been updating the blog. It has been a hard week emotionally. This week has been uneventful in all the right ways, (Kelly is at home and able to work somewhat) and eventful in all the right ways, (Andrew and Sarah started school and they are loving it.) Brianna and I are lonely without them at home and Anneliese could care less. We are so thankful that they are going to a great school and beginning to make friends.
Kelly is very tired but functioning. The fungus treatment is worse then the chemo as far as side effects goes but, we are getting through it. We are both weary. Kelly is tired of being tired and feeling sick and I am deflated and tired. I guess there is an underlying concern about the timing of the fungus dieing and the cancer returning. We have been told that Kelly might have to have lung surgery before chemo begins again in order to remove any dead tissue from what they suspect the fungus has killed. They will do a biopsy first.
Anyway... I think we are grieving the loss of life as it used to be and we are being stretch in what Jesus meant to take His yolk upon us and learn from him because he is gentle and humble of heart and then we will find rest for our souls. We also are learning what it means to be thankful when we encounter various trial knowing that our faith is being tested and that we are producing endurance. Its strange how we have known these verses for so long and even lived them to some degree and yet they feel new again.
We continue to remember that our battle is not against flesh and blood, (fungus and leukemia) and we are standing firm in Christ alone. He is truly our strength and we praise Him for it. We covet your prayers. Please believe God is sustaining us through them. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!

Some old friends have asked us to post our address so here it is.

Kelly and Gabriela Rosenthal
824 E. Buckhill Rd.
Fresno, CA 93720
(559)434-7731

It's a waiting game...

2007-08-19T14:58:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

There has not been much to post in the last week. I have been off the chemo so that my white blood cell count would increase to fight the fungal infection. I may have another week or two of antibiotics treatments before we know anything. Meanwhile the sinuses are still recovering from the surgery and I am thankful for pain meds.

The Doc wants to biopsy the pneumonia in my lung and if fungal, he will want to remove that small portion of the lung (Oh boy, another surgery and hospital stay). If it's not fungal in nature than we continue to treat it with antibiotics and the chemo treatments can continue. So that's where thing stand at this time.

I'm back to work which has been very nice and now racing to get ready for the Fall kick-off of small groups. I'm praying for gifted couples to lead 10 new groups. Finding them and training them will be a big task between now and September.

Gabriela is dealing with a lot these days. We decided to enroll Andrew and Sarah in public school this year with the many challenges ahead of us. This is extremely hard for Gabriela because she loves to home school and be the primary influencer on our kids. We believe public school will be good for both Andrew and Sarah and that they have a good foundation to stand firm in the faith. Still it will be another adjustment for us.

We are so encouraged by the cards, blog postings, and calls we receive from many of you. The Lord has done some amazing things that Gabriela will likely share in our next blog. Prayer changes things and we have witnessed it over and over again. Thank you.

His blessings,

Kelly

There's no place like home....

2007-08-12T11:37:00.000-07:00

Hey Friend,

Released from the hospital last night. It's so good to be home. Though the hospital stay was essential (two surgeries, two 4 bags of platelets, and 5 units of blood), it was really hard on the kids to have me gone for 11 days. I am thankful and amazed at how God provided my sister-in-law from Washington to be vacationing at Bass Lake over this time frame. She has two teenage daughters and two younger boys. They stayed with Gabriela on both sides of my hospital stay which was a great blessing for my kids. It also allowed for Gabriela to have a lot of flexibility(as well as great support).

I also am so blessed with a wonderful Community Group that provided daily childcare while the relatives were in Bass Lake. They consistently are there at every turn. I can't be more proud of the way they are expressing Jesus and a biblical approach to being the church in this world. Thank you my dear friends.

Personally, I thank you for your prayers. I feel God's presence and see His hand, yet I confess that my heart is having a very hard time focusing on Him or anything other than the pain and healing process. The fungus mediation is more brutal on me physically than the chemo. I will be taking that every other day until the infection is gone. Dr. Passcuzzo wants to start up the chemo ASAP so that we don't lose ground, but the Infectious Disease Doctor wants all that to wait until the fungal infection is cleared up. My white blood cell count is up and fighting the infection as well as the pneumonia in my chest. Starting chemo would kill those white blood cells.

I am asking God to clear up the infection quickly, and that my sines would heal. They are still discharging blood and stuff that is also being forced by into my hears. It's painful to blow and my fear is that I will end up with infections in my ears. So that is another important request.

I am not one to complain much, but the battle is wearing on me. Keep interceding.

Thankful,

Kelly

2007-08-07T21:56:00.000-07:00

We thank God in our every remembrance of you all.
Today was a good day. Kelly had his second sinus surgery. We were concerned over the possibility of loosing his sight in his left eye. The fungus was around the eye and an optometrist was going to possibly remove the floor of the eye and insert a catheter in order to inject the fungus medicine directly around the eye.
Well if you don't believe that God answers prayer, no offence but you are wrong. Many had been praying that God would remove the fungus and surprise the doctors and basically that's what happened. The optometrist came out of the OR only 10 min. after entering and, with a smile on his face said the the eye was no longer swollen shut as it had been for a week and that there was no need to do his part of the procedure.
The ENT, (ear, nose and throat) doctor worked on Kelly for almost 2 hours and once again cleaned out the sinuses and implanted catheters just beneath the inner part of Kelly's eyebrows so the medicine can go directly through the sinuses.
The other great praise is that the pathology for the lungs came back negative for the fungus. He does have pneumonia but so far no fungus.
It seem that the fungus has stopped progressing, which is what the medicine is supposed to do but Kelly's body needs to begin producing white blood cells in order to kill the fungus. His white blood cells are almost non-existent, which is what the chemo was supposed to be doing so... now we wait for his body to grow white blood cells and kill the fungus.
Kelly and I are very encouraged by today's outcome and see God's hand directly upon us and we are so grateful for all of your prayers. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
Sincerely, Gabriela

Doctors comments

2007-08-05T07:14:00.000-07:00

Good new, you made it through the surgery well in spite of the low blood counts. Bad news, it is a fungus and it is the worst kind. Good news, it is treatable and the prognosis is positive. Bad news, it will be a long hospital stay, minimum one week or more. There will also be more sinus surgeries, at least two, to clean out area. There is also concern that the pneumonia is back and that the fungus might have made it's way into the right lung which will require more treatment. Chemo is suspended until the fungus clears.
Good news,
God is good.
He is faithful.
His strength is perfected in our weaknesses.
His grace is sufficient.
His love is perfect.
His is trustworthy and beautiful!

Prayer requests? Many needs, don't know where to begin. Please pray that the whole family will know God's presence and continue to walk with thankfulness to God for His goodness and faithfulness. Please pray for all the physical needs Kelly has, (The pain is quite severe) and for his doctors to have wisdom. Please pray for the kids, they will not get to see Kelly for a while and I will be away from them more then usual. Please pray I will have stamina and stay healthy.
With much thankfulness for your love and prayers, Gabriela
!

2007-08-02T22:50:00.000-07:00

Kelly is still in hospital, dealing with great pain and awaiting sinus surgery. He is scheduled for Friday at 7:00 a.m. to have his sinuses flushed out and to get a culture to see weather the infection is bacterial or fungal. Our doctor said that Kelly most likely will be in the hospital through the weekend and chemo will resume by the end of next week. It is a bit disappointing to be off schedule with treatment. Please pray that the leukemia will not build up resistance during that time. We are confidant that Dr. Pascuzzo is making the best decisions for treatment. He said that Kelly's body needs a break from the chemo so that his body can heal from this infection.
We are thankful that my sister-in-law, Amber, is in town with her kids this week. The visit was planned a while ago and again, God's timing is perfect. My nieces, Emily and Julie have been a huge help with the kids and that has enabled me to be with Kelly when I need to be. They leave Sat. and I will be sorry to see them go.
I want to thank you all again and again for your prayers and your faithfulness to us.
Sincerely, Gabriela

Bumb in the road

2007-08-01T23:59:00.001-07:00

Hello dear friends and family,
Kelly was hospitalized today. He was having tremendous sinus pressure for a couple of days and when he went in for treatment today the doctor decided that he had better be admitted. He got an MRI and it was determined that he has a severe sinus infection. Tomorrow they will go into his sinuses and extract a culture to see if the infection in bacterial or fungal. Please pray for Kelly as the pain is debilitating and please pray that the doctors will have wisdom as to how to best treat this infection. We are disappointed that treatment had to be suspended. There is a danger in that because we don't want to give the leukemia a chance to build any resistance to the chemo. We really don't have any idea how long this hospital stay will be or when chemo will resume. ANYWAY... I am so very thankful that the doctors finally found a drug that eased the pain at about 5:00 this evening. Kelly is resting comfortably and now it is time for me to go to bed :)
lots of love, Gabriela

A Wonderful Lord's Day...

2007-07-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Today was a wonderful day. Pastor Mitch was on vacation and I was given the service to encourage our body to become a community for our community. We pulled a group of folks together that have experienced the benefit of intentional community over the last 7 months in small groups. Their testimonies and stories pictured God at work in individuals and through doing life together. Between this and the worship it has been a great day.

Many of you were praying for us as preaching is not my primary giftedness, so I want you to know that your intercession sustained us. I woke this morning to needling pain in my knees that had me buckled over for 45 minutes. This is a side effect of the chemo (joint pain), but the first that I had really felt it. Gabriela jumped into action praying and then cared for me with ointments and heat. She's a great nurse and the pain dulled. Again, thankful for the prayers and God's gracious hand.

Another wonderful surprise today was that our friends the Delisle's drove down to support us. It was so rich to see them, feel their love, and enjoy a meal after the service. The picture is compliments of them of our service today.

It's somewhat difficult to write about yourself and feels unnatural. There is so much more about life and living in Christ that fills our days. I have been deeply encouraged by God with a renewed perspective regarding our calling as believers to be a reconciling agent in this world. The reality of my cancer had thrown me into a numbness that caused me to question what life was really about. I was identifying with Solomon that all really is vanity. Maybe you can relate and have felt the lack of motivation or passion in life. This went on for several weeks until the pain of the world around left me on my face before God. I poured my heart out and in the quietness that followed, He reminded me it's about taking back, restoring, renewing, what was stolen, marred, and broken through the fall. His heart is to reconcile the world to Himself using us as His hands, feet, mouthpiece, smile, etc. And in the process, we come into a richer knowledge and experience of His love for us. It's a simple truth and just what I have needed to move beyond myself.

I know that you will identify with the awesomeness of God. Let's pray together that we will be effective in our ministry of reconciliation regardless of our situation. It's so worth the battle.

Kelly

2007-07-25T22:13:00.000-07:00

Hello dear family and friends,
Kelly finishes his second week of four weeks of this new chemo tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers, they have truly sustained us! Kelly has had a very low red blood cell count this week which has made it difficult to function. He has been very tired and short of breath. In spite of this, he is tolerating the chemo very well. He is not feeling nauseous although the spinal chemo does give him a head ache.
We are very grateful that he was able to receive 4 units of blood this week and we are hoping it will give him enough energy to preach two services on Sunday! He will be preaching about one of his passion, Christ centered community. We would be so grateful if you would pray that he would not only have the stamina to preach but also that God would use him to communicate His heart.
Family life is going well. We celebrated Anneliese's second birthday on Tuesday. What a delight she is to our family. The kids and I have been enjoying the free summer movies at the local theater once a week and an incredible summer program at our library. We have also been able to go swimming at some friends houses and cool off a bit. Oh boy is it hot here in Fresno! Anyway...
I would appreciate prayer for my patience with our kids. There are days that I feel very much on edge. I do better when I remember that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and that what He has given me to do today is not too difficult or beyond my reach and finally, His strength is perfected in my weakness. What a mighty God He is and how extravagant is His love! Lots of love and thankfulness for you all, Gabriela

Good Week....

2007-07-20T08:43:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends - We apologize for not posting an entry in a week and so appreciate those that have called to inquire. It's been a good week. No hospitals or complications. It's been nice to be home. I have been into the church office all this week, enjoyed leading two Bible studies, and getting my head back into what I love doing. It's been wonderful.

The chemo treatments for the next 4 weeks are 4 days a week with two chemicals on Mondays. I have one week down....hey! I have tolerated the drug well, so that's encouraging (still have follicle integrity). No sickness, just move a little slower. So we are praising God and thankful to the great Oncology staff that care for us.

The kids are doing well, enjoying the summer and swimming. Gabriela carries a lot of the emotional load and is handling it well, but I would ask you to keep her in prayer as she continues to adjust our lives to best battle this cancer. She's an awesome lady and my best friend. We celebrate 12 years of marriage on Sunday. I am a blessed man!!!

Thanks you again for your prayer and encouragement. I daily feel the need for them as I contempt life with cancer. It's something I will share on the blog as I formulate my thoughts. What I can say is the sense God's presence and love through you all is transforming. I love you all.

If there is one specific request at present, it would be my weight loss. I have lost 35 lbs. and looking pretty good, but really need to keep muscle mass and weight on. Thank you. Well off to the office...boy that sounds good!!

His blessings,

Kelly

"I know the plans I have for you,,,"

2007-07-13T22:38:00.001-07:00

Another good day! Kelly was able to stay on schedule with his chemo in spite of the pneumonia. The doctor said that his lungs sounded as if they were on the mend but wants to keep a close eye on it. So please keep praying for the antibiotics to kill the infection in his lung and please also pray as we enter into our next induction of treatment. The next four weeks sound rather grewling. Chemo injections into his spin once a week, at the same time he will be taking chemo orally every day and receiving chemo intravenously four days a week. It sounds so daunting and yet I know that Jesus will be our strength! His grace is sufficient, He is know the plans He has for us. Plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future. What a comfort to know we are in His loving hands.

More updates

2007-07-11T23:18:00.000-07:00

Tonight was interesting. We found out that Kelly's blood is no longer low it's very, very high. No alarm, he is being monitored closely and is feeling well. Unfortunately, the doctor came in and informed us that Kelly has developed pneumonia. He said that there was a small patch of it in his right lung and he will be treated with antibiotics. We don't know how aggressive it is and we hope the antibiotics will take care of it. He will most likely be in the hospital through the weekend if all goes well.
I feel redundant thanking you all for your prayers, it's just that I truly covet them and I am so thankful for the body of Christ. I believe that there is power in prayer, He hears the prayers of His people! Sincerely, Gabriela

Praise and Thanks!

2007-07-11T15:57:00.000-07:00

We are so relieved that Kelly is doing well. It turns out that the symptoms for an infection are the same for low blood sugar. Kelly's body is unable, at present, to manage it's blood sugar. The doctors think this is due to some steroids that are being taken in conjunction with chemo. Kelly is in ICU at ST. Agnus Medical Center in Fresno and is getting his finger poked hourly. We understand that after being weened off the steroid, (Prednison) his body will balance out. The doctors are still treating him as if he had an infection as a precaution. I personally reflect on yesterday with much thankfulness. It was really scary to see Kelly go through what he went through but God's presence was so evident. He surrounded me with His people and His peace and I am so thankful that I belong to Him! Thank you for your prayers! Love, Gabriela

Prayer request

2007-07-10T17:09:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends & Family~

Kelly is back in the hospital this late afternoon due to an infection which is causing delirium.
Please pray for Kelly, Gabriela, and the kids... along with wisdom for the doctor's and nurses that are caring for Kelly.
Please pass the prayer request on if you are part of any prayer chains.

Thank you.

In His embrace

2007-07-08T20:28:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a weekend. We spent Sat. in the ER because Kelly woke up with a fever. It was scary because we did not know what to expect but, after about 6 or 7 hours in the ER, we got to come home! Thank you Jesus! Kelly's fever stayed low, (99.5) on Sun. and has had a little more energy. We were not able to go to church but God brought us some fellowship at home with the Shamshion's and the Kehoe's visiting with us for a while. Today was a good day and I am so thankful. I personally am learning what it means to rely on Jesus moment by moment. I've always cognitively understood that my every breath and heart beat have been dependant on God, but I don't think I have ever been so keenly aware of it as I am now. Nothing has changed. God is sovereign, He is good, His timing is perfect, we are in His hands, "all the days that were ordained for me were written in His book before there was even yet one ." It is all at once painful and peaceful to be in this place. Painful to let go of my illusions of control and peaceful because there is no other place I would rather be then in His truth and oh, how I love and praise Him for it. Thank you again and again for your prayers. Please pray that Brianna's sniffles don't infect Kelly or the rest of us. Resting in His peace, Gabriela

rough couple of days

2007-07-06T21:53:00.000-07:00

Hello Dear Family and Friends,
We have had a rough couple of days. Kelly is extremely fatigued and has some mouth sores that make it difficult to talk and eat. He has been resting the last couple of days. We have both been down-hearted as the reality of this settles in. We are not without God's peace, presence and love nor do we feel hopeless, we are just "feeling" our situation and thinking about what's to come. ANYWAY!!! We have had several good cries together as well as sweet times of prayer. We made it through today and tomorrow is another new day filled with God's mercy, strength and the promise of His presence. Oh, I can not imagine life without our Savior! We praise Him for His love and mercy to us. Thank you also for your prayers. They really do mean so much to us. Please pray for continued strength for both Kelly and I and please pray for our kid as they deal with seeing Papa feeling sick and really tired, I'm sure it is a bit scary for them. Love, Gabriela

I guess this stuff really works!!

2007-07-04T20:38:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends. Your prayers and encouragement, cards, and calls have been so helpful to us. Your love is amazing. I remember feeling somewhat guilty because I was feeling so good for the first three weeks of chemo that I felt I needed to pull out a clump of hair. Well the hair is still intact and chemo is beginning to effect my strength, eating, and alertness. I love Chipolte's- the hotter the better. Gabriela picked me up one as I was working late. It had no taste. Oh well, that should make my choices pretty easy for a while.

Something that people have often been asking me is, "Aren't you mad? After all you serve God and now you have cancer." It's a fair question, but it really stems from a misunderstanding of God. I see it this way. The world is a messed up place because of original sin and on-going sin. Stuff happens. God's sovereignty rules over all of it, yet within God's sovereignty He has allowed for free will and for a natural progression of cause and effect. This doesn't mean He is not in control or sovereign. It's part of it. God, throughout history, has intervened in supernatural ways, but that's more of the exception than the rule. God doesn't have to heal me in order to be a good and loving Father. His love alone is sufficient for me.
God doesn't promise anywhere in the Bible to rescue me from difficult. What He promises is that He will walk beside me through it. I feel His presence privately, through the church family that has embraced us, and countless friends from the past that consistently have called, prayed, and even graciously have cover expenses. So when someone asks, "Aren't you mad at God for allowing this?" NO!!! He did not give me cancer and He may or may not heal me from cancer, but He is my hope and will walk with me through this cancer.

Psalm 16:5-6 has greatly ministered to me over the last few week as the reality settles in:
The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; Thou dost support my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places: Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.

My life is rich and my future secure and God's love. We have much to thankful for. Please pray for the adjustments ahead. The next set of treatments are back to back and physically taking a toll. Pray for Gabriela's support, and the kids ability to see their Papa weak and unavailable. This I think will be the hardness for me and them.

Thanks

Kelly

2007-07-03T18:40:00.000-07:00

Thank you for checking the blog regularly and for your love, support, and prayers. Kelly and Gabriela have been struggling the last few days. Kelly has been persevering, but has been dealing with tongue sores (common and painful side-effect from chemo) which have made talking and eating very difficult. Gabriela is also persevering, but dealing with the strenuous emotional effects and is feeling tired. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as you are led.

Happy Fourth of July!

~In His embrace

2007-06-30T08:06:00.000-07:00

Hello dear friends and family,
Effects of chemo are starting to set in a little. Kelly has been feeling very tired. This particular round of chemo is every other day and is hitting his body hard. Due to the 4th of July holiday, next week he will be getting treatments Mon., Tues., and Fri..
Please pray that Kelly will stay clear of infections, for stamina and that the chemo will hunt down those nasty cancer cells and KILL them ALL!!!

Next week we hope to get a road map of treatment for the whole year and also get the results of a bone marrow biopsy that will tell us what the likelihood is of remission. We will also hear from our doctor as to the possibility of going to Forest Home Family Camp. This has become a tradition for our family over the last 4 years and we really want to go.
We are still being uplifted by your prayers and can't tell you how much we appreciate them. Please keep it up. Sincerely, Kelly and Gabriela

2007-06-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

So far, so good

Hello dear friends and family. Thank you for your prayers, please do not stop! Kelly is receiving the second of seven rounds of this new Chemo today. Monday's treatment went well. The only side effect was a little tiredness due mostly to the Benadryl they give in conjunction with this Chemo. Kelly continues to feel very well, going to work and is positive, motivated and full of praise to God for His goodness and faithfulness. As we reflected on this, we were moved to see how God's principles are true and that His blessings in our lives have nothing to do with us or our service to Him rather they are entirely a reflection of who God is and how great His love is.
Our family is doing very well also. The kids are enjoying their summer vacation, especially in light of my summer "plans" for the kids of reading, math facts, and journal writing have been put on hold. We are getting into our new "normal". We hope to still be able to go to Forest Home Family Summer camp and are waiting to talk to the doctor about it.
Thank you for your love and concern. We thank God for you!

2007-06-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

Quick update. Praise God Kelly is still feeling well. He is a bit tired but doesn't feel sick at all!!! The doctor said that he is doing better then expected so far. He begins a different chemo on Monday and it will be an every other day thing for about two weeks. Please continue to pray that he will be kept from infection and that he will be able to tolerate the new chemo well. Please also thank God with us for His extravagant love and for how He demonstrates His love to us through His church! We love and appreciate you all and your notes of encouragement. Love, Kelly and Gabriela

Prayer

2007-06-20T08:35:00.003-07:00

Dear friends and family~

Kelly is back in the hospital this late afternoon due to an infection which causes delirium. Please pray for Kelly, Gabriela, the kids, and also for wisdom for the doctor's & nurses that are caring for Kelly.

Thank you...

In His embrace

Prayers

2007-06-20T08:35:00.002-07:00

Dear friends~

Kelly is back in the hospital this afternoon due to an infection which is causing delirium. Please pray for Kelly and Gabriela as well as wisdom for the doctor's.

In His embrace

2007-06-20T08:35:00.001-07:00

Thursday June 21, 2007 Summer Solstice:

Tomorrow Kelly will be receiving his third Chemotherapy treatment. He has had low blood counts and may also need a blood transfusion. He has felt worn-out and is trying to keep pace with the life as best as possible.
Thank you for your friendship, support, concern, and prayers.

In His embrace

Note from Kelly

2007-06-20T07:35:00.001-07:00

I sit at my keyboard just whelmed by the presence of God that has enveloped me through your prayers and encouragement. Your blog comments touch me so much. God is transforming my heart through you. I have never known such a trial or such love. You all are beautiful expressions of Jesus. I have cancer, but it so much not about the cancer. This is about God being God and His church being a family. It is so inspiring to me. I exalt in the Lord and the mightiness of His character and the power of His Word, and His faithfulness to His children!!! I am whelmed by His presence and love you all.
For His Glory, Kelly

2007-06-17T22:08:00.000-07:00

We are so blessed! Kelly had a great Father's Day. He is still feeling well, no side effect from Chemo yet. He goes in Monday, Wednesday and Friday to have his blood checked and third Chemo on Friday. Thank you for your prayers. Keep them coming. Sincerely, Gabriela

2007-06-16T09:29:00.000-07:00

Saturday June 15, 2007

Kelly received his second chemotherapy treatment yesterday morning. So far so good, there have been no major adverse side effects and he has energy along with his appetite. He has said several times that he, “needs to loose a clump of hair or something to justify all this attention!”
On Thursday the Oncologist told us that Kelly has no immune system right now. His greatest current risk is contacting any sort of infection that his body will not be able to fight against. We are trying to live life as normal as possible, but also need to be wise about social outings and public interaction. Please pray for wisdom for Kelly and I as we work together to make the best decisions for his wellbeing.
My sister and her family are going home today. We are so thankful for their time here.
We are also thankful for your continued prayers.

1 Thessalonians 3:9 “How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?”

In His embrace

2007-06-14T16:46:00.000-07:00

Thursday June 14,2007
Hello dear friends and family. I wanted to thank you all for praying for
Kelly and our family. You have no idea how much it means to us.
I wanted to let you know that Kelly is doing great today! He is feeling
well, has his appetite and is actually at the office for a couple of
hours today.
I asked him yesterday how his heart was and his reply was that he was
incredibly thankful. His response caught me by surprise and I asked, “Why
are you thankful?” He said he was thankful that he is not in a third
world country. He is thankful that he is receiving excellent medical care
and that he has the blessing of medical insurance.
We realize that his cancer is a result of sin in the world; people get
sick. What we know is that God directs our steps, even through the darkest valley's. How thankful we are to be known, and loved by Him at this time.
Kelly is very positive and is leading our family in truth. He told me
this morning that he is sure God will use this for His glory and our good.
It is up to us to keep on doing life as normal as possible. So our plan
is to keep loving God, each other, and the people He brings into our
lives. We are confidant this journey will expand our ministry and give us
greater understanding for people who suffer. It is not exactly accurate
to say that we are excited about this, but we are honored for the
opportunities that God will bring.
Kelly goes in for his second chemotherapy treatment tomorrow morning from
8:00AM- 11:00AM. Please pray that he will continue to respond well to
treatment but more importantly that God will strengthen us and continue to
draw us close to Himself.

Love,
Gabriela

2007-06-13T17:07:00.000-07:00

Wednesday June 13, 2007

Great news… Kelly came home this afternoon! The kids are very happy and Gabriela is full of emotions (mostly joy). We are very happy to have him home and although uncertain about the journey ahead, are thankful for the gift of today... also for the gifts of faith, hope, and love.
Thank you for your prayers… please keep praying and believing.

In His embrace

2007-06-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

Tuesday June 12, 2007

Kelly is still in the hospital. There had been a hope that he would be able to come home today (Tuesday), but he has needed numerous blood transfusions and the doctor’s are uncertain as to why. They have been doing testing to try to figure the cause of his need for blood—he has had a total of six transfusions in three days. Please continue to pray.

The good news is that up to date, aside of the diabetes and inability to maintain the normal “counts” in his white and red blood cells, Kelly feels well. Kelly & Gabriela have an amazing support group of friends who are rising up like pillars around them and are blessing them through their prayers and love. On Sunday afternoon, their church elders came to the hospital and anointed Kelly and Gabriela with oil and prayed over them and their family and for total healing. James 5: 14b “…Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord and the prayer offered in faith will make the sick well.”

Our hope is that there would be continued prayer for total healing for Kelly; prayer for Gabriela, courage and strength; prayer for their children—that they would be ministered to through the heavenly servants of God. The kids have been away from both parents quite a bit and are internalizing and processing. Please hold the four of them up (ages 1 ½ years, 4yrs, 6 yrs, 8 yrs.).

Over the last five years God has been weaving the following verses into Kelly’s life’s passion: The book of John chapter 17 of the bible, verse 20:

Jesus is praying, “I pray for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world will believe that you have sent me… may they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”?

2007-06-10T10:29:00.001-07:00

Sunday June 10, 2007

We received discouraging news yesterday afternoon- that Kelly has “temporary” diabetes due to the Prednisone (medication for the cancer). What this means is that Kelly will be having to test his insulin (blood sugar) levels four times a day and will have to begin top learn how to adjust his overall diet. There is much to learn and life continues to move ahead one step at a time.

The children are well—visiting with cousins and friends at home. At this point in time we are all waiting through the numerous tests and procedures for Kelly.

We will keep posting as things slowly become clear.

~In His Embrace

Saturday, June 9th Kelly Rosenthal Update

2007-06-09T15:34:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, June 7, 2007 Kelly was diagnosed with Leukemia: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) is a fast-growing cancer of the white blood cells. Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell that the body uses to fight infections. In ALL, the bone marrow makes lots of unformed cells called blasts that normally would develop into lymphocytes. However, the blasts are abnormal. They do not develop and cannot fight infections. The number of abnormal cells (or leukemia cells) grows quickly. They crowd out the normal red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets the body needs.

To find out more check out the following links:

http://www.marrow.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_lymphoblastic_leukemia

The doctors have been very encouraging. On Friday morning one of the doctors told Kelly that he was going to do just fine. Of course, we assumed that a doctor was likely to something like this to any patient facing a difficult challenge. But the doctor, sensing that his message was not strong enough, clarified his statement by explaining that Kelly’s CAT-scan came out clear (nothing has spread into the spine, lungs, or brain). Kelly is young and his health is good; increasing his odds greatly of coming through this challenge with positive results.

By Friday afternoon, June 8th, 2007 Kelly was given his first chemotherapy treatment, an aggressive dose that was sent directly into his spin in hopes of “shocking” the cancer into remission. Then late Friday he began chemotherapy intravenously. He is tired and now is the time to keep him protected from any possible infections.

Thank you for your support and prayers.

Live Strong

The Moment--Kelly Rosenthal

2007-06-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

In life, there are defining moments--events that shape and impact the legacy we will leave on this world with the short time we have here. For the Rosenthal family, one of those moments came this week when Kelly was diagnosed with cancer (details to come). Kelly and Gabriela Rosenthal have been called to this occasion and we look forward to the amazing testimony that will be forged over the coming years through their faithfulness, dedication, perseverance, and love of life, family, and friends.

Over the course of Kelly's battle, this website will serve as an information resource for all of those who are dedicated to walking with Kelly on this epic journey. Please check in regularly for updates from Kelly, Gabriela, and the family as a means to channel communication and ease the burden of exhaustively communicating where Kelly is in his process. Also, please feel free to leave the Rosenthal family any words of encouragement in reply messages.

Live Strong