Dear Friends and Family,
As we prepare for Thanksgiving, how much we have to be thankful for!
Matt is rounding out the 1st semester of the school year finishing papers and preparing for finals. It has been such a blessing to us that he has been able to continue his studies through the treatments and do well in all of his classes. I have started the new job which has been an adjustment, but already packed with some great projects. I was most concerned about meeting other people my age because the USCCB had such a wonderful group, but not to fear:) God provided a wonderful woman the 3rd day on the job- He always takes such good care of us!
Along with school and work, the youth group at our church has kicked off and has been such a blast! The majority of the kids we have thus far are in junior high, not shy, and are in need of love. We meet twice a month currently, and depending on the interest level, we may change this in time. We have 6 volunteers (3 ags:)) who are all so willing to share their love with these kids. Our next big event is cutting down Christmas trees at the tree farms up in Northern Maryland to go in the church (this city girl can't wait to do this)! Please pray for the youth in the group as we try to guide them closer and closer to Christ.
For thanksgiving, we are blessed with the opportunity to go to New jersey and have dinner with Matt's Mom, aunt and uncle and fam. It will be a new place for all of us to celebrate this day!
Matt had a scan last Thursday which came up with the following results: The main tumor is "stable" which means it has neither grown nor spread elsewhere since the last scan. The adrenal gland, which the doctors have been keeping an eye on, looked more benign than they had previously thought- which was positive. They would not know for sure unless they did a biopsy which they don't want to do right now. He said he could also tell more from a PET scan (which Matt will have in about 6 more weeks). they did not give dimesions on the tumor this time, so we are unsure of any specifics.
Yesterday Matt had a treatment which was the regular IV Avastin that is given every 3 weeks, there were no problems with the treatment...and for the first time I watched the nurse stick the needle all the way in Matt (big steps!) We asked Doctor Smith how long this particular cycle of treatments would last, and he said indefinitely :) So we will keep praying for healing! Matt will have an MRI this weekend because he has been having pains in his head and neck, Dr. Smith was not too concerned, but there is a possibility for bleeding with Avastin, so he wanted to be sure nothing is going on up there.
I had a truly blessed opportunity to go on retreat this past weekend on a Charismatic Women's Retreat offered by the Mother of God community up in NW Maryland. I met so many wonderful women that helped me see through their suffering the true suffering of the Body of Christ, and how we are all brought closer to Christ as we take part in His suffering, it was such a gift to be able to pray with these beautiful women.
We are so thankful this thanksgiving for the most prayerful Body of Christ, you give us strength, perseverance and love.
We continue to ask for your prayers for healing with a truly expectant heart- Blessed be the Lord Now and Forever!
If you have any prayer requests we can offer our trials for, please let us know!
In humble thanksgiving,
Matt and Lucy
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