First off, thank you for your faithful friendship and prayers for our family. We have been amazed by the love of God showered on us by your every act of love and obedience toward the Father. We find comfort in your continual reassurance that your prayers will be with us through this journey and beyond.
This season has been full of changes and uncertainty. We are unable to understand all that has taken place in the last two months or how God will use it for His glory, but we are sure that He has our best interest at heart. We have committed our family to Him and are confident in His ability to keep us.
Judah has completed 4 weeks of treatment at Seattle Children's Hospital (an incredible facility for children facing a life threatening situation) and is doing GREAT! The entire protocol is two years long, but only the first 6 months are fairly intense. After six months the medication and clinic visits will be less frequent and we hope and pray that we could return to Belize then Sara and Judah come periodically for "maintenance".
Urgent prayer: Tomorrow is the final treatment for phase 1. The doctors will re-evaluate the Lymphoma, if 2/3 of the Cancer has dissolved we will begin phase 2. However, if 1/3 of the cancer remains we will hqve to repeat phase 1. Please pray with us that the treatment and our diet will be effective and we will proceed to the next phase and remain on course.
School We enjoyed 9 years of home school with the kids yet when Lymphoma entered the picture we needed a new plan. While praying over the endless changes in our life we "discovered" the Hutch School in the Seattle School District, run by the Cancer Care Alliance Network in Seattle designed for children with family members battling cancer. We enrolled Keilah and Elijah and are delighted with this choice. As anticipated, Keilah began to thrive the first day and Elijah surprised us with an easier transition than expected. It's week three, and every day his attitude and participation improves. ;) We feel very comfortable with the school and teachers and believe it is a fantastic opportunity for our kids. In between clinic appointments Judah does two hours a day of tutoring at the hospital with a teacher. He is working very hard and continues to strengthen his foundation.
Belize I traveled to Belize in early January to meet with staff and pack up our house. We prayed together and set up a system to function by in our absence. John George will be covering most of the YWAM activities and we are confident in his ability. I also met with some of the key Legacy leaders. I am thankful for Jason Twist, Kerm Thimbrell and other Legacy leaders who have a desire to see this generation impacted with truth and continue the work in my temporary absence. I will meet with both teams weekly over the phone and would like to schedule regular trips to Belize. My next trip is planned for the March Legacy Conference.
A high point of my trip was the Legacy prayer and worship time with the young people. Every other Friday night, youth have been gathering at the YWAM Belmopan campus for prayer and worship from 7 to midnight. We are confident that God is moving among the young people in Belize. We are blessed to see what He is doing, and believe that some of what is talking place is what we have been praying and hoping for for many years. Young people are passionate about Jesus, speaking publicly about their personal choice to follow the ways of the kingdom and are walking in radical devotion to the King. We know God has called us to be part of the team that will see His kingdom come in Belize as it is in heaven, and can hardly wait to return to keep building what God has called us to.
I also met with our Caribbean director, Bill Landis to process this season. While it will be different and Judah will be the priority, we are committed to keep doing all we can to move in the direction God has called us to. With today's technology I should be able to keep very involved with Belize and have more time for YWAM correspondence, putting vision to paper and sharing it in this season of our life.
We want to again thank all of you who have been standing with us over the years in what God has called us. It will be strange to live in Seattle for a while but we believe God will help us.
~ With love,
The Andrews
