3 yr old hit by car

Our son David and his wife, Jen, request prayer for their adopted Guatamalan daughter, Aviana, 3 this August, who was hit by a car today and is in surgery very seriously hurt which will take a miracle for her to be healed.  Thanks for your prayers.  God bless you and yours, the Hodders

Praise re Brother in Kenya

Kuria is going to be able to get his visa with a new computerized system for his new passport as many have been fakes.  Thanks so much for praying.  Do please pray for his son, Gitonga, who has been doing lots of crimes.  God bless you and yours.  Love in Christ, the Hodders

6/14/09 - Norris in Kenya

Please pray with us for our extended-family brother in Kenya, Norris Kuria Gitonga, who meets with the U.S. Embassy our Sunday night June 14, his Monday June 15. He has a buyer (for his book) and will be meeting here when he gets his visa to earn money for the orphans under his care in Democratic Republic of Congo. Thanks for your prayers. In Christ, Jeff and Jeri

06/14/09 - Norris in Kenya

Please pray with us for our extended-family brother in Kenya, Norris Kuria Gitonga, who meets with the U.S. Embassy our Sunday night June 14, his Monday June 15. He has a buyer (for his book) and will be meeting here when he gets his visa to earn money for the orphans under his care in Democratic Republic of Congo. Thanks for your prayers. In Christ, Jeff and Jeri

3/18/09 @ 11:48 am

Our lovely receptionist Anita is still having medical problems. They are doing a biopsy of her salivary gland next Thursday. Please pray for healing before she even goes in and peace for her and her family that the Lord is definitely in charge and not to worry. Thanks prayer warriors. ~ Vickie

3/18/09 @ 11:49 am

Lucky has been officially declared to not have cancer! It is official that the "spot" on his tailbone is a haemangioma. The doctor said this is a large red birthmark on his bone. Thanks for all of your prayers, we certainly appreciate them!! ~Lisa

3/4/09 @ 3:57 pm

Wow - what a wonderful God we serve. I am happy to say that Zeb is going great, on his own he joined a Bible Study group that is studying the yearly Bible and he is opening up more and more to Sandy A., his mom. YEA TEAM!!!

2/8/09 @ 6:49 pm - Stephen S.

A message from a friend of Stephen S. (still undergoing chemo treatments in preparation for stem cell transplant): The Gathering Place Church in Folsom, CA took an offering last week for Stephen. I went to Church yesterday and got the final tally.... $16,000!!!!!! I am blown away by the generosity of people who don't even know Stephen. This puts us nearly halfway to the goal. We will be letting everyone know of ways you can get involved soon. Thank you to everyone for spreading the word about Stephen. Have a great week!

2/10/09 @ 2:27 PM - Janet

Hello, I'm writing to ask you to remember my sister, Nancy, in your prayers, when she goes into surgery next Weds., February the 18th. The surgery is actually on the bone in the palm area at the base of the thumb. Her arthritis in that area is very bad, so the procedure is that the doctor removes that bone and replaces it with a tendon from the wrist area. I'm not sure how long she'll be in surgery, but she will be off work for 3 months recuperating. I'll let you all know how she. Thank you for your prayers. Love you all, Janet

3/13/09 @ 3:04 pm - Deb V.G.

Dot called last night sounding very good. She said to say "thank you, prayers are evident. God is working." Her daughter went home from hospital last night. Will have to see doctor next week re: potential surgery. For some reason, the area where the stomach pushes food down into the intestinal area paralyzed itself causing extreme pain. Doctors are baffled. They finally got it to work again but she's on a very limited diet until they know what's up with appt next week.

Dot said her leg is doing okay. She's been able to keep her physical therapy appts since Megan was in the same hospital she had her knee surgery. She's very tired and needs some good rest.

3/5/09 @ 3:08 pm

Please pray for my Aunt Flor who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a masectomy done on Tuesday and will get her results today. She is a believer but is still having a rough time with this along with her children and loving husband. Thank you and God bless you all. ~Marlene

2/10/09 @ 2:28 pm - Deb V.G.

Please pray for my son for the Lords covering - so much is happening in the town I live in that I need the Lord to protect Zeb from all this.

2/27/09 @ 2:19 pm

Stephen is home from the hospital now, having battled through 6 days of high-dose chemo, the stem-cell transplant, having his whole immune system killed and brought back and in the process catching several bacterial infections. What an amazing and terrifying process all at the same time. Thank you to all of you who have been praying through this with us and who continue to pray. This is the only way all of us get through. Please pray now that Stephen continues to gain strength and that his 2 infections are fully irradicated. He is still not completely out of the woods yet, but he is on his way to recovery. I know this might be a strange part of the prayer request but please pray that his veins recover from all of the treatment. After this, he still has radiation to do, which we pray will be light and put him into full remission. The doctors are still looking at the possibility of a donor stem-cell transplant but this is only a possibility. At this point, we do not know how well the stem-cell has worked. A PetScan should happen within the next few weeks, so we'll have a better idea then. We continue to pray for complete healing and recovery now.
Many blessings to you and your families. ~Dave and Marlene

2/27/09 @ 2:16 pm - Deb V.G.

Lucky (Everett) does not have cancer - YEA TEAM!!! Thank you Lord! Lucky's wife, Lisa is very peaceful and knows that the Lord is with them and also that a whole lot of people have been praying. They still need to find out what is wrong and he is scheduled for another test soon. Please keep praying. Thank you for all your prayers.

2/3/09 @ 2:15 pm - Tim

Jerry is a 19 year old boy, training to be a pilot, in the Naval ROTC, studying aeronautical engineering and hoping to become an astronaut. His neck was broken in an accident a few weeks ago. His family loves the Lord, but they need your prayers for healing and for God's provision. They have many financial needs. They need a wheelchair accessible van and major modifications to their home. Jerry has developed some increased sensation, but only extremely limited movement. May the Creator move in his body to regenerate the cells needed for movement and sensation. Please pray in faith and cry out to the Lord for this young man and his family. ~ Tim

1/30/09 @ 8:53 am - Deb V.G.

Lisa's husband Everett had a MRI and they found a spot in his spine "tailbone area" that may be cancerous. Lisa would like prayer for the diagnosis to NOT be cancer and for peace at this time for her and her husband as they await the outcome. Thank you.

2/4/09 @ 9:45 am

Thank you so much to all of you for your continued prayers on behalf of Stephen and Rosemary. It seemed especially that last week, they were needed.

We are finally here. Stephen entered the hospital today for his Stem-Cell Transplant. But just a quick recap from last week so you'll know how to pray... Stephen got home from the hospital a week ago Saturday with no alleviation of the cold/flu symptoms. All tests came back negative for any infection. His doctor put through another PetScan last Wednesday and it turns out the cancer came back very quickly in just 20 days (almost as large as it was originally). This cancer has become very resistant to dieing. His cold/flu symptoms are
side symptoms of the cancer. After much debate and his doctors getting multiple opinions from other cancers centers around the country, it was decided that they would go through with the transplant.

Stephen will be in the hospital for a minimum of 3 weeks and after that is radiation for several weeks. The next several weeks are not without risk. Please pray for physical, emotional and spiritual strength. Also pray for his doctors and nurses - for wisdom and guidance. Next week could be particularly tough-as his immune system works to rebuild itself. The risk of infection can be very high.

It is possible that he might have to do another stem-cell tranplant after this, if the cancer does not go into remission. His doctors believe this is more than likely. The 2nd transplant would be a donor transplant. Stephen's sister Christina is being tested to see if she is a match. My ultimate prayer is for complete remission of the cancer but also pray that there is a match to Stephen, if this 2nd transplant must take place.

This may seem like a lot, and way more than we can handle and sometimes it feels like it, but we walk one day at a time and we see God's hand in the many little and big things. Thank you for your continued prayers and support to our family. You have been and continue to be a blessing to us. I will keep you posted as we progress through this lastest treatment.

Many blessings to you and your families. We love you all,
Dave and Marlene, Stephen and Rosemary, & Christina and Stephen.

1/23/09 @ 9:53 am - Jessica

Thank you all Prayer Warriors!!! After alot of work from my vet, Roulette, my beloved Thoroughbred mare, is going to make it! It was touch n go, the vet was very confused as to her complications, but he made good decisions and was able to save her. It is going to take about 3 weeks for her to recuperate and alot of medication. I have never seen so much blood and tissue come out of a horse before, but she is all bandaged up and heavily medicated so she won't move around much on her injured legs. The horse that injured her is much bigger and stronger and is a mean horse. I am happy to report that they removed her from my horse's pasture. God Bless all of you and thank you again for your much needed prayers. ~Jessica

From Sandy A.

From the Old Blog (Feb. 10, 2009)There was two young man shot in North Highlands on Friday. I do not know who they are but I know it was gang related.  I would like a prayer for the young man that is in critical condition, that the Lord heal him, protect him, and salvation for him.  Thank you. ~ Sandy A.

From Rita

From the Old Blog (approx March 2009):I AM WRITTING EVEYONE TO PRAY FOR BRUCE'S DAUGHTER REBECCA. I JUST FOUND OUT THAT SHE HAS BEEN IN THE HOSIPITAL SINCE FRIDAY. REBECCA IS IN CRITICAL CONDITION AND HAS BEEN SINCE FRIDAY. HER BLOOD COUNT HAS BEEN WAY TO LOW SO HER BODY HAS CAUGHT A VIRUS THAT HAS BEEN TAKEN OVER HER AND MAKING HER VERY SICK AND IN ALOT OF PAIN. THEY HAVE GIVEN HER BLOOD TWICE THE FIRST TIME IT DID NOT TAKE HER BLOOD COUNT IS STILL TO LOW. THE SECOND TIME IT TOOK A LITTLE BUT NOT ENOUGH. PLEASE TELL EVEONE ONE TO PRAY FOR REBECCA'S BODY TO FIGHT THIS VIRUS AND BRING HER BLOOD COUNT UP BEFORE THIS VIRUS TAKES OVER....; LOVE RITA

Prayer Request

Please pray for the chancel choir of FOPC, for them to locate the right music director for the job.

Cheryl C.

Prayer request for Riley

Riley is currently in the hospital at UCLA with his 7th line infection since September.  He made it through almost 2 years of dialysis without any infections, and now he is just getting them over and over again.  He has already had his catheter replaced 2 times over these last few months.  The last time, the surgeon spent 2 1/2 hours trying to put a new catheter in, and found that almost all of Riley's veins and arteries leading to his heart were clotted from previous surgeries and procedures.  He ordered an MRI of Riley's veins and found that he only has one open vein left.  This was very distressing, but we hoped that he would keep his new catheter and be infection free until his kidney transplant.  This obviously did not happen.  He has now grown the exact same bug twice in a row from this catheter, and the doctors say it absolutely must come out.  They cannot clear the infection from his line this time and need to get it out asap, but getting a new one in may be very difficult.  In addition, because his is still infected, he is likely to infect the new catheter once it is put in.  He is supposed to go to surgery on Thursday, at which time the surgeon will attempt to put a new catheter in his one remaining vein.  PLEASE PRAY that all goes well and that he can get a new catheter and that it stays infection free.  We also agreed to have another peritoneal (near the abdomen, home dialysis) dialysis catheter put in at the same time.  Riley's doctor hopes that we can do this type of dialysis again (it made him very sick last time we tried) in order to avoid using and reinfecting the hemodialysis catheter.  But again, the surgeon is saying that this placement may not be possible due to all of the scar tissue caused by Riley's previous abdominal surgeries.  Again, PLEASE PRAY that this placement is possible and that Riley can tolorate this kind of dialysis.  Riley needs a kidney transplant as soon as possible so that his life does not depend on these catheters, but he cannot be placed on the list while he is getting infections.  I have been worked up and pretty much cleared to give my kidney, but Riley still has antibodies against me (he would still reject my kidney).  The doctors plan to use me as a back up if the situation becomes desperate.  It would be great if the kidney transplant would be an end to our problems, but it turns out, Riley will always need a central line/catheter in order to have the plasma cleaning procedure that he will need to help keep him from rejecting his new kidney.  In addition, he will need to have open veins for future dialysis once his first kidney fails (they don't last forever and Riley will most likely reject his sooner than most people due to his high level of antibodies).  He will also require more heart surgeries in his lifetime, and will need central lines placed for those.  Brad and I are scared to death that we might lose our baby, not because of his heart defects or kidney failure, but simply because he has no more veins left to access.  I don't know how we would go on without him.  Please, please pray hard for him and pass this email along.  If you know of any churches with prayer chains, please have him added. 
Despite all of his problems, Riley continues to be the strongest, most incredible little boy in the whole world.  He is not acting sick at all and is walking all over the hospital with his little walker.  This child used to be afraid of everybody (with good reason), but has now become so incredibly loving towards everyone he meets.  He has taken to hugging and kissing every single person who comes into his room at the hospital, no matter what they are there for.  The dialysis nurses are trying to hook him up to IV's and the whole time he is grabbing their arms, pulling them close to him, and giving them hugs and kisses.  He grabs everyone on the medical team and lays his head down on their arms or shoulders.  He is really amazing.  Every nurse keeps commenting on how loving he has become.  He is constantly reaching for nurses and doctors to pick him up, and then he yells if they try to put him back down.  He is the one going through the trauma, but every time his little sister yells or cries, he grabs her and kisses her.  This is a life that needs to be lived.  Again, please keep him in your prayers.  ~Kassidi

Update on Charlize

Yesterday 12 of the cardiologists at Oakland Children's Hospital met in conference on Charlize's case to come up with a plan of care.  They are hopeful that with the surgery they did on Sunday she will be stable enough to be able to grow to between 2 and 4 months of age (the older and stronger the better) before proceeding with the next major corrective surgery.  If she can do ok that long, the procedure would be to put a conduit to reroute the blood to the correct part of the heart. In 10 to 20 years because of growth and aging of the conduit, this will need to be repeated.    If she has problems with her saturations (oxygenation levels) before that, they will probably first do what is called a Blalock-Taussig shunt which is a temporary palliative procedure that will place a shunt that allows more mixing of the blood, that will allow her to wait until the 2 to 4 months to do the first procedure mentioned above. 

 

For those of you who would like to look further at what this condition is and the explanation, here is a link from Johns  Hopkins that explains with very good pictures.  www.pted.org/?id=transpositiond1   The procedure Charlize will have is mentioned, the Rastelli.  Unfortunately, she has other complicating conditions that make the Jatene arterial switch procedure impossible. 

 

Thank you all for your prayers and support! We are taking one day at a time and trusting and clinging to God each step.

Prayer Request for Charlise

Please pray for Charlise.  Charlise was born Sunday morning at 1:00 a.m.  She underwent heart surgery today.  She was born with only two valves in her aorta.  Normally, there are three.   She has transposition of the great vessels, which means that the artery that is supposed to take oxygenated blood to the heart and the artery that is supposed to take the deoxygenated blood to the lungs are switched, which means that her heart is pumping deoxygenated blood. The pulmonic valve is also too small, which greatly complicates the eventual surgical repair needed.  She also has heart valve defects which at this point are helping her, as it allows the oxygenated and deoxygenated blood in her heart chambers to mix. There are 2 structures that close shortly after birth, and the surgery yesterday was an emergency procedure to keep this open and widen it, as it allows more mixing of the blood which at this point keeps her alive. The doctors are hoping that she can tolerate this for as long as possible, as the eventual surgical repair that will be needed is difficult and the larger she is the better. They won't give odds at this point, as the other heart defects complicate the matter. So the specific prayer requests are that she can tolerate this emergency fix and get enough oxygen to be able to grow further before the next surgery is needed. Also, they are giving her a medication that helps keep the "ductus arteriosus" open which also helps at this point.  However, this medication is hard on her and they don't like to keep her on it. Overnight they tried to wean her off this but every time they cut down on it her saturations dropped. So another prayer request would be that she could be weaned off this medication and still maintain her oxygenation. 

 

Please also pray for Mike and Christy (Charlise's parents) during this difficult time, as well as Charlise's sisters at home, Angel and Destiny, Angel especially as she was hysterical and sobbing about her sister. 

 

Prayer Request for Cruz

Please pray for little Cruz (3 years old).  He fractured his elbow in daycare on Wednesday.  Please pray that he will recover well and not need any surgery.  Thank you all so much.  God bless you.

Prayer for Riley

Please pray for a little 4-year old boy named Riley.  Riley was born with several problems but has been a survivor through God's grace.  Riley has been on dialysis and has now developed a very serious infection.  Riley is not able to get a kidney transplant for another year and his health is declining.  He has not been able to eat normally and has had a feeding tube for the past couple of years.  Please pray for little Riley's healing and for his loving parents and one-year old sister.  Your urgent prayers are very much appreciated.  Bless you all.  ~Marlene

Prayer request for Linda's grandson

My grandson's diagnosis is "soft tissue sarcoma" - another "rare" form of cancer.  His tumor is being sent to Stanford for further testing.  We should have those results next or the following week.  The dr. will then determine what type of treatment Evan will receive.  In the interim he had a chest x-ray and blood work today and will have a CT scan next week.  Pray there are no other tumors.  He took the news well.  He is brave and courageous!  ~Linda