08.08.08

Dear Prayer Partners,

I am sorry that this is a little late but here is our latest news on the cancer fight.

Thank you all for your prayer support - you need to know how much it means to us and how much we felt all the prayers yesterday.

We went there hoping that the doctors would not find any tumors,however they were there and the procedure was done. You can find Melanie's thoughts on www.hopeandcancer.blogspot.com she has posted several thoughts on the day.

Our struggle was that the tumors were still there - but we trust God to know all things and so we were thankful for the doctors skills and the technology to attack this cancer.

We felt all the prayers that were sent on behalf of Melanie and our family. Thank You.

The procedure was a lot shorter that the last time - the doctor was very encouraged and when asked about the previous tumor he said that he looked at each slide and did not notice it - so it was very small and a non issue for him. We will have a follow up MRI sometime in November to check the status of the tumors and the effect of the Gamma Knife.

We are doing well and Melanie is resting well after the surgery.  Her head is sore, all around, and she has no strength -- but, each day is better.

We want you to know that we have struggled with the issue of on-going cancer - we had believed that she was healed. This has been really difficult. We do not understand what is going on but we do know that God is in charge and we will not quit the fight. And we understand that it is a fight.

I know that Melanie's struggle is in knowing that since the tumors were still in the brain, they are still in her chest - which means more treatment. She does not want to do more chemotherapy, but she wants to live - giving her little choice in the matter. Today was a grappling with that -- and she has had to land on "doesn't matter if I don't want chemo....I DO want to live."  Please pray for the treatment options that will be along, and how we will make those choices.

So thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray for us. We want you all to know how much we appreciate all of your prayers and support.

We know that God is in charge and we know that we live under the wing of the Most High God - and that keeps us in peace.

Serving a Big God,
Dennis & Melanie, Monica, Autumn & Jake and Jet

 

August 2nd 2008

Dear Prayer Partners,

We would not have thought we would have to write this email.

We had just returned from a very successful ministry trip to the Shetland Islands, England, Norway and Italy. We saw God move in peoples lives, bringing healing and freedom and Peace and Joy and Truth. God is so good. We know that Life is Good, God is good and our Hope is in Jesus and eternity with Him.

We came home and Melanie had a scheduled follow up MRI with her neurosurgeon. We could not have been more surprised when the Doctor came in and told us that the test showed there are two new tumors in her brain. In that stunned moment of surprise, he went on to say that they were very small and that they could be attacked by using the Gamma Knife -- without whole brain radiation. So on August 7th, Melanie will undergo her second Gamma Knife procedure. The doctor was very positive - the tumors are very small and we found them now instead of later, when there could have been damage to her brain. She has no symptoms-- the tumors are not big enough to cause any effects in her brain functions. That is the good news on her brain.

Please pray for us on August 7th. We will spend the entire day in the Gamma Knife Suite at University Hospital, Indianapolis.

Because there were new tumors we decided to have her other routine tests moved up two weeks, so on the following Monday Melanie had a CT scan of her neck down. We got the results on that Wed. Once again, we could not have been more surprised when the Nurse Practitioner told us that there were three new small tumors in Melanie's chest, on top of her sternum. We will have a new plan on how to attack these tumors after the Gamma Knife procedure. We are meeting with the Oncologist on Aug 19th for a game plan.

So once again we are on the battle field and are asking for your prayers and support. We do not know how this will affect our schedule, but for now we are not changing a thing.

We did have a most wonderful day on the Thursday following the report from the Oncologist. We came home still stunned and trying to wrap our minds around the idea that we were not finished - which we thought we were. We really had thought that we would go to the doctors, have the tests, and get really good reports.

We came home determined to continue "chasing healing". We were saying, "We know Todd Bentley is not in Lakeland, but where is he?" We went on his website and found out that he was going to be in Louisville, Ky for one day only - having a healing meeting at 12 noon, the next day. So we all said "Road Trip" and got up very early the next morning and drove 3 1/2 hours to be there to stand in line for 2 1/2 hours before we got in the building. We were early enough to be on the main floor and be fairly close to the stage.

Worship was great, Todd spoke for an hour and half, had a few words of knowledge. As he called out the words of knowledge he announced that no one would be on the stage unless they were responding to a word he had given that day. One of the words was,"A torn rotator cuff, on the right shoulder, is being healed right now.." Melanie has had a torn rotator cuff for six months, and as Todd was speaking the word she lifted her arm in a way that she has not been able to do. So she went forward to tell them that her sholder was healed. When she got to the monitors in the front, Todd announced that there was very little time since the building needed to be cleared in 20 min.

One of the monitors told another that Todd wanted to pray only for the "terminally ill". The monitor asked Melanie if she was terminal? Now let me set the picture for you. Melanie wanted to be prayed for by Todd and never in a thousand years would she ever say that she was terminal but just the day before the Nurse Practitioner told her that she would one day die of breast cancer. So Melanie said "Yesterday, I was told that I would die of breast cancer" and the monitor turned to her partner and said "this is the start of the terminal line". Melanie was then lead on stage where she was prayed for by Todd. When he came up to her, she told him she wanted prayer for breast cancer, and he turned to one of his people and said "God just told me "breast cancer". So Melanie got prayer from Todd and we did not have to drive to Florida to have it happen. The only symptom that Melanie had was a pain under her breast bone -- and after that prayer from Todd, the pain was gone -- and has remained gone.  SO, we are holding onto the idea of healing -- we believe that God heals.  We don't know if He has, but we know He can -- and we are asking.

We felt great favor from God - to have the report and find that Todd B, was that close and to have her prayed for by him. We know that God is the healer but we also know that chasing the anointing is always good.

Just as an aside we were also reconciled with some very dear friends on that trip to Louisville. God is so good to us.

We know that we are starting a new battle. We are still coming to grips with the reports. We are stunned and surprised but not defeated. Melanie was talking to God and was told that she is fighting a "ferocious enemy". We know that we still live in the shadow of the wing of the most High God. We will not quit or give into the bad reports. We know that God is on our side and that we will win in the end.

Please keep us in prayer - the enemy is not happy and we want to keep him that way.

We believe that Melanie was healed this past January and that the enemy is just trying to get us confused. So we are going after this healing. We will be at Marc DuPont's church in Dayton, Ohio for the evening service, on the 30th of July. Our local church will sign up for prayer and fasting. We are at war, make no mistake about it and we need to be alert at all times.

Pray for us as we pray for you. Keeping in mind that God is on our side even when the circumstances look very bad - He is Good, Life is Good.

Many blessings over each and everyone of you and your families.

Serving a Big God,
Dennis, Melanie, Monica, Autumn & Jake and Jet.

 

February 6 2008

Dear Prayer Partners,

With the greatest joy we send this email out to all who have been praying for us and for Melanie's healing. The journey has been long but filled with times with God that cannot and will not be traded. We have had some special times in prayer and know that each of you have been praying right along side of us. So for those who have not read ahead.

JUST came home from getting the results of my tests --- Dr. says

ALL SCANS CLEAR !!!!      ALL SCANS CLEAR !!!!

PRAISE GOD!!!!

We've cried and exulted and I completely wore myself out with excitement and joy!!!  OVERWHELMED BY GOD'S GOODNESS!!!!

All the nodes they had been watching are GONE ----- not smaller, but GONE ---- AND the scans showed some BONES HAD HEALED (a place on a rib, and a place on my spine --- that HAD NOT been identified as problems ---- now they are HEALED BONES!!

We fly tomorrow to Redding Calif, to go to Bethel Church -- where all the big healing is happening -- AND WE WILL GO AND ASK THE LORD FOR MORE THAN REMISSION --- FOR HEALING --- AND (gosh, I wish I had an even bigger Type font!!)  -- WE ARE ASKING TO BRING THE ANOINTING HOME TO WHITE HORSE, AND OUT ON THE MISSION FIELD!!

We just want to say:
THANK YOU  THANK YOU  THANK YOU  THANK YOU  THANK YOU for your prayers!!!  MY FAMILY is ETERNALLY GRATEFUL to you!!

We will continue to seek out all of God and will continue to keep a close watch on Melanie's health. I will be watching so that she does not run out of energy - which she is apt to do. She is still recovering from months of chemo.  The doctor was very encouraging and used the word "remission" along with the clear scans, however since we are dealing with a recurrence there will be continued medical treatment. Melanie will continue to receive a type of chemo that she will take once a month for four months and then a rescan to make sure the cancer is not regrouping. This chemo will not take her hair and should have little or no side effects. The drug will be administered once a month which should allow us to travel per our schedule through 2008. Yea God!!

We are so grateful for all of your support through these times. Many blessings over each and everyone of you and your families.

Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you. You are treasures we hold close to our hearts and love you all deeply.

Serving a Big God,
Dennis, Melanie, Monica, Autumn & Jake and Jet

January 3rd 2008

Dear Prayer Partners;
I am sorry for the lateness of this update but the holidays got the best of me. I want to wish all of you a blessed Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year -- I know it is late but truly heart felt wishes come your way.
We had a wonderful time with our family here in Indiana - Monica, Autumn and Jake and little Jet were here to celebrate the holidays along with Melanie's mother Barbara.

We are now in the midst of a very difficult time -  Melanie is experiencing some side effects that she had not had before. Before, the biggest side effect was fatigue. The major side effect she has now is muscle and joint ache - that sometimes is extreme, coupled with itching. The itching is awful and sometimes she is holding ice bags in several places to calm the itch. The pain is managed with the help of drugs - but sometimes we are not quick enough and it takes time to get the pain under control. The week between treatments were supposed to be easy but the side effects do not go away. We have had a couple of very hard days - harder on her than on me but hard none the less.

What we have learned this time is that He does not change - He is still present and hovering over her and the family. We know that we live under the shadow of the wing of the Most High God and on the hard days we just cover ourselves in that knowledge. We have found that the days go by and He remains the same and because of that we can go on.

We are grateful for your prayers and know how much they are needed. So please continue to pray for Melanie the following:

• that the side effects would cease - that the chemo would just kill the cancer and that she would have no side effects at all,
• that the treatment would in fact kill the cancer once and for all,
• that there would be no lingering effects once the treatment is finished that would hinder Melanie from traveling and retuning to the mission field and that we would continue to discover the wonders of Him again and again.

We are scheduled for three more treatments that start next week and end on the 21st of Jan. On the 28th of Jan, Melanie will have a series of tests to determine the effects of the treatment. We will be meeting with the doctor on the 31 to get the results - we are hoping for a clean bill of health and a release to travel.

Our 2008 schedule starts the last week of Feb and our prayers are that Melanie will be able to accompany me.

Once again, thank you for your prayers and cards and notes and emails - they are very encouraging to us and I know that Melanie really loves to read your emails. She does not always have the energy to answer but I will try to do a better job of responding.

We really love you all and are excited at the prospect of seeing you all.
m
Serving a Big God,
Dennis, Melanie, Monica, Autumn & Jake and Jet

 

November 29 2007

Dear Prayer Partners;

We have just completed the first round of chemotherapy so I thought it was time to send out an update. We have also met with her oncologist and have the game plan in place for the next phase of the battle.

Melanie will be having chemotherapy for three weeks then taking a week off. The schedule looks like this: Monday blood draw, Tuesday chemo (on the third week she also gets an infusion for bone building), on the third Wed she gets an injection to help build white blood cells. We have the schedule for the next months. Melanie will be having treatment through Jan. During the last week in Jan she will under go all the tests to determine how effective the chemotherapy was and the next phase of the treatment will be determined. We are hoping that the next months will destroy the cancer and get her ready to go back ministering. The Doctor was encouraging in that the cancer was caught quickly and the tumor in her neck has gotten smaller and softer and the pain has gone away. Yea God!

Our weeks seem to revolve around the medical community but we have found that the medical community needs hope more that any place. So we are glad to still know that we are on a mission field even if it doesn't require a plane flight.

We thought we had the schedule figured out - Tues chemo, Wed couch day, Thurs starting to feel better and by the next Monday she was feeling really good and ready to go. Just to have the week start over again. This week was a little different because on Wed she woke up with more energy that she had had in a long time - ready to tackle the world. She felt so good she called her doctor's office to report that something was really different this week and since she was to report anything out of the ordinary she wanted to call and tell them - she felt really good!!! They told her that they do not get that type of phone calls. I did suggest that she hold on to some of that energy for later - and about 7PM she ran out of steam - but it was a great day. These are the type of days we pray for - days of energy and knowledge that life is really good. Even when the day is harder and she is on the couch or in bed we know that life is really good and that God is up to something in our lives.

I had one of those moments this past week - you know when God just drops something in your heart and you know that it is not new yet it is something to really think about. Well I woke up the other morning with this thought - today, the day I am facing, has never been lived before - this day was a new day in history and I had the opportunity to make history - today. This day we are facing has never been lived before and we have a chance to make it something special - how we talk to people, how we act towards people, who we are in the middle of a very bad or good situation. We have the ability, not to change history, but to make history - today - this day - is our day to make a difference in the lives of those whom we meet and greet.

So our prayer needs are as follows:
1) that there would be no side effects from the treatments - Melanie is experiencing muscle aches, and the bottoms of her feet are tingling.
2) that the treatment would do what it is designed to do --  KILL the cancer.
3) that she would have more energy for each day.
4) that the low days will be few
5) provision - we are scheduled to return to the ministry work late Feb 08

We thank each and every one of you who are praying for us - we feel it and know it. The battle is won in the heavens and we know that you are in the midst of the battle with us - thank you.

We know that our hope is in Jesus and we are looking forward to celebrating His birth this year with our family.

May the Lord richly bless each of you and your families.
Serving a Big God,
Dennis, Melanie, Monica, Autumn & Jake and Jet

 

November 8 2007

Dear Prayer Partners,

We have had a very busy season - traveling and teaching about the time spent in the "In the Shadow of The Wing of The Most High God" and that season continues. We are home for a season to spend with our new grandson Jet Jacob Kreson, Autumn and Jacob's new baby. We had determined that we would spend a bit of time just being grandparents and when Autumn went back to work, would be daycare central for Jet until our itinerary dates.  The plans have not changed except for one small detail.

Some of you know that Melanie had found a new lump in her neck - the scans and blood work said that it was nothing to worry about (which we all know -- worry doesn't happen in this house).  There was a thought that it may just be an infection. However, the lump continued to grow and so Melanie was scheduled for a Cat scan and a PET scan on Monday Nov 5th - just one day after our 29th Wedding Anniversary - we are planning on going to some very warm Island for our 30th.

We got  the results today.  Here is what is going on - the results show that the tumors are growing - they had never gone away - just shrunk and stopped growing - but are now starting to grow with a few new very small ones in her neck and a couple in her chest area both right and left sides of her sternum. The treatment is to start again on Chemo -- she will start on Tues of next week. The treatment is once a week for three weeks with a week off. We do not know for how long the treatments will be but suspect it will last at least until Feb.

With everything in us, we trust The One we love and serve.  It is our plan to be back on the mission field by late Feb, and to continue teaching that which we learn through total dependence on Him.

Please continue to pray for us as we once again enter the battlefield. It is one we know and because we know it, we also know that prayers are vital to our existence here in this fallen world. We also know that our hope is not here, but in eternity with Jesus - our prayer is that not only do we run the race well, but that we also finish well.

What we know is that Jesus is with us and is in love with us - no matter what our bodies say or do - our bodies are only a temporary condition in the universe - and we are looking forward to those new ones that are promised. However we also know that we are not done here yet - we are standing on the promises of God that He still has work for us to do here. We believe that we still have much more ministry to conduct and spread the Love of Jesus to those who know Him and to those who do not know Him.

So we invite you to join us as we continue to battle this cancer - knowing that there are some really great lessons to be learned and taught.

And as a promise of life, and life abundant, attached is a picture of our new grandson Jet and the three generations above him.

May God richly bless each and every one of you and thank you for being you and being in our lives - you make our life richer.

Dennis, Melanie, Monica, Autumn and Jake and Jet.

See Melanie's blog here: http://hopeandcancer.blogspot.com/