GREAT NEWS!

View the Chinese translation of this post here.

Today was our first "progress" report from the treatments. As I explained earlier we were praying that the index for blast cells (bad cells/Leukemia) would below 1 in like 10 million cells in order for her to stay in standard risk. Well, the doctor came back tonight with great news. Sarah's body has responded through the help of our gracious Lord and her number is ZERO. This does not mean she is completely free but it is below the microscopic level so now they are finishing the molecular test to see what it shows. We all rejoice at this great news of what God is doing!

Sarah started the IV chemo today. She had three different dosages of chemo. On a normal day it will only be one. I guess they want to blast the blasters! ok, I could not resist that one. As of tonight she is feeling a little sick to her stomach but she has not vomited.

It is great how God is using her devotion for Girls by Carolyn Larsen. Today was on the armor of God so we read Ephesians 6. She looked at me as she read the part about the fight is not against flesh and blood, but against the evil one. She knows the cancer is in her blood so this really hit home to both of us. We talked about what type of arrows the enemy is shooting at us now in order to try to destroy our faith. They were arrows of fear, anxiety, etc. etc. When we came to the hospital last week we brought her shield of faith pillow. This is being used today as we start feeling fear so we hold up our shield of faith to block the arrows. Anne and I bought this for her years ago and had no idea we would be in Hong Kong using this pillow to encourage Sarah through chemo.

All this has taken a toll on her ol' daddy. I was with Hannah yesterday and we stopped by Starbucks for a treat. I also bought coffee beans so we can make coffee at the hotel. Well, I walked off without my coffee beans. This morning when I walked back to Starbucks to see if they kept the bag for me, the guy just looked at me strange, but they did at least give me the coffee beans. It is amazing how life changes so fast. Sarah wanted me to start teaching her how to ride a bike without training wheels, but instead I am teaching her how to walk and push the IV pole. She loves for me to teach her how to work her new Macbook that her friends from Tung Chung bought her, but I never thought about her searching for wigs on the internet because she knows that she will probably lose her hair.

Yet, still God is good. I can't explain it totally, but I know with all my heart that God is good. As the Psalmist writes in Psalm 28:7 "The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving."

Blessings, Jay