More Connor News

From Connor's Mom:

We are flying to Houston tonight and Connor will get his first iv dose of cetuximab tomorrow morning. We will be coming home tomorrow in the late afternoon. I believe Connor will start his oral chemo tomorrow, also. I don't know that for sure, though. Here are the specific prayer requests:

1. Pray this treatment works to kill and shrink the tumor. Tait and I feel really good about this new plan.
2. Pray Connor will get a rash. (sounds crazy I know). Cetuximab works on the epidermal receptor on this tumor, but your skin is also an epidermal layer. If he gets a rash on his skin, that means the drug is working on the outside epidermal layer, which also means it's working on the inside epidermal receptor.
3. Pray that God continues to protect his organs from the invasion of this tumor. God has remained faithful so far. Connor's digestive system continues to work.
4. Pray for Connor's strength and stamina, and his joyful spirit to continue.
5. Pray for our strength and endurance as a family.
6. Pray we spread God's love and hope to others we meet.

I know that this is not the quick solution from God that we wanted, but I know that God is still Good! After we received the news about the tumor still progressing, I prayed that God would reveal Himself to me. Show me some answers to my many questions. I told my mom that it seems like He is just not answering our prayers right now, He seems inactive. After this conversation with my mom, I started my Bible study for the week, which was on Esther. I felt like this lesson was speaking right to me and my situation. I will share with you some quotes from the study.

Here's the application for the book of Esther...."When God's voice can't be heard, His hand can be seen. God is at work behind the scenes, protecting His people. He uses people to accomplish His plan, and His timing is always perfect."

"Spiritual tenacity means to work deliberately on the certainty that God is not going to be worsted. One of the greatest strains in life is the strain of waiting for God. Remain spiritually tenacious."
Oswald Chambers.

"At times, God seems to stand in the shadows. But given a chance, wouldn't we much rather experience Him standing in the light? We feel more confident when we can see Him clearly, assured that everything will work out for good. But if the book of Esther teaches us anything, it is that sometimes God works incognito- though just as mightily as ever - with His providence concealed. God's unseen hand at work is a Timeless Principle."

"But no matter how hard we look and listen, there are times in life when God remains hidden. Often we think it is failure on our part - that we must not have tried hard enough. But we have to understand that silence and mystery are part of the nature of God. And it is in those times that we must trust what we cannot see - His faithfulness - and hope for what we cannot feel - His mercy. Even in the darkness, we can rest in His love."

WOW! Even in this dark time, God is still faithful to reassure me with messages from His Word. What a great God we serve!

Here's an update on the Blood Drive for Connor and Cody N at our school. 300 people gave blood and 134 people signed up for the bone marrow registry. What a great event!!! Thanks for all the hard work that went into the blood drive!

Also, I wanted to thank all the participants for TeamConnor at TX Tough. We had three teams, one from the wives at Tait's office, who were Julie A, Scarlett L, Alix S, myself and my niece,
Lexie. Also, the PCA team had Debby P, Dylan P (8 year old classmate of Connor's), Missy S, and Denise T. Our Sunday School team had Blair and Kelli F, Chris and Shara L, Elizabeth C (8 yr old friend of Connor's), Derry and Julia A. One team placed 3rd place and the other 2 teams were in the top 10 or 15. Great job, guys! Thank you for all your love and support of Connor!

Joy Cruse