McLaurin update #19 “…for I am the LORD, your healer.”

Dear Friends and Family,                                                                   July 15, 2012

            We can’t believe it has been over a year since Colby was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and just a month short of a year since his surgery!  Praise the Lord for His faithfulness and healing!

            Our updates have become less frequent, but it’s not for any lack of news or adventure!  In fact, our lives are so full that we can only hope we are able to keep up with all that God is doing in, around, and through us.  We hope that your days have been filled with abundant blessings since we last wrote you in February.  Perhaps the easiest way to catch up is to start with a “brief” list of the joys and trials we’ve enjoyed over the last 5 months.  Make sure you make it to the end, because that is where the most exciting news is!

-       Colby continues to tolerate his monthly chemotherapy cycles.  The worst (only?) side effect has been constipation during those weeks.  He has been doing some osteopathic belly manipulation (thanks to a great friend who taught us some D.O. tricks!), which has made that a little bit more bearable :) (yes, he did try all sorts of other remedies without success).  He continues to have absolutely no physical or mental limitations and has passed multiple rounds of neurocognitive testing without any difficulty.  His MRI scans every 2 months have continued to be reassuring, and we hope to hear the same or better news when he has another MRI next Friday.  Please pray with us about that.  We feel like God is doing a special healing work now, and we are excited to see the results!  More on that later…

-       SiSi, our au pair, was baptized on Easter Sunday at her home church and continues to grow in her faith daily.  She is such a blessing to us.

-       SiSi plans to go back to China when her year commitment with our family finishes.  We are praying and searching for a new au pair, though we know SiSi will be irreplaceable.

-       We took a roadtrip to remember in April.  We began with a stop in El Paso, TX to see Colby’s 92 year old Grandma Mac and his aunt and uncle.  We then drove through the desert, headed to the Pacific Ocean and ended up in San Diego where Colby had an academic meeting to attend.  We also spent some sweet time with Emily’s cousin and her family while we were there.  We headed home through the mountains with an overnight stop at the Grand Canyon to watch the sun set and rise over one of the most incredible sites we’ve ever seen.  Then we headed back to Oklahoma City and started working 7 hours later, as if nothing ever happened!

-       We camped at Mt Magazine State Park in AR with Emily’s brother, sister in law, and parents.  It was SiSi’s and Emily’s parents’ first time in a tent on US soil.  They survived not just one night of car camping but two!! 

-       We just returned in early June from a 10-day mission trip with the OU CMDA to Peru.  The whole family went, including SiSi and Jireh.  We saw around 2800 patients as a team and best of all experienced the spiritual fruit of seeing many trust in Christ as their Savior.

-       Jireh turned 3 on June 22.  She is such a joy and is learning about the world around her with a passion that we wish we still had ourselves!

-       We have discovered a local Christian coffee shop and ministry called the Credo House (www.credohouse.org), which is so much more than a coffee shop.  It is a ministry with a desire to “make theology accessible” to people who have never had the opportunity to go to seminary.  The brain food we get weekly from their teaching is wonderfully engaging and stimulating.

-       Colby’s greatest challenge over the last year has been finding satisfaction in his daily work.  We are overjoyed to tell you that some doors are opening that may finally free him up to practice and teach like he feels he is meant to do.  God is graciously providing even in the comparatively small things.  Thank you to all those who have prayed for us in this area.

So what could be more exciting than those things?  Something for which we have been waiting almost 2 years!  We will be traveling to Taiwan next month to pick up our adopted son!  We finally have our “gotcha day,” which is the first day we will actually meet our son.  Jireh will finally get to hug her didi (little brother) on August 20^th!  He will be 21 months old when we finally get him.  We will spend 2 weeks in Taiwan, then allow plenty of time to bond with him once we return home before going back to work.

            Many people have asked, “What’s his name?”  He was given a Chinese name at birth, which we will keep in some form, but we want to give him a name that comes from us as well.  Though we will make the final decision if the name fits when we meet him, we have decided we will call him Rapha.  Sound strange…like Jireh?  It’s because both names are Hebrew, from memorial names for God in the Old Testament of the Bible.

            Jireh means “Provider” from Genesis 22:14 where Abraham renamed a mountain “The LORD will provide” (Jehova Jireh) after God provided a ram to be sacrificed and spared his son Isaac.  This name given to our firstborn reminds us that without the Lord’s provision we could not have had children at all.

            Rapha means “Healer.”  God gives himself this name in Exodus 15:26, when he says “for I am the LORD, your healer” (Jehova Rapha).  I’m sure we don’t need to describe how meaningful this name for our God is during this time in our lives.  However, not only the name, but also the story surrounding it has blessed us and we would like to share that with you.

            Here, as in many places in the Old Testament, the experiences of the nation of Israel become an allegory of instruction for the Christian life.  The people of Israel had just escaped from Egypt and miraculously come through the Red Sea on dry ground.  God then led them through the desert wilderness for 3 days without water before they finally reached a spring.  Unfortunately the water was undrinkable, and they called it “Marah” meaning bitter.

            Now imagine your disappointment.  Just three days before you were walking on dry ground with the waters of the Red sea like towering endless walls of glass on either side of you.  So much water that when it returned to its place, it covered and drowned the entire army of Egypt.  Then following the same God who commanded the waters to part, you are led for 3 days in the desert with no water at all only to arrive at a spring of bitterness.  What was God doing?  Did He make a mistake?  Would you have grumbled against God or trusted Him? 

The people of Israel grumbled, Moses prayed, and God provided.  He used the most unpredictable thing to make the water “sweet” and drinkable--wood.  He showed Moses a “log” and made the water “sweet” when Moses threw it into the water.  This gives us a beautiful picture of the way the wooden cross of Christ would one day make bitter lives sweet for those who trust in the sacrifice made on it.   

After that the scripture says:  “There the LORD made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, saying, ‘If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer” (Ex 15:25b-26).

            Not only was God’s leading them to Marah not a mistake, it was for a good and loving purpose.  God wanted to show them more of who He is, as “the LORD, your healer.”  So what did God want from them?  He talks about keeping commandments and statutes and doing right, but at that point in their nationhood they had not yet been given any of the laws of Leviticus or Deuteronomy, the 10 Commandments, or any written scriptures (that we know of). They had only the words of God spoken through Moses and Aaron and the stories of their forefathers passed down from generation to generation.

            I think the statute can be summarized well by the first instruction He gives, to “diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God.”  They had the words of God through Moses, and we have the words of God in the 66 book canon of Scripture that we rightly call “the Word of God” or the Bible.  They--and we--are to listen, trust, and obey that which we hear from God.  When we trust Him and in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross of wood, He will restore and heal in us that which is bitter or broken because that is who he is, “the LORD, your healer.” He heals because He gets glory through it.

            We have to confess that over the last year we have not fully trusted God in every detail, and we have occasionally caught ourselves grumbling like the people of Israel did.  However, we know that He is Jehova Rapha, and that he has brought us to this spring of bitterness for a good and loving purpose.  He has and will continue to show himself to us, and every day we see his healing work.  He has already healed and restored us emotionally, spiritually, and relationally in miraculous ways.  God does not have to heal Colby physically to be Jehova Rapha.  He has already done so much.  But we continue to pray for complete healing and restoration, and we believe he is doing something very special right now.  Please pray with us for complete healing of Colby’s brain tumor, and be prepared to give Him all the glory when He provides it. 

            As always this email list is intended to be composed of people who want to pray for us and have either directly or indirectly asked to be added to it.  If you do not want to receive emails or do not plan to pray, we agree that you should not be recieving these emails and we would be happy to remove your email address.  We promise we won't be offended.  Just let us know, please.

            We continue to be blessed by your faithful prayers and support of us, even when we are not faithful in keeping you updated.  Please continue in prayer.  We are always in need of it.

Thankful for your fellowship and prayers,

Colby, Emily, Jireh, and Rapha

McLaurin Update #18: Desiring the fullness of joy

Beloved Family and Friends,      February 28, 2012

Since we last wrote, the Lord has continued to shower us with many blessings.  Although mixed with somber moments and plenty of opportunities to trust in our great God rather than in our own flesh, those blessings continue to draw both of us closer to Jesus on a daily basis.  “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11).”  It is one thing to have the future hope and assurance of eternal life in Heaven with Jesus (by grace alone through faith in Christ’s atoning sacrifice) but what about today?  One day we will see our Lord face to face, and there will be “pleasures forevermore.”  But our Lord also promises “fullness of joy” in his presence even now.  It often seems impossible when we have stressors at work, when we disagree with one another, when we see injustice in the world, when we are humbled by the challenges of parenting, and when we are forced to look at our own sins and own up to them.  

And yet, God loves us and wants to be a part of our daily lives.  It is so much sweeter to walk the path of life as He leads us moment by moment.  We both become distracted.  When we look away from God and His leading and try to take matters into our own hands, there is no more joy because we have strayed from his presence.  Those moments feel lonely, but then He reminds us that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8).  When we stay in the presence of our God daily and submit ourselves to Him, we are learning that God truly is faithful and he showers us with “fullness of joy.”  

Thank you for praying for Colby and his trip to Nicaragua.  The week was very fruitful!  Colby was able to use both his gifting and his training--in preaching/teaching and in healing.  He enjoyed sharing his testimony and sharing from scripture with the local church.  Then he also had the opportunity to use his hands to extract rotting teeth!  What a comfort it was after months of waiting for surgical privileges for him to see that he still had reasonable technical skill.  His team grew together over the course of the week to share a unified vision for ministry and many patients heard the gospel.  Colby had the blessing of praying with several patients who wanted to begin a relationship with Jesus.  There is joy in getting to use the gifts God has given us.

Soon after Colby’s return home, we learned that our sweet 7 year old friend, Katie-Mei, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  Our families meet together with two other families from our church on a regular basis to study the Bible and to share our lives with one another.  Katie-Mei is a great role model for Jireh and always does a good job of making Jireh feel loved when the other kids get tired of playing with the baby of our group.  She is a fantastic artist, actress, avid book reader, and she loves the Lord.  It seems strange that God would allow two families in the same small group to have to deal with cancer together.  And yet, there is joy in sharing one another’s burdens.

We have also been learning more about each other and focusing on improving our marriage.  This process has been much more intentional than in other attempts and has required more commitment, humility, honesty, forgiveness, and grace than we have ever extended towards one another.  There is joy in sanctification.

Colby’s health continues to remain steady and good.  He will have more blood tests this week to see if his body is tolerating the larger doses of chemotherapy.  As far as we can tell, his side effects remain minimal.  He is still exercising on a regular basis, and we enjoyed hiking in the Wichita Mountains this past weekend.  There is joy in caring for the bodies God has given us and in knowing that our days are numbered by Him alone.  

Sisi continues to be a blessing to our family. She is tremendously helpful with household chores when Emily is working.  Jireh loves learning Chinese from Sisi every day and now spouts Chinese rhymes and poetry throughout the day.  This week, we are rejoicing with Sisi as she has become a Christian!  Many of you have been praying for her, and this is a true answer to prayer.  She is planning to be baptized soon in a local Chinese church that has been lovingly ministering to her over the last few weeks.  There is joy in conversion!

And as if this update were not too long already, we have another bit of exciting news to share...and ask for your prayer over.  Just as we had to trust in God’s provision to begin our family with Jireh (hence her name, which is from Genesis 22:14 and means “provider”), we had decided to trust God to grow our family further through international adoption.  We have been on a waiting list to adopt from Taiwan for over a year now.  Well, we have received a referral!  There is a little boy in an orphanage in Taiwan who turned 1 year old on October 31st, and we believe we will be his forever family!  Yes, for a number of reasons it is not practical.  However, we have been very open and up-front about Colby’s illness, and things have continued to move forward in ways that only God could orchestrate.  Our last hurdle will be approval from the Taiwan government.  We anticipate that our paperwork will be filed with the courts within the next 2-3 weeks.  After that, we are hoping to be able to travel to pick up our son between April and June of this year.  There is joy as God supplies us with abundantly good gifts. 

Thank you for being so faithful to pray for us.  We realize that were it not for your prayers and the groanings of the Holy Spirit, our lives would seem to have more chaos than peace.  As many have asked what tangible things we may need, prayer ranks right at the top of that list!

Prayer Requests

• Praise God for sustaining Colby physically and spiritually on his mission trip to Nicaragua.  Praise God for giving the team opportunities to share the gospel as well as to see lives changed because of the gospel.
• Praise God for leading us down the road of adoption and providing Jireh with a little brother (“Di Di” in Chinese).
• Praise God for changing Sisi’s life.  We are excited to see what He has in store for her and are praying that she will be discipled in such a way that her faith will not fail her when trials come in the future.
• Pray for speedy and favorable rulings from the Taiwanese courts so we may be able to bring our son home soon
• Pray for wise use of time as we both need more time to study the Word.  We know we are both going through a period of tremendous refining by God and need to grab hold of the opportunities to be still before God daily.
• Pray for wisdom as we consider which direction Colby’s medical career will move.  So far, he still has not been able to gain surgical privileges where he works but has in recent days begun to see more patients in clinic.  God is opening some new doors and closing some others.  Pray that we would have wisdom and faith to know which doors to walk through.  
• Pray for healing for Colby and Katie Mei.  Though their treatments and prognoses are different, the struggles they face are similar.  Pray that Emily and Katie Mei’s family will have wisdom to know how best to support them as they continue treatments.  
• Pray for the Lord to lead Emily as she prepares to teach medical students from Tulsa and Oklahoma City during their women’s retreat on March 9-10.

Soli deo gloria,

Colby, Emily, and Jireh 

McLaurin update #17 1/2: "Bless the LORD, O my soul..."

Prayer warriors,

 

A brief update to say THANK YOU  for praying!  Colby's blood tests and MRI scan both turned out wonderfully this week!  We won't have the final radiologist's interpretation until next week, but we were able to look at the images together with him and with Colby's oncologist, and they look fantastic!  Definitely no progression, growth, or contrast enhancement.  Praise the Lord!  

 

[103:1] Bless the LORD, O my soul,
  and all that is within me,
  bless his holy name!
 [2] Bless the LORD, O my soul,
  and forget not all his benefits,
 [3] who forgives all your iniquity,
  who heals all your diseases,
 [4] who redeems your life from the pit,
  who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
 [5] who satisfies you with good
  so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
(Psalm 103:1-5 ESV)

 

Please pray for Colby and the team going from HHBC to Nicaragua this weekend.  Colby will be taking his chemo while he is there, and really needs the Lord to be with him and keep him healthy and strong while serving.  Emily, Jireh, and SiSi also need the Lord's presence to comfort and sustain them while Colby is away.  Thank God for his loving omnipresence and sovereignty!

 

 

In His service,

 

Colby, Emily, and Jireh

McLaurin update #17: ...”do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you...”

Dear Prayer Warriors,

The next few weeks will be challenging for us and an opportunity for great blessing!  All the more reason to ask for prayer!

As we write, we are waiting for results from a blood test Colby had this morning.  He has to have blood drawn about 3 weeks after starting each cycle of chemotherapy (at least once a month).  The blood test helps Colby’s oncologist determine if the dose of chemo is hurting his body too much and needs to be adjusted down.  Today’s blood test will reflect his body’s response to the highest dose of temozolomide he has been on yet.  Pray that Colby’s blood counts will not have dropped at all!

We will also have our next MRI scan this Friday morning, Feb 3rd.  Because Colby’s health insurance changed, this MRI will be done at a different hospital where neither of us can look up the images ourselves.  However, Emily knows the radiologist that will be reading the scans.  We hope to be able to sit down with him immediately after the scan is done to look at it together and compare it to prior exams.  Pray that the tumor would be even smaller, or would disappear completely!

There is the challenge.  So how about the blessing?  Blessing will come through watching Christ glorify Himself in us as He sustains us.  He has also blessed both of us with unique opportunities for ministry recently.  This is a specific answer to our prayers.  Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer for us!

Emily has been asked to lead a retreat for medical student women in the Christian Medical and Dental Associations (CMDA) at the OU an OSU medical schools.  Praise God for this opportunity!  The retreat will be Friday and Saturday, March 9th-10th.  It will probably be held in our home.  Please pray for Emily and for the student leadership at both campuses as they prepare for this retreat together!

On Saturday Feb 4th Colby will be traveling to Nicaragua for a medical/evangelistic mission trip with a team from our church.  This was a last minute opportunity that we feel was provided by the Lord.  Colby has also been asked to preach (with translation) at the church in Nicaragua with which we partner in ministry.  That service will be Sunday night, Feb 5th.  In addition to sharing his testimony Colby is preparing to share from a passage of scripture that has blessed him enormously since his diagnosis: 1 Peter 4:12-19.  It also happens to be the passage that our church in OK, Henderson Hills, will be covering that weekend as a part of an ongoing series on 1 Peter.  Colby hopes this will bless not only the Nicaraguan’s present but also his American team members.  Please pray for mercy in Colby’s preparation and travel and that God would prepare the hearts of the people with whom his team will interact.

As you can see, we will be getting a lot of potentially life-altering information this week.  And should we be surprised that our faith would be tested at this exact moment in time, when we are on the verge of wonderful opportunities to glorify the Lord?  Should we worry?  Can God be trusted even with this?  

    [12] Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. [13] But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
(1 Peter 4:12-13 ESV)

God can be trusted, and He will glorify himself.  That is certain.  There is, however, another spiritual power at work that the Bible calls “our adversary.”  He wants nothing more than for these trials to turn us away from faith in Christ...and be “devoured:”

    [8] Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. [9] Resist him, firm in your faith
(1 Peter 5:8-9 ESV)

God is faithful.  He is worthy of our trust.  Prepare to rejoice!

    [19] Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
(1 Peter 4:19 ESV)


A recap of prayer requests:

1. Pray for Colby’s blood test result and MRI this week.  We will give you the update on these as soon as we know it.

2. Pray for Emily and CMDA student leaders as they prepare for the women’s retreat in March.

3. Pray for the team from HHBC that will be traveling to Nicaragua this weekend, and for all of the Nicaraguans that will be touched through this ministry.  Pray for Colby as he prepares to share with our partner church in Nicaragua this Sunday evening.

4. Continue to pray for clarity on Colby’s future in work and ministry.  This is the area of his life that is the most emotionally challenging these days.  Pray that whatever Colby does, it be effective for the Kingdom and bring glory to Christ.


Thank you for laboring in prayer for us!


Because He first loved us,

Colby, Emily, and Jireh McLaurin

McLaurin update #16: ”if we are faithless, he remains faithful”

Dear Prayer Warriors Jan 8, 2012

It looks like it has been a month since we sent our last update, but we can tell that you haven’t stopped praying.  We are thankful that your faithfulness in prayer does not depend on our faithfulness in providing updates.  Similarly, the Lord’s faithfulness is not dependent on our remaining faithful:

“The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;

if we endure, we will also reign with him;

if we deny him, he also will deny us;

if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

for he cannot deny himself.”

(2 Timothy 2:11-13 ESV)

The Lord cannot “deny himself,” or act contrary to His character as revealed in scripture.  His righteousness demands justice against those who “deny him.”  It also demands faithfulness to the promises He gives us in scripture, even when we are not faithful to ours.  One such promise is this:

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

(Philippians 1:6 ESV)

God is certainly doing a good work in us through this trial, and we are reminded every day of his faithfulness.

Colby had his first post-radiation MRI scan on Dec 9th.  Colby spoke with the neuroradiologist that day, and to both his and the radiologist’s eyes, it looks better!  We were praying that the 16% of the original tumor volume that remains would be gone.  Was it gone?  Well, not really...but maybe!  

Let us explain what this means:  After the neurosurgeon removed 84% of the tumor, we were told that the goal of postoperative radiation and chemotherapy was to push the remaining tumor into a “chronic” state.  That is, that we may always see the abnormal “signal” on MRI scans indicating an area that is not normal brain, but that the area will remain the same over time.  However, there are other things besides tumor that can can cause abnormal “signal,” including what we call “treatment effect.”  Blood vessels that receive radiation are a little more leaky and can change the “signal” in that part of the brain.  This area of abnormal “signal” is what we will be continuing to follow on MRI scans about every 2 months for the next year, Lord willing.  What we hope is that the area of abnormal signal will not grow, change, or become “contrast enhancing.”  Contrast enhancement occurs with the most malignant forms of glioma.  Though Colby’s tumor is malignant, it was not previously contrast-enhancing.  An increase in size or enhancement might indicate it is getting worse.  

The great news is that Colby’s tumor is still non-enhancing, has not grown, and to Colby’s and the radiologist’s eyes, it may even be smaller!  There is still some abnormal signal.  At this time we cannot be sure if that is tumor or treatment effect.  So, there could still be tumor in Colby’s brain, or we could just be seeing “treatment effect.”  An MRI scan cannot tell us for certain, so medically speaking we must assume there is still tumor present and continue to treat according to plan.  What does that mean for us?

That means cycles of chemotherapy for at least the next year, Lord willing.  It is the same chemo that Colby was taking during radiation but at a much higher dose.  In fact, he has already finished his first cycle and tolerated it wonderfully!  See what we mean about the Lord’s faithfulness?  The temozolomide, like many forms of chemo, can have some bad side effects that we have to watch out for.  In addition to the nausea that Colby has already experienced in the past, the chemo can severely decrease the production of white blood cells in his bone marrow and make him more susceptible to serious infections.  That is a true risk with what we do for a living, especially now with the cold and flu season in full swing!  However, God brought Colby through the first cycle with almost no side effects!  We even enjoyed a family cruise (cruise ships being infamous for being disease factories) between Christmas and New Years without getting sick at all!  He will start the next cycle on Tuesday, at an even higher dose than the last.

Colby continues to work full time with no real limitations except those imposed on him from outside.  Emily is finally adjusting to her new work schedule and the demands of a new electronic medical record.  Though she remains busier than she was prior to the rollout of the EMR, she continues to have time to focus on and see the rewards of the ministry side of her hospitalist practice.  Jireh is a full-fledged two-year old with all of the challenges that come with parenting this age.  However, she is also an incredible joy to watch as she grows and develops.  She is especially enjoying developing her musical side as she sings all the time and has even picked up the violin (we use the term “picked up” loosely)!

SiSi, our Chinese Au Pair, had a wonderful time in Washington D.C. after Christmas.  Thank you for praying for her!  She attended a Bridges International conference there with many other students from China and other countries.  In addition to seeing many of the tourist sites in D.C., she learned a great deal about Christ at the conference.  She is very eager to learn, and reads her Chinese-English bible with a fervor that should put many of us to shame.  We have had several wonderful conversations about faith since she returned.  She is very honest with herself, us, and with God that she does not yet believe in Christ.  She is counting the costs and understands that the life of a Christian, especially in China, is not easy.  She also seems to understand that she cannot “pretend” to have faith and think that God is fooled.  However, she says she wants to believe, and we think she is very close.

So let’s keep praying!  

1) That Colby would be able to tolerate the higher dose of chemo without any change in his white blood cell count.

2) That God would heal Colby in a miraculous way.  He will have his next MRI scan in early February, and we would love to share great news again!

3) That as we experience the faithfulness of God, He will give us the gift of being able to be faithful to Him in all circumstances.  Our busy routines are setting in, and we do not want to be in a position of being busy without purpose.

4) Jireh will be spending a few more days in day care in the weeks to come as SiSi looks forward to taking TOEFL classes.  Pray that she will adjust well between being with SiSi all day and going to daycare occasionally.  

5)  Please also pray that Jireh does not bring home any infections from daycare (and that we don’t bring any home ourselves from our hospitals!) that will adversely affect Colby’s health.  

6)  That our lives will daily bring glory to Christ.  We pray that Sisi and Jireh will be drawn to Jesus despite living with us when we make mistakes and behave in unholy ways.  We trust God to soften their hearts and to give them each their own powerful stories that will tell of how they know that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior...all in His perfect timing.  We continue to pray for opportunities to share our stories of God’s faithfulness that many more will know and enjoy Jesus forever.

Following a faithful Father,

Colby, Emily, and Jireh

McLaurin update #15: rejoice always, pray without ceasing…

Dear Loved Ones:

We realize it has been a long time since we sent an update.  However,
we can tell we are still being upheld by your prayers.  We certainly
had much to be thankful for during this Thanksgiving holiday.  We were
reminded so clearly by this passage of scripture that we studied
beforehand with a group of brothers and sisters from church:

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all
circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
(1 Thess 5:16-18)

We have so much to thank our heavenly Father for, despite what our
circumstances may look like.  Emily’s work pressures have been more
difficult and time-consuming than ever as she is learning to use a
new electronic health record while trying to continue to provide
excellent care for her patients and for our family.  Colby has also in
the last few weeks frequently battled disappointment and uncertainty
about his own job.  But we know prayer is different from “hoping for”
something or “positive thinking.”  It is different, because the object
of prayer is God, not me, and:

“The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the
earth.  He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is
unsearchable.  He gives power to the faint and to him who has no might
he increases strength.  Even youths shall faint and be weary, and
young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall
renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they
shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah
40:28-31)

Yes, this is God who does not grow weary as we do.  His understanding
is not limited as ours is.  And those who wait for Him and depend on
Him, He rewards with renewal of strength.  Keep praying!  Yes, this is
God who sent his only Son to be born a human baby on that first
Christmas, live perfectly, and die innocently to take our just
punishment so that we could be forgiven and restored to fellowship
with Him.

We were also reminded of each of you who, on our behalf, “pray without
ceasing" (1 Thess 5:17).  Thank you.  May our hope continue to rest
in Christ alone, who is the Great Physician.

We continue to be amazed at how the Lord has sustained Colby
physically and our whole family in spirit.  Colby finished chemo and
radiation almost 4 weeks ago and has been on a long break since that
time.  Praise the Lord that he made it through the entire course with
very minimal side effects and no true complications.  Colby continued to
work throughout treatment and is enjoying caring for his patients more
than ever.  He did get a little fatigued in the last week of the 7 week course, 

but he feels like his energy level almost completely returned to

normal within the first week after completing treatment.  He did not
need any steroids, pain medicine, or change to any of his medicines
during the whole course.  He has had none of the symptoms which would
be concerning for tumor progression: such as seizures, headache,
vision changes, dizziness, etc.  God has been so good to us.

We have nothing to fear…because we have a good and sovereign God.
Remember that, and let’s keep praying!  Here’s how:

1)      Colby’s first post-treatment MRI is tomorrow morning.  Yes, that’s
kind of a big deal.  It feels a little silly to pray for an MRI, but we
think we can pray even more expectantly now that we will soon see the
outcome of our prayers for healing!  We are praying that the 16% of
tumor that remained would be gone!  Certainly that is not what would
be expected from the treatment, but God can do it, and it would
clearly be a miracle if he did!  Are you ready to praise Him?

2)      Colby will start the next stage of treatment on Monday.  This means
monthly cycles of chemotherapy for at least a year.  It will be the
same chemo, in pill form, but will be at twice the dose as he took
during his radiation treatments.  Please pray that he would have no
side effects, no nausea, no drop in the infection-fighting white blood
cell counts, and no infections.

3)      Praise the Lord for SiSi Liu, our new Au Pair.  She is from China,
is living with us, and is helping us care for Jireh during the day
while we are working.  That keeps Jireh out of day care during the
cold and flu season and keeps her from bringing illness home to Colby
while he is on chemo.  SiSi is helping Jireh learn Chinese.  She is also
very interested in learning about Christianity, which she has had no
exposure to in China.  We spend time together as a family studying the
Bible, and she will attend a Bridges International conference in
Washington D.C. after Christmas to learn more about Christ.  Pray that
this will bear fruit for her Joy!

4)      Praise the Lord for many opportunities to share our story and
glorify God in the midst of this trial!  Colby has had several
opportunities to share his testimony and scripture that has upheld us
with different groups and individuals recently.  We are praying for
more opportunities.  Please pray with us that Christ would get the
glory through our lives and that we would embrace the words of John
the Baptist, who said:  “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Come thou long expected Jesus!

For His glory,
Colby, Emily, and Jireh McLaurin

McLaurin Update #14: That the power of Christ may rest upon us

Dear Friends and Family,                                                                               11.7.11

This update will be short, as the Lord has filled our days with many joys and many struggles.  Both are gifts from God.  We hope to be able to share more details with you at another time.  In the mean time, Colby has started his last week of radiation and Emily’s demands at work have increased considerably.  We are asking for your prayers again, knowing that your prayers have been an incredible source of blessing and protection for us.  This week promises to be a challenging one, but we know that the Bible says, “`My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.  For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 2:9-10).”  How glorious it is that when we are weak, the power of Christ simply rests upon us to provide strength rather than to crush us!

PRAISES:

1.     Our neighbors have continued to provide meals for us.  We are overwhelmed by their generosity and commitment to shoulder our burdens with us!  Their generosity has opened up more consistent quality time together for us as a family.

2.     Colby has made it through 6 weeks of chemotherapy and radiation with minimal side effects so far!  He has been able to do cardiovascular exercise on most days and still goes to work every day.  We are amazed at how well he has done.  And while Jireh and Emily had colds recently, Colby has been able to avoid getting sick so far.   

PRAYER REQUESTS:   

1.     Healing:  We believe that God can completely heal Colby if He so chooses.  This last week of radiation is the last bit of radiation that he can have during his lifetime.  We are praying for effective treatments.  Please pray, also, that Colby continues to remain healthy despite being on chemotherapy. 

2.     Endurance:  Colby noticed that he is much more fatigued after his radiation treatment today than he has been over the last many weeks.  He feels the impact both mentally and physically.  Please pray that he will tolerate this final week of radiation therapy and that his mind will continue to remain clear.  Please pray also for minimal long-term side effects.

3.     Patience and grace:  With the rising fatigue anticipated this week, there will be temptation to become more selfish and impatient with one another and potentially also with Jireh.  We pray that we will be able to truly support one another this week and desire to be quick to forgive one another when we are not patient or kind.

4.     Wisdom:  With the implementation of the electronic health record taking place at work, Emily needs to learn efficiency with this new system without sacrificing quality of care and ministry to her patients. 

All glory to Christ,

Colby, Emily, and Jireh