My Health Journey, Amoebas, Cholera to Cancer

My goal is to uplift you with the encouragement I have received from the Lord. I've been in the valley and on the mountain top. I understand your feelings and how God has helped.

I am writing this article to share with those of you facing a cancer diagnosis or other horrible life-threatening news. I want you to know that I am on the same journey and have been on it for a long time. This article does not tell my story as much as it does to help you understand I identify with you; I understand you. I am not speaking theoretically or from some pastor’s study, but from the same dark clouds and impending environment where you have been living.

I want to help you with the help I have received from the Lord. It has been a long and hard journey, and it is not over for me yet.

For the first 58 years of my life, I had very few health problems and nearly never visited a doctor. I got the usual sicknesses, like the flu or stomach viruses, but I was always very healthy.

Amoebas

In Mexico, I had a bout with amoebas that messed me up, but a doctor friend visited the house and gave me medicines, and I got better quickly. I had dealt with horrible stomach pains and bloody diarrhea, but after losing quite a bit of blood, I was better over the next few weeks.

Typhoid Fever

In Arequipa, I rarely ever missed church. I spent years preaching up to six times per Sunday. One day, I was severely ill. A doctor friend visited my house and said I had typhoid fever. He gave me the medicine, and again, I recovered quickly.

Otherwise very healthy

When others were sick, I never seemed to be affected. I could work long days, sleep less than usual, travel, preach, drink unsafe tap water, eat anything, and always stay healthy.

Then, the story changed. I will describe what happened over the next 11 or 12 years. I pray this will help and encourage you.

My Purpose

My only reason for writing this is to help others go through what has happened in my life for years. How do you deal with all the sickness? What is your approach to managing all the emotional upheaval? How do you help your family? How do you keep your mind straight and continue to serve God?

I welcome you on the journey with me. Let’s get help and help others. If you are facing a life-threatening disease, let’s talk. We must also speak if you have friends or loved ones going through something like this.

You can help. You can make a difference. We all need friends and family who are there for us in the most trying days of our lives. In the days when we do not treat you fairly or kindly because of our fear and frustration, we need you. We need each other because what you see me going through today may be what happens to you or your loved ones in the future.

I hope you will enjoy and learn from the story of my dealing with cancer.

May 2012

The camp season was well underway. I was preaching to a group of high school and college-age people. My goal was to challenge them to consider giving their lives to world evangelism, which I had done many times before. The week was going great.

I woke up reasonably early to get ready to preach. God always laid the passage and message on my heart that he wanted me to preach, but not this morning. I couldn’t understand why I was hearing nothing from the Lord.

Urinated Blood

Needing to go to the bathroom anyway, I continued praying and asking God what was happening and why I didn’t feel any of the usual burden for my preaching. I urinated.

It came out blood red. I thought I was seeing things, and then I was nervous. What in the world was happening to me? I thought maybe I was dreaming or having a nightmare.

Betty, my wife, was awaking. I told her to sit down because we had to talk. This was the first time I had ever said this in all the previous years of our 39 years of marriage.

I told her we needed to go to an Emergency Room because I was urinating blood.

Emergency Room

When I arrived, they checked me in to see the doctor. He was very calm and not worried at all. I was in near-perfect health for a 58-year-old, except for being overweight.

I asked if he would need a urine sample since I had to go to the bathroom. He said of course and gave me the little cup.

I returned with a cup full of what appeared to be blood. The doctor went into overdrive, getting me several scans with and without contrast.

He announced I had cancer on my right kidney but that it appeared to be contained. I would lose the kidney, but everything should be ok.

Day After

The day I got the news I had cancer was like wave after wave of emotions. I felt fear, apprehension, shock, and questioned everything.

I wanted to talk to my family and friends, but everyone said, “Oh, you are strong.” “It will be ok.” “I wouldn’t worry.” “God will take care of you.”

I wanted to talk, but no one wanted to listen or discuss it. It was too much for them.

The next day, I went into isolation and hibernation. I had to deal with the fact that I might die. I had been on the Internet. Google had told me all I needed to know. I was dead already.

Even though I had preached the gospel for over 40 years, I didn’t want to die. Fear consumed me. I felt hurt. I was angry.

I had to deal with a roller coaster of emotions and prepare to die.

After hours of drawing up inside myself, I began preparing Betty. Here is how you do everything. Here is how to get access to all the money. All the usual.

I was getting somewhat better. My heart was under control. I was preparing to die.

By the end of the day, I had accepted my fate and was prepared to die, moving closer to being truly ready for heaven.

My Uncle

My uncle, with whom I shared a birthday, called to tell me he had had cancer on his right kidney at about the same age. They took his kidney, then the cancer came back on the other kidney, but they were able to take the tumor and leave him with his left kidney.

I received encouragement.

To be continued….

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How to Listen to Podcasts and Subscribe

Podcasts have become increasingly popular, offering a convenient way to access on-demand audio content. Whether you’re interested in news, entertainment, or niche topics like world evangelism, there’s likely a podcast for you. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to listen to podcasts and subscribe to your favorite shows, including the “World Evangelism Podcast.”

Downloading a Podcast App

The first step is downloading a podcast app on your smartphone or tablet. Popular options include Apple Podcasts (pre-installed on iOS devices), Google Podcasts (pre-installed on Android devices), Spotify, Overcast, and Pocket Casts.

1. Open the app store on your device (App Store for iOS or Google Play Store for Android).

2. Search for your preferred podcast app and tap “Install” or “Get.”

Open the app and browse the podcasts or use the search function once installed.

Finding and Subscribing to Podcasts

To subscribe to the “World Evangelism Podcast” or any other show, follow these steps:

1. In your podcast app, search for “World Evangelism Podcast.”

2. Tap on the podcast’s listing when it appears in the search results.

3. You should see options to “Subscribe” or “Follow.” Tap this button to subscribe to the podcast.

4. Once subscribed, new episodes will automatically download to your device as they become available.

Listening to Podcast Episodes

After subscribing to a podcast, you can access and listen to its episodes in various ways:

1. Most podcast apps have a “Library” or “Subscriptions” section where you can find all the podcasts you’ve subscribed to and their available episodes.

2. Tap on an episode to play it.

3. Many apps allow you to download episodes for offline listening, adjust playback speed, and set a sleep timer.

Managing Subscriptions

As you discover more podcasts you enjoy, you can easily subscribe to them within your podcast app. To unsubscribe from a podcast, locate it in your app’s subscription list and tap the “Unsubscribe” or “Unfollow” button.

Some apps, like Apple Podcasts, also offer the option to create custom stations or playlists, allowing you to group episodes from different podcasts for seamless listening.

Following these simple steps, you can access a vast library of podcasts, including the “World Evangelism Podcast,” and never miss an episode of your favorite shows.

Just scan this code

for the World Evangelism Podcast

Thankful

I just got another supporter of this ministry and I want to say thank you for helping me do what I believe God has me doing right now. Thanks to those that financially support this ministry.