New Update on my Aunt Becki:

I have just been sent a new update on my Aunt Becki who is in the middle of Chemo for lung and kidney cancer.
Please keep her in your prayers.


Buffalo You-Tube Links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS7misT3Mag&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM

Dear Buffaloes,

I write you this prayer update with great praise on my lips and in my heart for what God is doing in this process. I see Becki almost daily and it is evident she is gaining strength. We also praise God that the often-devastating side effects of treatment have been minimal.

Melinda Scott has organized this weekend as a “Global Weekend of Prayer for Becki!” The insights that are already pouring forth from this are amazing. Our sincere thanks to all of you involved in these three days of prayer and fasting.

Becki and I have a mutual friend, which many of you who receive this may also know. Maggie and Rich Taylor currently serve as senior pastors in Flagstaff, AZ and have served our Foursquare family as missionaries. John and Becki Rusk were senior pastors of this Flagstaff church just prior to Maggie and Rich Taylor. This week Maggie underwent a double mastectomy and many of us who have prayed for Becki have now joined ranks in praying for Maggie.

Only this morning I received a message from Maggie’s daughter with this quote from Maggie, “This is what it feels like to be lowered down on the mat through the roof tiles to Jesus by your friends.” What an amazing example in the Word. These words brought tears to my eyes as I could just see the picture in my mind and heart. I love that God asks us to carry each other. For both Maggie and Becki, many people are committed to pray and “carry a rope to help them through the roof to Jesus!”

I want to take a moment and thank each of you for your prayer support. John and Becki truly appreciate you.

There is an importance of our continued and steadfast commitment in this matter. I ask you at this hour to remain like a soldier who stands watch in the night. The “Word” we hide in our hearts regarding Becki is total and complete healing. Yet, we know in Mark 4 that the enemy comes “immediately” (vs. 15) to steal that Word. If that does not work, then we see he comes “afterward” (vs. 17) to cause us to stumble in the Word, and if these tactics do not work, he attempts to “choke” (vs. 19) the Word out of us. Knowing that the enemy wants to steal the Word from us we must remain strong in our faith.

Our position of faith is seen in the story of the four friends when the Word indicates (Mark 2) that “Jesus saw their (friends) faith” and this is when the miraculous was released! As I conclude the remarks for this communication I am struck by the last words of the text surrounding the story of the four friends, “…all were amazed and glorified God, saying, We never saw anything like this!”

Partnering Together in the Miraculous,

MEDICAL REPORT UPDATE FOR BECKI RUSK

• TREATMENTS: Becki has concluded three chemo treatments and is doing well with the process.
• DR. COMP: Becki will see Dr. Comp, the pulmonary specialist, on Monday, August 17. This doctor is a wonderful Christian man whom we know personally and we are all looking forward to his involvement in the case. We continue to thank God for the amazing medical team that has come together for Becki.
• REPORTS: It will be another 5-7 weeks before additional scans are taken. Therefore, we will not have medical reports showing shrinkage and/or removal of the spots from her lungs until that time. We always have the “report of the Lord!”

SPECIFIC PRAYER REQUESTS

• MAGGIE TAYLOR: Becki asks that you pray for her friend and co-laborer in ministry, Maggie Taylor, as she recovers from the double mastectomy.
• CANCER FREE: These are the days that we “hold our ground” that Becki’s body be completely cancer free.
• SIDE EFFECTS: The drugs that the doctors are using in Becki’s body can cause side effects that could damage other organs in her body. Please pray that her other vital organs remain healthy.
• MINISTRY: John will return to Africa on Wednesday for a short ministry trip (8/19-9/3). He will travel with Rev. Richard Casteel. Pray for both of them as they minister with local leaders in churches and at the Namibian national conference. Becki is asking God how best to utilize the time she has at home to be most effective in the furtherance of the gospel. Pray for both of them as they make ministry adjustments in this season. The enemy wants this couple down but we stand with them in the Spirit to release even greater measures of ministry in this hour.
• SOUTH AFRICA: The national leader of the Foursquare work in South Africa, Pastor Xavier Andriansse and his wife Heather, will travel in the fall to the US. During their stay with us we will discuss the specifics of how to pray for the extended work in South Africa and Southern Africa in general. Please pray for Pastor Xavier as he seeks God. We are asking God to download spiritual strategies to reach farther than ever before with the work of the ministry. There is currently a strong focus on the 2010 Soccer World Cup Outreach. Please pray on these matters and also for the many teams from Foursquare churches all over the world that will travel to South Africa for this opportunity of extended ministry.

Marion