Clinical Trials

​Dear Prayer Partners,

Thank you so much for your love, concern and prayers.

What a few weeks we have had!  John has seen the doctors here about the clinical trials and was given three trials to choose from, after he had chosen one, the doctors said that one was not available until about 4 to 6 weeks from now and they would prefer that he choose another.  There was much prayer and thought that had gone into choosing the trial so there was no changing John's mind or heart about it, even after being ask to come back in and talk with the doctors, he was set on that particular one.  So we  went home to wait for at least 4 weeks, but the LORD had other plans by last Monday they had had a slot open for the trial he had chosen, even to the doctors amazement, so this week after having test last Thursday and some more today, tomorrow he is to start the trial!!

Please be praying for his health, his digestive system, no nausea, no diabetes (that could be one of the side effect of this treatment), and healing, no cancer cells, that the treatment would kill off all of the cells. 

 I know the LORD knows just what John needs for a healthy body and to be able to get back to what the LORD has called him to accomplish.  He hasn't stopped prophesying, but there is so much more in him a legacy for others, seeds to plant.

Thank you so much for your prayers and love and encouragement, we are so grateful  to know YOU are there and praying and believing with us really encourages us, so thank you and may the LORD bless you richly.

On Wednesday December 10th John's daughter JoAnna and her husband Beau welcomed their 3rd child, a baby girl, her name is   Selah  De Zilwa.  Sister Amnesty and brother Lynxoln are busy helping mama taking care of their new baby sister. 

Our grandchild quiver is overflowing!!  We are blessed!!

Agape,

Monette and John

Prayer

​Dear Prayer Partners,

Please to continue to pray for John's healing and wisdom for the doctors.  We are leaving Burnie and moving to Melbourne on the 18th of November.

  On Tuesday the report we received from the doctor here was pretty much there was not a lot that they could do and that we could go to Melbourne and get in a "clinical trail" not actually sure what that is but I do know that it is experimental. 

I am so thankful that the LORD is in control and knows what we need.   We will continue to trust in HIM and HIS plans,

Jer. 29:11" For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope". 

Thank you so very much for your encouraging words, love, and prayers.  Thank you for being such faithful prayer warriors not only for us but for the body of CHRIST, for we know that prayer changes things.

GOD Bless,

Agape,

Monette and John

Therefore do not cast away your confidence which has great reward.  For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of GOD, you may receive the promise....Heb. 10:35-36

Praise and Prayer

​Dear Prayer Partners,

Just a note to say hello and let you know that we are still waiting for that suddenly! but everyday things are better.  Just one example is that he remembers his childrens' names

most of the time and sometimes their spouses name and even at times remembers my children and their spouses, so we are progressing.  The events that are scheduled he remembers most of the time and even the destination.

We are so blessed and amazed and how the LORD works and HE truly does renew the mind, making new pathways to dwell in.

We are still in Burnie, Tasmania and are very blessed to have friends and family around.  John's son Jonathan and his family were here in July and In September the church here surprised me by having my daughter Amanda Whiteman from Roswell, Georgia and Rachel Stokes from Melbourne, Australia here for my birthday.  It truly was a surprise and a blessing!!!  I am still smiling and feeling so very blessed and thankful for a GOD who cares about the details of your life and a church family who loves and cares for us.  Amanda stayed with us a little over a week and we enjoyed every minute.  We even found time to go and see the platypus and the penguins, along with wallabies, you just don't see those in Georgia!!

Right after Amanda went home Johns daughter JoAnna DeZilwa from Melbourne, came to see us also!!  How very blessed we have been to have had them with us, can't wait for the next time to see them and the rest of the families

Aaron and Robert I believe that means you and yours!

Tomorrow Tuesday October 14th John is having an MRI and on the 21st we will get the report.  We are expecting a good report, please be praying with us for a sound and healthy brain!

Thank you so much for your prayers and words of encouragement they mean a lot to us.

If you have written to us and haven't received a response it is on its way.  I don't always see all the emails for some reason them seem to hide behind others sometimes but I do continue to try to answer them.  Thank you so much for caring and for praying, we are so blessed to call you friends and family.

Agape,

Monette and John

Answered Prayer

​Dear Prayer Partners,

 

Thank you so much for your prayers.  John received a good report from the doctor on Tuesday and he doesn't have to take chemotherapy or see the doctor for the next 3 months!!  He is so pleased with the report!!  We both are very thankful to the LORD and to you please continue to pray for a complete healing and restoration of all things.

So many of you sent encouraging emails thank you so much, John wanted to hear them several times and each time he would tell me who you were and where you lived or at least try to explain to me who you were and where you lived.  We are so blessed to have friends and family like you.  I know I have said it many times, but it is worth saying it again!!!  We are Blessed to have family and friends like you, may the LORD bless you and keep you in all that you do.

John preached that Sunday night and we prophesied, the LORD is faithful!!!  Even drove the 3 1/2 to 4 hours without seeing any animals, I should say live animals in the road and in fact no cars until we were about 50k from home.  We were protected and Blessed!!!

Please continue to pray for wisdom in all that we do, that we don't lose sight of the goal the LORD has set before us and that we accomplish all that HE has for us.

 

With much love and appreciation

Monette and John

 

Prayers needs

​Dear Prayer Partners,

 

Thank you so much for you prayers, love and support.

 

Zech. 4:6 ...."Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit," saith the LORD of hosts.

In the past couple of weeks John has preached once, prophesied several times, prayed

powerfully and is truly an amazing example of the LORD's Spirit within a man.

 

John still doesn't always know my name or others that he knows well, but the Spirit within him

is strong and powerful. 

Please continue to pray for healing and wisdom about the next steps to take and when.  We do not want to get ahead of GOD and HIS plan for our lives.

John will be preaching this Sunday, please be praying for him and for the church where he will be ministering, for the word of the LORD for the church and the people of GOD.

Please also be praying for safe travels as we will be leaving the service about 6pm to drive back to

Burnie, which will be around a 3 1/2 to 4 hour drive.

 

On Monday morning John will be having  a MRI done, be praying for a good, great report.

 

Thank you each and everyone for the notes, the support, and even some of you that have visited us,

how encouraging it is to know how much you love and care for us.  We really appreciate you and are so very blessed to call you family and friends.

 

Agape,

Monette and John

 

Update

​Dear Prayer Partners,

 

Thank you so much for your prayers, your faithfulness, and your care.  We could not do this without your support and love,  GOD bless you.

 

Sorry this has been so long, I know some of you are wondering what is happening and How John is doing.

He is doing much better for the most part, he has been seeing a speech pathologist almost every week and there is some improvement in his memory, most of all he believes he is getting better and can see something is happening with his memory in that he is remembering more names.  The speech pathologist has given him homework which takes him a long time but he works so hard at it and doesn't give up.

In the next week or so he will be seeing a new speech pathologist, as the one he has been seeing is changing rolls.  He has really liked this one and she has been very understanding and gracious to him, even borrowed a Bible from the chaplain at the hospital so he would have something familiar to read and remember, we pray the next one will be as caring and interested in him and his needs as she has been.

We are walking about every other day, not just a walk around the park... we walk the steepest hills in Burnie so we really get our exercise and walk about an hour each time (most of the time we end up at McDonald's, John favorite eating place here!!!).

We are still in the apartment by the sea, not sure for how long but GOD has the plan and we trust HE knows what are needs are, please be praying for the right accommodation, John is to see the speech pathologist every week or every other week for a few months so having a semi-permanent accommodation would be a blessing.

I have applied for permanent residency here is Australia and have received a Bridging Visa which allows me to stay until they make a decision, please be praying that it all goes easily and without any problems.

Please forgive me for not sending out an email earlier, we haven't had internet and the computer in the same place and I didn't realize that my ipad doesn't always pick up all the email addresses, anyway I will try to update more often.

I have been reading a book and one of the things I read really struck me, it was that GOD is wanting to erase some of the old memories and ways of doing things and put in new ones, that seemed to be just where we are GOD has erased the way we did things and we are moving into new territory and we haven't been this way before (and it is not easy to find your way in a new place)  but we are keeping our eyes on JESUS for direction and for peace, HE is trustworthy!!

 

Agape,

Monette and John

 

Australia

Dear Prayer Partners,

 

Thank you so much for your prayers, cards and words of encouragement, we are so very blessed to have friends and family to encourage us and hold us up in prayer.

 

We have been in Australia almost 4 weeks.  Has been quite a busy time, as friends of ours took us on a cruise for 11 days.  Was very relaxed in some ways, no cooking, no cleaning up, no menus to decide, it seemed like the main thing was, don't gain 7 to 14 pounds (someone told us that was what the majority gained on a cruise) while you are cruising!!

The cruise was a great blessing to us and time to spend with our friends, Bill ahd Helen Driessen.

When we arrive back in Brisbane on Sunday morning, we went to church and while we were there the pastor asked us to stand with him as he prayed for some of people in his church.  While we were standing there the LORD gave John a word for the church, which he gave.  This is the first time he has given a word since his surgery and treatment, we were truly encouraged!

We arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday and will be here for the next month.  John had an appointment with the doctor in Melbourne on Thursday and he advised us the follow the same routine we were following in the states.   John has an MRI scheduled around the first of March and another appointment with the doctor.  Please be praying with us for a good report.  He has had one round of chemotherapy since we arrived and one day next week he will start another one.  Right now he is having 28 days off and then 5 days of chemotherapy.  Please continue to pray that he doesn't have any sickness from the chemotherapy.

John is still bothered by his memory loss, it is very frustrating to him when he is having a conversation and the thought just leaves his mind or he cannot get the right word or name he is wanting. 

Again thank you so much for your prayers and support, we are so thankful we are not alone, that the LORD is our rock, our fortress and our deliverer, the one who leads us and guides and never leaves us or forsakes and HE has blessed us with friends to uphold us. 

 

Also please be praying for John's son Aaron and his family as they seem to be under attack from the enemy, too.

Several of the them have had flu like symptoms and one of the children is having some unusal symptoms and the doctors have not determined what is causing them, please be praying for healing and an end to all of this sickness.

 

Agape,

John and Monette

 

 

 

Trip to Australia

Dear Prayer Partners,

 

We have our airline tickets and are preparing to fly to Australia on Saturday the 11th of January..  John is quite excited to be going.  Mostly to get out of the cold.

We will miss our family and friends here new and old.  Our church family and family here have taken really good care of us, I truly don't know what we would have done without their support and care.

My mom'    

Please be praying for John as he has not had this much traveling to do in a long time and the airports are hard to motivate sometimes in the best of circumstances. I tried to talk to him about maybe getting a wheelchair or ride in a cart just to get to the gates but he will not hear of that. He is a seasoned traveler and I am sure when we get there he will remember what it is like, at least some of it.

I talked with the receptionist at the doctors in Melbourne yesterday and they seem very eager to see him, please be praying for a smooth transition into the health network in Australia, I don't really have any idea what we are facing or how long it takes to get registered.  The Australian radiologist here in Atlanta has sent a referral but they did not get the paperwork, so he will start over tomorrow and hopefully it will be all taken care of by the time we get there.  The receptionist did say it should not be a problem they just needed the referral from John's doctor here.

Trusting GOD sometimes means getting out of your comfort zone, please be praying that we have that peace of GOD that passes all understanding through all of this.

The LORD has been so good to us through this time, not that HE hasn't always been, but there is such an assurance of HIS presence  and direction in every step we have taken.  The travel plans were totally HIM, the thing that I thought, to get tickets at the last minute, worked out without much of a problem at all.  HE truly moves mountains for us.

Please be praying for the journey, even though we have traveled this route before it is a totally new experience.

Please be praying for protection for us and for all things to go smoothly.

Thank all of you so much for your prayers and words of encouragement, we are so blessed to have people who care.

 

Agape,

John and Monette

MIRACLES STILL HAPPEN!!!