UPDATE: July 21, 2024
“Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.” Ps 27:14
“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.” Is 40:31
“Be strong and He will strengthen your heart, all you who wait for the Lord.” Ps 31:24
Sometimes it’s just hard to wait. I want to see a full manifestation of my healing now. I want to be home with my family. I’m kind of tired of being tired and having pain and basically living at a clinic 5 days a week in another state by myself.
But God.
As I wait on HIM, my strength is renewed. As I wait on HIM, my heart is strengthened. As I wait on HIM, I am full of courage and thankfulness.
My last PET/CT scan in June was good – I continue to be stable and now they are weekly tweaking my protocol to get even better results. I will be here through August and then will pack up my belongings and move out of this house that has been home for 6 months, as the owner needs to turn it into a long term rental. I’ll drive home for a couple of weeks and then drive back here to my new “digs” – wherever that is – as I continue my next 3 months of treatments. It is our hope and prayer that by September I will be able to start spreading some of these treatments out.
Specific prayer points:
– tumor will continue to shrink (actually that it will be GONE) with evidence on the PET/CT
– my blood counts will come back into normal range (currently I’m anemic).
– my energy will return quickly
– that I will have ONLY therapeutic effects of chemo
– that our family will be reunited SOON with shorter stints in AZ
– strength and endurance for Russ as he manages sooooo much at home (Matthew, his mom, ministry, business, meals, schedules and me!)
– continued financial provision for treatment, housing, airfare, and other expenses.
– that our focus stays on the very face of God as we walk through my healing journey.
Thank you again for your financial support and most of all, for your prayers of faith for my healing. We love you all so very much.
June & Russ and the Family
UPDATE: JUNE 1, 2024
“FORGET THE FORMER THINGS. DO NOT DWELL ON THE PAST. BEHOLD! I AM DOING A NEW THING! NOW IT SPRINGS UP; DO YOU RECOGNIZE IT? I AM MAKING A WAY IN THE WILDERNESS AND STREAMS IN THE DESERT.” ISAIAH 43:18-10
This is a verse that has been running through my mind over and over. In Deuteronomy 4:9 we are instructed to REMEMBER all that God has done for us, to keep reminding ourselves and to tell our children and our children’s children. This is a powerful verse of Thanksgiving and remembrance! But then in Isaiah He says FORGET! As I’ve pondered and prayed, especially the last several weeks, I feel like the Lord is telling me to REMEMBER and be thankful for all that He has done, while at the same time laying aside my expectations that things will look the same. I’m excited to see how God is going to make NEW STREAMS IN THE DESERT places. NEW MANNA, NEW MANIFESTATIONS of HEALING, NEW MINISTRY opportunities, and so much more.
I’ve been home the last 2 weeks on a “break”, as I cannot have treatments for 2 weeks before my next PET scan, which is scheduled for this Tuesday, June 4th. I’m mostly excited, as all of my weekly and monthly bloodwork continues to show tumor markers coming down, liver and kidney functions are great, and all my other bloodwork is right where it should be. We are so very thankful and we don’t hesitate to REMEMBER and PROCLAIM the great and mighty works HE has done. At the same time, we anticipate NEW things in the coming weeks and months- I can’t wait! And I AM anticipating a remarkable report, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m a little nervous. You all help us to say focused on TRUTH. We add our faith to yours and say THANK YOU!
“Thank you” seems so insignificant, yet we are so very grateful for each and every donation. I’ve been living in Phoenix for 3 months and will be there full time for at least 2 more months. My PET scan will tell us a lot! The goal is to reduce chemo from 2x week to 1x week, and then start stretching it out from there. In the meantime, I am getting a myriad of other treatments everyday that are known cancer fighters, as well as detoxing and the PET in a couple of days, but it doesn’t allow me to come home in between quite yet. I will need to continue renting full or part time for the rest of the year, most likely. I’ve been trying to fly home about once a month, although this next stretch is longer. We are very hopeful that by October I can stretch treatments out considerably longer!
Russ and I stand in amazement at the many ways God has provided for my daily treatments, housing, airfare, gas and special needs at home. Thank you for your selfless giving and support. We love you all so very much!
UPDATE: MARCH 30, 2024
“HE IS RISEN!! HE IS RISEN INDEED!”
Dearest Friends,
I don’t even know where or how to begin to bring you all up-to-date on my Healing Journey. God is SO GOOD and SO FAITHFUL !
As I reflect on this Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday I am humbly reminded that my precious Jesus took my sin and disease on the cross. It is not mine to carry! “THE SAME SPIRIT THAT RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD LIVES IN ME!!” The revelation of that scripture in Romans has become my daily reminder of the finished work. As I spoke this outloud, earlier in my diagnoses a year ago, I heard these words flow from my lips:
‘THE SAME SPIRIT THAT RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD LIVES IN ME, AND THEREFORE I HAVE RESURRECTION AND LIFE AND POWER WITHIN ME. THE BLOOD OF JESUS FLOWS THROUGH MY VEINS! THEREFORE NO SICKNESS OR DISEASE CAN TOUCH ME BECAUSE IT CANNOT TOUCH THE BLOOD OF JESUS!!” Hallelujah and Amen!
I have just completed my 4th week of treatment at EuroMed, which consists of 2 days of a chemo “cocktail” and 3 days of all sorts of other things! I just posted a Facebook Live that explains more. I’m still trying to figure out how to post here. 🙂
Russ and I just want to thank you all for your very generous gifts. We are humbled and so deeply touched by your outpouring of love – gifts, cards, texts, phone calls, meals, gift cards and monetary gifts to help cover our expenses here. My treatments are $7500/week, and with housing, food and travel, it’s about $9000/week. BUT GOD!! Thank you just doesn’t feel adequate, but please accept our deepest thanks.
I am doing very well with treatments, occasionally a bit tired, but overall I feel great! This is a full time job, I must say! There is so much peace here – at the house, with my roommates, at the clinic, on the roads …. I just feel the angels all around. So. Much. Peace.
My next big PET Scan is June 4th. That will tell us if treatments are working – and I believe they are. All of my weekly bloodwork looks great. Every 30 days they re-evaluate treatment, especially after that PET scan, which is done every 3 months. The goal is to spread out treatments as time goes by but we won’t really know what the next phase holds until after that PET scan.
Continued prayers for my amazing husband as he runs the household and manages not only Matthew’s schedule, but also much of his Mom’s. Since his dad passed away last April, we have seen a slow decline in her mental state, although she still lives on her own at home. We are so grateful for Russ’ sister and her husband for all their help as Russ is focusing on our family, but the weight and responsibilities are huge. Remember Russ if you have any Real Estate or Life Insurance needs – he’s still the BEST!!
We would so appreciate if you could share this page on your social media. We are told share, share and share – and ask friends to share – as it really does boost giving. It’s difficult to ask, but with these staggering costs, your gifts really make a huge difference! All gifts are tax-deductible. (Please note “custom” button at the bottom of the page when you give. GIVETAXFREE is a 501C3 and receives donations to help other families. By adjusting the custom button you can give to that if you choose.)
Thank you, thank you, thank you for loving our family so well, for standing with us, for praying for us. We love you more than words can say.
Have a Blessed Resurrection Day!
June
” IT IS WELL….”
After 10 months of treatment,June finished chemo and radiation in November to treat Stage 3 rectal cancer. Her medical team wanted her to wait about 12 weeks before following up with a very aggressive and life altering surgery. They had hoped that she had responded well enough to treatment that they could “wait and watch” before going right into surgery, but unfortunately the MRI revealed 1 small lymph node still involved (out of the original 10) and a small bit of live tumor. This meant she had no options – off to surgery she must go!
After researching some other cancer clinics, talking with her holistic doc and LOTS of prayer, the decision was made to cancel the surgery and continue treatments through EuroMed in Phoenix. They practice Integrative Medicine (combo of traditional medicine and natural) and have had very high success rates with folks with this type of cancer.
Typically this is a lifelong journey of ongoing treatments at the clinic and at home, but they are very excited and feel this approach confirms the visions and words God gave June from literally Day 1 of diagnosis, AND they continue to stand on God’s Word that says she is healed, and they are not looking at this as a forever treatment!
Russ, Matthew and June will drive to Phoenix on the 29th of February so that she can get settled into the small house God has provided affordably through another patient and sister in Christ. Russ and Matthew will stay with her through the first week of treatment and then will fly home the 9th of March.
June will start therapy on March 4th, which will consist of low-dose chemo and a variety of holistic treatments. At the end of 4 wks, she will have another PET scan to determine how her body responded, and they will set up the treatment protocol from there. Of course our prayer is that the cancer will be GONE at that point and she can come home. There is a possibility she will need to stay longer, but in faith we are all believing one month will be enough on this first round.
Even if the treatment is successful, she will need ongoing follow up treatments, returning to the clinic periodically to keep the cancer at bay (of course we know God is great and His healing may change this, but we have to make plans accordingly.)
The treatment is quite expensive – $7500/week – but thankfully, Samaritan Ministries will reimburse most or all of the cost of therapy. They do, however, have to pay for treatments up front ($30K for this first month, possibly two), plus all of their travel expenses and accommodations. Everything they looked at for long-term rentals (hotels, Airbnb, etc) were upwards of $3500/month. What a blessing this house rental is for $1500/month. Still, that’s a lot of money out-of-pocket. It will take about 8 weeks to get refunds from Samaritan, and as they do, that money will go into the next round of treatments.
Russ and June will also have to have someone stay at the house 24/7 to care for Matthew’s service dog (Willow) and their 12 yr old kitty, and since Willow is so used to be attached at the hip ALL the time, she can’t be left alone even in her kennel, thus another expense to their family.
Russ’ real estate business was slow in 2023, and between caring for June and his parents, he was not able to work as much as he normally would have, so their savings got pretty depleted. Of course, June wasn’t able to work much either during this past year. Russ’ dad passed away in April and Mom struggled with her own cancer journey last year, as well as some dementia, so Russ’ plate was pretty full. They trust and believe that God is their Provider and trust that everything will come together.
Many have asked what practical needs the Gordons have, knowing that this journey will be a financially stretching one. If you would like to give a tax deductible gift to help cover the cost of medical bills, housing and transportation, I know they would be forever grateful! Their daughter has also set up a Meal Train to help Russ and Matthew while June is in Phoenix. https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/nlv3do
Russ, June and their family have felt so much love and “covering” from their precious Community of family and friends. June said, “I feel your faith being added to ours and it fills us with great peace, trust and belief that God WILL do what He said He would do – that it is a finished work! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for standing with us and declaring the goodness of the Lord! We love you all!”
June & Russ and the Gordon Family
If you’d like to read some of the backstory from June and how the Lord has ministered to her, please read on!
“The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in ME.” (Romans 8:11). As I spoke this scripture outloud, I heard the Lord add these words: “THEREFORE you have resurrection life and power. The Blood of JESUS flows through your veins and therefore NO SICKNESS OR DISEASE CAN TOUCH YOU.”
Yes, I am HEALED in Jesus’ Name! WE have authority and power, through the Blood of Jesus, and walk in that resurrection life and power.
It doesn’t always feel that way, I know, but TRUTH is truth. Over and over again I hear these words. “The devil is a liar. Expose the lie, stand on the TRUTH of MY Word. Don’t be afraid to share because everything the enemy means for evil, I will turn for good. At the Name of JESUS, every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord!”
That means ANYthing that tries to exalt itself above the Name of Jesus has to bow it’s knee. The Name of JESUS is my strong tower, my refuge, my strength. In HIM do I put my trust.
You know what my “word” was for 2022? Jesus. Just Jesus. I kept telling the Lord there must be more. And again He would whisper, “Jesus. Just Jesus. Because at the Name of Jesus, every knee must bow and tongue confess that HE is Lord. Jesus. Just Jesus. JESUS. Name above all names. JESUS. He is seated at the right hand of the Father and you, June, are seated in Heavenly places with Him. JESUS. He is the great I AM – Redeemer, Restorer, Deliverer, Healer. Trust Me.” My Jesus.
Enter 2023. It wasn’t a word, it was a string of thoughts, building one on top of another. Words, sermons, friends that God spoke through.
“Visioning. But not like you think. It’s going to look different.”
“The way you start this year will determine the tone of your year. “(There was much more, but the Lord spoke clearly to me about unforgiveness and that I’d better get that dealt with if I was to enter in to the destiny He had planned for me.)
“The Lord has DIVINE surprises, DIVINE provision and DIVINE revelation FOR THOSE WHO WILL RECEIVE IT!” I said YES LORD – I want EVERYthing you have for me and my family, my marriage, my children, the ministry you have entrusted to us. I receive, Lord.
And then the word that rocked my world, that pulled all the other “words” together. Throughout scripture the Lord tells His people to REMEMBER – remember the great things He has done. Remember! Tell your children and your children’s children. Write it on tablets. Tell others!!
However, in Isaiah 43:18-19 God gives a new message. “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”
God says never mind how I did it before. Don’t dwell on the past….
“I AM DOING A NEW THING, SOMETHING YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE!! ARE YOU READY? HOLD ON! I AM GOING TO MAKE A WAY WHERE THERE SEEMS TO BE NO WAY! I AM POURING NEW WINE INTO NEW WINESKINS! GET READY TO RECEIVE DIVINE SURPRISES, DIVINE PROVISION AND DIVINE REVELATION LIKE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. ARE YOU READY?”
This word has resonated in my heart for many months. I feel it, i know it’s true, and I can’t wait to watch the mighty hand of God move through His people, to move through me.
The Name of JESUS is above all other names, including the dreaded C word. Cancer. The enemy tries to bring fear against me. DEFEATED. The enemy tries to bring anger against me. DEFEATED. Offense – DEFEATED. Strife – DEFEATED. Shame, Guilt, Condemnation – DEFEATED!!!
I asked the Lord again how much of this to share and HE was very clear. “The enemy is a liar. Expose his dark lies to the Light of MY love, MY peace, MY joy, MY healing power!!”
So here I am to boldly declare that although I face a diagnosis of rectal cancer, I WALK IN HIS HEALING, COVERED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS, AND THE SAME SPIRIT THAT RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD LIVES IN ME – I HAVE RESURRECTION LIFE AND POWER LIVING WITHIN ME! How cool is that??
We are very much at peace. We walk in JOY. I believe I am healed because that’s what God’s Word says. I may have to walk some things out in the natural, but I am truly taking it one day at a time. I do not fear my future.
We are asking for prayer, yes, but prayers of faith and agreement. As our dear friends Pastors Mark and Kim Spellman prayed over me at the beginning of this journey, “He is the author and finisher…..ah wait, there’s more…He WILL FINISH THAT WHICH HE HAS AUTHORED!!”
We say AMEN and HALLELUJAH to the great and marvelous things He has done. I might not feel joyful and excited every moment, but that is when He carries me close and I can truly say, ‘IT IS WELL. IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL.”
Thank you for your love for our family, for me. Most of all, thank you for proclaiming with us the healing that is mine, hallelujah and amen!
Russ and I are so grateful for the beautiful community and family he has placed around us. To God be the Glory!
