Throughout the Scriptures we see the amazing patterns of God entrusting His Word and Work to those who will follow Him. As we follow Jesus, we then are to invest in others who have been entrusted to us. Paul said, “Follow me as I follow Jesus.”
Amazingly, in this battle with cancer God is raising up an array of people who have battled and by God’s grace have been healed of cancer to walk with us. We are following their pattern of continually seeking the Word of God to light our path, to worship God more now than ever, and to continue to keep our focus on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. We are grateful to pray with each of these believers that our God is able to heal and restore my body.
In addition to the spiritual realm we are seeking their counsel on practical matters, i.e. doctors, diets, work/family balance. We are thankful that through many of you, needs are being met and prayers answered for our family and H.I.S. BridgeBuilders as we go through this journey of faith. For many the word cancer brings a sense of hopelessness, but for us it brings a sense of gratitude that God has entrusted this to us to bring glory to His name, advance the Gospel, and grow us to be more like Him. We are grateful for the selfless servants of God who have walked though this battle of cancer and daily showing us the way they are heaven sent.
Much like the word cancer there is another word, poverty, which brings a sense of hopelessness in our nation around the world. Many of God’s people are trapped in circumstances often through poor decisions of preceding generations. They are raised with little hope of a college education, a career, a home of their own, and an opportunity to dream. Recently, a 54 year old man who had finished our employment training said in responding to what his dreams were, “I only want to survive; I was never given permission to dream”. In our desire to make disciples through H.I.S. BridgeBuilders we seek to raise an army of Christians that have seen God’s goodness and grace and are free from the bondage of sin, that have also been blessed with an education, a career, a family, and a home. We are prayerful that as we go through our battle, you will see their battle. For as we seek to develop them spiritually, educationally, and vocationally, we are prayerful that they will discover their gifts and talents and that with your help they can move from hopelessness to hope in Christ Jesus.
As many of you are walking with us and praying for us I would ask for you to prayerfully consider walking with one of God’s children in the inner city who is fighting the fight for their life and needs a friend of mentor to be the bridge of hope. If you are interested in mentorship training please email manderwald@hisbb.org.
We are still awaiting the results from the MRI and PET scan. We are meeting with the oncologist on Tuesday and will keep you posted on the results of your fervent, effectual prayers. We love you and thank you for joining us on this journey of following Christ.
