Light the Night & Ride for Refuge

Dear Friends,

Shamelessly asking for your support for two great causes:

As many of you know, Joe Park lost his son Andrew after a valiant battle with cancer last summer. Joe will be participating in the "Light the Night" walk raising funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on October 19th. Please consider donating to this worthy cause in support of Joe and in loving memory of his son Andrew. There are so many battling this horrible disease and every little bit will help. Read his blog entry HERE and please consider donating on Joe's fundraising page HERE.



Also, on October 5th my family will be participating in the Ride for Refuge to raise funds with charities that support the displaced, abused and or exploited. See list of non-profits supported HERE. Please consider supporting us as we hope to raise at least $500 to help those in our communities that are most in need of it.  You can find our fundraising page HERE (mine) or HERE (Kim's).

If you think about it, in a sense we are all refugees. Sojourners who are traveling through a temporary home until we find rest in our eternal one and so we should have compassion for these more than any other.

He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. -Deut 10:18-19

Answered Prayer! (Help Needed!)

Dear Friends, 

It looks like we have received approval to host a bone marrow drive at the GKYM (Global Korean Missions Conference) - praise the Lord! There will be approximately 5,000 people attending the conference and we hope to get 1/2 of them registered.  Here is how you might be able to help:

We need help pre-labeling swab kits!  If you have a group of people (friends/family/co-workers/etc) that can get together sometime next week and pre-label swab kits, a kind volunteer named Danielle Vickers (from Be the Match) can come out and show you how to do it and give you all the supplies.  Or if you’d like to take a box of 100, Be the Match can send them directly to you and speak with you by phone to explain how to label. They can also pick them up from you upon completion.

We need help during the drive! The drive will take place at Wheaton College Tuesday, July 24^th through Thursday, July 26^th.  We are waiting on an exact timeframe, however it will most likely be during the day.  We may possibly have an evening timeframe but that is not confirmed yet. If you cannot make it, do you know someone that can?  Or do you know someone that needs volunteer hours?  We might have two booths and we will need all the help we can get.

 

Please  contact Danielle Vickers at DVickers@itxm.org or 847-226-4829 if you think you can help by doing any of the above. If you cannot please consider passing this request on to family/friends. 

Connor is desperately looking for a match and I recently was introduced to the parents of another 4 year old girl named Victoria (same age as my little girl) who is desperately searching for a match to saver her life and is running out of time. Please help them and so many others. Thanks so much!

In His Grace,

Peter & Kim

Saving Connor

With Steph's permission I wanted to copy over a recent post on her blog. If you felt your heart wrench reading Joe's post about his son Andrew passing, your heart will also be wrenched by a mother crying out for her son. As many of you know Connor's BMT did not take and so he is back at square one looking for another match. They have been patiently waiting for years now for a match and found one late last year that backed out and one this year that did not take. They are depending on the kindness of strangers to help save their son. Please embody the gospel by serving them and register at marrow.org. All it takes is a simple cheek swab to see if you can save a life. Also, if there is anyone out there that has connections with Global Korean Young Adult Mission (GYKM) and/or the Korean World Council for Christ (KWMC) - they are holding their annual Korean World Mission Conference at the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College on July 23-27 and they're expecting 5,000 young Korean Christians. We're trying hard to get a bone marrow drive at the conference and so any help or contacts anyone can provide to get that ball moving would be greatly appreciated. Please leave a comment or shoot me an email at seeingjesusineverything@gmail.com if you can help. Thanks!

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We went for more labwork and his counts have dropped to very low levels again.  We stopped administering G-csf on Sunday and in 5 days time his numbers have dropped dramatically. He needed another blood transfusion today and will most likely need platelets on Tues.  The doctors have decided to continue G-csf again until our next appointment and then based on those numbers will need to determine if we will need a bone marrow biopsy to see what is truly going on in there.  They all seem a bit concerned that his body is not able to sustain production of his immune system but at the same time keep encouraging us that his counts are not at 0, close to it, and that there is some production- but who knows if it is due to all the blood and platelets that he gets on a weekly basis now?  It is difficult to stay optimistic especially since Connor is only the 2nd patient undergoing RIC at Children's whose bmt failed so they just don't have a lot of data for us to review.  Can you believe he is only the 2nd child??? SO FRUSTRATING!!! Please don't get me wrong, we accept what has happened, what choice do we have after all, and we generally have very good days BUT I do have these moments where I just look to the universe and say UGHHHHH!!!

What is really scary is the decision that we have to make about a second transplant. I ran into a mother of a 12 year old son who is suffering from acute GVHD on his skin.  I have read about that being a possibility but until you talk to someone you don't really understand what GVHD of the skin means...she described it as the entire skin suffered from burns and her son is in excruciating pain and so much of his skin peels off his body that she has to clean the floor of his room at least 3 times a day.  He underwent full myloblative bmt- the preconditioning treatment that Connor will have to endure if or when  he has to do this again.  How do we make this choice and when?  We are still seeking guidance on all of this and trying to review all of our bmt research again but for now we still need to find another donor!  Please encourage everyone to register- most of them will never be called to donate and a lucky few may have the opportunity to save a life!

Connor is still doing well, we are keeping occupied by re-decorating his room and making it everything Star Wars! And he finally got a big boy desk and takes so much pride in keeping it organized and lining things up. I actually got him to let go of a few of his toys from when he was 2 or 3 so I am thrilled!    We are slowly getting into some sort of schedule but some days he is just really tired. 

Thank you all for your prayers for our family and for Andrew's family.  God has heard your prayers and our friend Nancy is out of intensive care, she still has a long road ahead of her but she is off of most of her machines and we are so grateful!

Have a great weekend! 

Steph

Saving Connor from Saving Connor on Vimeo.

Special Prayer Request for Andrew

CALLING ALL PRAYER WARRIORS: JOE HAS REQUESTED URGENT PRAYER FOR ANDREW AS HE HAS BEEN MOVED TO THE ICU DUE TO PNEUMONIA AND KIDNEY AND LIVER ISSUES. PLEASE LIFT HIM UP TODAY IF YOU CAN. SEE MORE DETAILS BELOW. THANK YOU!

I've included the other prayer requests from the "Prayer Requests" tab in case you missed it and wish to minister to others that have communicated some special prayer requests. Thanks. 
Prayers for Andrew Bone Marrow Grafting

UPDATE FROM JOE: Andrew's stem cells from the bone marrow transplant on May 16th are beginning to graft however, he has been very ill and now has pneumonia. Andrew has been moved to ICU for trouble breathing and his kidney and liver functions going into dangerous levels.Please pray the liquids retaining in his body, get released through the drugs. If not, it's dialysis. The biggest concern is a condition called  Hepatic veno-occlusive disease or veno-occlusive disease (VOD) is a condition in which some of the small veins in the liver are obstructed. It is a complication of high-dose chemotherapy given before a bone marrow transplant (BMT) and is marked by weight gain due to fluid retention, increased liver size, and raised levels of bilirubin in the blood. He does have a degree of it. And it can be fatal. We have been approved for an experimental drug to alleviate it. The next 24 to 36 hours are crucial! Please Pray! More details can be found in Joe's blog HERE. 

 Prayers for Connor's Bone Marrow Grafting

The last couple of days have been especially emotionally difficult for us.  All the effects of chemo have really started to take a toll on Connor's body and I think he is just physically worn down.  His hair started falling out in clumps and we had to shave his head, his platelets were extremely low so he had some minor bruising and red dots all over his body (petechiae) and mucositis.  The mucositis, big red and purple swollen bumps on both sides of his cheeks) is causing him pain and we are really hoping that it won't affect his appetite (he is not eating nearly enough). Connor  has endured it all well up until Wednesday night when he just couldn't take it anymore. More details can be found in his mother Steph's blog HERE. 

Seeing Jesus in Kicking Ass*

This post is dedicated to our friends Andrew (age 17) and Connor (age 7). I know many of you have been praying for them as you have been praying for us. As of two months ago neither Connor or Andrew had a bone marrow match and both were desperately searching for one (Connor for over five years!). Kim and I just got back from visiting Children's Memorial Hospital and it's hard to believe that both Andrew and Connor are on the same floor awaiting to get their bone marrow transplants within 24 hours of each other (Andrew tomorrow at noon and Connor on Thurs ~8am). Is God AMAZING or what? PLEASE pray for them! The transplant itself is usually not a big deal but the weeks that follow are crucial. There is a lot of risk of complications and especially  Graft-Versus-Host-Disease (GVHD) "in which the newly transplanted material attacks the transplant recipient's body". Please pray against this if you would and for the strength and faith of their families. These have been difficult days for all of them as their young sons prepare to essentially reset their bodies - please read their blogs on my blogroll for updates and specific prayer requests.
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*Sorry*. I know there are some people out there that are very uncomfortable with using the word "ass" (and apologies to any children that read this blog), but before you make any quick judgments allow me to explain why I so carefully chose this word. I am the son of a Presbyterian elder so to be honest I have never been much for swear words but I made an exception a few months ago...

The night after Kim went Code Blue from the infusion reaction,  I declared war on cancer and so I ended a post entitled, "Dark Night of the Soul" with this:

We have a long road ahead but know that God is living and He is hearing the prayers of His beloved children. In the meantime I am giving Mr. Lymphoma a little warning: "Look out, brother! Because me, my God, and an army of prayer warriors are coming to KICK...YOUR...ASS!!!"

Here's why. Cancer is a horrible disease and it's certainly worthy of having it's butt kicked but there's something more. I believe cancer is a product of sin. This world was not meant to have horrible things like cancer. Nothing opens your eyes to this more than walking around the cancer floor of a children's hospital. The Bible opens with God’s creation of the heavens and the earth and a proclamation that “it was good” (Gen 1:31). However, after the fall of man, what was once “good” becomes marred and distorted by sin and from that point on we see the pernicious effects of sin, which include disease, disasters, and death. But God doesn't sit still, He sends His Son, Jesus, who demonstrates a greater power...a divine power over demons, disease, disasters and death – a glimpse of the kingdom to come – and leaves with the promise of a new heaven and a new earth (Rev 21:1).

Bone Marrow Update & IT IS FINISHED!

Marty & my Favorite Prez

GREAT NEWS! Kim is finally done with her last chemo treatment and was discharged from the hospital today! After 42 nights in the hospital....it is FINISHED! I'm so proud of her and thankful to God. It's been an amazingly difficult but blessed four months. Unfortunately, I was not even in town for this momentous occasion because I'm in Washington D.C. right now attending a GE Leadership Conference (with Kim's blessing). Normally, I wouldn't have even considered going, but there are things happening at GE with the bone marrow initiative and telling our story was the best way to keep the momentum going. Believe it or not, the theme of the conference this year is "Leading With Courage: Share Your Story". How appropriate.

When the cancer hit in January my company supported me in every way possible. They graciously granted me an extended medical leave so I could focus on taking care of Kim and our kids. And soon after, when I asked some senior leaders at GE for their help on raising awareness for the bone marrow issue they stepped up BIG. In just two short months they have managed to run four separate bone marrow drives in each of our Chicago area offices, and they are about to roll out bone marrow drives in all of our major offices across the country! I was surprised to find out that they had also included a flyer at the conference for each of the 700 attendees telling our story and informing them of the process. I even got to share our story with our CEO and it was great to hear from so many leaders from all over the country who are eager to help. I'm so thankful to work for a company that doesn't just care about the bottom line, but cares deeply about it's employees. It's exciting to see how quickly things are moving and by the end of this, hopefully, there will be thousands of new registrants - and if even one life is saved it will be worth it.

I flew in late on Saturday night and got to worship on Sunday with the good folks at ChristReformed Presbyterian Church. I have known the pastor and his wife (Skip & Bonnie) since they were in seminary in St. Louis, back when I was in high school, and they and their church (especially a couple named John & Charlene) have been so faithful in praying for us. Charlene was diagnosed with breast cancer about 3 years ago and had to undergo her treatment despite being 24 weeks pregnant. Amazingly, by the grace of God, none of the chemo drugs went through the placenta and the baby was completely fine and by the way, he is the cutest and brightest three year old you will ever meet. After their service I had the privilege (along with Charlene) of sharing our testimony with them and was so blessed to see old friends and make new ones.

God has been so good and we are so thankful to have a story to share of His goodness and even our struggles in our darkest moments. As I've said before, being a "witness" does not mean just sharing the gospel with non-believers. I think it means sharing with others what the Lord has done and is doing in your lives - good and bad. Psalm 105 has been on my heart a lot lately and I'm trying to be faithful to it's call...

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! -Psalm 105:1-2

In His Grace,

Peter & Kim

Prayers Needed....

KIM UPDATE: Kim is doing well right now. Round 5 resulted in lot of "hot flashes" and intense body aches from the Neulasta shot but the worst appears to be over and we are gearing up for our last and final round next week. 

PRAYER REQUESTS: If you would be kind enough to lift up a prayer for a beautiful  young lady named Brooke, who is the daughter of some friends of ours - we would be so grateful. I can't share much but she is in dire straits right now and needs a miracle and would appreciate any prayers you might offer up for her and her family. Also, please continue to lift up Andrew and Connor and their families as they undergo difficult preparations for their bone marrow transplants in mid-May. But what an answer to prayer finding matches were! Praise the Lord! Someone sent me a link to this article from the Chicago Tribune today which profiled Connor. Please read this moving story if you have a moment. Thanks. 
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[taken from the Chicago Tribune, Wed, 4/18/12]

Since their son Connor Lim was born, Stephanie Park and Steven Lim have been on countless trips to doctors and hospitals dealing with lung infections, dozens of ear infections and constant sickness. It wasn’t until he was 3-years-old that Connor was diagnosed with X-linked immunodeficiency with hyper–immunoglobulin M — a rare immunodeficiency that makes it hard for the body to fight off infection.

Connor, now 7, is being treated, but the only true cure comes through a bone marrow transplant. But finding a donor has proved nearly impossible. After four years and about 2,200 donors, they have only found one match. “It’s just been a rollercoaster,” Park said. “We actually had a match in December of last year. We were elated and then she backed out.” They don’t know why their donor had a change of heart, but it was devastating for the family....[see full article HERE].

In His Grace,

Peter & Kim

INCREDIBLE WEEKEND!

Well, I don't know how to say this except to say God is good. He's so good! And I'm not just talking about the spectacular weekend weather we just enjoyed in Chicago. I know so many of you have been praying for Andrew Park and his family as well as Connor Lim (see their stories HERE) and became aware of their stories through Kim's cancer.

the Park family

Kim and I have known Andrew since he was a young boy because Kim was his pastor when she was the Sunday School Director at Calvary. It's hard to believe that he is 17 years old now! He was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia literally the day after Kim was officially diagnosed with lymphoma in early January. Our trials have been inextricably linked from day one, and we both firmly believe that this happened so that we could both encourage and pray for one another as we walked through this trial hand in hand.

the Lim family

We became aware of our 7 year-old friend Connor, in late January (a few weeks after Kim's diagnosis), through one of my sister's good friends who is his aunt. Connor was born with an extremely rare cancer called "X-linked Hyper IGM" which results in a devastating immuno-deficiency that he needs monthly treatments for, in order to buy time. It turns out that his family only lives 10 minutes from us and so we were able to swing by after a doctor's visit and spent a couple hours meeting and talking with his parents. They have been searching for approximately 6 years for a match for Connor and they finally found one in Japan late last year. It was about to be the best Christmas present ever but the donor backed out at the last second. Obviously, they were all devastated. Especially considering how long it took to find a match..

As such, both of these children and their families have become near and dear to us and I have some incredible news to share with you...

Beauty & the Beast: Answered Prayer (Chapter 3)

KIM UPDATE: I'm sitting in Kim's room at U of Chicago and she's getting a methotrexate injection via spinal tap (like an epidural) any minute now. This is the first time she's getting it and she needs to lie perfectly still for 4 hours to avoid getting severe headaches. This is not a fun one. That said, she's been taking the Rituxan since last night and doing great. Thank you Lord! Please continue to pray with us. Thank you!

BONE MARROW UPDATE:
As most of you know by now, by the grace of God, Andrew Park is, at the moment, CANCER FREE! This is a minor miracle in itself and surprised even the world-class oncologists involved. (See Joe's blog HERE to get the latest update and prayer requests.) He will continue to undergo chemo to keep the cancer at bay and in the meantime he and his family are  nowdesperately looking for a bone marrow match. If you are in the Chicagoland area please note that there will be a drive at Canaan Presbyterian Church (1424 Greenwood Ave, Glenview, IL) this Sunday, Feb 26th from 6-8pm and another at Univ of Illinois Circle Campus (UIC) on the First Floor of Student Center East outside of the bookstore at 750 S. Halsted St. Chicago, IL on Tues and Wed, March 6 & 7 from 9am-4pm. (UIC students please get the word out!).

REVIVAL!

ANDREW UPDATE: 

Wooohoooo!!! Don't know how to say it any better than Joe did on FB today so I'll just paste it here: 

"Guess what?!? Just met with our oncologist and the bone marrow biopsy showed Andrew is in clinical REMISSION!! I asked her if this was expected and she said no! I asked her how I should feel and she said that I should be ecstatic. Our oncologist doesn't mince words either! We are still going to be at Children's for 5 days of intense chemo:-(. And the potential 7 out of eight bone marrow match probably will not pan out, so we need to pray fervently for a match!!! But for now, we will take this fantastic news!! Praise the Lord! Post a comment and rejoice in this one guys! God is good!!" Time to pray for a bone marrow match - come on people - register and get the word out!"

We asked you to pray (see HERE - last Thurs) and you did....and God has heard! Please continue to pray for them, as this is just the first part of a two-part battle - we need to find a bone marrow match for Andrew and the clock has already started. Go register HERE if you haven't already - think of how cool it would be if YOU were the match for Andrew! Thanks everyone for praying!

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On a much less important note, last week a friend of mine informed me that this new Korean Christian hip hop/rap group called AMP (three Korean guys from Maryland) had posted an old video of ours on their Facebook page. (they must have found it somehow through my Vimeo account) Anyways, it's a little video Kim secretly took of Timothy and Selah almost a year ago that we affectionately called "Revival". We are still trying to figure out this "parenting" thing and our kids are definitely not always this good - but it was one of those rare moments caught on tape we will always treasure:


In His Grace,
Peter & Kim

Prayers for Andrew

Joe & his son Andrew

For anyone joining in late - a good friend of ours (Joe Park) has a 17 year old son named Andrew who was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia (follow his blog HERE). He was diagnosed with cancer 3 years ago but after remission it has mutated and returned. They found out he had this new cancer literally the day after my wife Kim was diagnosed. We know this was no accident and have found support in our struggle together. You can read our joint battle by clicking on the category Bone Marrow Donor (on sidebar) or just click HERE.  

Prayer Request & Bone Marrow Update

KIM UPDATE

As I mentioned before the last couple nights were tough. Kim has to take a shot after every chemo round called Nuelasta which is a drug that allows her white blood cell count to rebound quicker - making her less vulnerable to infection. However, this drug has some nasty side effects including something they call "bone soreness" which makes you feel like you've literally been hit by a truck. This soreness is so bad that Kim will not let me touch her because she is so sensitive from the pain and she has been tossing and turning at night, moaning. I feel helpless and it's so humbling. I'd give her some Tylenol PM but it does very little. That said, I ran across this verse this morning and it really spoke to me:

"You have kept count of my tossings, put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?" -Psalm 56:8

Wow. The Lord actually counts the number of times we toss in our restless sleep and He collects each tear into His bottle and He records them all in His book. He is not ignorant of one aiota of our suffering - He knows it all. I am understanding how God resolves the Problem of Pain (see HERE) but I was reminded of this again in a powerful way. I wonder what He is planning on doing with this record? Will He reveal it to us in Heaven one day so we might stand in wonder of the stark contrast from grief to joy? From pain to pleasure? From suffering to ecstasy? I wonder...

Bone Marrow Going Global!

I don't want this important issue to get lost in Kim's health updates and my silly polls. If you're just becoming aware of this issue - please click HERE for the 411.  If you are in the Evanston, IL or Northern VA area please see UPDATE in RED below!)

I can't even begin to describe all the wonderful things that have been happening on the bone marrow front. Special thanks to all of you that have taken the personal step of registering! This small step could save a life!

For those that have chosen to go even further and pick up a weapon and join the fight in a bigger way the events that have transpired over the last couple weeks have been breath-taking and inspiring. A few examples:

- My good friend David (along with several friends from Calvary) ran a great drive at Calvary a couple Sundays ago and got over 200 registrants in ~3 hours work. Great job! Not only that they are working with other leaders in Chicago. I also know they were involved with a drive in Hinsdale (last Sunday) and drives in Evanston and Naperville are being set up as we speak!  They've also contacted family in Baltimore who has committed to helping set up a drive at their several thousand member Korean church. Drives in Tampa, FL and the West Coast are in the works as well.

Eastern vs Western Medicine

KIM UPDATE

So the good news is that all the pericardial fluid around Kim's heart (redundant?) is gone! Thank you Lord! The bad news is that it took a one night hospital stay and a very uncomfortable procedure (another drain tube - pericardiocentesis) to remove all the fluid. The best news is that by God's perfect design we ran into our favorite nurse (Kate!) and got to spend a lot more quality time with her. God is good!

Praise & Urgent Action Requested!

If you were amazed by yesterday's story about getting fast-tracked by Dr. Sonali Smith's office after making a few phone calls...buckle your seat belts and read this....

While still basking in the glow of getting a world-renowned oncologist's immediate attention we received an email from Naree, one of Kim's newest friends, yesterday. To provide some context, Naree is a very recent friend of ours whom Kim literally just met this past fall as our boys and her two children were in the same tennis class. The two of them hit it off (who doesn't hit it off with Kim?) and enjoyed spending time talking to one another as they waited every week for their tennis lessons to finish. Read Naree's email pasted below (with her permission):