Starting a new chapter...

Hi friends! I know it has been a few weeks since I updated you all. After Greg's last appointment, we were given a few options for his treatment. We prayed over them and asked God to guide us to the right form of treatment. We felt a true peace about choosing immunotherapy. The best way we can describe this therapy is to say that this drug goes into Greg's body and paints (for lack of a better word) the bad cancer cells. This alerts his immune system that all of the "painted" cells are bad and it attacks them. We have been told that most people tolerate this drug quite well, with few if any side effects. He will receive this every other week. We would ask you to pray specifically that his body responds well to this therapy and he has no side effects. We would also ask you to pray that as we walk this journey you would help us to keep our focus on the Lord.

As we look back at our lives a year ago we can see the Lord's hand on our lives in so many ways. It was a year ago today that we were told the dreadful news that Greg had a brain tumor. Our lives changed that day and will never be the same. However, with every hurdle we were faced with, the Lord 's presence became even more evident to us. We would never have chosen to have cancer, however we also wouldn't want to give back all of the blessings he has bestowed upon us because of our cancer battle. 

I remember when I was little we had a dog. Her name was Maggie and we loved her! However, she had a bad problem with biting. So, my father decided it was time to get rid of Maggie. He found a good home for her on a farm. I remember trying to decide if I wished I never had Maggie in our lives because the pain of having her only to lose her made it that much harder. I decided that having Maggie as our dog for even a day was so much fun, it was worth being sad once she was gone. 

One thing about this journey is that it is hard. God has blessed us with meeting so many wonderful people we never would have met had we not had to walk down this path. However, walking down the cancer path means sometimes we will have to say good-bye to some of the most precious people. But just like Maggie, just getting to have them in our lives for a short time is worth the pain of having to say good-bye to them. Our dear friend, Mark shared the same diagnosis as Greg and they would talk on the phone quite often. They walked the path together. However, God decided to call Mark home on Thursday night. Please pray for his wife, Ann and his sons, Ryan and Adam. 

Greg and Mark true brothers in Christ

Although some days we may struggle with our cancer walk, there are many days when God shines a huge light on us to make sure we know He is still in control and He still loves us so much! Over Thanksgiving, He definitely showed us how much He loves us! 

If you know Greg, you know what a huge Colts fan he is. A few months ago I decided to write the Colts and ask them for a favor. I simply told them our story and wanted to know if they could bless us with tickets to a game. I prayed over the email and hit send. A few days later I got a sweet email from a girl named Kelsey. She told us they had 2 tickets for us. We were so excited. Then once the big day came, it got even better. Kelsey let us know that Chuck Pagano (head coach for the Colts) had said he wanted us to be his special guests. He treated us as such as well. We had amazing seats and he came over and talked to Greg for about 5 minutes about his treatment, his diagnosis, etc.. He genuinely cared! I know very little about football, but I know this man is a class act! He hugged us both and said to stay strong. I will never forget that and neither will Greg. 

One of the things we weren't expecting was to see Peyton Manning there! It was neat to be able to get him to sign Greg's football as well. 

Our kids all got to see the game as well, however, their seats were just a little bit higher up! ;o)

We celebrated Thanksgiving and Annie's birthday on the same day! Our baby is now 13!

We had a lot of fun on Black Friday! This is how this kids shopped at Old Navy. 

Alex modeling a Santa hat from American Eagle

Saying good-bye at a gas station  at the end of our trip. 

We love you all and thank each of you for walking with us on this journey. 

Strong Willed Tumor

Hi friends and family! We would like to thank all of you for your support over these past few weeks. Greg's surgery went so well and his recovery has gone just as well! He is about 90%, just a little tired at times. Our neurosurgeon felt like he got all of the tumor that presented itself. We are praising the Lord for all of the many blessings that came out of the surgery. This tumor had blood vessels running right through it and we weren't sure if he would have a stroke when it was removed. We were so thankful that there was absolutely no sign of stroke. The big question was if it was all tumor, some tumor and some scar tissue or all scar tissue. Unfortunately it was about 85% new tumor. The praise is we got it out before it grew and caused more problems.

                                       So, what's next? Let me see if I can explain.

See these 3? Each one of them are completely different! 

When my kids were small, and I actually thought I could discipline them, I would try different things. Now, for Jerod, I could spank him and it did nothing. One day, he said, "Mom, I have to tell you something. Spankings, they just don't work for me. I mean, after the sting is gone, I forget and it really doesn't keep me from being bad." So I looked at him and asked him what he thought would work. He very sadly looked to the ground and said, "Soap. I hate soap in my mouth." Poor kid had more soap in his mouth than he ever dreamed he would after that statement. The other two were both different. Alex hated spankings and Annie was crushed if you looked at her wrong. 

Well, brain tumors are just like my kids. They all respond differently to treatment depending on their make up or their DNA. So, some may respond great to chemo and radiation. Others may respond better to some drugs that are on the market and others will respond to a combination of  a lot of different things.  Greg has a type of brain tumor that is what you may call the strong willed child. It didn't respond well to the regular treatment of chemo and radiation. So, we are now trying to find the right treatment for our little strong willed tumor. We have been given two different options to choose from at this point and we are praying over each of them and will decide over the next week and go from there. We have the utmost confidence in our oncologist and are extremely thankful to our Mission Board and the way they have taken care of us this year! 

Many have asked us if we would consider traveling to another state for treatment or things of that nature. At this stage, knowing what options are out there for THIS type of tumor there are not a lot of other options anywhere. We feel at this point in our cancer journey we are exactly where the Lord would have us to be. That could change in the future, however, at this point, we are at peace with the treatment we are getting at Levine Cancer Institute and CMC. 

We are not at all discouraged. We serve a mighty God and that mighty God is in total control.

We love you all and appreciate all of your prayers. Have an amazing Thanksgiving!

We love you all! Greg, Missy, Jerod, Alex and Annie 

A Word from Greg

Missy does a wonderful, unique job expressing our situation in words so I will do my best to follow in her footsteps.  I just wanted to express how much we appreciate your visits, messages, calls, texts, emails and most importantly prayers as we walk this journey.  Our pastor preached a timely message on Sunday from Philippians 4 focusing on worry and anxiety but most importantly joy.  Philippians 4 instructs us to "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!" So glad God inspired the Apostle Paul to include the word "always" in that verse.  I rejoice today in how God has blessed and worked out so many details over the last few weeks to get me to this point that I am typing out this message from home only 48 hours after being wheeled back to the operating room.  How amazing is our God, I rejoice in him.  

I read a great article months ago from a pastor in California, Dave Hall, who is battling cancer and what God is teaching him.   The link follows if you care to pass it along to someone you know that might need it-- 

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/8-lessons-god-is-teaching-me-through-cancer

Briefly, Pastor Hall writes in point 4,  "I believe cancer entered my life by the sovereign will of God.  It was not a random accident.  I take great comfort in trusting he permitted my cancer to achieve some deeper, eternal purpose.  God will use broken things of this sin-cursed world to accomplish his will for my good and His glory."

Amen to those words!!  I will admit that cancer is a beast and is not a pleasant adversary.   It will punch you in the face over and over again and you have to get back up ready for the next punch.  It is a spiritual battle also as the enemy wishes to use it to discourage and remove the joy of the Lord from my life.   Thus, I would encourage you personally that if you know a family member, friend or even a distant contact who is in a battle with cancer to reach out to them by a visit, a phone call, email, text or any other avenue and encourage them in the battle and ask how you can specifically pray for them.  Be the hands and feet of Christ.  

We covet your continual prayers as we face the unknown future of my cancer battle. 

Praising Him in the storm, Greg

Halloween

Hi friends and family!

We would like to ask you to begin praying for Greg's surgery now. His surgery will be Monday morning at 7am. Dr. Asher will be removing a tumor that has appeared to have slowly returned.
We are not anxious about it, however, whenever there is brain surgery involved there are risks.
This tumor is around a few tiny blood vessels that Dr Asher will need to be very careful not to cut. Cutting them slightly, could cause a stroke. So, we covet your prayers! I always do better about praying if something reminds me to pray. So, what I would like to ask all of you to do is every time you hear the word Halloween 🎃 or think Halloween... please pray for Greg and Dr Asher!

Prayer Specifics:

• God would be glorified in all we do!
• Dr Asher would remove all tumor without any complications 
• Greg would do great throughout the surgery 
• There would be no evidence of cancer found ( We are told it could still be scar tissue)
• That Greg's recovery would go exceedingly well 
• That our family would all have a peace throughout his surgery 

We are so grateful to all of you for your continual support of our family as we walk this cancer journey. We pray God will bless each and every one of you! 

Have a Happy Halloween! 

Greg, Missy, Jerod, Alex and Annie

Good, Good, Father

Looking back on this year, we can clearly see how God has taken care of us in every way. Last year at this time was when Greg knew there was something wrong and was not feeling well at all. He didn't have much energy and his tingling, numbness, and slurred speech were all evident. So, looking back on the year to where we are now, it is easy to say, we serve a good, good, Father.

Click here to listen to this encouraging song!


When our oldest son, Jerod was getting ready to head off to Liberty University for college, Greg made sure he had filled out every possible form, and crossed every 't' and dotted every 'i' for him. Not because he didn't think Jerod could do it himself, but as a father, Greg wanted to make sure he was helping to prepare Jerod for his future out on his own. We knew the first year could be tough, especially since we were going to be in Mexico. Greg is extremely good at administrative things and when the day came to send Jerod off on his own, he handed him a blue binder that Jerod lovingly calls, "The blue folder of death" and we left him. Knowing that we had done all we could to prepare him for that day. Jerod has done perfectly!

Now, thinking back to last year when we left Mexico, God had prepared us, just like we did Jerod. Now that folder that Greg gave Jerod has things in it, he never even knows are there, until he needs them. (passport, financial documents, Liberty information, etc.) When we returned to the US, we didn't know we would need a home to live in, or a car, or how valuable it would be, to be in Charlotte. However, God, is a good, good, Father! He takes care of all of the details, so that when we need something, He has already thought of those needs and taken care of them.

Today, we went in for yet another MRI. However, unlike the past few appointments, we left a bit deflated. Not discouraged, just disappointed. The scan is showing a very slight growth of the spot that we had been watching. So, we will meet with our Neurosurgeon on Monday to discuss when Greg will have his next surgery. Yep, surgery. So, our amazing Dr has explained many times to us that the more surgery he can have, the better off he will be. Strange, but, cutting out all or any growth we see, is our best defense. So, although, we have no desire to have Greg have another surgery, we are looking into our "folder" and we can see just how God has prepared us so well for this time.

• We are in a great home, where we feel completely at peace and don't have to think about moving anytime soon. 
• We have a great church here that already treats us like family.
• We are only about 25 minutes from the hospital.
• Our insurance is great and we are covered!
• Greg's family had planned a vacation for next week, so we can all enjoy a great visit before he has surgery.
• We have many friends who are happy to pray for us as we walk this journey.

There is never a time where we have ever felt mad at God, or let down by Him. However, we realize more than ever before how much He loves us and how much He takes care of every detail.

Please continue to pray for us as we prepare for surgery in the next few weeks sometime. It is not an emergency surgery, so it will be much different than Greg's first surgery. We are told to expect him to bounce back and probably be in one day and out the next. We are counting on that! Thank you for your continued prayers for our family! We love you all!

Clear As Mud Again!

If I hadn't already used my boys picture, I would have used it. However, I chose this fun mud picture instead. 

So... today's MRI wasn't as clear cut as we had hoped. It wasn't bad news, it just wasn't very clear. So, I will do my best to explain. Last MRI our Dr. saw what she felt was scar tissue for lack of a better term. However, she had hoped that by this MRI the "scar tissue" would be smaller or would have shrunk. On this MRI it was the same size as the last MRI. So, now she is scratching her head trying to figure out if it is scar tissue, dead tumor, or new tumor. The technology is so good, and you can see so much, and that can be good. However, it can also cause you to be concerned about things that you don't necessarily need to be concerned about. 

We are not at all discouraged by this. We are just living day to day, trusting God has an amazing plan and we are happy to walk this journey alongside Him. Greg will continue with his chemo next month and then he will have another MRI in 4 weeks instead of 8. So on September 8, we will return and pray that this little booger she is seeing is smaller and not bigger! Smaller would mean for sure it isn't anything to worry about, bigger, would NOT be what we want. SO please pray for it to shrink! Thanks so much for your faithful prayers and your support of our family as we walk this path. We serve an awesome God and we are thankful for each day we have together! Hug your family and don't sweat the small stuff! Love you all, Greg, Missy, Jerod, Alex and Annie

Clear As Mud!

I have always loved this picture of Jerod and Alex. It was taken after a week long youth event of lots of mud activities. They had a great time and made lots of memories. I am using this picture to say my last post was probably about as clear as the mud on their shirts. I apologize. 

When it comes to money, there is really no easy way to talk about it. Especially when it isn't your own. In my last post, I wanted to explain about our adoption funds, however, I didn't do a very good job. Let me try and make it a bit clearer. 

When we decided to adopt we knew it was going to take a lot of faith. We prayed about how we should go about raising money for the adoption. Needing $35,000, was seemingly impossible for us. However, we decided if God called us to adopt, He would provide the funds for us to do that. We applied for many different grants and scholarships. We were awarded several and then we saved every dime we had. We took money from our savings and every time there was a bill due, we had the funds needed. I tell you this so that you will understand that with  International Adoptions there are things you must pay for throughout the process.  It isn't one big bill, but $2000, here, $500, there, and it all added up. We had to pay our agency and Colombia a fee just to start the process. All the while we knew it was non-refundable. However, who would ever think that would be an issue. I mean how many  people go through all of their doctors visits and have everything in order to pick up their little girl, only to find out... you can't go through with this adoption? Probably not many. 

After having yard sales and other fundraisers, we came to a point where we knew we were going to have to ask for donations in order to pay all of the bills. So we had an account set up specifically for the purposes of paying adoption costs. I want you all to know that is where your money was spent. In my last post, I mentioned the money was all spent. I neglected to mention that the money was all spent on ADOPTION costs. We didn't spend your money on anything except for adoption expenses. My heart breaks that we don't have a sweet little girl to show you what you helped bring home. We don't understand it and if we could give each of you your money back, it is the very first thing we would do. When all of this happened, Greg and I were extremely  concerned about how you all would feel. I mean, you did give a lot of money, and we have nothing to show for it. I pray with my entire being that this will not hinder you from giving to other great causes in the future. 

We thank you

for your generosity. We just want you to know that your money wasn't given for nothing, it showed us that God will provide for our every need, He is faithful, He cares, and we have some of the most amazing friends and family. I hope it is a bit clearer now! We love you!

They are a bit cleaner in this picture! (But still just as goofy!)

One last good-bye picture from our sweet little Ali! Please pray she has an amazing life with her family in Italy. She will forever have a place in our hearts! 

Our Month in Pictures

We have had a busy and very emotional month. You may have seen some of these pictures on Facebook, but some of them will be new. I hope you can get a glimpse of what we have done this month through our photos. Thank you for your continued prayers. Greg goes for his next MRI on Thursday the 11th of August. 

At the airport before Alex and I left for Mexico. 

Alex and I with J'Lee. She was squeezing us so tight it made our arms hurt! 

Moving our things out. 

Going through our things was definitely a  lot of work. Trying to decide what to keep and what to get rid of was something I never want to do again. 

Like throwing these things out, was really, really tough. 

Annie's dolls were all excited about their future. The 3 on wall were all going to an orphanage to meet their new mamas. The one standing was boarding a plane to meet Annie again. 

We had a lot of fun J'Lee time!

Alex ate everything he could get his hands on that his tastebuds had missed! 

One day we were in a store and a man came up to us and asked if we were the son and wife of Gregorio. He said he had heard Greg give a Bible study once. He explained that at the time he wasn't a believer in Christ but that over the past few months he has come to know Jesus as his Savior.  He said he has been praying for Greg ever since and knows that God has big plans for Greg. I broke down right there in the store and sobbed. Just knowing a sweet man who doesn't even know my husband is praying and believing for his healing.  I was blessed for sure! 

Got to visit with my sweet neighbor. She definitely reminds me of what suffering truly is. 

Our gas station attendant sent her best to Greg and wanted to make sure he was staying positive. I love these people! 

My neighbor blowing kisses as I drove away. 

Even the local police, (which I had to blur out for their safety) came by to see how he was doing. Greg made a big impact on all those he met! He will be missed in Mexico! 

Celebrated my friend, Melissa's birthday while I was there. 

Visited with lots of amazing friends! 

Saying Goodbye was not fun! 

Alex and I saw 3 movies while in Mexico b/c they are so cheap. They are cheap and the theaters are so much nicer! Even the concessions are extremely cheap and organized. Look here how they have a number showing for the next available cash register. It was like a well oiled machine! 

All of that for $10

Made it home with all of our bags! 

Greg filled in for a pastor at a church in SC. 

After the service was over, we met this sweet man who had the same surgery as Greg did. He had it one week after Greg had his, they have the same amazing oncologist and they are both doing great! We were blessed to see how God is using Greg to encourage others who are walking the same road he is. 

Annie was able to connect with one of her camp friends. 

Jerod surprised us with a visit! We really miss him! 

Here he is with two of his campers. 

Then we got news that our sweet little Ali has been matched with a family in Italy. We are so thankful that God has provided a family for her. We desperately wanted to be that family, but we are happy she has one! Through all of the trials we have faced over the past year, Ali was one of things we just didn't understand. We couldn't wrap our heads around why God would lead us to adopt, allow us to raise $30,000, only to spend it and never be able to adopt her. We didn't understand why he would allow all of that $ just go to waste. We know so many people donated hard earned money and we didn't take it lightly that it was all gone. Then the Lord brought the story of Abraham and Isaac to my mind. Abraham and Isaac prepared quite a bit for their hike up a mountain. Abraham had to cut up some wood for the offering, they had to travel to the appointed place, then they hiked up to this place with the wood, prepared an alter, and Isaac climbed up on the alter. As Abraham raised the knife to sacrifice his son, God provided the ram for them. This lesson was to see how obedient they would be. So maybe, we were just asked to adopt, asked to raise money, those who gave were asked to give and all of that was done just to see if we would and then to show that God would provide for our every need. He will provide for us financially when we need it, he will provide a family for us when we need it, He will provide for us healing when we need it. God cares for every detail of our lives. That is what the Lord has shown us. We pray that our situation will not hinder you from giving to adoptions in the future. We also pray the Lord will bless all of you who gave and you will know that your giving blessed us as we were able to see His ability to provide even when it seemed an incredible amount that needed to be raised. We love you all and ask that you would pray for our future. We still have a desire to adopt in the future but have no idea what that will look like, or if it is even possible. For now, we will just be obedient to God. We love you. 

Transitions...God is Good ALL the time!

Since my last post we have had quite the whirlwind of activity in our lives. I mean a serious whirlwind, but we are hoping that the wind will calm soon. For quite some time now we have been praying that my parent's home would sell. It was about the same time we found out Greg's great news about his scan that they got an offer on their home. God has definitely guided every step of our lives even when it has seemed like a very strange direction He was taking us.

Once the offer on the house was accepted things went very quickly and we had a HUGE yard sale and sold a lot of things and then cleaned out my parent's home. The movers came and divided their belongings into three trucks, one for my parents, one for my sister and one for us. It was a job that no mover would ever want to undertake! However, they got it done and my parent's home was emptied, and we are now officially living in a wonderful mission home in Mint Hill, NC. (Which is east Charlotte) We LOVE this area and this house! It truly is a blessing to us and we are finding we love living in a rural area again. No traffic, no noise, no busyness. There is land all around us, and deer and birds, and flowers, and peacefulness! It is heaven! We are thankful!

This is about 1/10 of what we sold at our yard sale! It was fun! 

This is down the street from where we live now. It is Americana at it's best! Families hanging out at the local Dairy Barn, getting burgers, fries and ice cream on a summer night. We love it! 

This house sits on 30 acres of nothing but green. We call this area the "Oasis." If you can't find someone, we are sitting in the cool shade where the breeze always blows and we can just relax.

 God is good. 

During these crazy weeks, Jerod, Alex and Annie were quite absent. Rotten kids! ;o) Of course I am kidding! Jerod has been working at Camp Cheerio as a counselor for the past 6 weeks and he will continue doing that for the rest of the summer. He loves it and is so good at it! Camp Cheerio is a YMCA camp where I attended as a child and then was a counselor as well. Annie was also at Camp Cheerio for 2 weeks. She thrived there and hopes to one day be a counselor there as well. Alex attended an MK retreat in Costa Rica for a week and was in heaven there. We were told he was the "life of the party." So all 3 of them are enjoying their summer so far! 

This is Patricia, Annie met her a year ago at camp and they have Skyped all year long. This was the first time they have seen each other in a year. It was so sweet to see them embrace and cry with joy at reuniting! 

We celebrated the 4th at Camp with all of our kids! America is still the best country ever!

My baby grew up! ;o(

Alex on his way to Costa Rica!

Alex with some other Mks in Costa Rica, getting ready to have fun! 

Greg and I had 3 days to ourselves, and things were a bit calm, so we celebrated our 22nd anniversary at a precious little cabin in Asheville. It was really wonderful to get away and just be. We visited the Biltmore House (which we never did when we lived in Asheville) and it was amazing! Great memories!

We have been praying that God would show us what He would have us to do with our future. He has now made it clear to us for now. Sometimes we love God's answers, and sometimes we don't. This was one of those answers we weren't excited about. Our mission board's medical department has reviewed our case very carefully and discussed with us the issues Greg may have if he returned to Mexico. We have now all decided it is in our best interest to stay in the United States. We don't know if that is for a few years or forever, but we know that God is in control and has a plan. We will trust it. So Alex and I will be heading back to Mexico in the next week or so to sell all of our belongings. ;o( Please pray for our time in Mexico and for our travels. Pray also for Greg and Annie as it will be hard that they are not with us. We will now continue to pray and seek out where God would have us to serve Him here in the US. We love you and truly appreciate your prayers!