Jesus calms the storm...

It has now been two weeks since my best friend left me to go live in a better place with our Heavenly Father. Over the past 2 years, as we walked the cancer journey, I would often try and imagine what my life would be like without Greg in it. In my thoughts, I would do things on my own and think, I am preparing myself for a life without Greg. In reality, all I did was think of him gone from a scenario. I never really felt what it would be like. Never knew what it was like to want to talk to him and him not be here, or want a hug from him and he isn't there to give it. I fooled myself when thinking I was prepared in any way. Truth is, no one can ever prepare themselves for such a tremendous hole in their life. 

That said, many of you have sent our family sweet cards of encouragement or things to brighten our days. We have been blessed in so many ways and I know if Greg were here to see it, he would be humbled to tears by the love that has been poured out to our family. As am I. It has sometimes been overwhelming to read the impact Greg had on different lives and know I was fortunate enough to spend the last 23 years married to him. 

One of Greg's dreams was to be a weatherman. This makes me laugh every time I think about it. Especially when I think of how it snowed so beautifully the day of his funeral. Greg knows how much I love snow! He loved it when a big storm was coming b/c he wanted to get out in the middle of it and watch God's power all around him. I, on the other hand, was ready to get under the covers and hide. He always wanted to be a storm chaser and see an actual tornado touch down. He just thought it was amazing that God had that much power. Just like in the story of Jesus calming the storm, the people in the boat were amazed that this man had the power to control the wind and waves. (Mark 4:35-41) 

The past two weeks have been hard, but there have been blessings scattered throughout each day. Little bits of God's goodness to show me we are not alone and He will watch over us and carry us even though at times it seems like a true tornado is swirling all around us.  It seems like tornados come out of nowhere and just surprise people. That is what I am finding out about grief. I will be going along doing fine and all of a sudden it will hit me and I will fall apart. 

The kids have seemed to handle it a bit better than me. Please continue praying for all of us as we try and make fun memories this Christmas without our "weatherman." 

Romans 8:18 ESV

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 

The past few weeks in pictures:

Enjoying Cracker Barrel after the kids got home from school for the funeral. 

Manicures

Making the most of a tough situation.

Trying to find the perfect funeral suit. 

Cracker Barrel is... comfort. 

Greg's college buddies.

Dinner at Cracker Barrel after the funeral. 

Annie spending time with her Daddy. 

I have been trying to keep busy by encouraging others. I was able to translate 

all day for a toy drive. 

The babies are all home to enjoy Christmas together! 

Thanks for praying for us all! Missy and kids

Video of Greg's Funeral

Greg's obituary

Greg's obituary

On January 29, 1969, in the small town of Anderson, Indiana the world became a better place when a little boy named Gregory Charles Wood entered the world. He had a sweet spirit and love for all, especially his sister Jennifer, who he called, Sissy.
It was quickly discovered at age 8 that he had a passion for tennis. This carried over into his college years where he attended Kalamazoo College and his team won the NCAA tennis championship. His other passion has always been the Indianapolis Colts. He has always been their biggest fan and cheered them on even when they were having a bad season. 
Soon after that time, he moved to NC, and met and fell in love with his best friend, Missy Holmes. They married and had 3 precious children: Jerod, Alex, and Annie.
After working as a Supervisor at the Department of Social Security for many years, he felt the Lord stirring him to work for Him. After much prayer, he and Missy decided to commit their lives to sharing the gospel with the precious people in Mexico. So, he and Missy took their 3 children and lived in an indigenous village in Mexico for 11 years. While there, Greg strived to learn the Purepecha language and share Bible stories with all who would listen. God allowed them to start a few churches and see many baptized. 
It was a shock to them all when God called them to a new mission field. In December of 2015, Greg was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer and the Lord asked them to live among the hurting in the hospitals and cancer centers. Greg counted it a privilege to serve his Savior wherever he was called. God blessed him with the opportunity to serve on staff at Arlington Baptist Church as Director of Missions over the past year. His prayer was always that people would see that Jesus had changed his life.
On December 5, 2017, as worship songs were being sung to the Father, Greg entered the arms of Jesus and heard the words, "Well done, my good, and faithful, servant."
Although we rejoice that Greg is now in the arms of Jesus, his wife, Missy; sons, Jerod and Alex; his daughter, Annie; his mother, Charlene Wood and father, Boyce Wood; and his sister, Jennifer, and brother-in-law, Christian Caldwell, will all miss him terribly, as will all who knew him. 

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be given "in memory of Greg Wood" to International Mission Board 3806 Monument Ave, Richmond, VA 23230 or online at http://www.imb.org/give

En Espanol:

El 29 de Enero de 1969, en el pequeño pueble de Anderson, Indiana, el mundo fue beneficiado con el nacimiento de un muchachito llamado Gregory Charles Wood. El tuvo un espíritu muy lindo, y un amor para todos, especialmente para su hermana Jennifer, a quien le llamaba Sissy. 

A la edad de 8 años, descubrieron que él tenía una pasión para el deporte de tenis. Esta pasión lo siguió en sus años universitarios en la Universidad de Kalamazoo, y su equipo ganó el campeonato universitario de los Estados Unidos. Su otra pasión siempre fue el equipo profesional de futbol Americano, los Indianapolis Colts. El fué uno de sus fanáticos más fieles, y siempre los animaba, aún cuando tenían una temporada en la cual no ganaban muchos juegos. 

Poco tiempo después, se mudó al estado de Carolina del Norte, donde conoció y se enamoró de la que llegó a ser su mejor amigo - Missy Holmes. Ellos se casaron, y tuvieron 3 hijos preciosos: Jerod, Alex, and Annie. 

Después de trabajar por muchos años como un supervisor en la caja nacional de seguros de los Estados Unidos, el sintió un llamado del Señor para trabajar para el Señor. Después de mucha oración, Greg y Missy hicieron la decisión de usar sus vidas para compartir el evangelio con la gente de México. El y Missy llevaron a sus tres hijos a un pueblo de gente indígena de México, y allí pasaron 11 años trabajando. Greg se propuso a aprender la lengua Purepecha, y compartir historias de la biblia con todos los que estaban dispuestos de escuchar. Dios les permitió empezar varias iglesias y ver a muchos bautizados entre los Purepecha. 

En verdad fue una sorpresa para ellos cuando Dios los llamó a un nuevo campo misionero. En Diciembre del año 2015, Greg fue diagnosticado con una forma agresiva de cáncer del cerebro, y el Señor les pidió a Greg y Missy que vivan entre aquellos doloridos en los hospitales y centros de control del cáncer. Greg lo consideró como un privilegio para servirlo al Señor en donde quiera que El le mandaba. Dios lo bendijo a Greg, dándole una posición con la iglesia Bautista de Arlington, como el Director de Misiones por su último año. Durante todo esto, su anhelo siempre fue que gente pudiera ver que Jesús había cambiado su vida. 

El 5 de Diciembre, mientras que se estaban cantando cantos de alabanza al Señor, Greg entró a los brazos de Jesús, y escuchó las palabras: "Buen trabajo, siervo bueno y fiel". Aunque nos regocijamos porque Greg está en los brazos de Jesús, su esposa Missy; hijos Jerod y Alex; su hija Annie; su madre Charlene Wood y su padre Boyce Wood; su hermana Jennifer, y su cuñado Christian Caldwell, todos nosotros ya lo estamos echando de menos bastante, también todos los que lo conocían.

En vez de mandar flores, sería un honor para Greg si harían una contribución a la Junta de Misiones Internacionales de la Convención Bautista, quienes nos han apoyado durante todo esta experiencia.

It Is Well With My Soul...

It Is Well With My Soul...
This is one of Greg's favorite songs. Horatio G. Spafford was a successful lawyer in 1871. He had 5 children and one of those children died because of pneumonia. His wife and 4 daughters were heading to Europe and he was going to join them after finishing up some work. However, on the trip, there was an accident and the ship they were on collided with another ship. All four children died, however, Mrs. Spafford was spared and she sent word saying, "Saved alone, what shall I do?" Her husband got on a ship and headed her way. When they were about 4 days into the journey, the captain called Horatio to his cabin and informed him that they were over the place the children had died. That is where these lyrics were formed.

When peace like a river attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll,

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

They had 3 more children, one of which died of pneumonia.

It has been a long 2 year journey. December 4th was 2 years exactly since we flew back to the US for Greg's first brain surgery. This morning at 1:35am Greg was able to sing, "It Is Well With My Soul," as he met our sweet Savior. He had such a sweet passing as Keverly (our dear sweet mk nurse from Mexico) and I sang worship songs and prayed over him. He was in no pain and he is now at the feet of Jesus doing what he has taught about for years, worshipping our savior.

We have a tree in our front yard that has been dying since we moved in this past March. Greg trimmed it and refused to give up on it. He said it reminded him of himself. It had a tiny bit of life left and it was barely hanging on. However, since there were little shoots of life coming out of the trunk, he said he knew our little tree was doing all it could to make a comeback.

So, for this season we have made sure our little tree has definitely come to life, as you can see in our pictures below. We pray, this season, each and every one of you remembers why we celebrate Christmas. Remember, as Greg always says...."Don't sweat the small stuff!" I love you all and would ask you all to please forgive me for not being able to be my social butterfly-self right now. The kids and I need some time to enjoy this season, so we would ask for no visitors right now. As soon as arrangements are made I will post them here. We love you all!

Thankful

I haven't posted anything for a while now. Mainly because I have been spending all of my time with my precious family. Many of you, are wondering how Greg is doing. God has been so very good to us, He has blessed us with memories we never dreamed of making. On September 21st when we were told that there was nothing more they could do to treat his cancer, we truly felt like we had a month at best. We also felt like his speech would be gone. However, we prayed that he wouldn't lose his speech and that the tumor would grow slowly and allow us more time until it was time for the Lord to take him home. He has answered both of those requests as he still has clear speech and He has given us a lot more time than we anticipated. However, his health has declined extremely rapidly in the past 2 weeks and we feel like he is nearer to the finish line than he has been before. However, we know the Lord can still step in and heal him here on earth if He chooses!

About 3 weeks ago Greg started having focal seizures. These were small seizures where he would zone out and his eyes would stare off into space. He could usually understand us and answer questions, but he wasn't fully there. It wasn't until I would get in front of his stare and have him focus on me that he would come out of it. We found that bringing his focus to me and off of whatever took him away generally brought him out of his seizure. (side note...he has stopped having those seizures)

I have been thinking about that a lot lately. I am just like that with Jesus. There are many days when fear of being alone or of making mistakes with the bills or not managing our money correctly puts me into a sort of trance as well. I get worried and think I won't be able to do it on my own, that is when the Lord gets right in my face like I have done with Greg and brings my focus back on Him. He reminds me that I will never be able to do anything on my own. It is only when I rely fully on Him that I will be able to rest easy knowing that with God, all things are possible! (Matthew 19:26) So I am working on staying focused on Him more.

Let me share some of the amazing things we have gotten to do in the past month. We went on an amazing beach trip with all of Greg's family and it was such a blessing. Then we took a trip to see Jerod and Alex at Liberty. It was a fun weekend and we enjoyed being there with them. Greg's mom joined us for a week and we had a lot of good conversation and lots of great food given to us by our sweet church family. Then one Sunday, our worship pastor and a few others came to worship with us in our home. It was a beautiful time of fellowship!

Greg's big bucket list request was to see Annie walk down the aisle. He knew he probably wasn't going to make it to that special day, so we planned another way to make that happen. With the help of our youth pastor, Sunday school class, and many other sweet friends, a wedding ceremony of sorts was planned in less than a week. We had a purity ceremony for Annie where Greg gave her a purity ring and she vowed to remain pure until marriage. It was precious in every way. Please watch the video below to see just how special it was.

We have had a good Thanksgiving week and celebrated Annie's birthday. We are now just going to enjoy the Christmas season and know that every day truly is a gift and we will thank Him for each one of them. We pray each of you cherishes your family and shows love to one another....don't sweat the small stuff! We love you all and thank you for your love and support while we walk this journey.


Click on the link below to watch the video.

Annie's Purity Ceremony Video

"My grace is sufficient.."

This was written by Paul about a problem he had asked the Lord to relieve him of 3 times.

2 Corinthians 12:8-10

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The Lord never relieved Paul of this problem he had in his life. It appears He will not be relieving Greg of his brain cancer this side of heaven either. (Unless He chooses to give us a miracle!) It was just about 2 years ago that Greg started feeling his symptoms of brain cancer while we were in Mexico. At that time we felt our world was crumbling. However, God has blessed us with 2 of the most precious years of our lives. We have grown closer to each other as a family and closer to the Lord. We have a new sense of what it means to truly rely on God and what faith looks like. We are not angry at God nor are we questioning Him. His ways are perfect

.

Over that past few weeks, we have seen Greg's health begin to deteriorate. We thought it was probably due to side effects from the strong dose of chemo he was getting. However, yesterday when we went for his 3rd dose of chemo our doctor decided it was best to give him an MRI first to see what was going on with his big ole noggin. Unfortunately, one of the drugs was causing a brain bleed and that is why his health had gone downhill. Greg can no longer receive this treatment. Sadly, we have just exhausted all of our options. We are now to the point of just enjoying whatever time God will give us together on earth. We know you all have a lot of questions and honestly there are no answers. Only God knows how long he has and only God knows when or how any of us will go. I am so grateful to Him that He is allowing us to enjoy these days before we have to say, "See you in Heaven."

We cannot thank Dr. Sumrall and Ann Elrod and their team enough. They have made this journey more than bearable. We love them and feel blessed to call them friends. We also need to thank our company and church. They have both stood by us and supported us in ways that no one could ever imagine. The list of thank yous could go on, but you all know who you are. We are grateful to each one of you for loving us through this journey. It isn't over, but it is near. Please know we will need your love and prayers now more than ever.

With love,
Greg, Missy, Jerod, Alex and Annie

Here are some highlights of the past 2 years.

God is good all the time. We love you all!