September Review

It is hard to believe that the first week of October is gone already.  We were blessed with many great times in September.  The first weekend we traveled to St. Joseph Michigan with with friends (see previous post).  Then we hosted the young group Bible study and Zion had his first day of pre-school.  My Aunt Jane from Arizona spent the day with us on the 8th and we enjoyed the church picnic on the 9th.  Zach had a CT Scan on the 11th which showed that the cancer in his body is stable, so he continues on the chemo routine.  This chemo does not work for many people and Dr. Helft told us the longest he has seen this chemo work on someone is a year and a half (so it is an answer to prayer that it has worked for Zach for a year and two months). 

On the 14th, Zach and Zion enjoyed a father/son camp out with the other boys in his preschool Sunday School Class.  They had a great time even though it was cold.  Moriah and I ran errands and enjoyed JBG's Custard for our girls night out.

On the 15th, Zach shared his Cancer Testimony with a Sunday School Class at Hope Missionary Church.  Later in the day we had our family picture taken (I will post some when we get them back) and enjoyed a cookout at Grandma Barb's.  The 17th brought a great meal at Dean and Jackie Gerber's with other former County Line Swine Employees.  Then on the 18th we enjoyed the Street Fair Parade, good food and a few rides. 

On the 20th, Zach gave a presentation about his cancer to a group of insurance representatives and we left for Illinois later in the day.  We had a great evening with Joe, Heidi, Owen, and Marcus Gerber (a big thanks to Heidi for some great new recipes).  We stayed overnight with them and then left the next morning to make the drive to Bern, Kansas.  The long drive was well worth it the effort since Brandon and Heidi (Rufener) Edelman were there to welcome us.  We had a great weekend catching up with Heidi and getting to know Brandon and his family better.  The Bern church hosted a Cancer Redemption Presentation on Saturday night and we were blessed by the huge support of the church family there.  Zach also shared thoughts with the older Sunday School classes on Sunday morning (a special thanks to the students who picked a wonderful bouquet of flowers for Zach to give me).  On Sunday evening we enjoyed a campfire at Sabetha Lake with Brandon's extended family and some friends.  We were sad to leave Brandon and Heidi on Monday morning and hope our paths will cross in Ohio soon.  We drove all the way home on Monday and kids did great.  Zach laid on a bed we made him in the back of the van and kept the kids occupied with IPad games and DVDs. 

 

Brad and Sonya hosted potluck at our house on the 28th and we enjoyed a trip to the zoo with the Bertsch family on the 29th.  Zion and Moriah both enjoyed riding the horses at the zoo.  During the ride Zach noticed that Zion's horse was going faster than the others.  When he asked Zion why his horse was going fast, Zion admitted that he was kicking the horse's sides (our future cowboy?).

 

John and Alexis Stoller organized a Cancer Redemption Presentation at the Latty Fellowship Center on the evening of the 29th. We were again blessed with great support for both the evening presentation and Zach morning talk to the Sunday School Students.  The kids enjoyed exploring a new church and Moriah asked every teenager in the balcony during lunch his or her name.  We left after church so Zach and I could spend the evening with his high school friends Jon (Jennifer) Isch and Justin (Ashley) Brown. 

 

Wow just typing this makes me tired. Zach continues to deal with the side affects of chemo therapy, his cancer, and his surgery injuries on a daily basis. He rests a lot at home most days and the kids and I enjoy having him around. We are thankful that Zach is being given so many opportunities to encourage others in their journey of faith, it helps him to know that God is using his cancer to do good. We are praying that God will have a great impact on the lives of each one who took the time to listen to his thoughts and encourage our family.