My Christian uncle Albert (My mum’s younger brother) is diagnosed with bowl cancer stage 4, and the cancer cells has spread to his liver. It’s sad the one who brought me to know more about Christianity ends up in cancer disease and death; he will leave his family and going to heaven soon by God’s calling. I don’t want to talk too much now, I should treasure the time I have with him. I face more uncertainity~~

I won’t pray for a miracle will happen somehow; I’m often disappointed by God time to time. He should fight for his name and glory, my uncle will for the disease in his faith in Christ. Pray for a settlement for his family and his health.

Ray

Ray,

You have my heartfelt sympathy. My father died of bowel cancer which then spread to his liver.

I agree that the time you have left is very special. I thank God for your uncle’s wonderful Christian witness to you. No wonder he is so special.

Our Great God and Father-in-Heaven,

We know that you hold each life in your hands. It is you and you alone who determines the hour of our birth and the time of our death. We are humbled by your power and sovereign rule over all life and death.

Father, we thank you for the life of Ray’s uncle. We give further thanks because you have not only granted him earthly life but eternal life which death cannot destroy. May this knowledge be a comfort to Ray and other family members and friends.

Thank you, Father, for Ray’s uncle faithful Christian witness.

We commend Ray’s uncle to you loving care. Thank you for the medical treatment he is receiving. May the palliative care be suitable and supportive. And may it provide the necessary pain relief.

Father, comfort Ray and his family and extended family and friends. May your steadfast love, tender mercies, eternal promises and gentle Spirit bring comfort to Ray and others. May they turn to you in their distress so they can be a comfort to Ray’s uncle.

In Jesus’ name
Amen

Amen.

I’m sad. I know I will be the witness watching him die slowly and left his wife and 2 daughters (aged 7 and 11) behind. And the time is passing by.
I wonder what he and his wife is planning to do. Financially and Spiritually struggle in their faith to God. Too much suffering on the earth, if God let me swap with him, I’m happy to go and leave few things behind and concern.

P.s He is a member of Bankstown Bapist church.

Hi Ray,

I’ll be praying for you, your uncle and your family too.

Han :)

Ray I am praying and thanking God that this man knows Jesus as Saviour and for the work he did in bringing you to know Jesus too.

I can empathise too. THe man who brought me to Christ (other than the trinity themselves) has also passed on, the journey has been harder without him, but so worth it. My walk is in part in memory of him.

Enjoy the time you have left and although everyone says it and you just want to kill them when they do… Celebrate his life, there is no reason to mourn his death as he is going to be with his maker in heaven, and what can be better than that…

Though it will be painful for you, try and take comfort in that he is going to be with God…

Dear Jesus,
Please be with Ray and his family as they deal with sickness and potentialy death of a family member, please keep them strong and focussed on you, be with them in their grief and be there comfort.

Please keep Ray’s uncle from excessive pain.

In your precious name
Amen

[quote author="Tracey Lee"] Celebrate his life, there is no reason to mourn his death as he is going to be with his maker in heaven, and what can be better than that…

Though it will be painful for you, try and take comfort in that he is going to be with God…

Dear Jesus,
Please be with Ray and his family as they deal with sickness and potentialy death of a family member, please keep them strong and focussed on you, be with them in their grief and be there comfort.

Please keep Ray’s uncle from excessive pain.

In your precious name
Amen

Amen

I remember my uncle who helped me to settle down when I first came here. Without him, I won’t be in here today, not even I can get the PR visa. How can I forget who had helped me when I was in trouble.

My great concern is his family member- A housewife and his 2 daughters.

Update:

My uncle went for a body check today, he had a blood test and hopefully he will have a positive result soon.
Meanwhile I keep praying for him

Ray,

[quote author="Ray Lau"]My great concern is his family member- A housewife and his 2 daughters.

When Dad left Mum for another woman in 1989, he also left Mum with all his financial debts and three daughters (I the youngest by 4 minutes was 11 at the time).

Not only did she have to deal with her own grief, loss, heartbreak & sense of betrayal, but she had to provide support for her children in their own grief AND satisfy the debtors baying for money or blood.

From hearing her reflections after the trauma occurred, and as we have chatted about it on & off up to the present time, I can testify to the fact that God took care of us and provided for us through that time of extreme hardship.

God gave us all we needed - basic needs such as food, clothing & shelter; spiritual growth for Mum and a renewal of faith in her daughters (April 1990 saw the start of my grown-up Christian faith); and over a longer period of time, He enabled Mum to pay off those debts and find some semblance of financial security.

God does not and will not leave His people bereft.  He looks after them.  This doesn’t mean everything will be perfect a week or month or year or decade or even half a lifetime later - but looking back over 17 years I cannot miss His faithful work in our lives.

And - here’s my point - I’m certain that He will look after your aunt & her children in the worst-case scenario...Not just because He did it for Mum & my family.

But because He has promised to meet all our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

18 months after the trauma, my mother was invited to speak to our church about her experience.  In sharing God’s work in her life, she quoted the following hymn.  It is so old that even I never learned it, but I remember the lyric snippets she alluded to.  I cried on Sunday when I found and read the lyrics in their entirety for the first time.

Here is what Mum quoted in reflection on her time of grief and suffering.

WHAT GOD HAS PROMISED
God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

WORDS: AJ Flint
MUSIC: WM Runyan

Updated:
My Christian uncle went to see the doctor today; the doctor said the cancer cell is slowying expanding, which means the drug he is taking isn’t effective at all.

Keep praying.

Ray

Praying. Not always knowing what and how to pray.

Praying for you, too, Ray, that you’ll cope in this difficult time for you.

Andrew

Updated

My uncle’s circumstance moved to stage 5 recently (Stage 4 is when the cancer cell spread to other organs, Stage 6 is dead). He resign his job last week. Meanwhile, I’m so busy for the uni, haven’t got a chance to see him yet.

As I said it before your prayer for his family is always appreciated

Ray

Update

Doctor stopped all the medical treatment and claimed my uncle will be gone within 6-12 months.

We are not in mood lately.

Ray
i dont know what to pray ...that there will be no great pain, that your family will find peace...that there will be some good outcome of all this (but what?)

but one thing i will pray for is god give you strength and guidance.

Ray,

I pray that God will make His comforting presence known to your uncle. As Job called out in his distress and was met by the living God, so I ask God to meet your uncle in his distress. May he be met with the comfort which Jesus graciously grants.

I pray that your uncle will respond to this heartbreaking news by clinging to Jesus, finding refuge from any anxieties and fears he may have. And above all, I pray that he will greet death as the doorway which it is for all believers. A doorway which will take him into the richest, most intimate, the sweetest, most profound way of relating to His Lord and Saviour.

May God comfort you Ray, it is heartbreaking news. I encourage you to dwell on Romans 8:

35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

and

Psalm 121:

A song of ascents.

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

prayerfully
Angela

Hi Ray,

prayed just now. I am sorry to hear of you and your uncle’s suffering, and thanks for your updates.

Update:

Well, my uncle is still alive and enjoy every single minutes he has.

He is going to take some new medical drugs on this coming Fri; hopefully we will see “real improvement”.

Meanwhile, I need direction from God in terms of career and relationship.