A letter from John

Dear ones blessed of the LORD,
I hope this finds you completely convinced our Father is still in full control of all our lives! I am so thankful for this gift of faith in my life more now than ever. Hope all you Dads had a wonderful Fathers Day and that all of you who have said farewell to your earthly Father were comforted by our heavenly Father as I was.
 In talking with our oldest daughter ,Beth Goins, who is still very young by the way, She shared with me that one of the many who had contributed to my health care while we were in Tijuana had asked if we thought it was worth it. The answer is an huge yes.I don't know how clear we were about my condition when we arrived in Mexico but I assure you it was desperate. I had been on a urinary catheter for at least 3 wks. and heavy narcotics for over 2 weeks which barely made my level of pain tolerable. We arrived at night so we only saw the Dr. briefly. I would like to say getting into this dire situation  took place by Divine Providence but really believe it was more due to UN divine stubbornness . You see there is only one thing I have feared more than the cancer and that is chemotherapy. When the Dr. came to visit us the next evening, he sat across from Mary and me and told me they had a lot of great treatments for cancer but the only one he could offer me was chemo therapy and  if he couldn't help me with that he couldn't help me at all. Then he asked me if I would trust him with that. I looked at Mary, only she knew how many times I had said no to chemo, and then back at him and I said yes. When we arrived my weight was 160  about 15 to 20 lbs. off my normal weight. My first x-ray showed my left lung 1/2 full of liquid my second showed it full and my right lung beginning to fill. After two chemo treatments both lungs and literally my whole body was full of fluid and my weight reached 191 lbs. two weeks. later when we left to come home my weight was 140lbs. I truly believe if it hadn't taken that trip, those Drs. and what they did, I would not have lived to receive the care I am now receiving . So thank you all for your sacrificial giving, and for one old man still alive in N.C., who believes it was worth every penny. By the way Uncle Sam has agreed to pick up the tab until August so praise God for all you tax payers too. Thank you all and I hope this hasn't been to long.

               Love and prayers, Johnny Linville

Fighting Hard

Just a quick update for John.  The port was placed successfully  on Monday morning. Dr. Bridges was able to place it just under the collar bone on the left side, without disturbing the tumors in that area. Today, (Tuesday)he had a 6 hour treatment here in Brevard @ the Cancer Center.  He is exhausted and nauseated.  He will be admitted to St. Josephs Hospital tomorrow for the heavier chemo.
I am tired and will attempt to post tomorrow evening after he gets settled.  Thank you for your prayers!!!! We love you and are grateful for you.

In His Arms,
Mary

Dear Family and Friends,
 Please forgive us for not posting before now.  Things have been a bit crazy the last few months.  Brevard is definitely a rain forest this spring and summer.  Everything is lush and green...just beautiful ... a constant reminder of our Creator and King, Jesus, who not only created all things but holds them together. Colossians 1:16-17

John had scans done on Monday, June 4th and we met with the Oncologist on Wednesday morning the 6th.  The report is not good. The tumors in his abdomen and chest have increased significantly and there are new ones growing.  This means the proto call the Dr. is using is not working. She is suggesting John be admitted to St.Joseph Hospital in Asheville, NC for five days of a stronger chemo, which has to be monitored 24/7.  Then wait 3 weeks and do this same treatment in the hospital setting and repeat the scans to see if they are responding. If the tumors respond this would be repeated for two additional treatments. It is such a powerful treatment it will then require a Stem Cell(bone marrow), transplant which is an 8 week process in Wake Forest, NC. If John chose to do nothing...the prognosis would be 2-6 months.
John is scheduled to have a port placed on Monday morning at
6:15 AM at Transylvania Hospital.  Then as soon as St. Joseph Hospital calls he will be admitted there for five days of the stronger chemo. I will let you know when he is admitted there.
We are trusting the Father to guide us moment by moment, to keep our minds at peace, to continue to show us how to be a reflection of HIS GRACE and to help us be open and honest in our efforts to live for HIS GLORY.
Today is Johns 63rd birthday!!! We have two families staying at the River Bend Campground for the weekend!!! We were approved for medical insurance!!!! We saw four of our nine grandchildren today! Todd and Beth and five grands are doing well in Brasstown, NC, getting ready for a big trip out west! Shannon and Heather finally found a specialist in Charlotte that seems to be on the ball with our grandson, Wills body producing too much calcium, creating kidney stones, and high levels of calcium in his urine.  he will be 3 July 3rd, thank you for praying for him. Jason and Jenn are doing well and just celebrated their 5 wedding anniversary! JT and Jonlyn are playing classical music for a wedding tomorrow. The Lord has supplied our every need!!!!!!!

We are trusting the one who created and holds all things together..."so that HE Himself might come to have FIRST PLACE in everything." Colossians 1:18

In His Arms,
Mary Linville (for us all)

LOVE

Greeting in Jesus name,
I think it has been a little over a month since our last post, so I hope I can remember the highlights since then. It has been a pretty smooth time all things considered. I have had 2 rounds of chemo and go for my third on Wed. May 16 th. I have had no nausea and only one sore spot on my tongue which has cleared up since my last treatment.
I know you know the promise in Romans 8:28 that states Our Father causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.  Cancer is a thing, therefore it must work for good in the life of any born again believer. Of course that does not mean cancer is a good thing.
I am certain the main reason the Father has allowed this dis-ease in my life is because I have not been willing to be still and know He is God. Since my great turn around in Mexico I have once again gotten busy doing stuff rather than taking this time of sabbatical to be still and know Him and learn the areas in my life which I have not surrendered to His Lordship.
i.e. Besetting sins which have caused me to be less than loving to my wife,children and family members closest to me. It is fairly easy to be the holy man for a hour long concert or a week long seminar but to love your wife as Christ, or not provoke your children to anger, when they know what you can really be like on a daily basis, is another story.
I believe that is the purpose of God we are called to , Thou shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart mind soul and  strength, and love your neighbor as yourself, and only God knows how far I have fallen short of that mark.
I thank all of you for you faithful prayers for the healing of my physical body. Please be in prayer for Mary, our Children and family as I seek to make amends for the ways I have failed to love them in a Christ like manner and as they heal from the wounds I have caused them.
I am so thankful for the way our Father has used cancer in my life to show me how much He has loved me and how little I have loved Him and His precious children He has placed closest to me. Little children love one another.

                            Humbled under His mighty hand,
                                                john

Walking in his plan

Dear ones who have expressed your love for my family and me in so many ways I want to send my heart felt gratitude.  We have been able to get out some personal thank yous written but they have been few and far between.  Until you get yours I hope you will except a spiritual hug of thanks for now!!  We thank God for the care and healing I received in Tijuana.  I truly believe God sent us there for a dramatic life saving event which could not have happened without your sacrificial giving.  After we returned home in late January,  things seemed to improve daily.  My strength was coming back my weight had gone from 140 to 160 then early in March Mary noticed a small lump under my left jaw.  Then I checked and discovered enlarged lymph nodes around both sides of my neck and a small lump under my right arm.  Knowing how fast this large B cell lymphoma had taken me down before I wasted no time in seeking the Lord for the next direction.  I really love the wisdom and respect the knowledge of my doctor in Mexico and told him I was debating whether to come see him first and then return home for chemo or do the chemo first and then come see him.  Once I told him how the cancer was presenting, Dr. Vasquaz said I should start chemo in the states as soon as possible and then come to him for rebuilding my immune system.  So today, one week later April 4th at8:30 in the morning I began my first full blown cancer treatment5 with Job i cry "the thing I feared the most has come upon me."  Praise be to God, He makes all things beautiful in His time.  Tuesday evening, I had a beautiful thought, for the last two weeks I had come to feel worse and worse...there was no reason to think it would leap to anything but more of the same...with the chemo no matter how bad the discomfort there is the possibility it could lead to restoration.
Praise the Lord with that thought I walked into that infusion room and had a wonderful day.
This will be posted on www.thelinvillesjourney.blogspot.com as will future updates.

Walking in His plan,
I am John Linville

Update from Linvilles

Dear family and friends,
We are getting ready this morning to go to Lucy Linvilles going home celebration. Johns mother passed away on Sunday, March 25, 2012 around 9:00am.  Although Lucy was 93, we were not expecting her passing. We are grateful that Peggy(Johns sister),John and I were with her on Friday and had a good visit. But most grateful for the testimony of her close and real relationship with Jesus.
If you had the privilege of meeting Lucy, you heard her share something of the grace that the Father had shown her in her walk with HIM, whether in conversation or song it was and is a strong testimony.

John has had some new activity with his cancer. We met with the primary doctor on Monday. He had a chest x-ray and it shows a mass pressing on his bronchial tubes. There are also nodes and tumors growing on the right side under the arm and around his neck on both sides. SO.....we called Dr. Vazques, at the IBC Hospital and he recommended staying here in the states and getting Chemo, then come there to rebuild his body.

He is having PET scan tomorrow, a port put in on Monday, a echo cardiogram on Tuesday and begins chemo on Wednesday of next week...Yes our heads are spinning and our emotions are raw. Do we still believe the Father has our best interest in His mind...YES!!!!

We are weary,sad, burdened...but we are trusting the ONE who can give us rest...the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Matthew 11:28-30

Thank you for your prayer, much love to each of you...

Resting in His Arms,
Mary (for us all)

Gainning :)

Hey faithful prayer warriors on Johns behalf!!!
John has gained 21 of the 42 pounds lost, back!!!  He is bald but his hair is beginning to return.  His stamina is still extremely low. His blood work last week showed he had a low thyroid and a slight anemia. The Dr. has given him something for the thyroid and he is already feeling better.  We are trying to fight the anemia with diet.  He is adjusting to his restful life style the best he can...if he does to much it zaps his energy and he can do nothing else but rest. So he is learning his limits and trying to listen to his body.
We continue to be amazed by the Fathers loving care for us through the body of Christ.  Thank you for your prayers, notes phone calls, gifts, meals and encouragement.  We are grateful and forever humbled.
when praying for us, pray for health, for our family relationships, for a stillness in our lives, direction in ministry when the time comes and for our relationship to Christ as He continues to show us our desperate need for the Gospel.

We love you, thank God for you and look forward to seeing each of you in His time.

His,
Mary (for us all)