Signs
of Life
May, 1998
Springtime is here.� The trees are budding.� I=ve been working outside preparing the
garden.� There are signs of life all
around us.
As we continue in the various aspects of our
ministry here in West Qu�bec, Michel and I encounter many opportunities and
challenges.� One of the challenges that
presented itself came in the midst of our joy in
learning that we are going to be having our first baby at the beginning of
September.
About a month ago I went to the doctor=s for what I thought was a minor
pregnancy related problem.� The doctor
immediately sent me off to see a surgeon who in turn packed me off to see a
radiologist the same day.� The doctors
scheduled me for a biopsy a few days later.�
The doctors were very alarmed.�
They thought that I might possibly have a rare and aggressive form of
breast cancer that strikes the skin and lymph tissue of the breast.� As far as the conventional medical community
is concerned, the only hope for an extension of survival in such a case is to
immediately abort the baby, and start radical chemotherapy, surgery and
radiation.�
�For a
few days as we waited for appointments and test results, Michel and I went
through what could be considered a trial by fire.� Our convictions about the sanctity of life
were tested.� Our knowledge about
alternative methods of cancer treatment went from being merely theoretical knowledge to being a real life issue.� Our trust in God=s goodness and His sovereignty were
put to the test.
Through our faith and the prayers of many
people around us, we were able to go through the biopsy procedures with a great
sense of peace.� We were standing in the
grace of faith along with others in our little church and the wider Christian
community, knowing that God would help us through any test that He allowed to
come our way.� In the end the tests
turned out to be negative (no cancer was found).� The whole experience has given us many
opportunities to witness to our faith in God to neighbours and coworkers.� Those in
our little church have grown closer as a result.� Last Monday I was able to give an
evangelistic seminar on women=s health issues at a large downtown
church.� I=m sure that the Lord used my recent
scare with breast cancer to drive home the dual message of caring for your
health and the gospel message with more impact than it would have had otherwise.� It is easy to see, in this case, how the Lord
has worked things together for good.� We
are truly grateful for the blessings that God has given.� These blessings� include my good health during this
pregnancy, a solid marriage, and, we trust, a healthy baby.
I know that there are no guarantees that things
should have turned out with such a happy ending.� We read recently in the AFocus on the Family@ magazine about a young Christian
couple in a very similar situation where the pregnant woman did have breast
cancer and where the prognosis for the disease has turned out to be very
negative.� This dedicated Christian woman
has decided that for her, the best investment of her potentially few remaining
days on earth will be made in caring for her health and in spending time and
building memories with her children.� Her
life and death is a testimony to the Lord=s faithfulness.
Since I=ve announced the upcoming arrival of
our baby,� many people have asked me what
I feel the Lord wants me to do as far as my work with Campus Crusade is
concerned.� Since before the pregnancy
and up until this time, �I have sensed no call and seen no
overwhelming need to totally leave the work that I do with students.� I am open to being redirected to another plan
should the Lord reveal it, but so far I have a pretty solid sense that the
right choice for me is to try to continue my work with students by
telephone.� It is also very clear to me
that after taking a maternity leave starting in September that I will only be
able to devote part-time hours to this sort of work in order to be available
for my family=s needs. A bit of an�� unconventional situation, I must admit, but
when you are involved in pioneering work that no one has ever done before,
breaking new ground, facing new challenges, you have to expect to do things
that are somewhat unconventional.
Many of you will be wondering what the
financial situation will be in the future.�
With a new part-time status I will also be going to a part-time salary
rate and a reduction in benefits and reimbursement privileges.� This will mean that the grand total of the
support that I need to raise on an annual basis will drop considerably.� However, because my support level has been
much lower than it should be for quite some time now, the end result is
that I still need all of my present supporters to continue to support the work
financially in order to provide for even the part-time wages that I
will be drawing.� In fact, in order to
ensure that I will have enough support in the future, I continue to look at
present for more people to join our team of ministry partners.� One of the primary reasons that I will need
to draw a salary in future is so that we will be able to afford some type of
home child care for the baby while I devote a part of my attention to the work
with students.
On my desk there sits a bookmark with 3 John
verse 4 written on it: AI have no greater joy than to hear
that my children are walking in the truth.@ It was during the difficult period when we were waiting for test
results that I felt the baby kick and heard the heartbeat through a fetal heart monitor for the first time.� These were unmistakable signs of life
that brought joy to our hearts.�
At the end of the school year, we had two students from the University
of Ottawa/Carleton group who have made decisions to pursue coming on
staff with Campus Crusade for Christ after the completion of their
studies this summer. Additionally there are four students who have gone
to Calgary for the summer discipleship training projects.� These too are� unmistakable signs of the life that
God has blessed us with.� I have great
joy in seeing these students go on with God.
I count it a great privilege to continue to
serve Christ in working with students.� I
hope that, as the Lord allows, you will continue to share this privilege with
me by standing in the gap with your prayers and finances for this work.
I will keep you informed of any changes and of
course will keep you posted as the pregnancy progresses.
Rejoicing in new life,
����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Catherine