Our friend’s father was diagnosed with cancer during a work trip from Los Angeles to Seoul, South Korea. The unexpected news forced the family to cling onto God tighter than they did before as fear and uncertainty about surgery, chemotherapy, logistics, and finance draped over them. Our friend is in a small group in Los Angeles who has been praying for his situation and by the amazing grace of God, the WitnessLA family was given an update on how God has answered their prayers during this difficult time.
Prayer for responsiveness to surgery and chemo, and for the best possible medical care. Prayer update:There were concerns that the surgery and chemotherapy would not be effective in battling the cancer given its late discovery. However, my dad’s surgery went extremely well in removing the cancer tumors. His recovery has been great and his chemo sessions are moving along without a hitch. He just received another full diagnosis and the chemo drugs that he’s been receiving seem to be really effective. He hasn’t had bad side effects from is, aside from the usual throwing up and not being able to eat for few days. Although he has lost a lot of weight, 25lbs to date, from this treatment, it’s been a blessing since he was a little heavy. It’s hard for him for maybe one or two days after the treatment but he’s otherwise been his normal self. So all in all, everything is going fantastic.
Our friend, Kytia, parallels everyday circumstances, such as repairing a leak in the ceiling, to lessons that God teaches us, like healing our greatest pains from the inside out. Kytia’s testimony reminds us that God can use times of great sadness, confusion and struggle to break open our hearts and bring healing.
Recently, my husband and I had our first encounter with serious repairs to our apartment. Ever since the first time it rained while we were living on our own, we’ve been dealing with leaks here and there in our office. There was even an incident when I noticed a leak above my computer desk right before we were about to leave for a meeting. If we had left just a few minutes sooner, my keyboard might have been soaked by the time we returned home and that would have been a whole other problem.
Our sister Liz writes about her path from Los Angeles to Seoul and ultimately, to the heart of her Father.
Last week, I started a new job, moved into a new apartment, and essentially signed a commitment to living in Korea, my mother country (but still foreign!) for at least two years. None of this was part of the plan when I moved to Seoul from L.A. three months ago - I was going to be here a year, tops, teach some English, freelance for some publications and head back home.
But when I first arrived, I wasn’t even sure if I’d be allowed to even stay in Korea, let alone commit to living here long-term. It turned out that I was registered at birth as a Korean citizen - even though I was born and raised in America - and as a result, the government refused to issue me a foreigner’s visa, but also denied me the right to activate my Korean citizenship. In essence, I was neither Korean nor American and was basically an alien waiting to get kicked out of the country.
Francis Chan and his older brother, Paul, share about the profound conversion of the father to Christianity and how that, coupled with intercessory prayer, led them become to dedicate their lives to serving the Lord. Please watch this touching video as they recount their father’s testimony and how it shaped who they are today.
Familial relationships can at times be volatile. Our friend shares his experience of how God opened his heart to humility and forgiveness as he overcame his anger and hate towards his father and sought for forgiveness.
Grumpy, tired and jet lagged; I had just come from an overseas Christian conference. I was feeling a bit holier than before, but little did I know, God was about to teach me a lesson on humility.
Do you need to be set free from your past? The sins and struggles of our parents can follow us, but Jesus promises freedom - not just from the cause, but also from the fear of turning out the same. Our Voice Sherea shares an inspiring story of how God broke the cycle of substance abuse in her family and set her free from fear.
Recently, I had an opportunity to spend time with my mom. We laughed, talked, looked at photos, and of course, we cried.
It’s no secret that my mom struggled with substance abuse most of her adult life (this is something she would say and use as her testimony, especially now that she is free from that struggle). The details of that situation will remain her story. I am a firm believer in letting others tell their own story, ‘cause there are always two sides. I’ll do my best to keep this post one-sided.
Because of HER struggle, I grew up having a fear of taking any medications or other types of symptom relieving drugs because I thought I would struggle with drugs as an adult…[click “Read More” below to continue]
In honor of Mother’s day, we at WitnessLA.org want to hear from you. What makes your mother amazing? What do you love about her? What’s your favorite memory of her? Do you have a story or testimony to share?
Leave a tribute to the mothers in your life in the comments below!
[click “Read More” to share and read tributes from other readers]
In the spirit of Mother’s Day this week, our Voice Sherea shares her story of what it means to be called as a mother.
Every night before my two young girls get ready for bed, we spend time enjoying their favorite books. Although my goal is to keep it to one favorite, the girls always end up choosing five or six. One night, my oldest daughter selected the book “When I Grow Up” to be included in the volumes of children’s stories we would enjoy that evening.
“When I Grow Up” had lots of cute pictures to keep kids interested and highlighted enough high profile careers to impress even the most eager-to-see-their-kids-be-successful parents. “Great choice,” I thought, as my mind danced at the thought of how much potential my daughter must have to already be planning her profession at the tender age of four.
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
Almost 2 years ago, I took the day off from work and celebrated my 39th birthday….for the first time!!!!!!!
Don’t give up. Pray it up. Our Voice Sherea shares an encouraging story of how God knows us and grows us out of His love.
Last year my husband and I enrolled our daughter KS in our local community youth basketball team.KS has always expressed her interest in becoming a WNBA basketball player.By the way, she is only ten years old.My oldest daughter JC would attend practices with KS and one day decided she wanted to play. JC is 11 and is about 5’6. JC who never expressed interest in basketball, slowly but surely became very noticeable on the court. Besides her being the tallest girl, she was also pretty good.
At the end of the season, JC was chosen to play in the ALL-star game. Oh my! Things were already a little tight in the back seat on the way home from practices, now this. As time passed this became a little tough to deal with as a parent.
