Update – Mon 26th Aug
• amazing birthday. Presents in the bed with June helping to open. Balloons at the breakfast table, and I believe their is a steak-and-no-veggies braai this evening 🫶🫂. It has been a huge joy to be with Steve and Shan for these days.
• I was thrilled to get such a great report from a special Kenyan friend on my prayer group, raving about the new venue for the the growing ONE TRIBE church led my Mbonisi & Tash Malaba and the wonderful team in Nairobi. I love to hear of this advance of the gospel and am always inspired by Mbo who leads such a thriving church as a practicing Paediatric Orthopedic Surgeon.
• some of my best birthday moments have been receiving short clips of the Commission, Catalyst and Regions Beyond gatherings in the UK, over this bank holiday weekend. Thousands worshipping, many stories of God’s saving and healing power, and tremendous missional impetus in them all.
• I was so pleased to hear of David Cunningham doing so well on Mozambique this week. Just turned 84 and he is so fully engaged in life – spirit, soul and body. Pic of him here with children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren… plus Simon Taylor (son of Chris and Karen, Netherlands) who is on a 3-month stay in nampula. Wonderful.
PRAYER
THANK-YOU for your messages of love and wishes for my birthday, and for your ongoing prayer for healing. I feel so good and am looking forward to the Booster Rutuximab and full check up this Thursday (29th Aug). I hope we will know more specifics then of how I actually am, how my kidneys are, and what the Stem Cell Transplant dates may look like. Please continue to prayer for healing through all of this, and ultimately for great victory in this battle.
Thank-you and huge love
Scott
3 Highs, 1 Low, and Prayer
High 1 :
ROL elders met this morning and sent this pic. My heart leaps to see the vibrancy of this team. Muss leading as AE is on Youth Camp. It’s been an amazingly good winter for the church, gearing-up for summer now – perhaps some new records on the horizon for ROL 🌟🌟👏
(Pic 1)
High 2 :
Newfrontiers’ NEWDAY youth event is happening. 8500 in Norwich (UK), big tent and representation from Uk, Europe and further. I just loved hearing our video clip playing (Mat’land leader, Lenience, narrating brilliantly) outlining some of what Disciple Nations is doing. Whoohooo! We are a worldwide family, together on a mission…and seeing the next generation come through all over the place! So, so exciting.
(Clip attached)
High 3 :
We have had to move out of our BnB for one night – due to a prior booking taken before we came onboard! Full pack up and relocation to another room on the same premises for tonight. We did it successfully and Claire helped quite a lot 🤣. (Pic 2).
LOW
After tests and counseling today I had a session with Dr. Ashmoore – She said that my kidneys have not recovered enough to go ahead this week with Stem Cell Transplant 🫣😣. I hadn’t seen that coming as I thought I was feeling quite good.
Her plan is to do like Rugby scrums – Pause, Touch, Engage, as follows :
• PAUSE
Give my body another month or two in order to see if the kidneys can bounce back a little more. And asks me to drink plenty (‘wee like a racehorse’) and try to see creatinine levels come below 122 back to range of 115 or 100….and urea down from 9.8 to 7 or 6.
• TOUCH
While we have this extra wait she wants to maintain the excellent gains made against the disease by hitting two maintenance rounds of Targetted Immunotherapy with a drug called Rituximab. A single outpatient day in mid August and sometime in September. We would then re-assess then.
• ENGAGE
Depending how it goes, either Sept /Oct/Nov we may be able to go ahead. She feels that waiting later than Nov is very unlikely. That would then start the Stem Cell process…one month in hospital, 2 months close-monitor recovery, and three months or so to reintegration.
So, sadly, it seems like a delay with the timeframe not clear at this stage…perhaps an extra month, two, or three (?!) on what I’d been aiming for at the end of the year. We will see.
I’m strong in heart and will sleep on this. I look forward to coming back with more thoughts soon as I process further.
Nothing changes the hope we have in Christ. The winds can blow and the flood waters can rise, but we stand firm on the Rock of Christ through it all.
It’s a priviledge for me to share this with such an amazing group of Family and Praying Friends….i’m blessed beyond measure. (Thankyou for the many amazing responses to the clip – all so, so, so encouraging and helpful)
PRAYER : Thank you for your love and prayer. Please feel free to pray for anything you wish for me and my family, and church, business and all.
Thank-you so much and huge love
Scott.
Update – 29 July 2024
Personal update
Health update
Prayer
- Personal update.
I am so thankful for joy in closeness to The Lord each day.
I am so thankful for family and friendship joy each day.
Pics of amazing visits in the last 10 days – ROL/DNa team, us visiting Louis Trichardt, Peter & Di Cunningham and supper with Dean and Amy, my Mum and sister, Claire visiting her Mum for 80th birthday 🥳🌟What huge huge blessings and kindnesses.
I am so thankful for the prayer, love, and support in EVERY way.
2. Health Update
I feel great. Lost puffiness and a little weight which he has been good. My last swollen gland in a hard-to-describe place (🤗) seems to be 99% back to normal as far as I can tell.
I can walk 10kms without thinking. Starting to want to run more!
The latest schedule is attached, now deleting the detail of Jan/feb/mar/apr/may/june/July and just focusing on today to end of the year.
This Friday (2nd Aug) is a big day – Blood tests, Compulsory counseling sessions, Consultation with harmatologist. All going well, I should check in to hospital for 3 weeks-to-a-month on the 7th, 8th or 9th – for the Stem Cell Transplant process to begin.
3. Prayer Points
• that I would be strong on body, soul and spirit – ready to go the next steps.
• that ROL / DNa / New Horizons would continue to go from strength to strength.
Thank-you so much
Huge Love
Scott
Prayer requests – 23 April 2024
Prayer Requests
1). Healing.
That the treatment would be successful, my body would weather the drugs and toxicity, and my soul would renew in Christ even as I go through this. I sometimes worry that I can’t make it, and sometimes doubt whether I’ll be able get to cancer-free indication. I value your prayers for strength in body, soul and spirit.
2). ROL / DNa / NHM
Im so thankful for the leadership teams in each of these areas. I’m thankful for their love for me and my family,
as well as their love for the church and the world that God has called us to. Please
Pray for Wisdom, Courage and Capacity for these teams to thrive and move ahead strongly in the weeks and months ahead, even as they have done to this point.
3). Newfrontiers Prayer
Please pray that as Newfrontiers go to fasting and prayer on the 24th April, that we will know the joy and blessing of unified prayer in every way.
Thank-you so much,
Very much love,
Scott
Update – 7 April 2024
Scott recently finished his third cycle of chemotherapy and here is an update from him, which includes the video which was shown across all ROL meetings this morning.
Update – Wed 3rd April
Wonderful Family & Wonderful Praying Friends,
HUGE, HUGE THANK-YOU for your love, prayer, care and support in every way. First thing as I get home is to be in touch with you because I so value the prayer and care. THANK-YOU ❤️❤️🌟❤️❤️
The day went well… first to arrive, last to leave, 12 drugs in all (intravenous and ingested), stable at the end. Awesome.
Half-way through the chemo plan today!
Slept on and off, especially after antihistamine. Ended with a pic of a large part of the team that is directly involved in my treatment plan. Each face and person has become so, so precious to me.
Big positives on discussion about Stem Cell Transplant today…which I hadn’t expected. Sounding exciting. Will update more on that tomorrow.
Prayer
• for restful night and minimal-to-no strong reaction tonight
• effectiveness of treatment and best medical response from me to it.
• any way God leads you to pray
Huge love and thanks,
Scott
Update : Sunday 17th March.
Family & Praying Friends,
I did this clip for River of Life to give some perspective of where things are for me…and added this song which gives some insight into my last day or so. I thought it would be useful to post here too, for this prayer group.
Also to mention that I had another good time with Dr. Ashmoore today, by coincidence, as I went for final jab for long-acting neutrophil booster. She was, again, very encouraging – such a blessing to have the strong synergy with her.
I am still reeling a bit with verge-of-diagphram-spasm feeling, loss of taste (except for Magnum’s 😂) and slightly discombobulated. But I think it’s heading in the right direction and I am so thankful for God’s life, love, strength and closeness.
Claire continues to be the constructive play-maker through the various phases, and we have had such good times through it all together.
This prayer group has been a blessing beyond comprehension. I find I desire to update here because of the sheer power of the prayer and care. Thank-you.
Prayer Pointers
- Sleep! I have had 4 rough nights and I sometimes don’t know what upset is from chemo and what is from interrupted sleep. A good night tonight would be amazing.
- Strength. Body, soul, spirit.
THANK-YOU and HUGE LOVE
Scott
——
My clip to ROL, shared today in church meetings across services :
https://www.facebook.com/share/5QkpcVF1FCcMyi52/?mibextid=WC7FNe
Update – Thursday 8th Feb
3 Specific Prayer Requests ahead of tomorrow :-
Friday is nearly here and I think that is the beginning of a chain of events due to roll into next week and the months to come.
This has been a good breather of a week.
Action stations tomorrow. PET-CT Scan is all lined-up for tomorrow at 11.15am, at Honeydew Theramed Nuclear in Westrand. I think we are due to be there 3 hrs or so.
The PET-CT seems like truly phenominal technology. It involves the intravenous injection of a safe, radioactive drug-tracer that detects diseased cells which absorb large amounts of it.
The Positron Emission Tomography Scan identifies sub-atomic particles that are emitted in conjunction with the drug in the tissues being examined …and somehow all works together (including the CT part) to put out a detailed, even 3D, visual representation of any problem areas.
3 specifics for prayer :-
• that the whole scan procedure would GO WELL.
• that the medic team who assess the scan results, and all the various test results, would have GREAT WISDOM for next steps. I expect they will analyze it all over the weekend or early next week.
• that Claire and I would continue to know The Lord’s PEACE and JOY through tomorrow, the weekend, and through whatever the next steps will be, which are unknown at this stage.
THANK-YOU for your prayer, love, care and courage with us.
Loads of love
Scott and Claire
Update – 31 January 2024
Huge love and thanks to everyone who has been praying.
Quick update and three prayer pointers for the coming days❤️🌟🎉
I enjoyed our weekly prayer call with Andrew and Craig from Mozambique this morning. And then spent most of the rest of the day resting, reading and sleeping.
I still feel pretty good physically but have been quite surprised how much I’ve slept…probably another 4+ hours today.
Tomorrow is Echocardiogram with treadmill stuff etc. I think it is confirming fitness and strength which may play into various options for treatment.
Then the weekend.
We don’t have anything specific planned for the weekend, or even next week leading up to the PET Scan Friday 9th. Just going one day at a time and thankful for the rest time.
I have loved working with Steve Marques on social media and content delivery for DNa, along with Graham Marsh, Julia Baker, Paul Mlilo, and others, which has been developing with some real excitement and promise. If I have good, clear headspace I’d love to do more on this.
That’s it for today…praying for :
• ongoing good base-health for whatever is ahead
• amazing results from scans, bloods and marrow biopsy as they come in
• vibrancy in family, church, sphere and business areas of my involvement – for God’s Kingdom to come with increasing radiance through everything. (This evening, for example, The Cunningham juniors and Marques juniors are at our home all together – what a joy!)
Thank-you and huge love
Scott
God Loves A Cheerful Giver
At our 25th Anniversary in June we targeted an offering of 25k for refurbishment of buildings and installation of solar systems. We hit usd 45,900 😱 That is some very cheerful giving.
It is amazing how Scripture shows that it’s not the ACT of generosity that God loves, but rather the PERSON who gives with an attitude of joy. God is after the devotion of our hearts not the donation of our money.
As you consider the Gift Day coming up on 11th December, this time targeting 30k, please pray about what you could give with the joy of The Lord in your heart as you make your offering.
God loves you as you shine His character in giving with real joy❤️🌟
Love Scott