Manila, Philippines: I was downtown Manila when I received the text message from Liza Halbrook. The large, inoperable tumor in her abdomen had been confirmed, Stage 2, Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.
Then she gave me the rest of the news. The Oncologist was recommending 8 treatments of Chemo, 21 days apart, with a cost of more than $2,500 USD per treatment.
My mind raced, “how on earth could we help with this dire need?” The pressure in her abdomen was already causing tremendous pain. There were more CTs and tests needed, and due to the size of the mass, Chemo needed to start sooner than later.
Driving down the street I stopped at an intersection for a red light. As I gazed at the light I began to think, this is greater than anything we can handle, but with God, nothing is impossible. I began to praise God for what He was going to do.
A few hours later after arriving at the campus of Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary, I found Liza and her husband Brooks who had also just arrived.
The smiles on their faces were not what I had expected, and then they gave us the new word. While they were still in the office of the Oncologist, he told them about a special study for patients with “interesting” presentations of cancer. He believed that Liza’s case was just such a situation. He immediately placed her on the list of patients for consideration for the study. This study would cover all medication costs for the participants!
We are praising God for His incredible working in the lives of Liza, Brooks, and their two children. Our God does answer prayer and we are diligently lifting Liza before the Lord, praying for a complete healing and for the provision for their needs.
Liza Halbrook currently serves as a System / Network Administrator for the Asia-Pacific Resource Center, and has served with the Church of the Nazarene in various capacities for more than 15 years.
Prayer Request:
- Please join us in praying that Liza will be approved for the study.
- Pray that the treatments will be effective against this large tumor.
- Pray for strength, courage, and peace for Liza, Brooks, and their two children.
- Pray that the Lord will continue to provide the resources necessary for the ongoing medical and living expense.
You can visit Liza’s Facebook updates by clicking this Link.
—- Submitted: Todd Aebischer, Regional Communications Coordinator.
