“Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” (Isaiah 48:10) Surely this describes the last few months of trials and troubles.
In late July while we were on vacation, Christina felt some discomfort and found a lump on her rib cage. This was consequently diagnosed to be an aggressive and malignant soft-tissue cancer. We were in complete shock. After much prayer Christina had the tumor removed about a week later. The surgery was a resounding success, with the tumor being much more superficial and smaller than expected. Praise God! Also, the pathology results are very encouraging; the surgeon says that the tumor is either benign or is a very low-grade cancer. What a wonderful answer to prayer!
Unfortunately, things have not been good with Christina’s health since then. She has struggled constantly with chest pain and arrhythmia, making several trips to the emergency room and having many tests performed. Pray for Christina, as this is all quite scary; she has two more heart tests to be performed in the next two weeks.
Please continue to be in prayer for my voice. Praise God that I was able to speak twice a week for a while. However, after a throat infection and tonsillitis, I have been sidelined once again. My voice seems to be improving this week, thank God, so I hope to preach this Sunday. I am still unable to sing for the Lord, so please pray for a full recovery.
God gave us a wonderful missions conference this week, with Dr. Mike Cox as our guest speaker. Our theme was “A Local Church With a Global Vision.” Please pray for Bro. Cox’s wife, Brenda Cox, as she recovers from cancer surgery and is taking chemotherapy.
We do thank God that we are seeing souls saved every week. Last week I met Charlotte at her door; she is a New Zealander living here in Sydney, and her heart was wonderfully open to the Gospel. After speaking with her for 30 minutes or so, she gladly called on Christ with tears. Pray for Charlotte as we visit her and follow up on her.
God is good – all the time!
In His service,
Mark, Christina and Adam Tossell
www.lhbc.org.au