Hi all,

I haven't posted since August, so let me get you caught up a bit.

I have a simple explanation of things that happened this past summer on a previous post, so I won't go into that. From my last post, you can see that I listed some cool things that have happened since we've been in the Love INC New Hope Relational Program. Since August, here are some of the big things that have happened:

• Sept 18-20, Katrina's parents drove through on their way to Oregon. Katrina's dad (Kenny) was in a lot of pain (stomach), but decided to continue on to deliver the load.
• Sept 22, I got paid $500 for a side web job that I did. I mention this because this money came just in time (God's time) for the upcoming trip to Oregon. Thanks God!
  
• Sept 23, Kenny felt worse and was vomiting. They went to the Salem Hospital ER.
• Sept 24, Kenny underwent multiple tests to find out what was wrong.
• Sept 25, Kenny was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer. It had metastasized into the liver.
• Sept 25 (pic), we drove to Salem Hospital, arriving late evening.
• Sept 26, Kenny was released from the hospital in order to travel home to Southern California for further treatment.
• Sept 27-28 (pic), we headed back to Idaho (with a short stop on the Oregon coast) and Kenny and Cindy headed back home to CA with Kenny's brother, sister-in-law, and nephew.
• Oct 6, Katrina and I celebrated 8 years of marriage. I will probably write a blog pretty soon on marriage because, for being married only 8 years, we've been through a lot and its worth sharing about what God has done and is doing.
• Oct 12 & 22, received anonymous cash gifts at work. I believe that God nudges the hearts of people to give when there's a need and we have been blessed to be the recipients of those gifts. As we have been blessed, we hope to also bless.
• Oct 22, met with Rod, our Love INC counselor to discuss our next steps, since we planned to go to California for a while. At this point, I felt like the Lord reminded me of Isaiah 40:31, "but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." So we waited a bit longer.
• Oct 29, Celebration night at Love INC. We met with our counselor and this time he encouraged us to sit down and make a plan for a possible 8-week stay in CA. Also, since this is the 5th Thursday of the month, it is testimonial night. We were so blessed to hear how God is working in the lives of His children who obey His command to be good stewards of His money.
• Nov 1-2, Katrina and I worked out a financial plan for our trip to CA and sent it to Rod.
• Nov 3, our friend Janet paid for Katrina's and Grace's tickets to CA (Faith is still free). The flight is scheduled for the 11th. Thank you sooo much Janet!

And now to today. We met with Rod and he encouraged us and commended us on the plan we made. He also, unbeknown to us, discussed with Love INC the possibility of us graduating from Love INC ... tonight! We were a bit shocked, but it really was the right thing to do given our situation. We were informed that we met all the requirements for graduation, so we filled out our necessary closure forms. Then we were given our checkbook and debit cards back (it's a little nerve-racking to have them back after 6 months!).

I really want to share a lot more about Love INC and what we have learned while in the program, so I think I'll do that on my next post. Until then, please keep Kenny and the family in your prayers, along with us as we work out the details of being away from home for a while.