Chan and I went through to see Nikki last night. When we left her, we went to collect our friend, Robyn (lives in the UK) and her 6 month baby, Roxy from the airport. They have come to visit for 4 days (yay!!)

We had such a lovely time with Nix - yesterday was a hard, emotional day and she is faced with some big decisions again. Her tummy has swollen up again after the tap done the day before yesterday and she is once again feeling like she is going to explode. They did a bile tap this time, inserting a pipe through her nose into her stomach to tap some fluid off that way. From what I gather, it was not a pleasant experience. She is now thinking that she would prefer to leave all the pa lava behind and just be at home again. She has such faith to believe God for a miracle and we would ask that you all join us in believing for this too.

We prayed with her and left her to sleep praying that she would be guided by the peace in her heart this morning.

I would like to share an excerpt from another letter sent to us by a lady who attended the prayer / praise meeting for Nix last week and I thought I would share it today. (I love to share these things as they give a glimpse into who Nikki is, the courageous fight she has fought and continues to fight, and how she glorifies God through her story, which is her life's goal):

"...No doubt about it God felt honored and in turn He has honored your family with a burden of rejoicing which not many would be able to carry. It was an extraordinary celebration of living life to the full which Nikki has chosen to do just as Christ did. This enabled the Holy Spirit to touch many through her. Her young life has been well used for His Glory turning negatives into positives, tears into laughter, sickness into healing and health, sadness into joy, mourning into rejoicing something which was meaningless into something meaningful, loss into gain.The victory of the cross was so very evident through all of this that I wish that many more could have observed what we did.

It was a privilege to be one of those who witnessed how Father God has enabled Nikki and Adrian, Eve and Pete, and the two of you plus the wider family not to mention the children to march fearlessly in victory,power and glory. Praise His holy name..."

It's late (I have been at a meeting till now) but I thought I should post an update since i didn't get to do one last night.

I spent a few hours with Nikki and Adrian today, while she was waiting her turn for a CT scan, ultrasound and Acites tap. Her legs and feet are now very swollen and she is battling to take in liquids. The scans revealed that there was no blockage in the bowel or colon. The doctors decided to do another Acites tap as they felt the fluid could be putting pressure on the other organs. This time she was high on morphine and didn't feel as uncomfortable as the last time they did the tap (phew!). They managed to drain 3 litres of fluid from her abdomen. She was too drugged up to tell anyone whether she felt better at the time. But the latest report from Adrian this evening is that she is feeling much better. Yesterday, the doc was not sure whether her body would tolerate more chemo at this stage, but today it seems he has decided to start her back on the chemo tomorrow (he thinks the chemo may keep the swelling at bay) and, if all goes well, she should be allowed to come home in the next few days. Hallelujah!!!!

I was so moved by the words of this song that we sang at church on Sunday. I have watched Nikki live these words visibly. I thought I would share it:

Precious cornerstone, sure foundation
You are faithful to the end
We are waiting, on You, Jesus
We believe You're all to us

CHORUS: Let the glory of Your name be the passion of our hearts

Let the righteousness of God be a holy flame that burns

Let the saving love of Christ be the measure of our lives

We believe You're all to us

Only Son of God sent from Heaven
Hope and mercy at the cross
You are everything, You're the Promise
Jesus, You are all to us

When this passing world is over
We will see You face to face
And forever we will worship
Jesus, You are all to us

Supernatural Support

Nikki looked much better when we went to visit her in hospital today. She was sitting up in bed and was so happy to see her children. The doctors have still asked us to keep visitors to a minimum though. Her oncologist was off for the weekend so she will see him again tomorrow morning and he will make some decisions then about where to proceed from here.

I have had many people comment on how strong Nikki is and how she has handled this whole ordeal so bravely, which is true. I have also had comments from people about my own strength and courage in this situation. From my side, I usually reply that I walk daily in God's grace, strength and peace... The truth is that both Nikki and I as well as our families have witnessed God's incredible goodness and faithfulness and provision for us in the middle of this storm (Psalm 117:2 "For His merciful kindness is great toward us"). I have often had people ask me how it is that we are so strong and so brave.

Our pastor, Mark, used 2 Chronicles 16:9 as one of his scripture references in his sermon today, and this scripture suddenly opened up for me (I love it when that happens). It reads:

"For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him."

So that's the answer then: When our lives and our hearts are committed to Him, He strengthens us supernaturally. He strongly supports a heart that is completely His. I am talking about mighty, supernatural support. Supernatural enabling is available to us as His children. That is the strength and support we know.

Psalm 46:1: "God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in trouble."

Psalm 34:19: "A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all."

Note that trouble in life / a need for strength and support in these passages (and many like them) is assumed. Knowing God in the centre of these inevitable troubles / trials is the greatest blessing. When we face something this big, something way beyond our own strength and power, we can walk in His strength and allow Him to fully support us. And I am so thankful for that! I have no idea how we would find the strength out of our own resources.

Nix is still in hospital and will probably stay there for the next few days. The situation hasn't changed much but she is comfortable which is good. The doctor asked that all visitors stay away for now with the exception of Adrian / family if necessary so that she could rest as much as possible. So I didn't see her today. My mom and Adrian went through this evening.

Pete and I have the children with us this evening. We all spent a lovely day in the sun at Afton - riding King, climbing trees and playing up a storm with friends and cousins and they are all sleeping peacefully now on our lounge floor after a movie and a midnight feast.

Please pray for peaceful sleep for Adrian - he is absolutely exhausted.

Phil 4:7 "The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus"

Psalm 121:1 - "I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip - he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep."

Nikki was re-admitted to hospital today after a particularly difficult night. I am glad she is there as there now and they are finally dealing with the problem. There is only so much you can do at home. They did some tests and found that she was dehydrated and very low on potassium, both contributing to the problem. In addition, she was absolutely exhausted. She is now hooked up to a morphine drip, a saline drip and a potassium drip and she is much more comfortable. We are on our way to visit her in a few minutes. I really pray for a good, restful time for her while she is there.

All that being said, I chatted to her earlier today and she was not the same person she was last night when I left her to try and sleep. She was so excited to talk to me and these were her words:
"Evie, I feel SO GOOD! My body feels different- I felt something change in the early hours of this morning. I just know something has changed. I got out of my bed and knelt down on my knees with no pain for the first time in 3 years!"

This mail came in to my folks today from Jessica who was at the meeting with us yesterday. I thought I would share it with you. As Nix said, if one life is touched and changed through her walk, it was all worth it:

"I would like to thank you for the privilege of allowing me to join you in prayer for your beloved Nicki. I was totally blown away by her testimony and her faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ. She is truly a mighty warrior in God’s army.

To hear her speak with such authority in the knowledge of who she is in Christ was a humbling experience. When Nicki spoke of her victory over her illness and declared that if it brought people to Christ then it had purpose I was reminded of the verse in 1 Philippians where Paul is in prison and declares;

12 Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, 13 so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, 14 and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.

What a wonderful daughter you have and I honour you both for being the loving parents that you are and for bringing up your daughters to love Jesus.

Love and blessing,

Jessica"

Amazed

I am so overwhelmed! Today's prayer and worship session was just lovely. Nikki stood up and spoke so courageously about her spiritual journey over these years and declared that she knows she is healed because Jesus bought her healing with her salvation on the cross 2000 years ago. It's a done deal. Her heart's desire was to stand up and praise God today in the middle of this trial. And that's just what she / we did.

Thank you so much to all who were there with us and to those who joined in with us from across the miles. It was such a time of encouragement. She was just elated after that and was so touched by all who came - seeing all her precious friends and family there to support her just made her so happy.

Nikki took quite a hammering on her body having been out today and all day yesterday and not having rested enough in between and so she was in a lot of pain tonight. I have been with her all evening since the meeting, rubbing her back and trying as best I can to make her more comfortable. This is the first chance I have had to update the blog - I thought that many were probably waiting for news. So I am going to sign off - I am officially exhausted!

Good News!

Pete and I have been out and it's getting late but I thought I would post a quick "good news" update.

Today Nix and I trekked through to Vincent Palotti hospital dreading another awful Acites tap. When we got there, the doctor did an ultrasound of the area to check the fluid levels in the abdomen. He found that there was not much more fluid build up there since the previous tap done not even a week ago. He investigated a bit more and found that, although there is fluid in the abdomen and the liver is enlarged, the biggest problem was that the colon was very backed up (she doesn't mind me sharing this - when Adrian offered her a Jolly Jammer biscuit, she replied, "Better not, I'm jolly jammed as it is :-)). SO - They decided not to do the tap and gave Nix some medicine to deal with the problem. This was such a relief, I immediately lost the headache I had been carrying around for 2 days and Nikki walked out of there a different person! I cant tell you how much better she looked! We met with her oncologist briefly on our way out, (Nikki had him laughing in no time when she told him she would take the oral enema as long as it wasn't second hand) and he told us that Medical Aid had finally approved the new course of chemo.

Praise God, what a blessing this day was!

P.S. Another blessing for the children - a gorgeous new pony arrived at Afton today, his name is King Cuddles or King for short (appropriate with all the royalty living there already!!). He belongs to our lovely cousin, Deborah and her girls, who are (sadly for us) emigrating to Australia next month. He is the love of her children's lives and they are happy that Hannah, Dan, Megs and Sydney will be loving him and looking after him when they go. What a special gift! Thank you Debs, Gill, Ella and Izzy - you'll never know how much this means to them xxxx