And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28 (ESV)

The challenge of believing this verse has hit deep these past few weeks. My dad has been on a ventilator and sedated in the ICU for more than a month now. As a family, it has been an incredibly challenging time for us as my dad goes in and out of being in a critical state and seems to contract a new infection right after recovering from a previous one. And yet, the beauty of this verse, the comfort it provides is incredible. Resting in Abba’s steadfastness, we trust that He will use this experience to draw us closer to Him, to enrich our love for Him.

This is one of my dad’s favorite verses and one he would often talk about, especially after his diagnosis with cancer. He would tell me how excited he was to see how God would use this journey to draw him closer to God, or even be an encouragement for others to grow in their faith as well. He would dream about how God would use him in the future with the new sense of dependency and trust he was learning through this process, and would tell me with such confidence that God uses and molds everything for good for those who love Him.

About two weeks ago the surgical team noticed that the temporary stent was not aiding as well as they hoped, so they surgically closed off the esophagus from the stomach, essentially separating the two. This has helped to minimize leakage in the abdomen, although a few days ago, they drained out 5 liters of fluid from my dad’s abdomen that had built up over the last few weeks due to inflammation.

Yesterday one of the ICU doctors encouraged us that she feels my dad has made some progress over the last few weeks. His lung infection has largely cleared up. Unfortunately, he has a new, intense fungal infection at the moment that he is battling, but the doctors have given him several different types of antibiotics, and they are hoping these will have a strong effect.

During this season, my mom has taken sabbatical leave from the school she works at, allowing her to visit my dad more regularly at the hospital, as well as support him more once he comes home. Thilo and Talitha have been serving and loving our family in such an extravagant way, as well as being involved in the international school serving in ministry nights and helping with the graduation ceremony for the seniors. Andrew has been faithfully working on his eleventh grade classes, recovering from a knee injury, and hopes to be able to play basketball again soon. I (Melika) am currently praying through the decision of starting medical school in May.

My dad still has a long way to go with recovery. His infection rates are still very high, his stomach and esophagus need to be reattached, and his lungs need to become strong enough to be taken off the ventilator. Furthermore, the surgical team informed us that they were unable to remove all the cancer-affected lymph nodes and so my dad will need to resume cancer treatment after he has been released from the ICU and recovered from the surgery. Still, through all of this, we are reminded that our Father uses all things for good and for His glory, and so we surrender to Him in the process, resting in the the arms of Jesus.

Please continue to pray for my dad for complete healing from every infection and cancer. Please continue to stand with us in faith as we trust in the One we love, who works together all things for good!

Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.

Zephaniah 3:17 (ESV)

Yesterday was my dad’s birthday and this was the verse of the day on the Bible app. Talitha read it for us on our way to the hospital to visit my dad and the words deeply touched our hearts. In these last few weeks it has been hard not to give way to fear, to not feel weary or be anxious. And yet, our hearts have also felt God’s closeness and nearness in a very special way. Truly the Lord our God is in our midst.

We have seen Him carry my dad through some very serious health scares over the last two weeks, as well as provide comfort to our family. While circumstances have felt overwhelming, we also feel peace from Him, and an urgency to keep our eyes fixed on Him.

My dad had his nine hour surgery a little less than two weeks ago. He recovered very quickly at first and the doctors moved him out of the ICU into the general inpatient ward. Over the course of a day however, his pain levels drastically increased and he struggled to breathe. After doing an x-ray, the doctors found that his left lung had almost completely filled with fluid. He got re-admitted to the ICU and was put on the ventilator a day after that. The next day he was also put under sedation and has been sedated since then.

Over the course of the next five days, the doctors and nurses in the ICU worked hard to try and drain the fluid out. As the lungs started clearing up, my dad got sepsis (an internal infection). While it was an intense few days, he recovered from the sepsis. Then about three days ago my dad was ready to be woken up from sedation and weaned off the ventilator, but unfortunately some complications arose with the area where the operation was. After doing a CT scan, the doctors found that some of the stitches had come loose and contents from my dad’s stomach had leaked to the surrounding area. As a result, the doctors performed an emergency procedure, placing in a stent in the esophagus and restitching the area.

Yesterday, my dad developed a very serious lung infection as a result of the leakage from the operation area. The bacterium in his lungs are known to be very aggressive and the doctors have put my dad on a strong antibiotic to try and fight this infection.

My dad has been in the ICU now for nine days and sedated on a ventilator for eight days. We get to see him for about ten minutes every day and are excited for him to be awake, healthy and home again, as we miss him.

Please stand with our family in faith in trusting for healing for my dad.

If you have not joined our prayer group chat on WhatsApp and would like to, please reach out and I can add you. I post regular updates about my dad’s health and specific prayer requests, especially in this critical time. 

A Highway Through the Seas

Your steps formed a highway through the seas with footprints on a pathway no one even knew was there.

Psalm 77:19 (TPT)

https://youtu.be/4iOSbIPEfCM

I was reading this Psalm in my quiet time a few days ago and this verse deeply touched my heart. The next day I listened to a worship song, where part of the verse is “The ocean’s a highway when you know Who splits the seas.”

Knowing Jesus, and journeying with Him changes everything. He turns raging storms into peaceful waters, dark valleys into deep fellowship, and even cancer as an opportunity to trust Him and see who He is.

He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who brought the Israelites out of Egypt, and we are trusting Him today too. He’s been faithful and we trust He will remain faithful. He’s made a highway through the seas before, and we want to trust Him to do it again as we face new challenges with my dad’s cancer.

Last week my dad spent the majority of the week in the hospital as various tests were completed on him to see how much the cancer has shrunk. From his CT scan of his abdomen, our doctor was able to confirm that the cancer has not spread or grown to any new areas! The three cancerous lymph nodes found in my dad’s stomach have all continued to shrink, which our doctor was pleased with. From his endoscopy (little camera put down the esophagus), the main tumor was seen to have decreased in thickness and size. The doctor who performed the endoscopy was so impressed with how much it had shrunk.

From his heart echo, the cardiologist was able to confirm also that my dad’s heart has not experienced any damage from his cancer treatment. My dad’s cancer doctor told us that my dad is ready for surgery and feels that this is the best step forward. After surgery, he wants to continue immunotherapy and targeted therapy for a few months to prevent the cancer from coming back.

Yesterday, we met my dad’s surgeon and he explained the general surgical procedure he plans on doing. As part of the process of preparing for surgery, my dad also visited a lung doctor and ear, throat and nose doctor. Both doctors did not find anything of major concern, but my dad is still fighting his cold from last week, and so they prescribed some antibiotics and cough medicine for my dad. This is to reduce the chances of any complications that a lingering cold could cause post-surgery.

Next Wednesday (January 29), my dad will go in for a chest x-ray and some blood tests and if all looks well, surgery will be on January 31. Recovery will most likely be 1 day in the intensive care unit and about a week further in the hospital, and we’re not exactly sure what it would look like after that.

I did want to explain a bit more what the surgery will be like. The surgeon will be completely cutting out and removing the lower part of my dad’s esophagus and the top part of his stomach, and then stitching the remaining parts together. This will be a robot-assisted laparoscopic operation, meaning he will use a robotic machine to ensure extra precision, and a laparoscopic (or key-hole) approach which is less invasive, involving making a few small incisions.

In our visit with the surgeon yesterday, he emphasized several times that this is a big operation. We left the hospital feeling the weight of the situation and feeling quite overwhelmed by the extensiveness of the operation and the unknowns associated with it. We took some time to talk and reflect together as a family last night and felt comforted by the fact that God journeys with us and carries us.

The hospital called my dad this morning to inform him that our health insurance will not cover the cost of the robotic machine, but that they will cover the rest of the operation. The cost of the robotic machine that we will need to pay is $5000. Our surgeon told us that the robotic machine allows him to operate with greater precision, which becomes very important due to the sensitivity of where the cancer is and how complex the surgery is.

We ask that you continue to pray for our family, especially my dad. We want to trust boldly and rest confidently in Him. Moving forward with such a big surgery feels very scary, but we want to remember and hold onto the One who makes a highway through the seas.

Thank you for your prayers and for trusting God with us.

With love and appreciation,

Melika on behalf of the Minnaar Family

A Highway Through the Seas

Your steps formed a highway through the seas with footprints on a pathway no one even knew was there.

Psalm 77:19 (TPT)

I was reading this Psalm in my quiet time a few days ago and this verse deeply touched my heart. The next day I listened to a worship song, where part of the verse is “The ocean’s a highway when you know Who splits the seas.”

Knowing Jesus, and journeying with Him changes everything. He turns raging storms into peaceful waters, dark valleys into deep fellowship, and even cancer as an opportunity to trust Him and see who He is.

He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who brought the Israelites out of Egypt, and we are trusting Him today too. He’s been faithful and we trust He will remain faithful. He’s made a highway through the seas before, and we want to trust Him to do it again as we face new challenges with my dad’s cancer.

Last week my dad spent the majority of the week in the hospital as various tests were completed on him to see how much the cancer has shrunk. From his CT scan of his abdomen, our doctor was able to confirm that the cancer has not spread or grown to any new areas! The three cancerous lymph nodes found in my dad’s stomach have all continued to shrink, which our doctor was pleased with. From his endoscopy (little camera put down the esophagus), the main tumor was seen to have decreased in thickness and size. The doctor who performed the endoscopy was so impressed with how much it had shrunk.

From his heart echo, the cardiologist was able to confirm also that my dad’s heart has not experienced any damage from his cancer treatment. My dad’s cancer doctor told us that my dad is ready for surgery and feels that this is the best step forward. After surgery, he wants to continue immunotherapy and targeted therapy for a few months to prevent the cancer from coming back.

Yesterday, we met my dad’s surgeon and he explained the general surgical procedure he plans on doing. As part of the process of preparing for surgery, my dad also visited a lung doctor and ear, throat and nose doctor. Both doctors did not find anything of major concern, but my dad is still fighting his cold from last week, and so they prescribed some antibiotics and cough medicine for my dad. This is to reduce the chances of any complications that a lingering cold could cause post-surgery.

Next Wednesday (January 29), my dad will go in for a chest x-ray and some blood tests and if all looks well, surgery will be on January 31. Recovery will most likely be 1 day in the intensive care unit and about a week further in the hospital, and we’re not exactly sure what it would look like after that.

I did want to explain a bit more what the surgery will be like. The surgeon will be completely cutting out and removing the lower part of my dad’s esophagus and the top part of his stomach, and then stitching the remaining parts together. This will be a robot-assisted laparoscopic operation, meaning he will use a robotic machine to ensure extra precision, and a laparoscopic (or key-hole) approach which is less invasive, involving making a few small incisions.

In our visit with the surgeon yesterday, he emphasized several times that this is a big operation. We left the hospital feeling the weight of the situation and feeling quite overwhelmed by the extensiveness of the operation and the unknowns associated with it. We took some time to talk and reflect together as a family last night and felt comforted by the fact that God journeys with us and carries us.

The hospital called my dad this morning to inform him that our health insurance will not cover the cost of the robotic machine, but that they will cover the rest of the operation. The cost of the robotic machine that we will need to pay is $5000. Our surgeon told us that the robotic machine allows him to operate with greater precision, which becomes very important due to the sensitivity of where the cancer is and how complex the surgery is.

We ask that you continue to pray for our family, especially my dad. We want to trust boldly and rest confidently in Him. Moving forward with such a big surgery feels very scary, but we want to remember and hold onto the One who makes a highway through the seas.

Thank you for your prayers and for trusting God with us.

With love and appreciation,

Melika on behalf of the Minnaar Family

https://youtu.be/4iOSbIPEfCM

You Have Strengthened My Soul

I will sing my song of joy to you, Yahweh,

for in all of this you have strengthened my soul.

My enemies say that I have no Savior,

but I know that I have one in you!

Psalm 13:6 (TPT)

I was reading this psalm a few days ago and loved David’s change in perspective as the psalm progressed. In verse 2, David cries out to God asking Him how long he must endure this shaking of his soul. And then in verse 6, David sees that God has used the hardship and challenges to ultimately strengthen David’s trust in God.

Over the last few weeks our family has taken some time to reflect on the beauty God has brought through my dad’s cancer diagnosis. We feel we are learning to surrender more deeply, to rejoice in dependence, and to trust Abba in the journey, even when we can’t see where He is leading. What sometimes feels like shaking, is ultimately an opportunity to be strengthened as we lean on Him. Through seasons of suffering and difficulty, He tends to the garden of our heart, and creates something beautiful.

My dad has been feeling very good these last few weeks! He is getting stronger and has had higher energy levels, allowing him to walk more. His weight has stabilized nicely and his appetite has been good too. My dad has been sleeping a lot better as well and has had minimal back pain. He has also had no further issues with his eyes, which we are so grateful for. Thank you so much for praying for him.

On our previous hospital visit, my dad’s doctor was excited to have my dad complete his final round of chemo, for a total of 12 rounds successfully done now! On January 13 (this coming Monday) my dad will be admitted to the hospital for a few days and will get a CT scan, blood tests, echo of his heart, and endoscopy to look at how much the cancer has shrunk. The current plan the doctor has set up is for surgery to then happen around end of January, and then for my dad to continue immunotherapy and targeted therapy after surgery.

We ask that you please continue to pray for my dad for healing. We want to step out in faith and trust that when those tests are performed next week, no cancer would be found, and no surgery would even be necessary. Yet, even if surgery is necessary, we want our hope to be in Him, regardless of the outcome.

Ultimately, through it all, we want to stand firm in faith, trusting in His goodness, and that in the shaking, He would strengthen our souls.

Thank you for your prayers and for trusting God with us.

With love and appreciation,

Melika on behalf of the Minnaar Family

In the Presence of My Enemies

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Psalm 23:5 (ESV)

The message of this psalm has been a key theme for my dad in this season, and recently verse 5 has touched my dad’s heart deeply. How incredible that God prepares a feast for us even in the midst of our struggles, that He invites us to dine with Him, in the presence of our enemies.

With facing some recent challenges in my dad’s health, it can be easy to get weary or discouraged in the battle. And yet, our Shepherd prepares an extravagant, beautiful table for us to sit at, and rest. He provides the hope, love, and peace that we crave so deeply. And He becomes our feast. He sustains us, and anoints us so our cup can spill to overflow.

Two days ago my dad had a scary experience where he temporarily lost the ability to see in his right eye as the bottom part went dark. This lasted for a little over a minute. When we told our doctor about it the next morning, his doctor said it could be a number of things, but that he wanted to take an MRI of his head. In rare cases of my dad’s type of cancer, it can spread to various parts of the body, including the brain.

Our whole family was devastated over even the possibility of cancer being in my dad’s brain. It was a very difficult afternoon for all of us as my dad got the MRI and we waited for the results. When praying, each of us had such a strong sense of God’s “withness” and sovereignty even amidst the uncertainty.

When the results came back and the doctor shared with us that there were no abnormalities we were all so relieved and comforted by God’s grace and goodness!

This past Wednesday my dad received his fourth round of immunotherapy and targeted therapy and is feeling very good. His appetite is doing better and his weight has stabilized again, which we are so happy about. This is especially encouraging as he has been feeling a lot more fatigued and tired recently, as well as a little nauseous sometimes. His blood tests looked good overall as well, although his liver inflammation markers were a bit higher than last week. Please be praying for this.

On Thursday (December 26) my dad will be receiving his last round of chemo before taking a 10-12 day pause on treatment and then getting a CT scan in early January. The CT scan will provide helpful information in evaluating and visualizing how treatment has been going and how the cancer has shrunk. The doctor has mentioned surgery for sometime in January, but we are still unsure about the details and will know more once we get the CT results.

Please stand with us in faith and prayer in the following ways:

• Please pray for protection on my dad’s body against the built up of toxins from the chemotherapy and any negative side effects from the immunotherapy and targeted therapy.
• Please continue to pray for healing, that every cancer cell in my dad’s body would be destroyed.
• My dad also asks that you pray that we as a family will continue to lean into Jesus to allow Him to form us and bring His beauty.

Thank you for your prayers and for trusting God with us.

With love and appreciation,

Melika on behalf of the Minnaar Family

Deeply Rooted

What delight comes to the one who follows God’s ways! 

He won’t walk in step with the wicked,

nor share the sinner’s way,

nor be found sitting in the scorner’s seat.

His passion is to remain true to the Word of “I AM,”

meditating day and night on the true revelation of light. 

He will be standing firm like a flourishing tree

planted by God’s design,

deeply rooted by the brooks of bliss,

bearing fruit in every season of life.

He is never dry, never fainting,

ever blessed, ever prosperous. 

Psalm 1:1-3 (TPT)

On our way to the hospital this morning to get chemo, my dad shared his heart with me that his greatest desire is to stay close to Jesus, in every season. Reflecting on the last few months, he has loved walking closely with Jesus, and longs for this intimacy to continue even after healing. Sometimes it feels simpler to rejoice in Him on the mountaintops when all is well, while at times it may seem easier to lean on Him in moments of desperation in the valley.

As David beautifully writes in Psalm 1, to stand firm and flourish, to bear fruit in every season of life, we need to be deeply rooted in God. To never run dry or grow weary, but rather, for our cup to constantly be overflowing, we must drink Him in. Remaining close to Him, having our hearts deeply entwined with His is the only way we can survive. I am learning, and I am seeing my dad live this out, that when we are deeply rooted in God, we are able to bear fruit in every season of life.

What a joy the last few weeks have been, rejoicing with Thilo and Talitha, and seeing family and friends from all around the world. We are so excited for Thilo to be part of our family! My dad’s parents and brothers got to visit us, and it was so special getting to spend time together. Moreover, we celebrated Thanksgiving with some sweet family friends, and it was so special reflecting back on this year. We truly have so much to be grateful for!

The blood tests were really good this morning. My dad’s doctor is so happy with my dad’s overall health. His liver inflammation markers have decreased by about 30% and he encouraged my dad that the cumulative blood results and his overall physical condition looks great. He is receiving his 11th round of chemo today, and will receive immunotherapy and targeted therapy next week, as we continue through the treatment plan. Based on the doctor’s plan we should be getting another CT scan sometime towards the end of January.

My dad’s health has been steady and consistent the last few weeks. Despite some of us getting the flu and having colds, he has remained healthy. We have noticed him feeling more fatigued recently, however. Moreover, the pins and needles in his feet have gotten a bit worse, but his hands are doing a lot better, which we are thrilled about. He has also lost a little weight, although his appetite has been fairly good.

Every time my dad receives treatment, he first gets some blood tests, then the doctor reviews them and sees my dad, before starting the planned treatment for that week. Unfortunately, our insurance is not willing to cover some of the blood tests my dad has received over the last few months, and it seems moving forward we will need to cover the cost of some of the blood tests.

Please stand with us in faith and prayer in the following ways:

• Please pray for the liver inflammation markers to continue to decrease
• My dad has been experiencing some back pain and related nerve pain. Please pray for this to go away.
• Please pray for our family to be deeply rooted in God, that even in this challenging season we could bear fruit as we drink Him in.

Thank you for your prayers and for trusting God with us.

With love and appreciation,

Melika on behalf of the Minnaar Family

Runaway by Jess Ray

These are some of the lyrics from a beautiful worship song that we have been listening to a lot over the last few weeks, and that my dad has been soaking in during his devotions. Written from God’s perspective, this song describes His heart of continual, persistent, extravagant pursuit of us. No matter where we go, He is always running after us.

Even if we run away from Him, even if we don’t trust Him, even if we get overwhelmed and take our eyes off Him, He is still pursuing us. Even if the cancer journey feels long and scary, even if we get lost in the uncertainty of it all, even if we struggle to trust sometimes, His arms are always open for us to run into.

The last few weeks have been very exciting for our family as we got ready for Talitha and Thilo’s wedding. This past weekend we had the joy of celebrating them getting married, and how special it was having my dad walk Talitha down the aisle. Thinking back to August when my dad was originally diagnosed, we were unsure how my dad would feel at this time, whether he would even be strong enough or healthy enough to make it to the wedding. It was quite an emotional experience for him, feeling so grateful that he could be there. We all had so much fun at the beautiful wedding, and my dad was able to catch up with so many friends during the wedding as well as get together with friends before and after.

Additionally, my dad’s health has been doing great overall. We are currently at the hospital as he is receiving chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy. The pins and needles in his hands and the slight numbness in his toes, while still present, has not gotten worse. His appetite has been fairly good, and his sleep ok. His energy levels have been doing good and he has been staying healthy despite it being flu season, even with some of us in our family getting sick.

From the blood tests this morning, however, his liver inflammation markers have increased quite drastically since two weeks ago, and we have reached a critical point now, where if it increases further, we would need to pause treatment. Our family will be working on taking active steps to try to help support his liver, and the doctor has also made some minor adjustments to his medication. Please be praying for his liver.

Our health insurance has been so gracious in covering the cost of my dad’s chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy. Thank you so much for praying with us for this provision!

However, when we need to do extra tests every few months, such as CT scans, as well as visits to a cardiologist (as immunotherapy can potentially affect my dad’s heart), it seems our insurance will not cover these costs. Moreover, we are not sure for how long these tests or checkups will continue even after his treatment. Furthermore, this morning, we received a few bills from the last two months, related to the blood tests my dad receives almost every week, that our insurance is refusing to pay. We have made an appeal to see if they would cover the cost, but we are still waiting on their response.

We wanted to say thank you for blessing our family, both in prayer and with financial gifts related to my dad’s health expenses. This helps us in an incredible way to cover the extra costs during this time. We have been so overwhelmed by your support and care towards our family, and have felt God’s heart of love through you.

Please stand with us in faith and prayer in the following ways:

• Please pray for the liver inflammation markers to decrease to the normal range so that my dad can continue to receive treatment.
• Also, please pray for favor with our health insurance, that they would cover the cost of the blood tests.
• Please continue to pray for healing for my dad, that every cancer cell in his body would be destroyed.
• My dad also asks that you please pray that all of our hearts would yield and lean in to Jesus to receive all the beauty that He has for us in this season.

Thank you for your prayers and for trusting God with us.

With love and appreciation,

Melika on behalf of the Minnaar Family

Recently my dad had the privilege of leading a devotional for a gathering of believers, where he shared some of the key themes God has been highlighting in this season, and some questions he has been asking Jesus. Hope it can encourage you in your faith.

https://youtu.be/zL9eNiCKb4I

Over the last two weeks (first half of September) it has felt like our family has been challenged in a similar way to Peter. We find ourselves surrounded by a storm and we are desperate to keep our eyes on Jesus. The waves of uncertainty are high; the wind of worry is blowing strong. It feels so easy to look around at statistics online or become discouraged by a lack of answers, and we can easily begin to sink. Yet, as we have cried out to Jesus, He catches us and continues to invite us to walk on the water.

On Sept 16 he went to the hospital to get his 4th round of chemo, but unfortunately he was not able to receive it. The blood tests revealed that the infection markers in his liver had increased drastically, and to such an extent that it would be unwise for my dad to receive chemo at this time.

He meets with a gastroenterologist on Sept 21 to see if we can try and figure out why his liver is struggling so much. It seems there is a whole array of possible causes, some more serious than others. This doctor ordered a list of blood tests to be done and we are waiting on the results of these.

We have asked you to pray with us for favor on the health insurance. Our health insurance has been so gracious in covering all the expenses every time he stays at the hospital overnight. However, whenever he does not stay in the hospital, we need to pay everything ourselves. This becomes especially challenging when he is seeing several different types of doctors, getting a lot of blood tests done regularly, or when we need to take him to the ER.

Our Reality

Even when your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for you already have…
Psalm 23:4 (TPT)

On Sunday night, the night before my dad received his second round of chemo, he was awake a lot. He had this incredible sense of God clothing or wrapping him, almost like insulation encasing a house. My dad felt God reminding him of three specific instances of God’s closeness and presence in the Bible:
The blood on the doorposts during Passover keeping the Israelites safe
The cloud by day and fire by night guiding and protecting God’s people
The fourth Man in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
Similar to these stories, my dad has felt overwhelmed by Jesus’ presence with him over the last few weeks. The reality of His closeness outshines and outweighs the reality of any circumstance. No matter how real the situation we are in, how scary the cancer may feel, He is our reality. Even through the valley of deepest darkness, we can rest in the presence of our Shepherd.

While the doctor says that it is too early to know if the chemo has begun destroying the tumor, the doctor is excited about how my dad’s body is responding. My dad is experiencing no nausea, only slight fatigue, and his fever has disappeared since last week. Moreover, my dad experienced some pain in his abdomen before starting his chemo, and this has disappeared as well!
Furthermore, yesterday our doctor reviewed with us the results from my dad’s biopsy that identified my dad’s cancer to a greater extent. Furthermore, he also discussed immunotherapy and targeted therapy options available that he would like to pair with my dad’s chemotherapy to help expedite my dad’s treatment process.

Mini biology lesson coming up, but I will try to keep it simple :)

There are 3 main additional treatment options available to pair with chemo, two of them are immunotherapy and one is targeted therapy. Immunotherapy helps the body fight cancer, and targeted therapy directly kills the cancer. The first option is the most effective type of immunotherapy, but unfortunately my dad’s cancer is not responsive to it. The second option is a different type of immunotherapy but can only be started later in my dad’s treatment plan. The third option is a type of targeted therapy, but the results from my dad’s biopsy are inconclusive so the doctor is doing further tests to see if my dad’s body would respond to this form of treatment.
Basically, my dad has a very sneaky type of cancer that is not responsive to the classic treatment plan. However, our family is not discouraged, because we feel God’s presence so strongly. While we are disappointed that the first treatment option of immunotherapy won’t work, we know that our Shepherd is with us in the valley. He is our reality, more than the diagnosis.
Thank you so much for all your prayers. We really appreciate it! Our family has been so overwhelmed by God’s nearness these last few weeks.

Please continue to pray with our family and stand with us in faith:
From my dad’s blood tests yesterday it showed that my dad’s infection rate is high and it is placing strain on his liver. While not too high at the moment, if it becomes too high, it can cause us to have to pause chemo treatment. The doctor prescribed a medication for my dad to assist his liver. Please pray for strength for my dad’s liver and that this infection marker would not increase.
We have made an appeal to our medical insurance to see if they would be willing to help with the cost of my dad’s medication. Please pray for favor in this process as my dad’s medication is quite expensive.
Please pray for our family to lean into Jesus during this time so that we can faithfully persevere and endure.

Blessings,
Melika on behalf of the Minnaar family