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My View, From PeruGod, politics, daily life...discussed from a modern Biblically ethical and moral basis, pertinent to the world in which we live.
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4/27/2008 Jordy has passedI haven't written in a while, for various reasons. The last time I wrote I shared with you all the plight for Jordy's life. A young boy from our school who was diagnosed with cancer late last year, his condition was improving, as were his spirits. Jordy had opted against further chemotherapy because it was taking more of his life than it was saving. When school started this year he told his mom all he wanted to do was go back to school, be a kid, live a little more. He didn't get that chance.
Two weeks ago we got the call that Jordy was gone. Ronnie and I went to the hospital and stayed and prayed with the family until they were ready to shut off his ventilator. Watching the family face what they have known was coming was more difficult than I can describe. Knowing that Jordy had no more earthly pain to face was more relieving than I thought it would be.
I had wanted to talk to Jordy before he died but once he re-entered the hospital his parents wouldn't tell anyone where he was. I think they just wanted their time with him, and that I can understand. I wanted, and still want, to know what state he was in spiritually. I was never able to find out. I have to believe that it doesn't matter so much if I know, as much as I want to. All that matters is what his state was, but to know that I'll have to wait a little longer.
11/28/2007 Jordy's storyGood morning all:
I'm writing today to ask all of you to please pray for and remember daily
one of my students-Jordy. Jordy is in 4th of secondary,
which is 10th grade to all us gringos. At the beginning of last week he missed
a few days of school and another student told me he was "really sick." A few
days later I was told his mom had taken him to Lima in order to find out what
was wrong with him. Now, for those of you who don't know, it's generally not a
good sign if you have to go to Lima to see a doctor, as this means the doctors
in Arequipa either can't make the diagnoses or aren't equipped to handle the
problem. In Jordy's case it was both.
The initial diagnoses at the end of last week was cancer in Jordy's lung.
However, that didn't explain the swelling of his knee, swelling I've been told
is between softball and volleyball in size. Further tests did reveal the cause,
however, as cancer which had metastasized.
My initial feeling when I first heard that doctors thought he had cancer
was that his situation was not good. After hearing that the cancer had spread
through his body to the extent it had my fears and feelings were confirmed.
However, in my own experiences, God is more powerful than anything this world
can bring upon us. My son has experienced a recent healing; my father was
diagnosed with advanced (stage 5) skin cancer earlier this year, and yet after
only one fairly minor surgery he has shown no signs of cancer being anywhere in
his body (much to the surprise of his oncologist ); and I,
myself, have experienced my own healing two years ago. Thus, it is not with a
lack of faith that I bring this prayer request to you all. Rather, it is
because I know the power of God to be quite real, but that it is through a
united faith that God's power is realized.
Several students, along with the school secretary, traveled to Lima today
to visit with Jordy. I can only imagine how difficult this time is for his
friends and family. I have simply taught Jordy for two years and I am
struggling with this reality, so please pray for his friends and family, as
well, to be encouraged and strengthened through our belief.
God Bless 11/15/2007 Still don't believe? Maybe this will convince you. . .For those of you who have known or met my family you likely know that Alec, our oldest son, was born with a disability. Diagnosed early on as Cerebral Palsy, we found out just recently the root cause of his condition is that the right side of his brain did not develop fully, a small whole or gap remaining where his brain should have grown together. As a result, his nervous system is incomplete and he has little control over his left hand, leg, and foot. During his 11 years he's undergone surgery, botox injections, years of therapy, and constant and chronic pain. In addition, he's suffered mentally and emotionally as he's struggled to be "normal." Despite his disability Alec has played sports and has fought to be just like any other kid. Well, it seems he has been victorious!!
I want to share with you all some amazing news. This past weekend in Arequipa we had what was called "Noches de Gloria" or "Glorious Nights," a 3-day crusade hosted by Cash Luna, a "famous" Latin-American evangelist from Guatemala. Prior to the crusade I had never heard of him, but for those of you who know (of) Benny Hinn, Cash Luna is his Latin-American counterpart. Cash Luna has a healing ministry, and during the 3-day crusade we witnessed hundreds of individuals being healed from various ailments- the blind could see, the lame could walk, the deaf could hear, and I believe someone was even raised from the dead!! The crusade was held at Melgar Stadium, home to Arequipa's professional soccer team. Seating 30,000+, the stadium was full all 3 nights with many left outside wishing to get in.
Each night the crusade began at 6:30. On Friday we arrived around 5:15 to make sure we got to our seats. We had VIP passes to sit on the grass in front of the stage, but even with these we were not assured of seats. By Sunday word had spread far and wide about the miracles, and as a result people were lined up and waiting hours in advance, coming from all over Peru, trying to get in.
Again, with our VIP passes, we had to arrive early on Sunday, only this time early was 3:30- 3 hours before the crusade started!! By 5:30 the gates were locked and people were being turned away. Even some pastors I know, who arrived around 6, and who the first night sat on stage with Cash Luna and his people, were turned away Sunday because there was no more room.
However, I still haven't gotten to the amazing part. Saturday night Joyce rec'd a word from God that Alec would be healed from his Cerebral Palsy on Sunday, and that when they got home from the crusade Saturday night we all needed to pray for him. We did just that for about an hour Saturday night then went to bed, believing for a miracle but not knowing exactly what to expect.
 Sunday came, and like I said, we headed to the stadium 3 hours early. The service started at 6:30, we sang, worshipped, prayed, etc. . .around 8 Cash Luna called all pastors, teachers, and those of us who work in ministry teaching the word to come to the stage. Kayla and I headed up, along with another couple hundred people. Kayla and I were two of the first, and in succession we were all slain in the Spirit!! This was something Kayla and I really needed!! With the expectation and belief that Alec could be healed, our emotions were all over the place.
We returned to our seats and Cash continued pouring out the Spirit on various groups and individuals. He then began to speak to individuals in the crowd with specific ailments, and then instructed us all to place one hand over our affected area and the other toward God.
I placed one hand on Alec's head and put my finger in the grasp of his left hand while he raised his right hand to God and prayed. Kayla stood beside me praying fervently, believing what we wanted to happen really could. Normally, Alec has no strength to speak of in his left hand. He could not take hold of my finger with his entire hand, and minimal upward force would release me from his grip.
 As I prayed I could feel his hand throbbing and pulsating, his grip increasing. I began to lift his hand higher and higher as we prayed. After we prayed and were told to check ourselves and our family for healing I pulled his hand up over his head- still while he was gripping my one finger- and I almost lifted him off the ground with his only hold being his normally useless left hand!!! He was able to open and close his hand and make a fist like never before. He grasped a full bottle of water in his left hand when just the day before he couldn't pick up an empty cup!! He could lift arm straight up and his fingers were straight rather than crooked!!
His left foot, too, was exhibiting improvements. Before he could not tap his toes. Now he could easily lift his toes an inch off the ground. He could pick his foot up in the air like never before!! He and Kayla headed to the stage to testify to God's power, and again were some of the first up there!! Seeing them on stage had me in tears, filled with pride, thanksgiving, and an overwhelming sense of the reality of God's power!!
The feeling was amazing, unbelievable, indescribable!! It hasn't yet gone away!! When we left the stadium that night we exited through the stands. These are stands similar to those in American sports arenas, but are nothing more than concrete levels. These stands have no stairs, just concrete "seats" about 1 1/2 feet high. Now, when Alec climbs stairs he always has to be on the right side so he can use the hand rail because he doesn't have the strength in his left leg/foot to push his body up. But, this night, climbing these double-sized stairs, he walked up them as normal as you or I- no hands, no hesitation, stair by stair, left and right, all the same!!
Now, I have no doubt many of you out there are skeptical- that's okay, I don't blame you. Still, I also know that it was only because of the belief of myself, Kayla, and most of all, the belief Alec had in God's ability to heal him, that he was healed. Without belief, without faith, we can hardly expect our prayers to be answered.
 9/27/2007 Here's the latestKayla and I appeared before the judge again this morning regarding our adoption process of Cohen. Our lawyer is attempting to speed up the process rather than waiting for another year+ to complete the abandoment/adoption procedure. After all, as our lawyer says, "You've had him long enough; it should be obvious he is a part of your family!" The continuing hindrance we are facing is that Jose (Cohen's "father") will not appear before the judge and provide his testimony to assure the judge he is asking us to adopt his son. The judge, while on our side, is still very weary of finalizing the abandoment/adoption of Cohen because the practice of trading children on the black market continues to be an issue in Peru. As testament to this concern the judge has asked us to handprint and footprint Cohen and then provide these same prints from his birth in order to ensure (on paper) the child we have is the same we have been attempting to adopt since last year. Yes, it sounds silly, but the judge has to be sure (which, while a semi-frustrating inconvenience, is reassuring as we know the judge is attempting to follow the letter of the law and leave no opportunity for anyone to question the validity of our adoption) and thus this is the phase we are in.
Jose's appearance is not required but if we can get him to provide testimony stating he wants us to adopt Cohen the process may move much faster. If not, we may have to wait until August of next year to have the adoption finalized. The judge in our case wants to move forward but at the same time is very concerned about appearances. Corruption runs so rampant in Peru that I have to appreciate her (the judge's) sentiments and the lengths to which she is going to ensure the validity of our case. Drawn out it is, but clear it will be once finished.
In other news, we continue our ministry in Chivay/Ichupampa. I've decided we should focus on Ichupampa and the asilo (old folks home) for the time being, and have also decided we need to seriously explore the possibility of living in Chivay full time (3 weeks a month) in order to establish our presence there. I leave the details up to God, but at this moment I'm confident we will be living there sometime next year. I may be wrong, of course, but I think that is where we are meant to be.
9/12/2007 Re: Where were you ?I was in court for a traffic ticket. . .while waiting for my name to be
called on the docket we were asked to exit the building but not given detail as
to why. While in the parking lot Kayla drove up and asked me what I
thought about what was happening. "What are you talking about?" I
said. She turned the radio up so I could listen to the live report.
Because we lived an hour south of NORAD we were considered a prime target.
I returned to court shortly after and then, that afternoon, I recall watching
the news all day, thinking about what was happening, and not really knowing how
to feel.
All day today I watched/listened to CNN and was pleasantly surprised
to witness them (CNN) displaying a farther than normal "RIGHT
WING" attitude. I was upset to hear that some people feel we
should move on from 9/11- get on with our lives- because I'm pretty sure we all
remember Pearl Harbor, which in my mind was justified because the world was at
war (not that we were involved, but had it not happened we may not have become
involved and it was our place, as Americans, to be) and I am proud of
the way we responded.
For me 9/11 is my Pearl Harbor. Did we or do we ask those who
lost individuals, who lost the feeling of security from that event, to move
on? Why, then, should any of us move on without
resolution? Continue living our lives? Absolutely!! Live as if
nothing happened? Not a chance!!
Resolution is our goal. . .Peace is our purpose!! Fight when there is
a reason to do so, at all costs, and now, at this moment, we have reason!!
Micah Cantley
Si tuvieras fe como un grano de mostaza mkacma@msn.com
http://canfaminperu.spaces.live.com/ www.younglifearequipa.blogspot.com www.flickr.com/photos/cantleysons As always, if this message has been sent to multiple recipients BLIND
CARBON COPYING (BCC) has been employed.
¡Gracias por tu visita! I truly appreciate each of you taking the time to read what I have to say. It may mean nothing to you, or it may mean something. Either way, it means something to me. If you like, I hope you'll let me know you stopped by, share a thought or two, and even provide me with a little insight of your own. Of course, criticism is always welcome and appreciated.
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