GREAT FAITH AMIDST FINANCIAL AND HEALTH STRUGGLES

After 28 years of employment with Portage County in Ohio, Paul Sicuro was struck with brain Lymphoma four years ago, severely impacting his central nervous system and causing memory loss and dementia. Today, at 53 years of age, Paul requires ongoing personal support and care. Furthermore, two years ago he suffered a heart attack, currently needs a hip replacement and is a high risk for a recurrence of the cancer. The Sicuro family, wife Lu Ann and 17 year old son, Peter, are living on a disability pension inadequate for their needs. "It seems both the money and food run out toward the third and fourth week of each month," says Lu Ann, "requiring considerable assistance from the local food bank." The family urgently needs plumbing assistance for plugged pipes in their bathroom and several repairs to their 18 year-old vehicle. MAX Mutual Aid Ministries is currently exploring some financial assistance for this family. The trauma of his father's health and being present when his father suffered the heart attack deeply affected son Peter emotionally creating a social phobia for him. "Peter is home schooled, essentially house-bound and has missed out on so much of his teen life," laments Lu Ann. "Every day I say to myself, Jesus, just help me through this day," she adds. The family is on the prayer list of their faith community, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, in Ravenna, Ohio. They would very much appreciate the prayer support of the MAX community as well, a community they joined quite recently on the advice of their insurance agent. When asked how we can best pray for them, Lu Ann, a woman of great faith, responded in three parts:

"Ask Jesus to take care of my husband, help Peter cope with his dad's illness and ask for Jesus' blessing on our family."

TENNIS BALL SIZED BRAIN TUMOR REMOVED FROM 4 YEAR OLD

As the Outlow family was preparing to leave on a family trip, their youngest son, four year old Justin, suddenly suffered a severe seizure. Rushed to the ER, staff initially found nothing wrong until Justin suffered a second seizure in front of the doctor. A CAT scan revealed a tennis ball sized tumor at the back of Justin's brain. The tumor was successfully removed on July 5 during nine hours of surgery at the Hartford Children's Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut. His mother, Serita, writes about the experience, "One of the hardest things for any parent to do is entrust the life of their child to someone else's hands. The Lord was faithful to provide us with strength and comfort and we were provided with a competent caring staff." Testing since surgery indicates the tumor's mass has been fully removed and Justin's brain is reclaiming the area where it was lodged. Justin is now at home in Norwich, CT, with his parents, Serita and Thomas Outlow and his three siblings, aged 6-15. But his journey is not over. He requires 24 hour supervision and monitoring in addition to doctors' appointments and three physical therapy sessions weekly in Hartford. The family is part of and receiving support from the International Family Worship Center in Waterford, CT. Pray for the Outlow family.

• Give thanks for a successful surgery and ongoing recovery for Justin.
• Pray for the family as they juggle jobs, time and financial resources to care for Justin.
• Pray for continued healing for Justin and faith and serenity on the family's part.

CELEBRATING SIX CANCER FREE MONTHS

Six months ago, Karen Dickson underwent surgery for colon rectal (colorectal) cancer. At the time, she went into the ER with abdominal pain which turned out to be a gall bladder attack. However, it was during that episode that doctors diagnosed the colorectal cancer. While surgeons indicated "they got it all," Karen requires a checkup every three months to ensure there is no recurrence. In early August, Karen faced her six month check-up with considerable trepidation. She wrote, "This one could be scary because I have done research and many of the studies have said that cancer has returned in 5-6 months.  This check up will consist of a CT scan.  It could show if there are any number of problems."   In an August 22 email, Karen writes in celebration about her results, "I am still cancer free," she enthuses, "without radiation or chemo treatments.  My blood count was up, I am no longer anemic, and there is no evidence that I had cancer.   It has been six months since surgery. I thank God for the good news." Karen indicates she has great friends and family support, including her church family at Bethel Mennonite. Offer a prayer of thanks for Karen's cancer free diagnosis and pray for her continuing good health. Pray also for the people you know who suffer from or are anxious about recurring cancer.

TORNADO DEVASTATES "PRETTIEST TOWN IN CANADA"

Steeped in historical charm and natural beauty, the Port of Goderich, Ontario, on the shore of Lake Huron, takes pride in its reputation as Canada's prettiest town. On Sunday, August 21, at approximately 4pm, an F3 tornado touched down packing winds around 280 km/h. It carved a path, roughly 500 metres wide and 20 kilometres of diminishing destruction in length, with the worst devastation occurring in the historic downtown core, tearing the roof and first floors off businesses, downing trees and destroying cars. One man died, and 37 people were injured. While MAX Canada is not heavily vested in the Goderich area, the claims department continues to contact its members in the area about damage incurred. "Within two hours of the tornado, Mennonite Disaster Service Ontario was in Goderich to investigate. It will be assigning volunteers to help as soon as it can ensure volunteers access to meaningful work," writes Evelyn Peters-Rojas, Human Resources Coordinator. Keep the residents of the Goderich in your prayers as they clean up, reestablish disrupted lives, and restore their community.

UPDATES:

Forster Family (July, 2011) In our July email we asked for prayer on behalf of the Forster family from Eastern Ohio. Parents William and Cheryl were in a horrendous vehicular accident on June 27, which claimed William's life and left Cheryl with multiple injuries. Cheryl returned to her home on August 8 where she continues to convalesce. Recently turned 18, son Cody is currently undergoing considerable emotional stress and trauma related to the accident. Friend Bobbie Lucas writes, "This family has a very long road to recovery, both mentally and physically."   Continue to pray for the physical healing of Cheryl and restoration to emotional wholeness for Cody and the whole family.

Greg Reddekopp (March & June, 2011) Greg is the 33 year old husband of Amy, and father of Ellie (10), Khaya (9), Kenya (7) and Ethan (5). Six years ago while in South Africa he got sick and the family came back to Canada. Since that time, Greg has suffered with daily pain due to chronic pancreatitus. Greg has now been hospitalized for more than 40 days due to necrotization. Basically, in his situation, this means that digestive juices were starting to eat his pancreas and kill it. There is no way to prevent this. It must stop on its own and it is a very slow dangerous process. Please continue to pray for this family and for Greg's healing. If you wish to follow Greg's progress or send him and his family words of encouragement, you may access his website at www.caringbridge.org/visit/gregreddekopp.