Urgent Prayer for Dan Owens

July 23, 2011

Dear Friends,

I am not one to share my aches and pains with people, but this week I have discovered that one of my aches is actually quite serious. I am coming to you today to ask you to pray for me and for my family as we tackle, through faith, a challenging health issue.

I have been having some stiffness in my hamstring for about six months, thinking that it was just the usual tightness that comes with growing a bit older and riding a bicycle for exercise and weight loss. Upon returning from Rwanda about a month ago my stiffness started turning into pain. I had a checkup already scheduled with my doctor and while I was there I mentioned my leg. He checked it out a bit and knowing that I have tight hamstrings anyway, he sent me to a physical therapist. My doctor and the physical therapist are both Christians and know each other well.

A few days later I went to see the physical therapist and was noticing at that time that the pain was increasing and something was moving around in my upper thigh. He did some work with me for a few sessions over several days but in our second session he stopped and said, “I feel something in there that is not right.” He then sent me back to my doctor and by then the pain had grown to the point that I was walking with a noticeable limp and looking for old bottles of pain killers.

I saw my doctor again this past Monday and I was his last patient of the day. As he read the PT report and checked me again more thoroughly, he sat me down and gave me specific instructions. They were simple, “In the morning I want you on the road by 8:00 a.m. headed for Stanford.” I resisted but he insisted.

Deb, Taylor, and I headed up to Stanford the next morning (Tuesday) to go to the emergency room. They admitted me quickly and began to do tests on my leg. The ultra sound and CT scan showed a growth in my leg. After seven hours in the ER, their final instructions to me were to go the following day to the Stanford Cancer Center and check in with a certain doctor there. I won’t bore you with all the details, but by Thursday I was having a second CT scan and an MRI. By Friday morning Deb and I were meeting with a cancer surgeon who is now my doctor. He informed me that the large mass seen in the CT scan and MRI looks to be a malignant sarcoma. Bummer! He also informed me that I have something in my lungs that he wants to check on again in three months.

So, today a biopsy was done of what appears to be a tumor by all indications. Once pathology confirms my doctor’s findings, I hope to be operated on next week. The prognosis from the doctor today is that although the tumor is quite large, I should be able to walk almost normally when it’s all healed up. Many of you have gone through the cancer journey and you know it is just a freaky feeling to know you have something in you that just does not belong, and is potentially life threatening.

So, may I impose upon you to pray for me in several areas?

1. Pray that this is used to bring me and my family even closer to the Cross of Christ where the ultimate suffering took place for us and for our salvation.

2. Pray that I would learn all that the Lord has to teach me through this new experience in my life.

3. Pray that my family, including my mom who lost my dad last year, and my two sisters would feel the presence and power of God through all of this.

4. Pray that my response and that of my family would bring glory to God our Father.

5. Pray that I would be healed! Yep, I still believe in healing whether through the hand of God or the hand of God upon the doctor.

6. Pray that the financial side of all this would not become a distraction in life for us.

For those of you who know my wife Deb, you know that her Pollyanna outlook on life is perfect for me right now. What a gift she is, but I do ask that you would pray for her specifically, as well. We have a sense that there are going to be a few journeys up the 101 to Stanford for a while (over a three hour drive for us). It is going to take some extra strength and patience for us both.

Regarding EMM, as you can understand I am going to take a few weeks off a bit unexpectedly; but it appears from the doctor’s comments that I should have no problem being up and running for our next mission to Romania. We will press on in faith that God has more work for us to do and that He will enable me to lead as I always have.

As I lay in the ER room on Tuesday (a bit drugged up, I confess), my nurse came in and shut the door behind her. I noticed she had a bit of emotion etched on her face and watery eyes. We believe that she had seen the CT scan report and so she blurted out, “I have to pray for you right now!” and sure enough she did! God has His people everywhere and she understood that part of her ministry in life is to listen to the voice of God and be obedient. I am glad she was. What a blessing!

I am taking some fairly strong drugs for pain at the moment, so if you write or call I may not be able to respond. I have noticed that the drugs they have given me can make me a bit irritable, which I don’t like. I would not want to act impatient toward you or make you think that I did not appreciate hearing from you, so when I am feeling edgy I just won’t respond.

Thank you for praying for these things today. You are free to have other prayer groups or your church pray for me because I know God answers prayer and God is still in the miracle business.

With Eternity Very Much on My Mind,

Dan Owens (with gratitude from all of my family)