Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

If you prayed for us and/or sent us a note of encouragement in the last week, I hope you see this so you can know how blessed we have been by you! God has been so richly at work through people and has blessed us with countless, visible displays of His goodness and love as new and old friends have prayed for us and with us, brought meals, watched kids, helped us with lagging ministry projects, and written notes on online forums or good, old-fashioned cards. We have been truly blessed by our ClearView family, local friends, and out-of-town friends and family. THANKS! We felt God's peace through your kindness.

Many of you have asked for an update on Trish. She is recovering well. She is able to get back to normal functioning a little more each day. She feels excessively tired and is experiencing some unwanted side effects of medicines she is taking, but we imagine both of these, while undesirable, are to be expected. Her spirits are good and she's been hard at work ensuring a special Christmas for our family. Please keep praying for her recovery, healing, and for increased energy levels.

A final item for prayer is complete healing from cancer. We are trusting God that the surgery removed all harmful tissues and that medicine will round out this treatment. We're not sure exactly what that means yet...but Trish meets with a doctor tomorrow that will help us better understand upcoming treatments. Thanks for keeping this in continued prayer.

Finally, please forgive us if we have not responded to your comment/post on Facebook or this blog or returned a phone call or e-mail. Know that we have gotten your blessing and take great meaning from it...we're just overwhelmed with all that is happening in our lives, the wonderful aspects of the Christmas season, and moving ministry projects forward. Please keep the good words coming! :)

Merry Christmas! Luke 1:37-38

New Season Of Prayer For Trish

Hi faithful prayer friends. Please keep praying for Trish. She is recovering nicely...just tired and sore. However, we did find out today that her thyroid (removed on Monday) WAS cancerous. Lymph nodes around the thyroid that were also removed WERE NOT cancerous. So, there is good news:

We know surgery was the right thing to do and are thankful that God provided a quality surgeon to do her thryroidechtomy quickly.

This sort of cancer is highly treatable due to surgery and treatment options. Her surgeon seems to feel strongly that complete cure is quite likely with medicine she will begin taking soon.

Obviously, the bad news is that cancer is cancer and no one wants this. Please pray for:

1. Wisdom for Dr. Tallo (endocrinologist) and Dr. Sivard (surgeon/endocrinologist) as they devise Trish's treatment plan.
   
2. Complete healing.
   
3. Peace for Trish and our family.
   

Thank for praying. I believe God that "the works of God (will be) displayed in (Trish)" as He heals her (see John 9:3b, ESV).

Trish's Surgery Went Well... Please Keep Praying...

Hi Friends,
Thanks for praying for Trish this a.m. Technology is amazing... so I can keep you posted on what's going on via blog and Facebook status updates. I just spoke with the surgeon... He said that:

1. Surgery went as well as could be expected.
   
2. He could see three of four para-thyroids (which is good. You need one to function properly...and Trish has at least three healthy ones. Danger is that sometimes these can be entwined in the thyroid...so at removal of thyroid it is necessary to remove these also...so the fact that they could be seen/not removed is a blessing).
   
3. He could clearly see the nerve that ensures vocal functioning. One concern in this surgery is that if this nerve is hidden...it can accidentally be cut or nicked and inhibit vocal functioning. So...he's confident this is not a concern in Trish's case.
   
4. Here's where the praise/prayer requests merge: When the doctor removed the nodule that is growing on Trish's thyroid...they sent this to the lab to test for cancer. Results of these preliminary tests came back "inconclusive". This is not a surprise...because this is one reason Trish chose to have the thyroid removed. So, I'm thanking God for clear discernment that we did the right thing. Surgery was necessary. PRAYER REQUEST is that the doctor said many times these inconclusive tissues are sent to specialists at the Mayo Clinic or John's Hopkins to try and really tell if the tissues are cancerous or not. It's too close to call at this point. They aren't normal but they aren't obviously cancerous either. So, pray that there is no cancer.
   
5. The doctor also removed some suspicious lymph nodes around the thyroid. He felt that these looked abnormal and if, by chance, there is some problem...He didn't want to have to do a second surgery.
   

So, bottom line is that Trish came through the surgery well, is in recovery now, and we ask you to please keep praying for 1) recovery, 2) acclimation to the medicine she'll have to take from this point on, and 3) a cancer-free report when tests come back in a week or so.

Thanks for praying!

Take a Look and Be Encouraged!

I'm excited about this video that a team member made (pro-bono!) for us. If you're on this blog, I know you pray for us (THANKS!) and this video will give you food for praise to God for all He has done this year. It also gives some practical tips for how you can continue to help us in 2009.

Trish-Surgery on 12/15

Our family would appreciate your prayer for Trish as she is scheduled to have her thyroid removed on Monday, December 15. She learned recently that biopsy results showed atypical cells and after several recommendations from different doctors, Trish has opted to have it removed.

We understand that surgery should take a few hours, she will stay over night in the hospital, and come home the next day. Recovery is supposed to be pretty quick with minimal pain.

Please pray with us:

1. To thank God for making a reputable surgeon available on a favorable time basis.
   
2. That the surgery would go well. Risks are that the thyroid sits on top of vocal cords. Pray for great skill for the surgeon.
   
3. That God would bless Trish with a speedy recovery and help doctors to regulate medicine quickly that will take over important thyroid functions.
   

2 Breakthroughs Today!

We need some breaks from God. Launch day is drawing close (about 18 weeks!) and we need to see our team grow. Simply put...we need to see some decisive movement from God. So, I'm trying to pray that way! I'm praying for breakthroughs.

God gave two today:
1. A friend, that is now chairperson of her church's missions team, called to say this church is going to send ClearView a donation before they close out this budget year. This is an unexpected surprise!
2. Another friend called with a referral. He has been helping a man from Gahanna in his spiritual journey and told this gentleman about ClearView. Hopefully we'll have the opportunity to minister to him and invite him to join our team.

Praise God for this movement today. Please pray with us for similar daily breakthroughs in coming weeks!

Help My Friends Plant Churches!

Know anyone that lives in any of these areas? If they're looking for a church or need a spiritual influence in their lives...refer then to one of my friends planting around Columbus. I know we'd love for people to get out the word about ClearView... so I'm trying to do my part to assist my fellow church planters. Thanks for your assistance!

We're Almost Two Years In...

A veteran pastor in our district asked me for a summary/update of our church starting journey to this point. So, I wrote him a quick report of highlights that came immediately to mind of our first (almost) two years in starting ClearView. Sometimes it's better to just write what comes out without a lot of filter or over-contemplation. Thought you might enjoy the summary. If you follow this blog or get our monthly (sometimes :) updates, you know this info. But, maybe you just want to skim and give a quick "Praise God" and prayer for God's continued movements to finalize our team and help us prepare for launch. Below is report:

December 2008
ClearView Church Update

My family and I (Tricia, Seth-5, Silas-2, Sara-8months) moved to northeastern Franklin County, OH (northeast Columbus) in February of 2007 to begin a new Grace Brethren Church from scratch. We felt led to this area for multiple factors:

• There are thousands of people that don’t know or follow Jesus in every direction, all around us.
  
• There was once a GBC in New Albany (one of our principle target communities) that closed. Hundreds of thousands of dollars and much prayer was invested in Rocky Ridge GBC by Northwest Chapel and the NCO district… so we felt it would be an opportunity for God to answer prayers prayed many years ago by beginning a new, thriving, GBC in New Albany today.
  
• Our sponsor church, Northwest Chapel, desired to see a GBC on the northeast side of town. God called us to church planting and meshed our path with NWC.
  
• We love the people of northeastern Franklin County.
  

Since moving to the area just under two years ago, we have sought to ingrain ourselves in the community. ClearView Church’s mission is to love people to a clear view of Jesus and His mission. A central value of this mission is to go where people are already gathered and be the light and hope of Jesus in those places. Significant highlights of this mission to this point are:

• 150 people in our backyard for an Operation Barnabas program this summer.
  
• Over 70 people at the block party we hosted this past September.
  
• Participation in numerous key festivals in our community where we have assisted community leaders with set-up/tear-down and served/loved people through offering free face-painting, hot chocolate, balloons, crafts/games for kids, water, etc. God has given us the opportunity to touch thousands of lives in New Albany and Gahanna through acts of kindness.
  
• An invitation for me to be part of the New Albany Events board and help plan community activities.
  

As we have seeded our family into the activities of the community, God has opened doors and is teaching us how to be more effective missionaries. We look for opportunities to tell others about Jesus and our work with ClearView through being active in the community. God has opened the following doors to make contacts:

• Serving as a block-watch captain in our neighborhood.
  
• Serving as a room parent in Seth’s kindergarten class.
  
• Coaching soccer in the community.
  
• Hosting Backyard Bible Clubs and other events in our home.
  
• Actively participating in Gahanna and New Albany Chamber of Commerce events/meetings.
  
• “Renting office space” at gathering places like Caribou Coffee or Panera Bread.
  

Over the last 2 years, we’ve met and interacted with thousands of people. We’ve hung over 10,000 door hangers, participated in community events, worked our own contact making streams and worked hard to show Jesus’ love…making the most of every opportunity. Through these contacts, God has been building ClearView’s Launch Team. We currently meet for weekly worship gatherings at the Gahanna YMCA on Sunday mornings. On average, just over 30 people participate with us and we count 11 family units currently on our team. Together, we are preparing for ClearView’s “Grand Opening” gathering on April 12, 2009 (Easter Sunday).

We’re excited to see our team develop with quality, friendly people that jump in and serve freely, invite, give, pray for, and own the vision of ClearView Church with our family. As God brings team members, we’re seeking to build the infrastructure of a healthy Sunday morning ministry (in preparation for our launch service). God is providing leaders in the areas of worship, children’s ministry, guest welcome services, administration/finance, and set-up/tear-down. Praise God for the people He has brought to team ClearView!

As we move towards April 12, our family and our baby church could use your prayers in several targeted areas. Key requests for the next few months would be:

• Spiritual intimacy for our family and launch team members.
  
• That our family and our team would make a tangible difference in the spiritual climate of our target communities (we want to see people come to Jesus and lives transformed).
  
• For adequate funding for 2009 salary and ministry and for adequate health insurance for our family.
  
• That (a minimum) of 10 more families would join our team by the end of March, 2009.
  

If you would like to learn more about ClearView Church, check www.clearviewgrace.com. To learn more about our family and regular ministry updates/prayer requests, please visit: www.wirt-prayer-team.blogspot.com. To receive a monthly prayer update via e-mail, e-mail me at andy@clearviewgrace.com and put “add me to the prayer team” in the subject line.

Thanks for praying with us!

Worth Some Thought...

Please pray for Trish

Faithful blog readers... this is a note I sent to our ClearView team today. I'd appreciate your prayers as well for Trish! Thanks!

Would you pray with my family about some significant issues? Some of you know that Trish had a biopsy on her thyroid several weeks ago. This is a condition her endocrinologist has been watching for some time. Fortunately, cells on a large nodule growing on her thyroid are not cancerous at this time, but were diagnosed as "a-typical". The doctor feels this is a real danger and that her thyroid should be removed. Obviously, we are concerned about this for a variety of reasons and would ask you to pray with us...

1. Should Trish have surgery? Please pray for wisdom.
   
2. Naturally, Trish is very concerned about having to be on medication the rest of her life and potential, life-long side effects of having her thyroid removed. Please pray for comfort and peace.
   
3. As I shared a few weeks ago, our family needs to find new health insurance, beginning 1/1/09. We're looking into a variety of options...but, obviously, with the disclosure of a looming surgery, it is impossible to buy a personal plan and group plans are "max-rated". We feel pressured to try and have surgery before the end of the year... but also don't want to rush a decision on such an important issue. Please pray for wisdom and God's provision.