December 12, 2020
The following was orally recorded by Pastor Ko. Thanks for a sister who transcribed it.
Since I was discharged from the hospital over a week ago, I went back to the hospital twice. The first time I stayed in ER for a night. And on Friday 12/11 I was supposed to go back to the hospital for one procedure, but that turned into three procedures. Among the three procedures, the major thing was to do a vascular surgery because the doctor found a tumor in part of the blood vessels. He worried that if the tumor broke and caused bleeding that would be very dangerous. The team removed it and strengthened the thin wall of the blood vessel. The doctor also replaced two tubes. The original plan was to stay in the hospital for observation overnight. However, the doctor also found that the connection of esophagus and small intestine had a leak. This could leak food from the esophagus and cause infection (peritonitis), so another small operation still is needed. From now until a couple of days after that next operation, I cannot eat or drink by mouth. Since no doctor is available to do the operation on Saturday or Sunday, I must wait until at least Monday 12/14. The doctor said that because mine is not an urgent procedure and I can still receive nutrients through the feeding tube, I must wait until the surgeon completes his other essential operations before he can do mine. As for when I will be discharged from the hospital, I believe God has His timing. I pray that the operation will be completed smoothly. I also consider these days of fasting and pray. God wants to train me to pray more, read His Words more, and be closer to the Lord, so that I can wait upon Him patiently. Thanks to the Lord, Paul said, we will be comforted by God in suffering. God’s comfort is not just to give us emotional peace, the most important thing is that we can experience God’s greatness and His faithfulness, so that our relationship with Him can be stronger. Paul also said: The comfort we have received is not only to comfort ourselves, but through what we have experienced to comfort those who are equally in need; to see God’s comfort and God’s love is not for us only, but also to flow from us to others. In other words, it is not that when I am sick God comforts me only, but that I would be able to comfort others, as 2 Corinthian Chapter 1 says. I can comfort those who are in any affliction, 2 Corinthians 1:4. Paul also said that “you pray for me, not just for the help we can get from the Lord, but to help so many people.” I truly thank you brothers and sisters for praying for me. Your prayers are so effective, not only now, but in the future, and your prayers will also help more people. Thank you again for your prayers, God has heard and is answering your petitions. I ask the Lord to continue to keep me closer to Him over the next few days. I also thank God when fasting. Prayer normally is just fasting for food. I will be fasting food and water. Please pray for me for this period of time.
After being discharged from the hospital last week, I stayed at a Christian couple’s house in St. Louis and was quite busy during this time. For 16 hours every day my feeding tube was connected to get nutrients into the small intestine; the remaining 8 hours I took food and drink by mouth now and then. This was not an easy thing. I also spent at least 10 minutes walking every hour because the doctor urges me to excise more. Every afternoon my daughter took me outside to walk. Thank the Lord for giving me strength that I could walk about half a mile in 45 minutes. When the feeding tube was connected at night and I could not walk around, I sang hymns in my heart and conducted with my hands to exercise my arms. Thanks to the Lord that I could praise Him with hymns in time like this! My favorite hymn is “God Will Take Care of You” which says “God will take care of you, through every day, o’er all the way” Pastor Calvin Chao had added another verse for this hymn: “Lord, I love you, I love you now, I love you forever”. This song also reminds me that Heavenly Father is not only in heaven, but also at this time is looking after me and helping me. So I will love the Lord more. Thanks to the Lord!
Thank God that I can come before Him to pray more and meditate more on His Words during this time. Please continue to pray for my upcoming surgery. I believe that God always has His perfect will for everything, and that we will see His grace when we follow Him wholeheartedly. Thanks to the Lord! Blessed are those who put their trust in the Lord. Let us all put our trust in Him and follow Him!