Last Updated 9/19

Members of New Life Church and Immediate Family

Becky Davis:  An update from my daughter Allison.  “Today we conclude the journey to a diagnosis as I have an official diagnosis of Cushing’s disease caused by a pituitary adenoma and we begin the journey to healing.  We were very impressed with the team at Duke and feel confident in proceeding with the recommended course of treatment which is surgery to remove the mass.  Next steps, schedule surgery as well as a CT and another MRI.”  I want to thank everyone for their continued prayers.  (updated 9/19)

Gene and Shelba Pollic:  Our Haitian daughter in Haiti - Rosita - the youngster from the Jeremie' orphanage who has been doing free clinical work for Adeien's Free Clinic in the surrounding mountains of Les Cayes has taken sick.

She has just found out she has a severe fibroid condition which requires surgery soon. The type of surgery she requires is not able to be done in Haiti at all.  She has a large tumor that must be removed ASAP.  The surgery must be done in the Dominican Republic. Adrien can get her to the airport asap. Rosita has an aunt there who will pay her travel expenses from Les Cayes to the DR (Santo Domingo) - and will take care of her as needed after the surgery. The cost of the surgery is $2,500 usd ~ such a surgery in the USA would be thousands more of course.

After making a few phone calls we have been pledged $1,000 of that amount. We now need $1,500 more.  We cannot cover this right now as we are having health probs and other expenses of our own.  PLEASE PRAY and let us know if you can help ~ Advise us ASAP.  

Money will be channeled thru Haiti Church Ministries in Greenville, OH who can get it to her the same day as they have it in their hands.  We will provide that info for you as needed.  FYI, IRS usable receipts will be provided for your kind donations.  Shelba is preparing a hard copy letter with pix, etc. that we can mail to you soon. (posted 9/18)

Elaine McGraw:  Please continue to pray for our sister, Elaine, who was discharged from the hospital today (Sunday) and is recovering from a hysterectomy. (updated 9/14)

Nancy Rose: Please keep our sister, Nancy, in your prayers.  Her father and sister-in-law both passed away within days of each other. (updated 9/14)

Pastor Chris Gregory:  Please continue to pray for my bride, Reba, who had a full hysterectomy a few weeks ago. Since then, she has had to deal with several setbacks but seems to be doing well over the past several days. Thank you! (updated 9/14)

Charlene Bodie:  Please pray for my husband, John.  He is having back pain and weakness.  He is seeing a neurosurgeon next month.  Please pray that it will go well.  Thank you. (updated 9/12)

Richard and Linda Aucella:  We would like prayers for a safe road trip as we drive to New Hampshire for a visit with our family and friends.  We are leaving on Sept 6 thru Sept 20.  Also pray that our children Keith and Jude will be open to the gospel message, and we can be a good witness to all we meet. (9/01)

Deborah Christenburg:  Health Update from my first husband Danny: I had a great day in therapy today. I did my arm exercises, rode the bicycle, then walked. I walked 40' across the room and tried to turn around to go back, but only made a 3/4 turn and had sit down. After a 1-minute rest I said let's go again and then I walked back across the room and was met at the door with a big surprise. Susannah brought Neva to see me. That inspired me to walk across the room again. This time I made the turn around and walked halfway back across the room. After that I enjoyed visiting with Susannah and Neva until I went to the dining room for lunch. Thanks everyone for your prayers. Please continue. (updated 9/4)

Friends & Extended Family 

Heidi Read:  Please pray for my uncle Bill VanLowe who has been diagnosed with cancer.  He will begin chemo next week.  (updated 9/12)

Lacey Graves:  Update on my nephew Josh Jarrell.  Josh was discharged from the hospital on Monday and came home. A couple days before his discharge, the doctor pulled Josh off the final chemotherapy drug because it was not controlling the leukemia and was likely contributing to his complications. The doctor also advised us not to do a second round as expected and we agreed. He explained at that time that Josh would not see the end of the year.  In the face of that, Josh and I did our due diligence to use his connections and reach out to three different major cancer centers here in the United States. We knew chemotherapy wasn’t working and thought perhaps we could find another immunotherapy clinical trial. We quickly found out that Josh would not even be eligible because of his current medical complications.

Along with researching these trials, one of the top AML doctors in America took the time to write a very direct and honest email explaining that Josh’s type of Leukemia (which there are many, many types) is always resistant to treatments, trials, and nutritional therapies. That even if his current complications clear up and was accepted to a trial, Josh runs the high risk of being separated from family, friends, and his faith community while eventually passing way under that clinic’s care. We appreciated getting this second opinion and honestly, though terrible news, it brought us peace.

Back to this past Monday - when we were discharging from the hospital, Josh’s doctor talked us through what hospice care would look like, but then agreed that since Josh was able to still be up and around, they would offer to keep him under Emory’s care. He has lab appointments set up for once a week, and if Josh is in need of a transfusion or some other medication to make him more comfortable, they will support us in this way. As long as Josh has some vitality to him, we thought this the best option because it would be a shame to lose him if he simply needed a blood transfusion or supportive antibiotic. Our doctor also said if a clinical trial opened and Josh was eligible, he would reach out right away, but we must be realistic about those slim chances.

We’ve asked for immediate family to come for a couple days and then go home. It gives them an opportunity to connect with Josh while he’s at his strongest and then also gives our family time to “just be normal” together. We don’t know how long this part will be. Every day we wake up with dad is a gift.

Our family has been called to be very open and public through all of Josh’s suffering - connecting with many people over the phone and in person, allowing for people to regularly visit at our home. I am thankful to have seen how God has worked so powerfully in people’s lives and strengthen their prayer muscles - He needs that and will continue to need that once our family lays down this cross and picks up another.

We request privacy at this time. We are not in need of meal drop offs or other external support. We just need to be together in prayer and preparation. There certainly will be a time in the future where our family will gladly receive people’s charity and sacrifices, and we will let you know of that time here on caring bridge. Also, when there are updates, we will post here. (updated 9/1)

Paul Nye: Paul Nye has asked us to pray for his cousin, Brenda Sampson (59), who lives in Winslow, NJ.  She has been recently diagnosed with lung cancer. Brenda is a believer. Please pray for wisdom for her doctors and for healing. (updated 8/15)

Ongoing Issues

Gerry Hoben: Please continue to pray for Gerry Hoben. She and her husband, Reece, are long-time members of New Life Church but often unable to attend because of Gerry’s health. Gerry's doctors are working to find a protocol of medication that will work with her body and allow her to get out of the house.  (updated 7/4)

Beverly Golden:  Troy Ware had surgery this past Friday to repair the defibrillator that was put in after his cardiac arrest in January.  The leads had come disconnected and we got a call from cardiologist asking if he had been in an accident.  No, he had not. So, we go to Bolivia hospital for exams and then back to cardiologist a second time and his defibrillator was turned completely off for 24 hours. We took him Friday morning to Wilmington and surgery was done immediately. He is home now, and we hope this doesn't keep him down too long. He can't raise his left arm above his head for another 6 weeks.  Just keep Troy and Jeri in prayer.  It's been very stressful.  (updated 6/12)

Lynn Neltnor:  Update on my daughter Justine. She has been found. She needs prayer for her mental state and addictions. Thank you. (updated 5/22)

Tim Gilman:  please pray for my son and daughter in law as they have been going through in vitro fertilization procedures for about a year without success. please pray the process will be successful. (updated 5/17)

John Heider:  His sister, Sandy Grabow, has breast cancer and still waiting for a treatment plan, but things are going well.  Please pray for continued healing.  (updated 5/12)

Sam and Pam Giarrusso: Sam and Pam's great niece, Penny Brown, was diagnosed with RSV.  Penny has SMA which is a condition that affects her muscles and, in this case, her lungs. She cannot cough hard enough to loosen the mucus, etc. She is home now and doing pretty well. Please continue to pray for Penny.  (updated 3/3)

Jay and Lisa Hall: Please continue to pray for Jay and Lisa's daughter, Sarah, the mother of two teen boys. Sarah has two incurable conditions, which not only cause much pain but have prevented her from eating. She has a feeding tube, but there have been issues with that. Please pray that Sarah will be able to get into John Hopkins to deal with her feeding tube issue. If you have not watched Sarah's testimony , please try to find the time to do so.  (updated 12/8)

Carroll Burke: Please continue to pray for Carroll in the control of her of her symptoms from Parkinson's. We are thankful that the device installed at Duke is having a positive effect.  (updated 11/29)

Ministries New Life Church Supports

John Appiah: Tim Gilman, our liaison to our brother John who is a missionary in his native country of Ghana, received the following e-mail on October 13: "... Greetings to Pastor Gregory and the entire saints who made it possible to support us. I need prayers, last Sunday after preaching in one of our local churches, I felt dizzy and passed out. By the grace of God, the leaders revived me and took me to hospital. I was admitted for two days and was transferred to my base- Kumasi. By the grace of God, I am doing much better.  Thank you all, John   (updated 10/16)

Christian Recovery Center Inc:  Please continue to pray for CRCI as they branch out in our County, helping their residents recover from many different addictions."

Beach House Recovery:  Calabash - Prayers for the recovery process for the guys involved in this program.

Dr. J – SE Asia:  Due to COVID-19 restrictions the area of Asia/Thailand where Dr. J ministers has shut its borders & she is sidelined in America.  Please pray for an open door for her return; please pray that the food supply chain in that region continue to remain open in spite of the logistical/security and danger issues involved in the transport of the supplies on a daily/monthly basis; please also pray for the many refugee kids & adults.

Judy Bokelman:  Wycliffe Bible Translators: Pray for the work of Bible translation all over the world. Pray that God would call more people everywhere to become translators. Pray for Judy as she serves and works with the leadership team.

Ministry of Mercy (Partners in Joy):  They have submitted the following prayer requests:  (1) that God would send more caregivers to help to take care of the many orphaned babies who come to their Centers;  (2) for the resources/supplies needed to run the orphanage (3)  for health &  educational needs of the older children (4) for assistance in the new projects of expansion being undertaken by the staff to enlarge the facilities; (5) financial support of caregivers/teachers & medical staff & healthcare workers (6) new converts  (7) for funding & blessings on this ministry.

Walt & Mirjam DeMoss:  Walt has asked for prayer as he starts a fourth MSG school, maintains the other three schools & is planning for a new school in India.  He continues to teach full time at the MSG school in Chiangmai.  Mirjam is the language learning coordinator for their former country of service.   All of this at times is overwhelming for him/them.  He & Mirjam are requesting continued prayer for the school staff & house parents as well as recruitment for additional staff.  They have also asked that we pray for their son Micha's growth.

South Brunswick InterChurch Council:  The Lord's Food Pantry" (formerly called Food Pantry) - Seeking financial support to assist local community during this time of COVID-19;  prayer requested for all those participating recipients who receive food (names unspoken) & who are in need of prayer & God's touch.

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (Terry Maner):   Please remember Terry & his work with InterVarsity..  Please pray for the ongoing "replanting" work in which he is involved.  He is asking for specific prayer for 5 students & the CCU in general as well as opportunities to share the gospel with students on campus.  The staff recently participated in a "Spiritual Formation Retreat" that gave them opportunity to be refreshed and renewed in their spiritual lives.  Terry has asked for the Holy Spirit's continual covering and attuned to Spirit-led attentiveness to what God is doing in the lives of staff in the Carolinas region.