August 10, 2006

From the Desk of Don C. Schneider. . . .

Feel free to share this information.

1. The Voice of Prophecy has just released a new Bible Course for
kids called Kid Zone.

2. Bill Miller, president of the Minnesota Conference, has accepted
the call to become the president of the Potomac Conference, replacing
Dale Weigley who has become the Columbia Union Conference president.

3. This week, over 6,000 Adventist K-12 teachers from the North
American Division have been in Nashville for a teachers convention.

4. Report from Jere and Sue Patzer:

On Thursday, July 27, I had my mid-term CT scan. Realizing the
significance of this, Sue and I were understandably anxious on the days
leading up to it. But God again gave us His peace and we went in with
the attitude of Daniel's three friends, The God we serve is able to
save us from the fire but if He chooses not to we will still serve Him
(Daniel 3:17, 18 paraphrase).

On Tuesday, August 1, Doctor Nichols shared with me the CT scan
results. His conclusion was, "You couldn't have asked for a more
favorable outcome. All evidence points to the fact that the disease is
rapidly on the run. Your spleen is back to normal, all lymph nodes are
normal, and we no longer see Mantle Cells in your blood. We couldn't
be happier." We aren't just happy, we are ecstatic!

As you may recall, the treatment regime I am on calls for eight
treatment cycles with each cycle lasting 21 days. On July 31, I was back
in OHSU for treatment number five, which means, after this current
cycle, there are just three of these cycles left. As Doctor Nichols
said, "With current technology we can't tell that every cancer cell
is gone at this stage." So it is still a long journey with possible
bumps along the way (as evidenced by a temperature spike last week that
resulted in an unscheduled weekend in the hospital). But we believe a
favorable end is now in sight!

Sue and I rejoice that God has seen fit to give us my life back. We are
so appreciative of your support and prayers, and of course we are most
grateful for cutting-edge medical science.

Our prayers at the earlier anointing session may not have been answered
in as immediate and dramatic way as we would have liked but in His way
and time they are clearly being answered. And in the meantime we are
trying not to "waste the suffering." We know you will rejoice with us
in these latest developments.

We claim the text that, ". . . He who has begun a good work in you
will carry it on to completion . . ." (Philippians 1:6 NIV). Thank
you for your ongoing prayers that His good work will be completed in the
next few months.

Jere

Jere got home from the hospital Monday evening, August 7, from
treatment #5. He is doing great--looks great, and now we hope for 2
weeks of uneventful convalescence before treatment #6.

Sue