Yesterday (Monday) Anya had her second visit to the clinic. They accessed the port on her chest and gave her a dose of chemotherapy (Vincristine). They also withdrew blood to do lab work on and found that all of her good blood counts (healthy white cells, platelets, and hemoglobin) continue to rise and demonstrate that as the leukemia is killed the blood is replacing it with healthy cells. We will have her next bone marrow aspirate this coming Monday and the doctors fully expect for her leukemia blast count to be under 5%.

Anya continues to be very moody, frustrated, and demanding throughout the day, all of which are attributed to the steroids. It is certainly a test of patience and a challenging journey, but God is giving us the strength to continue. She does seem to improve a little each day, her mobility has increased, she's more interactive at times, and her bowels are moving regularly which is a significant answer to prayers. We were also blessed today by the arrival of some of our things from our house in Kansas City. A couple in our church that lives here in the Toledo area picked up some stuff when they were in Kansas City at the COG7 Convention this past week and brought them to us. It's so nice to have more of our things here. I (Israel) will be travelling to KC next week for a few days to pack up some more stuff and drive it up here in our other car.

We are so incredibly grateful to the many, many people who have surrounded us and lifted us up with thier prayers, cards, gifts, and support. We are still hopeful that God will work a miraculous healing in our daughter's body. Like the man who encountered Jesus we say, "Lord, we believe, heal our unbelief!" At the same time we are seeking to learn from and listen to God in the midst of this trial and trust that in all things, even this terrible thing, God will work all things for the good because we love Him and called according to His purpose. Please pray not only that Anya would be healed, but that we would come to know Jesus more intimately through this experience. Thank you again for all you have done to pass God's love on to us!

(And thank you to those who bought the hats for Anya...we appreciate it!)