Update: June 13th

Good news, the majority of the tumors measured are shrinking.  None have grown, and only two have stayed the same.  The cancer started at the base of the esophagus, the primary tumor.  They are unable to evaluate any change to this tumor because the stent is pushing and distorting anything that would be measurable.  The stent is also allowing Jeff to eat anything he wants so we won't complain about it being difficult to measure.  Then the cancer is also in his lungs and lymph nodes.  Some of the lung tumors measured up to 50% decrease.  And a lymph node measured a 25% decrease.  This is called partial response and it is a very good sign that the targeted chemo approach is working.  We will continue the course and Jeff will have three more rounds, one every three weeks until this cycle is finished.  He will then do another scan late July and decide what is next.

 The news came much later than the three hours we anticipated.  We arrived in London and Jeff had a high fever.  An extra appointment was made, and he started emergency antibiotics.  By the next morning the fever had subsided and blood work looked good.  At 12:30 Jeff got the scan and the results were to be ready to go over with Dr. Gaya at 3:00.  At the 3 o' clock appointment we learned that the server went down after 12 pm, and that the scan was inaccessible.  Jeff's oncologist was also leaving for Tokyo the next morning.  We left knowing very little and waited for five days while his doctor tried his best to access the scans from Tokyo.  We got the email three days ago, the night before Jeff left for round 4 of chemo.  Our patience and trust muscles have to be getting a little bigger.
 We are rejoicing that the cancer is not spreading.  We are thankful that the majority of the tumors are shrinking.  Hopeful that this will continue to work and Jeff will continue to tolerate the daily grind of chemo pills, hiccups, stent pain, and fatigue.  Jeff has always been a long distance runner in life and relationships.  He stays the course through wind, snow, or rain.  Slow and patient, he wakes up and trudges through whatever the day and symptoms throw at him.  He long distance runs in ministry, friendships, and as a husband and father.  It really is a blessing especially when we see such a long road ahead of us.  I don't have a doubt that he will run it well depending on a big God who can do impossibly big things.

I am a sprinter by nature.  Man I can run fast, but for a very short time.  And then, hopefully when no one is looking, my knees buckle and I dry heave.  I feel like I have been sprinting for a really long time.  Once the recent good news came through, my legs buckled on the path.   It hasn't been pretty.  And chocking out, "Really, I am good, I just need more sleep maybe," while sucking in breath and sobs, does not convince people you are doing okay.  My faith this week feels small.  My stomach clenches the minute my eyes flutter open.  The confidence I had last week, last month, feels lost in the getting through of the days.  But I also stared at a mustard seed and reread Luke 17:6 over and over.  Thankful for a friend who was willing to spare a mustard seed and not think I am crazy.

When Jeff and I pray together we ask for God to heal Jeff's body but to also heal our hearts, and minds.  To change the way we see things.  When something like this hits, you see so clearly how the suffering of the heart and mind can wreak as much havoc as the suffering of the body.  We don't want to come out of this unchanged.  I pray our hearts will be stretched far wider.  And that our minds will dwell on truth instead of fear.  Both Jeff and I have spoken to so many people who have walked through the deep waters of illness, grief, and pain.  Some have walked it alone, and others have just begun.  I know even on the knee buckling days, God will use us.  Because He is faithful to waste nothing.  Not one once of getting it right or hopelessly wrong,  Not a bit of the walking it out gracefully or dry heaving on the side line is wasted.  Faith as small as a mustard seed will uproot fear and despair.

We are tired as we approach the end of our first year in Scotland.  But we are tired and hopeful.  There is still so much to be done between now and the next two months.  The grandmas come in ten days and we are so excited.  Thank you for continuing to stand with us.  The emails, letters, cards, blankets, lego sets, and prayers have encouraged us more than we could ever express.
                                                               Much love, Becca

Knights of the banquet table

A few weeks ago 6 godly men joined me in inviting my 3 sons into a process of knighthood.  5 of them flew across the Atlantic, some with spouses, some with families in tow, all for the sake of the most sacred moment of my life thus far as a father.  These were men that Becca and I prayerfully invited to join us in being committed to the boys for life. 2 uncles, 3 great friends from Culpeper days, and one great friend from Scotland days.  All men that the boys know well, and deeply love and respect.  All men that would drop anything to pray for them and be there for them.

The week before the ceremony I intentionally poured into the boys rather a multitude of others.  Following some ques from a book I was reading (Raising Modern Day Knights - Robert Lewis) this would take on the form of knighthood.  Where courage and bravery are lifted up alongside tenderness, self control and discipline.  I do not know what is in store for my boys or how long I will get to walk beside them.  This would be a step in the direction of equipping them for whatever was in store.

You see,  I lived the life of a knucklehead wandering teen, searching for life in all the wrong places.  Just as all things were falling apart and far before I had pulled anything together I was called by the unmistakable grace of Jesus.  I've since prayed for, sought out, and walked with teens that have all the wanderings and failings that I had.  I know the power of investing one simple life into another life.  Of men investing in the next generation of men.  I know that truly every boy and man has a deep soul longing for an adventure. A longing to live a life of freedom, a battle to fight, and a beauty to rescue.  I also know that without guidance, prayer, and community, these deep longings can hurtle off track like a runaway train destroying what they were intended to protect.

Following my diagnosis, this knights of the round table dream was birthed, not out of panic or desperation, but out of prayer, clarity, and with intention.  These men are not men who would replace me, but those who would join me.  This time was not a passing of torch, but a lighting of one.

And so we rented a castle for a day.  Really, its the only appropriate place for knighthood ceremonies.  No round table, but an amazing banquet table.  Gospel readers will appreciate this mixed metaphor.

And all of us men, families, spouses - played hide and seek in this elaborate castle, and we feasted, and we built a fire, and we laughed.

As our evening feast came to a close, we began the real reason for gathering. The feasting table became a ceremony table with 7 men who shared a specific scripture, a Godly characteristic, and prayer for each boy.  Can you imagine what that would be like for you?  No matter how old we are, to have multiple people you love and respect affirming who you are and who you will become - far past your projected versions of yourself, calling out your real identity in Christ?  I saw their chests puff out and their smiles widened as they felt the love and importance of the night.  They saw a glimpse of what it means to walk with men around them, not alone, but together, facing what is to come.  I wish it for you, to feel what we all felt that night.

The words of life will last.  The powerful prayers over each boy will last.  The memory of the ceremony will last.  More importantly the commitment to be involved for LIFE will last.  It will be a lifeline when trains jump the tracks or intentions fail, because both will happen.  My boys will not escape the heartache of mistakes and brokenness that we all are subject to.  What they will have are men who will remind them of God's love and grace.  That they are called to a far greater story.   And they will have men who will share the Gospel, the expulsive power of a greater affection.

You know what else will last?  Ginormous SWORDS!  Each boy, upon completion of the ceremony was awarded with a real Scottish claymore sword, taller than each of them, and sharpened for battle.  Of course the boys, (and really the older men as well) had to exercise discipline to not sword fight in the castle.  These swords will be a visual reminder for my boys of the ceremony - but they also know that they are not yet ready to wield this sword- it represents the MEN they are becoming.  The days when they truly become knights - shouldering the responsibilities of life, boldly trusting in Jesus, and protecting all of those entrusted to them.

Next week Becca and I will go to London to see if the Chemo treatments have been effective.  We know I have an aggressive, fast moving cancer.  We know it has spread to both lungs, my lymph nodes, and started in a tumor in my esophagus.  We know the time frame was less than a year without treatment.  But we also know that God numbers my days not man or disease.  We know that He is able to heal and restore what is broken not just in our hearts but in our bodies.  I also know that He gives grace no matter what the outcome is.  We are praying big prayers and hoping for amazing news on Thursday.  We have wonderful friends that will be watching the boys while we are away and we will get home in time to tuck them in Friday night.  Thank you for all the e-mails, video (what a video), cards, notes, and care packages.  You have made this fight a lot easier.  There is still so much to do and live out, and there are three knights to raise with Becca and a group of wonderful men standing with us.

In His grace alone, Jeff

To give thanks

8 hours of chemo in the IV, 112 chemo pills, scores of nausea pills, vitamins, and the occasional sleeping pill all in four weeks time.  Two times a day he sits at the kitchen table, pills lined up, fingers tapping as he wills another one down with a swig of gingered drink.  In a month I think back to all the family meals where he smiled and tried to eat a bite of what his boys inhaled at a speed only growing boys can accomplish.  Late mornings and early nights, the grey furred blanket wrapped around him tight.  You can get lost in the pill counting, hour counting, the blur of getting through another day, week, and round.  His hair will stay, and his crinkled eyed smile will also.  And apart from a much skinnier, more mellow Jeff, he still banters with the boys, and asks me how my heart is really doing.

One of the things we have changed in as a family is how much we give thanks.  Focusing on what has been given in the day instead of what feels taken.  We have always been thankful for our life here in Scotland.  But now we are saying them out loud.  A verbal record of the good and not just the hard. 

 A morning talk with mugs of tea between us.  Sipping and talking, lingering at the sunlit table after the line of pills has been swallowed.  

The days he feels well and comes down with his collar shirt buttoned, bag slung over a shoulder and keys in his hand ready to meet with students and leaders.  

The walk with Levi, their heads disappearing from my view from the kitchen window.  How is Levi almost as tall as the father that always towered above him? 

 Luke asking questions about prayer and love.  Jeff's brow knitting to match Luke as they talk.  Two thinkers trying to figure out life together.  

Ian rushing in to show dad his latest drawing, Lego build, or story.  He reminds me often that he is not my son, only dad can call him son, but I can call him my Ian.    

YL Open Mic Night in St.Andrews.  Students singing, staff friends helping, and leaders shining.

A date night filled with fancy food and sharing our hearts, remembering, and hoping together.

Lion King on family movie night.  I left during the sad parts, Ian yelling after that the sad parts aren't that sad because it is all about love and the circle of life.  

  Shoulders that are still broad to lean on, a hand that engulfs mine in its grasp.

We are noticing the flowers blooming, and grass changing to the brightest green.  

The people surrounding our days, the ones that spill out love, and encouragement, and prayers.  

There is so much more to count.  To recall and to thank God for everything we have been given is impossible. But our humble attempts are shaping our hearts in a season we did not expect.

Jeff got back from round two late Saturday night.  His best friend from High School, Nick, flew out to be with him this time.  What a gift we have in friendships.  Jeff seems to be tolerating this round better than last.  Though trying to explain his days is like trying to describe the ocean in one word.  What could be still and calm in the morning can turn into foam topped waves by midday.  And so this morning was good.  And good for this morning meant that Jeff played Uno with the older boys and connect four with Ian even though he was fatigued and achy.  Good was that he ate two eggs, baked beans, and black pudding for breakfast and he didn't feel like he would lose it later.  Good is him now sleeping soundly upstairs as I type this.  And good later today would be that he can send out some e-mails and make some phone calls before three boys bound into the office to talk of their latest adventures.

This week when people ask how things are, I say our feet have finally found the ground again.  We are moving forward expecting a good God to give exactly what we will need for each moment of each day.  We are laughing, crying, and praying together more than ever before.  And we know God will accomplish more than we could ever ask or hope for in this season.  

In a week in a half we will have two uncles, one aunt, two nieces, and five other close friends come to our little village to love on  Jeff and the boys.  Jeff had a great idea when all of this hit that is now being put into action and I can't wait to share it with you as it unfolds.  

Thank you for all the love and prayers.  Thank you for walking with us as we thank God for the beautiful gifts along this hard road. 

Love, Becca

After the Wave

When the giant wave pulled back into the sea, and the knowledge of Jeff's condition settled into our mind and hearts, we were grateful for the enormous amount of prayers being offered up on our behalf.  We have swam through debris and dark waters these past few weeks.  Questions, decisions, next steps, sickness, and treatment options swirled around us as we tried to figure how to communicate to the boys and each other.  How to begin to move forward.  In the beginning it was hard not to despair.  A second opinion in London gave the same options, the same time lines.  Reality sunk deep into our bones and each morning we had to realize again that this is the path we will now walk.

Jeff would ask if I was afraid, and I wasn't, friends asked if I was angry, and I felt no anger.  We read countless articles, books, and emails filled with options and opinions.  Many of them helped.  We are both art majors but I am pretty sure we could minor in Cancer treatments and nutrition.  We choose to go with the targeted Chemo treatment, Herceptin, Xeloda, and Cisplatin.  That along with diet, vitamins, and essential oils.  We also decided to start treatment in London for now.  They were able to start immediately and use better diagnostics and genetic testing for future treatment options.     

Jeff made the appointment for the first round of testing and Chemo resulting in a five day visit to London just as friends were arriving from America.  Luke and Levi became sick and fevers came back every night as I kept them upstairs and hydrated.  Ian then came down with high fevers and my heart broke.  Sickness surrounded us.  I jumped from boy to boy to boy and Jeff called a dear friend Will to see if he could meet him in London instead.  The day before Jeff left I felt fear and anger begin to swell for the first time.  I sent out messages to friends asking for an SOS prayers.  I didn't sleep and Ian didn't get better.  I called a friend the day Jeff left to and blurted out my brokenness, my fears.  I asked why God would send His children out to battle naked and bruised.  I couldn't see the good God I knew.  

And this is why I know we are not meant to walk this alone.   With gentle, bold words of truth she said it is not God who seeks to steal, destroy, or kill.  That our God is called Healer, Life giver, Comforter, Prince of Peace,  Provider, and Creator.  I hung up and helped Jeff pack for the train.  Our neighbors came to watch the boys as I drove him to the station and said goodbye.  Each day Jeff was gone Ian became more sick as the older boys slowly recovered.  Our friends visiting took Luke and Levi on adventures while I watched Ian and prayed for a heart that trusts.  Ian's fever broke for the final time the night before Jeff got home.  I scrubbed all surfaces and washed all sheets.  My heart softened and the fear subsided.  

A couple from church are letting us stay in their cabin on the Isle of Arran this week.  The boys are on their second week off of school for spring break.  We are soaking up the beautiful views and surroundings.  We go on walks when Jeff is feeling up for it and we watch movies and build with legos when he is not.  We are learning to take each moment as it comes and to trust the One who gives them.  We are not grieving the future or the unknown.  We may grieve small moments in the day, but we will not grieve what has yet to happen.  We will live fully each day given, even if that day is filled with "Natigue", our new word for when Jeff feels both nauseous and fatigued.  I honestly can't imagine what this season would be like without all the prayers and words of truth and encouragement.  We are not meant to walk alone and we are so grateful for the many many people that are walking with us.  Love, Becca

Update, 28/3/15

I keep hearing my dad's voice saying, "He doesn't trick His children Becca.  He doesn't give them snakes and rocks instead of fish and bread.  He is good, He has never let me down even in my darkest hours.  He has never abandoned me.  He has a plan and it is good, trust Him."  He repeated this through the whole process of going overseas, when the doors to Spain closed, when we had to come back for visas, when his health was failing...this is what I would hear.  

When Jeff and I sat in the small office and we heard the words cancer, terminal, spread to lungs a tsunami hit.  And we knew even then that this tsunami would cause a thousand waves into the hearts and minds of the people we love most.   We still wake each night and morning in a free fall.  Stomach tightening as we remember again and again where we are, what path we are now walking.  We move from despair to hope over and over.  

The outpouring of love and support is overwhelming.  On days when the path feels too hard to walk we pour over the songs, scripture, and all the love written out.  And little by little we are sharing with the boys the messages.  One night as Luke tossed and turned in bed I went in to talk.  He started with "Mom, can I ask you a question?"  Sure I said, bracing for the hard.  "Do you ever doubt God?  I mean with all the stuff that has happened this year, do you ever want to ask why me, why us?" But here is the beauty in the hard.  We began to list all of the things we had been given this year alone and by the time we got to this past week it was easier to see a good God, a kind Father.   We have a rule right now that every time they ask something about the cancer, future, or our faith we will answer them.  Even if the answer is hard or it is that we don't know.  But every single answer, even the I don't knows, are bookended with our great love for them.  How we would give anything for them to know they were created in love and with purpose.  And that our love is a thimble full compared to the vast ocean of God's love.  And each time we speak this truth to them, we feel it  grow deeper in our own hearts.

Jeff and I were flown to London this past week to get more testing and a second opinion.  Jeff also got tested for HER2.  This is a protein in cancer cells that make it very aggressive and fast growing.  I had a feeling Jeff would test positive because of how quickly the doctors think it has spread.  We found out last night that he did test HER2 positive.  This will change his treatments to a much more targeted one.  We are very confident that for the time being we are to stay in Scotland and that he is to start HCX as soon as possible.  We are grateful the other option of basic chemotherapy (EOX) is now off the table.  This new combination has way fewer side affects and he is hoping to continue doing what he does best.  We have had to make a lot of decisions and more are to come as we walk this out.  Please keep praying for wisdom in all of these areas.  We are surrounded by an incredible local community here that have been the hands and feet in so many ways.  And the prayers and encouragement from the state side community has held us up in  these last two weeks when we were ready to wave the white flag.

We have read every email, text, and face book message.  There is not nearly enough time with three life loving boys to be able to respond  to them all just now,  Each one has left of a mark on our hearts and helped bring light into dark parts.  Thank you.
Ian's favorite song right now is You Make Beautiful Things, by Gungor.  Each night after prayers he asks if we can sing it together.  The first few nights I couldn't, but he kept asking.  We always start quietly and end up yelling it more than singing it on the last go.  While I was typing this earlier he made a video of himself singing it much to my delight.  Now you can sing along with us!  We are trusting that He will make beautiful things out of dust, beautiful things out of us.
Love, Becca

Update: March 20th, 2015

     I have not written since going home to be with my dad to be with him as he passed from earth into heaven.  I wanted to process with family and friends and not broadcast that part of the journey.  God is good and walked with me through grief and deeper trust.  I write now because we know we can't walk this path alone.  We would love your prayers.  We still trust in a good God who created us in love and with a purpose.  Here is an e-mail Jeff sent out yesterday.  The news about Jeff is still fresh as we process this with each other and the boys.  Please know we will read every e-mail and message sent, we may just not be able to respond to them each day.  Ian is learning to ride a bike today and we are then heading to the new Young Life camp for a work crew weekend.  Life is as full as ever as we move forward.  Love, Becca

Hi friends.  Team Stables is in shock.  You should probably not write group emails to faithful friends and supporters while you are in shock, but here I am doing it.

Wednesday I was diagnosed with stage 4 Esophageal cancer.  Its worked its way into the lungs and is considered incurable.  So we are weighing options about palliative care treatment (slowing it, and managing pain etc)   The Lord is allowing us to get second and third opinions from some of the best in the world.  The survival times for this type are measured in months not years, but all the averages are based on 70 year olds so nobody really knows.

But I know a guy.  His name is Jesus.  We are welcoming all prayers.  Especially the absolutely ridiculous ones.

For now, the plan is to stay in Scotland and continue ministry.  In addition to your prayers we would love for you to continue your financial support.  You can pray for the timing of possible trips home to see family and friends.  

This isnt how I would have written the story.  But the writer always makes sure He gets glory in the end.  The good news is still good news, and its still the most real reality.  Im anxious to see the ways He intends to use this part of our story.  

My health is good right now.  I got in 12 miles running last week.  If Im honest, Im scared of the breakdown of the body.  Whole new appreciation for the faith and courage required in those seasons by so many of the saints that have gone before us.

I would ask for special prayer for my Luke, Levi and Ian and my precious wife Becca.  I know God will provide for them in so many different ways.  We will continue to update you as plans settle into place and treatment plans are chosen.  One thing we are grateful for is the authentic community of friends the Lord has surrounded us with here, and the amazing family and friends in the states.

If you choose to respond with encouraging words/prayers etc please know that we will read them and be blessed.  I may not be able to respond to all of them, as we are in a pretty intense season.

Time to go 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu man chu.

In Christ,

Jeff Stables

Young Life International

NE Fife Scotland

Area Director

Madras College Chaplaincy

07477 134921

ylinternational.org 

Sufficient Grace

This week did not fly by like the others.  It clunked and clawed and left muddy footprints through the days.  Just when you think you have the steps memorized, have the rhythm worked out you end up on a dance floor without a clue what to do.

Friday though Sunday Jeff was away speaking at a camp with 48 kids from different Young Life areas in Scotland.  In America I would have stopped the juggling act of different hats to go with him.  Giving the mom hat to a grandma to wear and donning only a ministry one.  Here, we aren't quite at the place were we can leave three life loving boys with someone else for more than a couple hours.  So, I stayed and prayed for the kids and leaders instead.  The boys and I took trips to the forest, did Saturday football and visited the Dundee Science museum.  Those are the things I take pictures of to remember and share with family back home.  And on homesick days we sometimes go through the virtual photo album on my phone.  On the hard days, the remembering is so important.

Jeff came home on Sunday evening.  In time to go to our dear neighbor's funeral on Monday.  The neighbor with twinkling eyes, and  knowing smile.  The one that shared a similar story to my dad.  And clouds formed in my heart and head that seemed to muddle all the good things that are given each day.  The things I can usually see and give thanks for.

Jeff left again long before the sun came up Tuesday.  This time for an all staff conference in England.  Another thing in America and with the help of grandma's I would have gone to.  And now Thursday night, the week almost complete I am surrounded by the balls I have dropped.  Two sick kids, three very important phone calls missed, late to pick up Ian twice, late to pick up Levi once, and a parking ticket today.  Laundry is still sitting in piles and dishes have yet to be washed and put away in the same day.  The desk I paint at has sat empty and I have eaten scones almost every day (my new comfort food).

Hours ago I sat down defeated, and pulled up the photos.  Ian sitting next to me and put out a finger to slide the pictures one by one.  By the fifth picture Levi stopped playing Legos and came over to see, and not long after Luke leaned over to get a look also.  The pictures start with all of us standing in front of the mountain of luggage we had packed to move here.  Ian slid his finger past our first weeks here, walking and exploring.  Past our first trips to Dundee, and Perth.  Through the countless playgrounds and forests trips. Their school, and new friends, the Monday night group of Young Life kids, and night of fireworks with neighbors.  He slowed as he reached to the last ones taken.  The trip to the bay.

I had forgotten I had even taken him there after school on Tuesday.  I forgotten I had snapped pictures and then given him the phone to capture images.  My heart and head were still heavy.  Heavy with Ian's questions of why did God have to make germs and sickness anyway.  If He was God why didn't He make the world where people didn't get sick and die?

But the trip to the bay quieted the questions of why for both of us.  I didn't know I was about to flop through the week in a clumsy dance.  In those pictures I clearly remembered how amazing an artist God is.  That in one rain dropped leaf I see more evidence of God than a thousand answered questions.  The goodness of God is surrounding us, His gifts are given daily.  I just can't always see them as clearly.  My kitchen still holds the treasures of the trip.  Sandy stones, and sticks still drying out, bit of bark and a twig of berries to draw later.  The phone flashed low battery and the boys dispersed, Ian saying, "I love our life, and I love when you are late to pick me up because it means I get to look at books!"  Learning to thank God for the days I know the dance and the days I stumble through in His grace.

Jesus  -- "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  2 Cor 12:9