Dad, Cancer, Suffering and Healing

When talking with a close friend today about some of my recent Christian journey, my Dad briefly came up in the conversation. I was reminded of my Dad's recent battle with cancer, and how he allowed this season of suffering to transform his relationship with God and others. The following excerpts - taken from a sermon delivered in August 2007, after Dad's cancer had cleared - illustrate how Dad responded to the challenge of living with cancer. For me, these excerpts reveal a man of deep character, who has faithfully walked with God for about sixty years; and whom God has used to touch many lives. When God brings all things to fufilment in Christ, many will be eternally grateful for this man. Dad - you have been (and still are) an awesome father, mentor and friend. I love you! Nathan.

If there is one word that would describe my response and personal feelings in this whole experience [of having cancer], it would be the word GRATITUDE. Gratitude first of all to God and then gratitude to people. Hence this service today to express that gratitude.

I thank God for the privilege of having had this cancer. In particular that it was Lymphatic Cancer, for as the surgeon explained, if it had been any other type, I would have been dead within two months. I didn’t think I would ever be saying, “Praise God, I’ve got Lymphatic Cancer.” Let me explain. The bible sees suffering for a Christian as a gift, a privilege. Paul writes in Philippians 1:29 “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but suffer for his sake.” A Modern paraphrase of the bible puts it like this, “There’s also suffering for him. And this suffering is as much a gift as the trusting.”

Why has it been a privilege for me? There are several good reasons. First of all, the actual suffering has made more real to me the goodness and power of God. Secondly, God has made me see afresh the importance of people. That people are more important than things. To see people, including members of my own family, in a different light. To appreciate their ‘positives’ far more, and how God is working in and through them. Thirdly, to appreciate in a deeper way my own mortality, and the reality for the Christian of life after death.

I have a profound gratitude to God for Chrissie in this experience. Because in a very real way this journey along the Lymphatic Cancer Road, has been as much her journey as mine. To be frank, the journey without her companionship, emotional and practical support would have been extremely difficult. Sadly, for other cancer sufferers, their spouse or partner, for various reasons, has been unable to support this, and their journey has been a lonely and difficult one. I’ve been very fortunate.

I’m so grateful to God for a whole range of people, here, and in other parts of the world, who have helped Chrissie and me in our cancer road journey. Family, friends, fellow parishioners, ex-parishioners, nurses, doctors, physiotherapists, fellow model engineers, and a whole lot of people I don’t even know about. Each one of you here this morning has been part of that journey and I want to say a sincere thank you.

Two bible verses have meant much to me in my cancer journey. The first one says, That God will do exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask or think. Certainly that has proved true as regards my healing from cancer. The other verse is a promise given to Joshua when he took over leadership from Moses who had died. “As I was with Moses so I shall be with you.” I’ve claimed that as God’s promise to me too.

I’ve been journeying with Jesus almost sixty years. Apart from marrying Chrissie, the most important decision was to bring Jesus on board into my life. I can honestly say in all situations he’s turned up trumps. It doesn’t mean life has always been rosy, but it has meant he’s always been with me and seen me through. Peter Marshall of Man Called Peter fame had a prayer part of which goes like this:- “Our Christianity is no insurance policy against trouble but rather the guarantee that you will always be with us in the trouble.”

Let me close with a quote from a friend who has cancer. “I want to live while I’m dying. Not die while I’m living.”

Nathan's Birthday

A lovely week was capped off celebrating Nathan’s birthday. The pictures speak for themselves! He was truly blessed. Thank you to those who sent birthday wishes from NZ.

Now the “fun and games” begin as we enter the final weeks of the semester, finishing assignments, preparing for exams, etc. Please pray for us and our Regent friends!!!

Bronwyn's scrummy eats

Friends celebrating...

Trying to get a kiss on camera...

We did it!

Church and lunch with Bronwyn, April and Claire

US Thanksgiving

Thursday 22 November was US Thanksgiving. We were very privileged to be invited by our dear friend April from Regent to share Thanksgiving with her and some of her extended family.

On Wednesday we drove from Vancouver to Yakima, Washington. Along the way we stopped for lunch in Mount Vernon with Marq and Marlene (April’s friends), read some of the Old Testament (required reading for one of our courses), engaged in good conversation (talking is never difficult for some of us…), and admiring the scenery (which at times was breath taking). When we arrived Wednesday night we were a little tired, but started the festivities with a lovely dinner.

The next morning Bronwyn and April awoke early to cook the Thanksgiving turkey. In between bastings, we watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade on TV. We then had a beautiful Thanksgiving lunch, with 23 people around the table! Amazing! (Mum McLellan – think those huge family Christmas Dinners!). As if the Thanksgiving Dinner wasn’t enough, before hitting the road on Friday morning, we were fortified by a scrummy breakfast! We would later need this for the longish border crossing

Such a treasured time for us both! People graciously opened their hearts and homes to us, especially Don and Julie (April’s Uncle and Aunt) with whom we stayed, and Florence (Don’s mother) who graciously hosted the festivities. We were so blessed to have been invited by April. We hope to one day return the blessings when she visits us in the Land of the Long White Cloud (NZ).

Here are some of our favourite pictures from the trip. The rest of the pictures can be seen on our web album: http://picasaweb.google.com/n.b.mclellan/ThanksgivingInYakima07

The Rev. Natasha Glenderran

Deacons in the Church of God serve in the name of Christ, and so remind the whole Church that serving is essential to all ministry. They have a special responsibility to ensure that those in need are cared for with Christlike compassion and humility. When called upon to do so, they may baptise, preach and give instruction in the faith. When the people are gathered for worship, deacons are authorised to read the Holy Scriptures, lead the prayers, and distribute the bread and wine of Holy Communion.

These words from the NZ Prayer Book would have been said to our friend Natasha, as she was ordained a deacon on Saturday 24 November. Because we both feel Natasha's journey to ordination has been partly our journey as well, a journey in which she has had to hold tenaciously on to God, we both felt sad that we were unable to be there. But we did share in her joy from a distance! We were also very pleased to see that someone had updated the name plate on her door to reflect her new 'reverential' status!

The other day in class, I (Nathan) took my pocket New Testament from my bag (yes - theological students do read the Bible!), where it fell open at the 'presentation' page. I was reminded that Natasha gave me this New Testament as a birthday presentation in 1999. This got me thinking about all the immense ways God has blessed Bron and me through Natasha. Natasha - you have been a loyal, wise, open and loving friend. We are both deeply grateful to God for you! And we both pray that as you enter this new phase in your ministry, that God will continue to richly bless others through you!

Canadian Thanksgiving Day

On October 8th, Canada celebrated Thanksgiving Day. This is officially, if not always in practice, "[a] Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed … to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October." We got into the spirit of the celebration when we realised we'd invited a couple for dinner that day! As it turned out, they were ill and cancelled at the last minute, so a quick email around resulted in Claire joining us for dinner instead.

For our yummy dinner we ate:

roast chicken with cranberry sauce(the turkeys are 4 times the size!), roast sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and green beans. For dessert we had pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and we drank ginger ale (Canada Dry) and apple juice. Yes, we did want to have a snooze after all this food!

This day also marked the start of our first Reading Week. We did some solid work that week, in between a bit of socialising (and depression about our workload and the rugby!). Mid-week we devoured another big dinner - this time a NZ leg of lamb, expertly roasted by Claire. Here we are at her house with her housemates and friends. (From the front: Ginny [new Regent NZer], Bronwyn, Claire [NZ]; Middle: Sheila [England], April [USA/honorary NZer!], Sharon [Sth Africa], Nathan; and back, Jonny [Scotland]; Tim [USA] was at work.)

We ended the week on Galiano Island, of the coast, where we helped cater lunch and snacks for the faculty retreat. It was great interacting with some of the faculty in a different setting from college. The island was very green, and reminded us a bit of NZ (but with different trees, of course). Here are some shots of the views we had from our accommodation and workspaces.

Regent Retreat

Two weeks into the new term, we headed down to Warm Beach Conference Centre, Washington, USA, for the annual Regent College Retreat - a bit like church camp. We had no problems crossing the border (those visas are starting to reap dividends) and had a very pleasant journey with our friend Amy. Some parts of the journey were like travelling through the pine-forested areas of NZ, though on wider roads. The retreat location was lovely, although not warm and more of an estuary than a beach!

Some new experiences included seeing a bald eagle (sorry, the camera wasn't at hand) and eating 'smores' (below). The centre holds a Christmas light display each year so they were just starting to put up strings of lights (also below). Another new experience, was having meals served to us at our tables, rather than the long queues usually associated with catering for 100+ people in this kind of setting!

The program was balanced between community, teaching and free time. It was a good chance to interact with faculty members and other students. A highlight was the talent show - the calibre of acts was high and the staff items were particularly entertaining. Our only criticism is that the retreat didn't really allow for study time so the last two weeks we have been frantically trying to catch up on reading, etc. So that's what Reading Week is for, we guess!

Blackberries and Books

That last post seems so long ago!

We have enjoyed the 'end-of-summer weather' which had very little rain and lots of sun, but that is now over by the looks of things. The fall/autumn has been noticeable, with some of the trees starting to lose their leaves and turning beautiful shades of gold and red. Yesterday saw the first dusting of snow on the mountains, and there was a definite nip in the air. The rain has been more regular in the last week. This is the Vancouver we remember!

We spent the time before classes started walking to the beach, catching up with friends, blackberrying and getting ahead in our reading. We helped out with orientation week (for new students) and have made lots of new friends (as well as caught up with the 'old'.

We have just finished our first four weeks of classes and feel TIRED. We are well and truly into study again. This weekend marks the beginning of our first Reading Week - not a holiday... we really need it for reading!

So what are our courses this term?
Nathan:
*Old Testament Foundations - a survey of OT themes, and features of each book (to add to the NT course last semester)
*Christian Thought & Culture 1 (CTC1)- an interdisciplinary course covering theological, cultural, societal and other developments from the time of the Early Church to the Reformation
*Introductory Greek 1 - beginning to learn the language of the New Testament
*History of Christianity 1 - also covering the Early Church to the Reformation (to supplement the History 2 course last semester)

Bronwyn:
*Old Testament Foundations - as above (also adding to NT last term)
*CTC1 - as above
*Christian Education & Equipping - evaluating and developing education materials for discipleship

Some of our other responsibilities include Nathan being on the "Living Well" committee, a student & faculty group that promotes balanced living and student welfare; and Bronwyn has a part-time job doing catering for faculty functions and meetings. (See the BroNZ Bitz link at the side if you want to see more about her job and general musings.) We are very busy this term!

Wish You Were There

We have just got back to Vancouver after spending Monday to Friday on Vancouver Island with our friends, Claire and April. We rented a cottage in East Sooke, on the south-western coast of the island.

We were blessed with an free upgrade to a fabulous place, overlooking Sooke Harbour, right on the waterfront - a great deal for us students! It had a hot-tub and a private wharf (if we'd had our own fishing boat) as well as a wonderful house with almost all the mod cons. (I say "almost" because I went to use the hand-held electric beater to whip some cream but could only find 1 of the 2 whisks to put in it. I burnt off the calories from the cream as I whipped it by hand with a whisk!!!) The highlight was really being right on the waterfront. We spotted purple sea-stars (a bit like soft looking starfish), lots of crabs, a fish or two, a sea lion or seal, and had daily visits from a heron, who sat on a rock in our little cove to fish every time the tide turned.

We spent Tuesday in Victoria. We saw the government buildings (it is the provincial capital), had some great fish'n'chips, ate a "Canada Cone" (an icecream with cream and strawberries on top), wandered the streets, and watched an IMAX film on an African safari. Victoria is very "English-looking", and had multiple statues of Capt. James Cook, who claimed Victoria Island for the British in 1769 (or thereabouts!)

We spent Wednesday at the famous Butchart Gardens. The sunken garden and dahlia display were particularly spectacular. It was a hot day (in the 30s celcius) and it was great eating a picnic lunch in the shade of a tree on the grass. We even met a NZ couple from Lower Hutt as we wandered around!

We celebrated April's 33rd birthday on the 30th of August. We surprised her with balloons, party hats and candles in her breakfast pancakes. It was hard to keep a straight face during some "serious theological discussions" later in the day when we had these ridiculous hats on! Otherwise we rested, had soaks in the hot-tub, and taught Claire and April to play the card game 500.

Another highlight of our week away was establishing a "Kiwi-American Dictionary" with April. As the 3 Kiwis chatted, April would pipe up "I'll add that one to the list!" We ate 'hamburger'/beef mince, wore our flipflops/jandals, and wore our swimmers/togs in the hot-tub. It was against Nathan's instincts to eat Jif peanut butter, especially when he found some Vim (which looked remarkably like NZ's Jif cleaner) in the cupboard too!

Overall it was a fantastic week. You can see plenty more photos if you click on the link at the side. Now we need to slough off the holiday thinking and get ready for college.

Catching Up

Since we've been back in Canada we seem to be "catching up" with our friends all over the place! The last few weeks have been a diary full of dinners, visits and "popping up to college".

We enjoyed a beautiful meal at Soohwan's during our first week, before she flew back to Japan and South Korea to visit family and friends. Soohwan made yummy bread and raspberry bars for dessert. All of us (McLellans, Claire, April, and Holly) had a great time.

Later that week, our friend Jodie had her first baby. She was in labour for FOUR days and had to have an emergency C-section in the end. Wes, her husband, says she was really worried later that she had been rude to the anaesthatist - even though she had spoken politely and thanked him as he'd left! Another example of Canadians being thoroughly nice! Here is the beautiful Smith family (Wes, Jodie, and 2-day-old Synova Josephine) when Bronwyn and some others visited them in the hospital.

Last weekend we went to a birthday party for Cora, daughter of our friends David & Megan. Cora was turning one so she had fun eating cake, tasting her first hotdog, discovering presents, and generally being the centre of attention. We are told Cora also took her first steps after the guests had left!

On Tuesday we had dinner at Claire's, along with April and Sheila (Claire's house-mate), where we planned our upcoming trip to Vancouver Island. You'll be sure to see more about this in a later post!

We also have had time to catch up with Esther, Ben & Jen, Leonard, Susannah (thanks for the dahlias), the Yeohs, and the Lims at various times. We'll be seeing plenty of others soon too.

Our most recent visitor has the honour of being our first non-Vancouverite visitor. Nathan's second cousin, Rebekah(Bex) Murch, was staying with a friend in the city and came out to spend yesterday with us. She has been nannying in south London in the past year, and spent her summer as a camp counsellor in a christian camp near Chicago. We took her out to visit Jericho and Locarno Beaches for an iceblock/ice lolly/ice stick, and had long chats about family and the joys of being New Zealanders in other cultures (e.g. the difference between UK and NZ marmites).

The (Long) Story of a Handmade Quilt

Towards the end of our first semester in Vancouver I (Bronwyn) took a study break and wandered up to visit the (dangerously tempting) quilt shop nearby. After rummaging through the remnant bins I left the shop with $20-worth of various flannelette off-cuts and the beginnings of a plan to make a quilt!

Due to lack of a sewing machine, my idea was to hand-sew a lap quilt from these scraps so I could use it to keep warm when I sit and study. Nathan has encouraged me to document the quilt-making process so you can all vicariously share its warmth. So here goes...

After washing and drying all the fabric (so it won't shrink if washed in the future) I cut hundreds of 2.5 inch squares from it.

Then I tacked (used big stitches to secure) the fabric squares around a paper template - in my case some 2 inch square post-it notes!

When all my remnants (plus a few from my friend, Holly) were converted to 284 little stiff squares my desk wasn't really conducive to much study anymore. The squares were set aside until the end of the semester!

When I picked them up again, I spread the squares randomly on the floor and decided I needed a background fabric. From there, I manoeuvred the squares into a checkerboard formation with a large feature square at each corner. I then recorded this pattern on a piece of paper to maintain the "random" placement of colours.

With Holly, I hunted in fabric stores across Vancouver for a background colour to blend in with the existing fabric. I think we walked 5km that day and bussed a fair few more! The expedition was ultimately successful, as we found the perfect solution at a bargain fabric shop after a tip from a teenage boy on one of the buses. He didn't look like the type who quilted!

283 khaki-striped squares tacked to post-its later, we were back in NZ. I was ready to start sewing the pieces together! This involved putting the right sides of two tacked squares facing each other. Then I sewed along one side of the squares, joining them by catching together just the fabrics (not the paper inside) with my needle and thread. When folded open the squares were joined. Another square was put right side to one of the joined squares, and another seam sewn. When each square was completely surrounded by other squares, the tacking stitches were removed and the paper pulled out.

As our months in Wellington passed, in between teaching jobs and socialising, the joined squares came to resemble the pattern I had noted on paper back in Vancouver. Technically I was only doing the patchwork - joining the patches together. By the end of June, with the addition of a strip of background fabric on each side, the patchworked quilt top was finished. That was a good feeling!

A further shopping expedition resulted in the purchase of some batting (the fluffy polyester filling) and a large piece of black flannelette for the reverse side of the quilt. Here you can see the white batting overhanging from the edge of my quilt.

Quilting is the act of binding the three layers (top, batting, and backing) together. Initially this is also done with long tacking stitches, just to hold the layers together while a more intricate pattern is stitched. I chose to stitch a circle around each of the coloured squares, not the background fabric ones - I'm not a glutton for punishment! Here you can see the white paper circle I pinned on to guide my stitches.

It was easier to stitch when the layers of fabric and batting were taut, so I used a giant embroidery hoop to hold them in place. I got pretty fast at completing each circle - I think about 8 minutes was my best time. It was a good activity to have while we had long conversations with our parents in Palmerston North and Feilding during July. I had hoped to have finished this stage by the time we left NZ but I didn't quite make it. With less than 20 circles to quilt, it was packed in our suitcase again.

Back in Vancouver the summer weather put me off for a few days. It sure gets warm under a quilt when you're sewing! When I'd acclimatised, I finished the circles and began sewing some satin blanket ribbon around the edge of the quilt, still binding the layers together. Here you can see the post-it note I used as a guide to try to keep the border an even width.


Eventually, the quilt was quilted and the satin binding was attached. At last the tacking threads that had initially bound the layers of the quilt together were removed.



The next step was to cut off the excess batting and backing fabric.

Then I folded the ribbon over the raw edges and attached it to the back of the quilt, trying to hide any unsightly stitches!


Here is a picture of a corner, showing some detail of the more decorative circle stitching on the feature square, as well as the ribbon binding.




Nathan insisted on taking a picture of the very last stitch!




Of course, a quilt isn't finished until it is signed and dated. Again you can see the decorative quilting in the corner.

And here is the well-travelled finished product out in the summer sunshine in our Vancouver backyard. Now the quilt is neatly folded up on our couch, waiting for some cooler weather to prompt me to snuggle up in its warmth. If you've managed to read the whole of this blog-post, you'll be feeling some of the relief I felt at finally finishing my project!

The only problem is that now Nathan is wanting me to finish the first quilt project I started... perhaps when a study break is needed... you know, quilts do fly!