Near the Finished Line & Held by God's Perfect Love!

Juju walks by anything beautiful and always demands a picture!

Monday, August 25^th update

Today marks 23 days remaining until the end of treatment!

Dear Tribe,

Pinch me!!! I can’t believe I get to write these words — Julia is less than a month away from the end of treatment! It's been a journey filled with sorrow and joy, fear and faith, but through it all, we’ve witnessed God's incredible goodness. Her little chest carries a scar, but it also carries a powerful testimony of His faithfulness.

A couple weeks ago, Julia had her labs done without using her port for the first time. The first try was rough, but a kind nurse got it done nearly pain-free. From now on, this will be our new normal. Her results were perfect, giving us the green light for a little getaway to the beautiful House of Hope, hosted by Team NEGU.

This past Friday was her clinic visit and it aligned with Disney’s 70th anniversary tour at our hospital — she met Mickey & Minnie, and reunited with some of her amazing nurses from the inpatient hospital floor. Her port access was tough, but handled with care by our wonderful nurses, Juju had bad anxiety this time around. We’ve been referred to surgery for port removal (hopefully October or sooner) and may also review her leg scan for possible removal of the complex cyst. I’ll keep you posted.

Please continue to pray for Julia as she heals and matures — she’s now so in tune with what she needs and feels. A few new side effects have come to surface.

On a personal note, God has dealt kindly with me giving me below, lately I’ve felt fear creeping in as we near the end of treatment. While doing a Bible study this summer, this quote struck me deeply this past week:“Fears are wounds meant to be healed, not carried.” God reminded me that 'His perfect love casts out all fear '(1 John 4:18), and I’m choosing to let Him heal, not just survive.

I’ve also been encouraged by Joni Eareckson Tada, who reminds us that hardship grows compassion and draws us closer to God — not just to get through suffering, but to know Him more deeply through it. Also if you do not know who she is, her testimony is available on Prime, highly recommend. God is simply relentless in speaking what our hearts need to hear.

We’re incredibly grateful for your love, prayers, and support. Julia will be tunrnig six in September, and her last day of treatment is 9/18!Join us for her birthday + end-of-treatment celebration on Sunday, 9/21 — text me at (714) 402-1882 for details. We would love to have you celebrate with us.

See below video what Juju's been up to — her sass and joy are contagious!

"So be truly glad.^[b] There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world."

1 Peter 1:6-7

Our hope is in the Lord!