Don't Forget!

Just a reminder:

Celebration Sunday

Procter Baptist Church

4401 Jimmy Johnson Blvd.

Port Arthur TX

10:00AM

Potluck Lunch in the Family Life Center following the service.

Also, check the Port Arthur News in the morning. They are planning to run an article on dad.

I'll post pictures of the celebration tomorrow evening.

Celebration Sunday!

This is a little article I wrote about what my family has been through this summer. I know that many of you have been following along and already know many of the details it describes. I have sent it along to a few media outlets and we'll see if it gets picked up or not. I figured it's always nice to print some GOOD news!

Also If you live in the Southeast Texas area or can make it there this Sunday, August 1st. Please plan on worshiping with us at Procter Baptist Church. They will be hosting Celebration Sunday! I am going to share a word of testimony, Steffi is going to sing and Dad will be preaching. There will be a potluck luncheon in the Family Life Center following the service. This service is open to everyone, especially those of you who prayed for dad. We know that you were part of this great miracle. I hope to see some of you there!

Here is the Article:

When God's People Pray

Rick Erwin, longtime pastor of Procter Baptist Church in Port Arthur, returns to the pulpit Cancer Free.

On May 26th, Bro Rick checked into MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for a routine prostatectomy. He, along with his doctors and his family, had decided on this particular course of treatment after being diagnosed in January with prostate cancer. The doctors were able to remove the prostate and test for any signs that the cancer had spread. During the 6 hour operation the small intestine was accidently nicked and immediately repaired. Initially this was considered a minor glitch with no repercussions; however, within a couple of days Bro. Rick’s condition took a turn or the worse. He had developed a terrible infection in his blood. As a result, he developed pneumonia and acute renal failure which required him to have dialysis for 3 hours a day. During this time it was also discovered that there was a small tear in his bladder, causing poisonous waste to leak into his lower abdominal cavity. Bro. Rick spent the worst of these days in the intensive care unit at MD Anderson on a respirator, his family unsure if he would ever be the same or even make it at all.

It was during these dark days that Bro. Rick’s wife, Lynn, and daughters, Steffi and Betsy, decided to organize a massive prayer effort. First, they began contacting every church that Bro. Rick had ever been associated with in any way. This included churches where he had served on staff, preached revivals, and churches that have current staff members that he has mentored. Bro. Rick has been in full time Christian ministry for over 40 years and has served at churches in three states. There were many churches and individuals to contact. Betsy began posting updates and prayer concerns on her personal blog which was linked to the Procter webpage. Over the next few days the word spread and before long people in as many as nine states were writing to let the family know how they had heard about Bro. Rick and that they were praying for him. In many cases the Erwin family heard from churches saying that their whole church family was praying for his healing. Local mid-county churches were a big part of this, too. First Baptist Church of Nederland’s Adam Pardue, who grew up at Procter, helped call local churches to get them praying as well.

Over the next few weeks, as so many people prayed for Bro. Rick, his health slowly improved. First, the test results returned from the surgery regarding the cancer. The doctors were able to get it all. There was no need for any further cancer treatments. Next, his kidneys began to function again. Then, the tear in the bladder healed. After a long struggle to find the right antibiotic and 39 days at MD Anderson, followed by 14 more days of IV therapy at home, Bro. Rick is not only Cancer free – but infection free! What a blessing! Bro. Rick and his family want to stress that his healing came from God. They feel that is was the constant prayers of so many that make it possible for him to be where he is today, at home getting back in the swing of things.

Bro. Rick as been more than just a pastor in this community for the past 22 years, he has been a leader and a friend. Bro. Rick has served on many community boards such as the American Red Cross, The Caplin Center, St. Mary’s Hospital and most recently he has served as president of the Port Arthur Community Home. He is also a former member of the Port Arthur Sertoma Club.

This coming Sunday, August 1st, at 10am, Procter Baptist Church on Jimmy Johnson Boulevard will be hosting Celebration Sunday. Bro. Rick along with the Procter Baptist Church Family would like to invite all to attend. It will be a great day of rejoicing in what God has done and what He will do next! There will be a potluck luncheon in the Family Life Center following the service. All are welcome to attend.

Bro. Rick and his family would like to thank all of you who had a part in his healing. They know that many of you were praying for him and for his family. They appreciate your heartfelt prayers. They also want to remind you that you were part of God’s miracle in saving his life.

Just think what else is possible – when God’s people pray!

Good News and Some New Clothes!

Before




After

Dad's check up at MD Anderson today went really well. He will still be on IV drugs at home for at least one more week - but this drug is still working.

The hole in the bladder has healed so they removed the catheter. He returned home this evening BAG FREE. He has had one or more drain bags hanging around for 6 weeks now, so he is really glad to be free from all of that. Praise the Lord.

These pics were taken yesterday. Needless to say, he has ordered a new suit.

For Amy and Christa. . . .

While in New Orleans Christa tried Crawfish for the first time. Both Amy and Christa tried Boudin for the first time. They were both introduced to some good Cajun food. I was telling them that I love fried Boudin Balls from Market Basket in Nederland. We got some last week. They were good.

Shrimp and Grits!

I got this recipe from http://www.allrecipes.com/

Spicy Shrimp and Grits

Ingredients:
4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup quick-cooking grits
2 tablespoons margarine
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound peeled and deveined small
shrimp
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes and
green chilies
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x12 inch baking dish.

2.Bring chicken broth and salt to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Stir in the grits, return to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low, and continue cooking for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

3.Meanwhile, melt the margarine in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the green onions, green pepper, and garlic; cook until the peppers have softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the shrimp, and cook until they begin to firm.

4.Stir the Monterey Jack cheese, 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese, shrimp and vegetable mixture, canned tomatoes, and black pepper into the grits; pour into prepared baking dish and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Cheddar cheese.

5.Bake in preheated oven until the cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown, 30 to 45 minutes.

New Orleans Fun!

I never got around to posting the rest of the New Orleans pics. Amy, Christa and I had a great time. I have traveled with both Amy and Christa separately but we have never taken a trip together until this one. I have to say it was one for the best trips. We really had a great time.

We stayed at Country Inn and Suites on Magazine Street. It was lovely.

Here is a picture of us with the crazy mule, Onyx.

We enjoyed our visit to the National World War II Museum. We all three had a grandfather that was a WWII Veteran.

We rode the St. Charles Trolley seeing the Garden District. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

We ate at one of our favorite places, Bubba Gump's!

We took a day trip to Avery Island and toured the Tabasco Factory. We got to taste Tabasco ice cream, Tabasco Soda, and Tabasco Chili. I highly recommend the chili, but would pass on the others.

Also on Avery Island, we drove through the Juggle Gardens. We say several live alligators. The lady who sold us our tickets suggested we get out and walk around - We decided against this.

After our trip to Avery Island, we returned to the city and stopped off at Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro for dessert. It was awesome.

All together it was a great trip - Can't wait for next summer! Good Friends - Good Times!

Home Sweet Home!

Dad was able to come home this past Friday. Those of you in Southeast Texas will remember that Friday was the day Houston got the tail end of Hurricane Alex. They closed I-10 and we ended up stuck in traffic for over 3 hours. We were finally able to back track and get over to Humble. The trip home took right at 6 hours. Needless to say, it was a rough trip for all of us.

Dad is doing well. He is still on Antibiotics 3 times a day and he has to go back to visit the infectious disease Dr. later this week to review the cultures again to make sure this drug will continue working. He has had a couple of visitors from the church and that has cheered him up. He plans to go to the church office for a couple of hours tomorrow just to get out of the house a little.

Please continue to pray with us that this drug will kill the infection for good. Sorry I have not updated the blog lately but I've been kind of busy.

Mom and I made Shrimp and Grits tonight - Yum! I'll post the recipe later.

Reminder: If you read this blog, please become a follower! Just click "Follow" on the right side of the blog and register. When I get 50 followers I will have my first Blog Giveaway!

I know there are a lot of you following, I ran in to three people in Nederland today that told me they have been following.

I'll post to new pics of dad soon too. He's really looking much better!

Update

They were able to drain almost 10 cc from the area. It has been sent for testing. If all goes well he'll be headed home soon.

The whole family is here, we are all going to have dinner together in the indoor park here at the hospital.

Steffi, Tad and Beau are going to Nederland tonight - the rest of us (including Dad) will hopefully follow soon.

Have a great weekend.

News on Dad!

They came in yesterday evening and told us it appeared that there was not enough fluid to put in a permanent drain but that they would still try to go in and pull out whatever they can for testing. The doctor thinks it is just a little left over fluid from when the other drain was there but they want to try to get it all out and test it just to be sure. They did say that they would do this procedure some time today.

This morning he was told that they would come get him around 2:30pm to have this done.

He had no food all day yesterday, until supper because they thought they would do the procedure. Now they have withheld food all day today - so he's kind of cranky.

They tell us that if they get all the fluid out and the test show that it's nothing new, he will most likely go home tomorrow.

Please pray that all goes well today. We thank you so much for all of your prayers through all of this. It has taken a toll on our whole family and certainly on dad the most. He has lost about
40 lbs. this past month and he is still pretty weak. He is getting around a lot better and our prayer is that once he gets home he will improve much faster.

Tad and Beau are on their way to Houston so we can all be together for the weekend. I'll try to post here or on facebook later this evening.