The decision has been made and therefore today's blog is the letter that Roy has written to family and friends to inform them.

We thank the Lord for all your prayers, thoughts and advice over the last few days.

When we asked for your feedback regarding our options, we were in no way trying to abdicate our God-given responsibility to make the decision ourselves.  The decision is still ours.  However, when faced with this type of momentous decision, you normally need time to be able to think of all the different aspects of the decision.  We didn't have a lot of time.  With hindsight, we now see that God has used your comments to help us to consider aspects which we may otherwise not have thought of ourselves.  So we are grateful for your honesty and being prepared to share this with us.  We have taken all your comments into account in making our decision.

We have decided not to go with the Chemotherapy that has been offered, but instead to let the disease take its course from here.  In some ways it still seems harsh, but we are both at peace with it.  May God be glorified through this decision.

We continue to covet your prayers and support, and the road ahead will not be any the easier just because the decision has been made.

From now on, I will no longer have any direct care from my Oncologist, who has wonderfully helped us through the last 5 years.  Instead I will now be under the care of my own GP, together with the team (doctors and nurses) from the local Arohanui Hospice, who will continue to monitor my palliative care.

My sojourn on this earth is coming to a close, but my eternal home is assured - Christ has already gone ahead to prepare a place for me.  And also for you, if you have Christ as your Lord and Saviour, and there we will meet again - forever!  Meanwhile we still have time to interact here on earth, but the time I have left will likely be measured in months, not years.

Love and blessing,

Roy and Jolanda