The following is the first part of the "Faith Talk" Ann shared with the kids in November of 2007. The picture is from our trip to Alaska in 2005 -- Randy

I have a story to share with you. It takes place in the '60's. It's a pretty well known story so stop me if you've heard it. (Gilligan's Island description.) Oh...you've heard this? OK, well allow me to continue.

In May of this year, I was told, "You have pancreatic cancer. It is inoperable and therefore incurable." What do you do with this information? I was stunned. There is no cancer anywhere in my family and I have always been healthy. I was familiar with this cancer as it had recently claimed the life of our good friend, John Berry. I knew that it was swift and that it was lethal. I did what most people would do...and began some research on the internet. I was looking for hope, but didn't find it. What I did find out was that it is the most deadly form of cancer with a survival rate o 3 percent and that most people live just 3-6 months after diagnosis. I thought to myself, "I'll be dead by Christmas."

Gosh, what do friends do with this? They ask, "What can I do for you?" I have no idea what to tell them, but I do remember saying is "Make me laugh." A good friend sent me the first season of Gilligan's Island on DVD. I'm not sure why...I always considered myself more of a Bewitched fan. But in this case I can't work with a TV show where problems are gone in a twitch. Instead...let's consider this band of castaways.

Every week the Castaways look for a rescue and every week there is some sort of peril. Headhunters...a giant gorilla...quicksand... Quicksand! The thought of slowly and helplessly sinking until nothing but your hat remained was pretty scary. All the other dangers seemed silly...but quicksand? Now that was reasonable. Surely there existed such a mixture of sand, mud and water that could swallow a person whole.

However, by the end of each episode, the danger had passed and the Castaways were safe, but still looking for a rescue. Year after year they remained marooned on a tiny island. But they never seemed to lose faith that they would be rescued. In the meantime...they made a life. (Play Clip from Gilligan's Island)

Cancer is like that. My life and the life of each member of my family changed radically the moment I was diagnosed. Just like being shipwrecked, we had our lives turned upside down in a storm. There is a song by the Christian group, Casting Crowns that I love. It starts out: I was sure by now, God, You would have reached down And wiped our tears away. Stepped in and saved the day. But once again, I say, Amen...and it's still raining.

As the thunder rolls I barely hear your whisper though the rain, "I'm with you" And as Your mercy falls I raise my hands and praise the God who gives And takes away.

(These words are from Job-Randy will talk about the Job experience here)

Priorities get turned around in a hurry when cancer enters the scene. Suddenly, we are faced with learning to survive. And there are constant ups and downs. There are celebrations...and there are times when we are in the throes of darkness.

Recently, my doctor called to tell me my tumor markers had increased considerably and she ordered a C-T scan of my chest and abdomen. I was scared. For the days leading up to the scan, I wondered if this thing I hate is now in my lungs and liver. The wait was agonizing. The phone call came the day after the test. The tumor had not grown or spread, in fact maybe it was a little smaller! This was wonderful news. I survived the quicksand! Still, I have cancer. We are still shipwrecked. But I am praising Him in this storm because I know He is answering prayer. And in the meantime, I am making a life. It seems that a lot of Christian messages and teachings dwell on nothing but the positive. They edit out the darkness and confusion seeking instead to go from strength to strength. From victory to victory. This makes us feel like our faith must not be real or we wouldn't be angry with God, or we wouldn't have doubts, or we wouldn't feel so alone.

But the Bible doesn't edit out the darkness. It doesn't hide the fact that the greatest leaders suffered. God's people were exiled. Paul as we know suffered beatings, shipwrecks, sickness, and imprisonment. In my own suffering I have found comfort in the Psalms. The Psalms aren't censored. They articulate horror and loss. People in the Psalms cried out for a rescue. They also praised God when He brought them out of the storm. Psalm 30 begins: I will exalt you O Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths. Lord I called to you for help and You healed me. O Lord you brought me up from the grave, you spared me from going down to the pit. Then verse 9 says: What gain is there in my destruction in my going down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness?

I find comfort in these words and I pray them myself. What good am I to God if I'm in the ground? I plead with him to allow me to continue my ministry on earth. Nothing but the positive also ignores the cross. Suffering is not our enemy. It draws us to the heart of God. Jesus has cried our same cry. He has felt all of our pain. As Christians, we help bear each other's pain. Our Christian family has prayed for us and we have felt those prayers. Our burdens are lighter because of this. I am so touched when I looked around and see the purple pins too. My church family, my Chrysalis family and my Fox 7 family are wearing purple pins and that reminds me that I am not alone on this island, God is with me, and so are you.

It took eight months for doctors to diagnose what was wrong with me. In the meantime, I couldn't sleep. For 8 months I was up in the middle of the night with pain, not knowing what was wrong. The isolation at times was unbearable. Not even my family understood what I was going through. I would become so upset each night around 10:00 because I knew the house would soon be dark and quiet and I would once again be alone with my thoughts and my fears. But it was during those long, dark nights that I found peace in God's word

TO BE CONTINUED...