Sawyer’s celebration of life service was held today and a recording can be accessed at the link below. Thank you to all of our friends and family that joined us today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulbRgPE6OQE

Sawyer Lynn Mullen, 28, finished his earthly race on November 15, 2021. Sawyer’s life clearly radiated the love he had for his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The way he lived his life was a true testament to this unwavering faith and hope. For the joy set before him, he endured and was found faithful in the midst of trial and suffering. He held fast to the truth that though our outer self is daily wasting away, we have an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. 

Revelation 21:4, “He[God] will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” This is incredible news for those who are in Christ Jesus-those who have repented of their sins and put their trust in Jesus for their eternity, just as Sawyer has. We truly believe that “a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere” Psalm 84:10a. We have never longed for the courts of our Lord as much as we have longed these past 1.5 years. We will continue to long until that final day, what a glorious (!!!) day that will be.

We are thankful to share that we are back in Houston at MD Anderson gearing up to begin a clinical trial. There was only one that I qualified for, and so far, we are approved to enter into it. Lord willing, I will be the third person at MD Anderson to receive the drug. We will stay 2 nights in the hospital for observation. If everything in our pretesting remains clear, we should get admitted to the hospital Tuesday night to be there for the medicine first thing Wednesday morning, July 28th. If I tolerate the drug without significant problems, I should be discharged on Thursday around 24 hours after I get the dose. The dosing schedule is every 2 weeks, and the first couple doses we will spend several days in Houston for various lab testing for the clinical trial parameters.

We had a post-radiation scan at MD Anderson on June 16th and got the results the next day that unfortunately the cancer had spread to new areas. I now have more nodules in my lungs, one in my left bicep, one in my abdominal wall, one in my liver, one in my L1 vertebrae, and one in each iliac bone. We were hopeful that the cancer was only in the places we knew of as of February, and that the radiation we underwent might beat back all the known cancer, but unfortunately there was more that grew outside of the radiation path. This was very disheartening news in general, but exacerbated by the difficulty and pain that we experienced following my radiation therapy. Until now, while the cancer was already stage IV, it was still relatively limited. It feels much scarier when it is that spread out in your body. The good news is that all of the metastases are still quite small, and the overall amount of cancer that I have is fairly small.

Isaiah 46:9-10 says, “remember the former things of old; for I am God and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose”. In Matthew 10:29 Jesus tells us that a sparrow can’t fall to the ground apart from God our Father. Even the worst thing that happened in history, the death of Jesus, God’s own son, was providential. Acts 2:23-24 says, “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” -Underlines added. If God would plan on sending his Son to die in the place of sinners like us and a bird can’t fall out of the sky apart from Him knowing, there’s no way stage 4 cancer took Him off guard.

Friends and family, thank you for checking in on us throughout the day and for continuing to pray for us! Sawyer met with the oncologist this morning to discuss the results of his most recent CT scan.

“No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make his blessings flow, far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found.” Isaac Watts’ hymn, “Joy to the World”, has been sung many a time, but this year it resonates a little deeper for us, and I presume for many others as well.

Sawyer received the results of his CT scan this afternoon, and we wanted to be quick to share that with you who have been so diligent to pray for us and check in on us. The results showed that his lung nodules have continued to decrease in size and his esophagus tumor is stable. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! The oncologist said this is a good report because there is no new growth in the esophagus and some improvement to the lung nodules.

We feel as though it would be easy to resort to anxiety during each unknown that comes our way, and we certainly feel its pressure. But praise God we have been given enough grace for each day to trust in Him. Philippians 4:6-7 tells us this; “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” So, we continue to bring our needs before our Father who knows them before we ask, and trust him to supply peace in portion greater than any weight of anxiety we might face tonight, tomorrow, or next week.

It is indeed good to get good news. We want to be diligent to share what the Lord has done in order that we may celebrate together and give Him all the glory He is due! We received the results of Sawyer’s CT scan yesterday. It showed that all of the cancer is shrinking, that the treatment is working to fight the cancer! The main tumor in his esophagus is smaller, which explains his improved ability to swallow. Likewise, the cancer nodules that had spread to his lungs are all shrinking. Praise God! We are rejoicing at the grace of the Lord to be working improvement in Sawyer’s cancer!

Your intentional intercessions for us mean more than we could ever express. We have seen the grace of the Lord to us and to others as we’ve been able to recount our prayers and hear those of others for us and find that we have seen the Lord move in specific ways and answer prayers to the encouragement of His people and to His glory. We stand in awe of His intimate care for us.

Thank you for your continued prayers on our behalf. We have tangibly felt the Spirit comforting us far beyond what our circumstances might normally allow, and we know that is from the many intercessions of His dear saints and the grace of our Good Father. We have moved into an apartment in Houston, TX and are missing you all deeply. Sawyer tolerated his first round of chemo very well, and we are very thankful for that. We have an update to share with you all.