Remembering the Tenth Anniversary of God’s Miracle to Us

Claudia Chen—Toronto, Canada

Editor’s Note: In an earlier issue of Manna, Deacon Fritz Chen shared how the peace of God helped him through the days where he fought to overcome stomach cancer. On this tenth anniversary of his being in remission, his wife, Claudia, reminisces about being by her husband’s side through those dark days and deeply experiencing God’s love and mercy. Dn. Chen’s complete testimony, “Peace in the Lord,” can be found in Manna Issue 32, p. 10-13.

Passages in italics are taken from Dn. Chen’s testimony.

GOD’S MIRACLE TO US

I met my husband in 1983 through a preacher. We were married the next year, and we had our daughter, Rebecca, the following year. Our life was very smooth until the beginning of 1986, when my husband’s job became more demanding with irregular work hours, making it difficult for him to eat regular meals.

Because of this, he started to have stomach problems that increased in severity. During a regular check-up in 1993, the doctor was shocked by the condition of my husband’s stomach.

            I underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in my stomach (gastric lymphoma). The doctor first proposed to remove my whole stomach and then have me undergo chemotherapy.

Fritz went ahead with the operation and had his stomach removed in December 1993. As I stood staring through the windows of the door that separated me from the operating room, tears rolled down my face. Family members of other patients were trying to comfort me, but I couldn’t hear or digest any of their words. Even though I prayed constantly in my heart, I was heartbroken.

I thought to myself, “Heavenly Father, are you there? You know how helpless I am! But I know you are very merciful, and You know that at this moment I cannot afford to lose my husband.”

Our daughter was only eight years old and I dared not tell her that her father had a very serious illness. So, I kept on asking God not to take him away but to give him more time.

I also prayed to God that, if possible, to leave him with at least a little bit of his stomach so that he could eat. I felt like I was trying to bargain with God.

            [As] it turned out, the doctor removed only four-fifths of my stomach. And to my surprise, I didn’t need to go through chemotherapy after the operation because the tumor turned out to be benign. Thank God, the doctors told me I was healthy.

The doctors and nurses were astounded because they couldn’t understand how this could have happened. My husband and I hugged each other and cried in the hospital room because we knew that it was God’s miracle to us.

“THE LORD WILL CERTAINLY HEAL DAD”

In January 1995, Fritz went back to the hospital for a check-up, and all the tests came back normal. Around the same time, he decided that we should relocate from Taiwan to Canada, and with God’s smooth guidance, we arrived in Toronto on March 1, 1996.

One year and one month after we settled down in Canada, my husband started experiencing stomach discomfort again, but the doctor thought it was due to stress from adjusting to a new country. Another year went by with him often throwing up after meals.

            In February 1998, I was sent to the hospital. My condition was a lot more serious this time. For a long time I could not eat because the tumor took up so much space in my stomach. I was literally skin and bones.

            One month later, Fritz could no longer eat anything through his mouth. By that time, his weight dropped to 110 pounds, and every day I wouldn’t know whether we would have tomorrow.

            The doctors recommended that I should not undergo surgery because I was too weak and it would have been too risky to operate. They suggested that instead I skip directly to chemotherapy. However, I was even too weak to start treatment immediately.

            After examining my reports, the surgeon was convinced that he could successfully operate on me, despite objections from the other doctors. The operation was scheduled to take place two weeks later on March 16, 1998.

I was more prepared for what could happen this time, so I told my daughter that it was very possible we could lose our loved one at any time. Every night, my daughter and I would pray earnestly despite the fact that my husband’s condition got increasingly worse.

One night when we were praying at home, I felt so completely helpless that I cried out to God, “Lord, if everything that I have encountered is from You, then I have no complaints. I only hope we can have another opportunity to go to church and attend service together as a family, just the way we did before.”

Miraculously, I felt this warmth coming out from my heart, like a fountain of water gushing out. Even though I was crying bitterly, I felt such an indescribable joy that I wanted to laugh. This feeling lasted until I stopped praying.

I told my daughter, “I don’t know why, but I am very happy.” My daughter told me, “Didn’t I tell you that the Lord will certainly heal Dad?” Children are truly simple and pure; adults really do worry too much sometimes.

I really thank God that He comforted us in prayer. With God’s abidance, I had more courage to face what was coming because I no longer felt alone.

The Power of Prayer

            The period of time just prior to my surgery was the most critical and trying because I was dying. At times, I would even lose consciousness.

Those days, Fritz rarely talked to me. Every day, I stayed with him, read the Bible, sang hymns, thought about the lyrics, and prayed to God in my heart. I knew that I had to take care of myself and remain healthy in order to take care of my family.

On March 10, 1998, he was in the worst condition he had ever been. He vomited three cups of blood and had four bloody bowel movements. He told me that it might be God’s will to take him away this time. Then, he began to speak his last will and testament. I asked him to stop talking and hugged him as we cried.

That night, he wanted me to stay with him in the hospital. I had trouble falling asleep and just lay there on the bed, praying until the sun rose, when suddenly I heard the sound of water flowing. The sound came from a distance, and, as I listened, I realized that it was the sound of prayer.

The voice was very small at first. But when I listened more carefully, it became quite loud and full of strength. My husband was praying in tongues!

I saw him lying on his bed praying, this sound coming out of him. Just like that, I felt very comforted. I lay down again and fell asleep until the doctor knocked on the door at 9 a.m.

            Thank God, I was able to sustain myself through prayer up until the actual day of the major operation.

AN EXTRAORDINARY OPERATION

When my husband was wheeled in to surgery at 8 a.m. on the day of his major operation, I told him, “I will be waiting for you in the waiting room.”

            As I was wheeled into the operating room, she saw me peacefully wave to her, saying, “Peace be with you,” as if we were bidding our usual good-byes....Around 10 a.m., the doctor, sweating profusely, emerged from the operating room. Anxiously, he informed my wife that I was in a very critical state, completely beyond his expectations.

The doctor said that if they continued with the operation and it failed, it was highly likely that my husband would not make it out of the operating room. And if they didn’t operate and left Fritz in his current condition, he would probably survive for only another two to three days.

My sister was with me when the doctor spoke to us. We told him to just try his best, and we would pray to our God. The young doctor put his hand on my shoulder and comforted me. He told me to have faith and to ask God to guide him, and he hurried back into the operating room.

My hands and feet felt very weak after he left. I rushed to the washroom and cried out bitterly to God. It seemed like all the experiences that I had had and the peace that I had felt meant nothing. I asked God, “Were You kidding with me when You tried to comfort me in my prayers?”

Originally the doctor expected the operation to last six hours. But at 2 p.m. in the afternoon, we still had not heard anything else from the doctors. I felt very uneasy.

At that moment I saw two familiar people, Elder Huang and Brother Jackson, walking into the waiting room. They joined us and we sang hymns, while Elder Huang kept on encouraging me. I was comforted and strengthened after they joined us.

            The operation continued until around 4 p.m., when the doctor came out again and said to my wife, “Your God has saved him!” He described the operation as “searching for a path through the forest.” He did not know how he managed to complete the operation, but his face showed that it was successful.

The doctor drew a diagram on a piece of newspaper to show us how he had conducted the operation. I still have this piece of newspaper. He showed us how he removed the whole stomach and spleen. Some parts of the pancreas and intestines were also removed. Then he showed us how he joined the remaining parts together.

On April 2, thirty-eight days after his hospitalization, my husband was discharged. After he came home, I continued praying to God. I am not a very good cook, but I prayed to God to guide me so that the things I cooked would appeal to his appetite. And things really turned out this way.

He stopped eating baby food very quickly and began to eat normal meals. He ate everything! During chemotherapy, he continued to gain weight until he surpassed what the doctors said people without stomachs could weigh. He gained forty pounds in three months, thank God!

On August 1, 1998, during Holy Communion in Toronto Church, my husband and I both saw a vision of the cup of grape juice turning crimson with the blood of Christ. Once again, we were encouraged by God’s unfathomable grace.

Fritz had the opportunity in the year 2000 to participate in the theological training program held by the United States General Assembly (USGA). It was beyond our expectation that he would be able to complete the three-year course.

It has been over ten years since my husband was first hospitalized. Even so, I get teary-eyed every time I think about what happened, because the love of God is truly deep, wide, and long. How can we fully repay God’s love? Throughout these ten-plus years, I’ve seen God’s miracles every day, and I’ve counted God’s blessings every day. I see how the time we have in our family should be treasured. Each moment is a gift from God.

During this trial, I really felt the power of intercession by the brothers and sisters. As the Bible says,

            “if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them.” (Mt 18:19)

Our faith is living and true, and I believe that God is here in our church. I have seen with my own eyes and have experienced Him myself.

God knows how much we can bear. As long as we can hold onto Him tightly, He will never forsake us. And no matter what comes our way, God’s grace will always be sufficient.