Back on February, 20th 2021, I posted a letter for you titled, “Our Shelter.” You may recall that in that letter I was explaining to you the great paradox that I found myself in, and how I was not able to reconcile the choice between laying down my life for you or for my wife (in a manner of speaking). I said:
“If I had two lives to give, I would gladly give them both so that God’s love would be made real to you and to her. It is a great conflict to my soul! … but in truth, I have never actually had a choice in the matter.”
Ultimately, I finished by proclaiming that “she will not accept it!” I said that she would not accept the perfect love of God that I had attempted to give her for so many years! I even went on to add that, “She will gladly accept my carnal love, but she will not accept God’s true and perfect love.” It was a very harsh thing for me to say, and I certainly heard about it! Especially, from my mother!
I rejoice in my great God and Savior that I have been proven wrong this day! For this day, I have come to understand that I did not rightly understand the situation.
In part two of the explanation of my gastrointestinal issues (titled, “Not by Bread Alone”), I wrapped up the story of my sore tummy and how I arrived at my current condition. I also introduced the prescription that God has given me to treat my illness and prepare me for my trip around the Globe, a fast. The interesting thing is that He has not told me how long I am supposed to be on this fast for. As of today, I have been fasting for nine straight days. For some reason, I suspect that I will be on this fast for a total of 21 days, but God has yet to confirm that notion. For all I know it could be 40 days. Perhaps, He does not want me freak out at the thought that I have 32 days more to go, so He simply is not telling me.
I find that God does that very thing quite often with me. There are facts that He will not give me until the very last minute; because, He knows that it would crush me if I knew certain details any sooner than necessary. It is a great comfort to rest in God’s infinite understanding and knowledge, and to trust that He always knows what it best. When I am truly following His will, I never have to worry about dark the path that is ahead of me. He provides a path through the menacing gauntlet every time! Yet I do not understand why it is, but I often worry and fret regardless. God has been faithful to deliver me time and again – practically every day of my life – and I still cannot seem to remember that fact, until I stop for a moment, pray, and reflect on all His goodness.
In my last post I mentioned the fact that the fungal infection that I am fighting against is an outbreak of Geotrichum candidum in two different areas of my large intestines: in the cecum and in the descending colon. I also mentioned that I have tried many different treatment protocols over the years, and that none of them have ever been effective enough to overcome the outbreak. This is true even after I made adjustments to target Geotrichum candidum specifically, and my supposition for this condition is that the infection has taken up root in my appendix.
The problem is that there is no way to delivery enough of any anti-fungal agent to the areas of infection in order to completely wipe it out. I have come remarkably close a few different times, but in the end, I simply cannot get to the foothold that it has established deep inside my appendix. What I have determined is that the only way it can be fully exterminated is to starve is out. I have to stop feeding the fungal colony, which means that I have to stop eating. Moreover, I must be very careful not to drink any more water than necessary, as water aids in the survival of the fungus.
When I last expounded upon the details of my gastrointestinal issues in one of my previous posts (titled, “Spilling my Guts”), I was only able to tell you half of the story. Now I would like to take the opportunity to tell you the other half of the story, and to introduce the plan that God has for my deliverance from this affliction.
In the post, Spilling my Guts, I explained how the doctors that I had seen over the years were limited by their own system of pathophysiology (or pathology, take your pick), and how that became the primary obstacle preventing them from properly diagnosing my issue. Furthermore, I explained how I was blessed by God to meet a doctor that could help me, the late Dr. Vincent Marinkovich. Dr. Marinkovich was able to properly diagnose the problem, but then he died before I could be appropriately treated for my illness.
Nonetheless, God was faithful in leading me to finding a solution for the original problem that I had, which was Candidiasis (aka overgrowth of Candida albicans). However, this was a process that took a few more years. During that time of self-treatment, I was able to get rid of the Candidiasis, but there was a different fungus that moved in and took up residence in place of the Candida albicans. I do not have any clear notion of when this happened. For a number of years, I thought that I was still fighting the Candida albicans, when in reality I was fighting this new fungus, Geotrichum candidum.
I began to write another sketch about my wife, but the Lord forbad me. Nevertheless, with the few that I have already written, I think you can see that I truly do value, honor, and love her. How could I ever deny all that she has meant to me and the great influence that she has had on my life? Thus I find myself in a great straight! God has put it into my heart to sacrifice myself for you. How do I reconcile this paradox? I only have one life to give. If I had two lives to give, I would gladly give them both so that God’s love would be made real to you and to her. It is a great conflict to my soul! … but in truth, I have never actually had a choice in the matter.
For many hundreds of long agonizing days and nights, I felt as if it were a test. How would I chose? I did not understand the reality of the situation. Indeed, it was a great while before I was able to comprehend what it was that God was telling me, and then my eyes were opened so that I was able to see what God was showing to me all along. There has ever only been one door open! This is not because God is limited. All things are possible with God. If He had wanted to use me to show the perfect love of God to her, He would have made it possible at some point in the last 25 years. Yet, despite all my tears, prayers, and supplications to my faithful God and Lord! … it never did happen!
In my last post (titled, “Treasures New and Treasures Old”), I gave you a Bible passage from John’s 2nd epistle, written to the “elect lady.” I would imagine that you read that section of my letter and wondered in yourself, “How could God truly mean that Bible verse to be directed to me?” I can assure you that it is indeed meant for you, and you alone. You may wonder how that could be possible, right?
My blessed friend! Do you not understand that it is a promise from God?
It is God’s message to you, but He wants everyone to see what it is that He has promised. He will bring it to pass, and everyone that sees it will know that He is faithful and true, and that His love and His mercy endures forever.
“6Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off. 7Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. 8The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.”
Yesterday I published a blog post (titled, “Sleepy Head …”) where I was going to begin discussing the preparations required for the conquest proper. However, before I was able to get to that subject, the Spirit of God diverted me into a much greater and more urgent subject. I am sorry if it seemed a bit strong. Please do not think that I get any satisfaction out of delivering tough messages or preaching judgment … or that I am trying to belittle you. Nevertheless, I do it out of obedience to my Lord and God, but also out of the love that I have for you.
It is all important that you understand that none of this is for my own glory. It is no mystery to me that very few people think that this endeavor is anything other than pure foolishness. I do not expect that sentiment to change anytime soon. I am nothing more than a spectacle in the eyes of most that see these posts or stumble into the Website. That is perfectly fine with me. I am more than willing to bear the shame and reproach for your sake and the sake of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am nothing more than a vessel … a messenger.
It is not important if you take me for a fool or not, because I am not the one that is important here. God, the creator of the Earth, the cosmos, and everything beyond our cosmos is giving specific place and attention to you. He is using me to send that message to you, but that is my end. I am only the messenger, and the message to you from God is that He loves you. Listen to Him, not to me.
I do not know why God wants me to give you these verses at this moment, but for some reason He wants you to have them:
“1The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; 2For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever. 3Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.”
A tired black-footed ferret kit yawns for USFWS photographer, Kimberly Tamkun 2012
My dear friend,
I have already established that the starting point will likely be in Singapore, in the summer of 2022. To be more specific, it would be undesirable to depart out of Singapore any later than the end of July 2022. If I left any later, then it would certainly dictate a stay in Tasmania for the winter of 2023. (Winter in Tasmania runs from June to September.) If I leave Singapore in July (or earlier), then I may have a shot at making it all the way to Cabo de Hornos, Chile before the fall of 2023 fully sets in (around May or early June).
That could only happen if everything were to go perfectly. If I were able to average 50 miles (80 km) each travel day, it could be possible. 50 mi/day on the water is achievable when conditions are good, but expectations for perfect weather somewhat diminish the closer one progresses towards Antarctica. By land, that rate of travel is slightly more attainable; however, 50 mi/day on the snow and ice is pure fantasy. Therefore, the overall conditions would need to be especially perfect and consistent, and I would need to be able to maximize my travel days as much as possible.
Therefore, I suspect that I may have to winter in Tasmania (or perhaps in McMurdo, Antarctica) in 2023. Then when the weather improves, I would be able to move forward with my crossing of Antarctica in the summer of 2023/2024. God only knows! The idea of traveling from Singapore to the South Pole to Cabo de Hornos, Chile in a single year is preposterous! Even still, I do not want to limit the arm of the Lord. If it is His will to make it happen, then it will come to pass.
As I mentioned before, God wants the glory for my deliverance from my gastrointestinal affliction. Furthermore, in my blog post “I Believe!,” we have already seen that no doctor, no wizard, no man or woman, nor even mine own efforts have been able to lead me out of this affliction that I have now had for nearly thirty years. Therefore, I would be amiss not to explain what specifically it is that God is delivering me from.
When my wife and I were first married, God blessed us with a new home, a new car, and He gave me a new job and promotion in my new career in IT. We had great benefits and medical insurance through my new employer, and my wife had ample money to balance our family budget. She could not have been happier.
God was exceedingly good to us. We had both given Him honor in our wedding ceremony and all the events surrounding it. Had it not been for the fact that she had been so resolute to see the fulfilment of our wedding, God would never have received all the honor and respect that was given to Him during that time. Thus, what did God do? … He repaid us tenfold! He is amazing!
Many of you have seen the notifications of my eight previous articles that I recently posted to my new blog site. If you have not been following from the beginning, you are probably mystified by what you have seen thus far. Therefore, I thought it would be good to give you a recap, so that the purpose is made clear, without any additional reading of my previous posts. Obviously, I cannot condense all 30 minutes of reading material into this little post. Therefore, you would like to understand more, please follow the embedded links to the other articles.
The summary of it all is this: God has blessed me with an errand to do. He wants me to travel around the world preaching the Word of God … literally! Not like Paul the apostle or any other great preacher of the past. No, God is sending me on a conquest to circumnavigate the Earth via the South and the North Poles using nothing but my own human power. Wherever I go, I am to proclaim the Word of God on this blog and by any other means of communication that will accomplish the task.
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