This is the testimony of Dominique Vandelannoote, member of the Evangelical Church in Leuven. We received it through Annie who also prayed for him and put regularly a prayer request for him in our prayerbox.
“In March 2014 I was diagnosed with rectal cancer (cancer of the rectum which affects the lower part of the colon).
As the cancer was close to the anus, the doctor suggested removing everything including the anal sphincter; meaning I would have to live the rest of my life with a colostomy. I was stunned. Was there really no other option?
After a talk with the surgeon in Tienen I went to Gasthuisberg (the University Hospital of Leuven). With their expertise they might be able to save the sphincter. In the meantime the circle of Tienen, the entire Evangelical Church of Leuven and many brothers and sisters heard of my health problems… I have no idea how so many people knew about it in such a short time.
At the University Hospital of Leuven I talked with the professor of oncology (cancer specialist). Could it be possible to spare the sphincter? She called surgery and during the following consultation I was examined. The surgeon examined all the digital photo’s. “It is possible” was his reply. What a relief! A procedure sparing the rectal sphincter was possible.
Then followed a month of radiation treatments with chemotherapy and the surgery in August 2014. The tumor was removed and a temporary stoma was placed on the small intestine. Everything went fine and after a week I could go home. Shortly after that I started with 12 sessions of chemo. It were four hour sessions, every two weeks for six months. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays I had no energy. I just lay resting on the couch. I felt quickly exhausted. Climbing just a few stairs was enough to be out of breath.
I am so grateful we could go to the evangelical church on Sunday mornings. I was able to go every single Sunday. It was miraculous the way God provided! He let me enjoy it to the fullest… unimaginable. I was scheduled to lead the service and the sermon a few times, and that worked out perfectly as well!
At Easter 2015 I was back in the hospital. This time it was to remove the stoma of the small intestine. A few days later I returned home but the bowel movement was all but perfect. I couldn’t control it. I wore pampers or sanitary napkins for underwear and the bathroom became my frequent hideaway. The surgeons said it would improve after a few months, but three months later the situation hadn’t changed.
Again people started praying and four months later something miraculous happened: from one day to the next the bowel incontinence stopped. The next four days everything worked perfect! For me, that was a great miracle. Now only once in a while I have a lesser day, but nothing in comparison with how it was before. I am so very grateful for this turn of events. I thank God and all those who prayed for me. To Him be all the honor!!
Prayer is a miracle cure God gave us. When I was told I had cancer neither my wife nor I got upset. There was not a single moment we became restless or worried. That is the power of prayer! We were being carried on wings! Indeed His Word is truth. Those who rely on His Word will not be put to shame! The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. God gave us these and so many other Bible verse to encourage us.
Physically speaking 2014 was the most difficult year of my life, but spiritually it was an absolute topper! The way I experienced His nearness! My faith reached new profundities! How much I experienced the power of the prayers of my brothers and sisters in Christ. What a loving Lord we have!”
Antoinette Jablonski too, sent us a very nice mail about the power of prayer:
“Once again I experienced something beautiful, I can still hardly believe it. I had told you to pray for my nephew just like Job prayed for his friends when there came a turning point in his destiny… So what happened? His wife was urgently hospitalized with a serious heart condition. She has had just about everything one can have as far as heart problems are concerned. They even reanimated her at one point. The specialist said it had been very serious! Now she is back home hopping around and she is 80! She could have died but she lives!
And another remarkable thing happened: her one daughter didn’t want to have anything to do with her anymore, so she wasn’t seeing her grandchildren either. Now everyone was so shocked at her hospitalization, the doctor offered to mediate between them and she accepts it… that would not have been possible before! It is like God is telling me this is the answer to my prayer…”
