Dear Friends,
I trust you are being encouraged by Penny’s updates, I certainly have been. I think she does a great job in sharing her heart. Now here’s an update from me, Paul.

Firstly I want to thank each and everyone of you for your prayers, your words of encouragement and your continued support as we continue together in the “war” against this cancer. You are a constant source of comfort for us and I do feel like the apostle Paul when he writes his letters and expresses his thanks for the comfort of those who believe in what he was called to do.

One thing I have been sharing with people is that for Penny and I, seeking the Lord for what He wants to say to us regarding our situation has always been important to us. We cannot continue through the hard times without knowing what He thinks and wants to say to us. Having this “word of the Lord” is what sustains us and encourages us to keep moving positively forward.

The word I have felt the Lord speak to me was to wait. On previous times I have felt the Lord say He would heal Penny and He did. But this time, it was “WAIT”. As I have thought, pondered and prayed about this I have felt to do a bit of a Bible study on the word “wait” and I have been deeply encouraged and a little surprised by what the Lord says to His people when he says wait.

Ps. 130:5-7 “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchman wait for the morning. Oh Israel (or – Paul & Penny), put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.”

Is. 40:31 “But those who hope (wait) in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Lam. 3:24-26 “I will say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’ The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation  of the Lord.”

One thing that keeps coming back to me, over and over is the importance of having hope while we wait. Without hope there will be despair and discouragement. Both Penny and I are very grateful for what the Lord is teaching us through this time. It may not be easy but we do have a real sense of God’s presence and His hope.

For me, it’s often quite hard as I feel helpless and almost useless. I so wish I could help Penny get better but know I cannot. I wish that I could take away her pain but know I cannot not. If it were not for the Lord’s words to me I think I would be in a very different and difficult place right now. But, despite what I cannot do to help Penny, I do feel encouraged and know God will do something. I trust Him absolutely. He is loving and therefore will always be loving in what He does and in what He allows. One thing Penny does say I can do for her is to be nice to her. Please pray that the Lord will help me to always be thoughtful and helpful to her in all the practical and little things that happen during the day.

One thing we have determined and that is that this cancer will not stop us in fulfilling God’s call on our lives. We know He has called us here to Chiang Rai and so we will seek to continue to be faithful to serve Him. We do, though, have to make some adjustments and Penny is trying very hard to slow down and take time out to rest. This has been good for her, though a little difficult at times. We praise God for the good staff that Penny does have and what they are doing to help alleviate the stress in her life, ministry wise.

Penny has also encouraged me to keep doing what I have felt the Lord call me to do. She is such a trooper! I have also tried to slow down to be at home more and so am finding myself working out of home much more these days. Please pray for my staff as they have commented to me that they wonder where I am and that they miss me not being there at the Training office as much as usual. Please also pray that I will be able to balance the time I should be at home with the time I should be at the office. Sometimes this is hard for me.

Please also be praying for me as I head out to Australia to teach on the 27th of this month. I am teaching on the DTS in Adelaide. I was supposed to teach on the DTS in Melbourne as well but that DTS has just been canceled. As well as teaching on the Adelaide DTS, I will also be speaking at a couple of churches in Adelaide (30th Sept) as well as another church in Bacchus Marsh the following weekend (7th Oct).

I will then come home for a week before heading over to Chiang Mai to teach on a Korean DTS there (Oct 15th – 19th) and the following week will head down to teach on Karen DTS in Maesot (Oct 22nd – 26th). So, as you can see, it will be a bit of a busy time for me teaching on these three DTS’s. Please pray for me as I prepare and as I travel and for Penny and the family as they stay behind.  Soon after I arrive home Penny will be flying down to Malaysia to attend a health farm there for three weeks. She will be departing on November 1st.

On a closing note I have some very good news to share with you all. Penny and I will be grandparents! Luke and Pennie are due to have their first baby next April/May. Once again, thanks for all your prayers and for your encouraging support. You help us to keep those fires of hope burning.

With love, Paul (for the Wilcox clan)

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Paul Wilcox
Training Asians for Missions
Box 121 Bandu Post Office
A. Muang
Chiang Rai 57100
Thailand

Phone: (66) 0817643524