Category: health updates

First of all, let me thank you for praying for us. To give you an overdue update on where we’re at, Micah simply adores school now. Even Jojo is looking forward to kindergarten next year and show-and-tell. We had a quiet, but very nice Christmas, and I have actually been sleeping more lately. This, as I understand, is significant for the healing of the brain of stroke patients. I must say, praise God! I am feeling better. We are looking forward to the trip to Florida during Lillian’s spring break and hope that God will use the treatment there to accelerate my healing.

For this new year, we have a new prayer request. We are starting a YouTube channel!

We would love to have you subscribe and see your comments on our channel. Just click on the link here and then hit the subscribe button and bell in order to be notified of new messages as they come out!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoeBXx1d_r6G641kQO1qEyw

Thank you for your prayers and support.

the Leung family

To all our family and friends who have so wonderfully supported us during this most difficult and trying year and a half, thank you and Merry Christmas! 

Truly, it must be said that we couldn’t have made it without your support. Lately, I have been sleeping better and that has resulted in improved healing. I read that among stroke patients, when they return to regular sleeping patterns, their brains experience increased healing. That seems to be the case for me. Thank you so much for your prayers. We are still looking forward to Florida. Please continue to pray for us.

Also, please pray for our foray into the world of YouTube!  We have been posting some of our past and recent messages on YouTube and editing some of them into shorter bite-sized pieces. Hopefully, we will be able to have an official launch in the New Year. However, you can check out our YouTube channel and subscribe to help us out. Please hit the notification bell so as to be readily informed about new messages as we post them. We would love to have your support in this new ministry! Kindly click on the link https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoeBXx1d_r6G641kQO1qEyw

I have some very sad and sobering news to share with you. We just found out that one of my wife’s work associates passed away from Covid-19 complications while vacationing. What was supposed to be a refreshing, festive get-away turned into a bitter, horrendous nightmare for this poor man and his family. Please be in prayer for them. I am not at liberty to share their names with you at this moment.

It is indeed ironic that during this season where we celebrate peace, goodwill, comfort, and joy, that this has befallen this unfortunate family.

It goes to show that the mission of Jesus Christ to come to this Earth is all the more poignant during this bizarre and horrid time of Covid-19. The Bible clearly tells us that God sent His son on a mission to save humanity from the pain, suffering, alienation, and ultimate hopelessness of this world system. I don’t mean to be negative, but no matter how rich or influential or popular you may be, life here on Earth always ends in pain and disappointment. If one dies with good looks and health, it is a tragedy. If one dies of old age, it is a grueling marathon of health problems and weakness.

The hope of the Gospel is that comfort, joy, peace, and harmony are indeed available, but available on a much grander scale than merely this brief existence. Thank God that His ultimate agenda for each and every person on the planet is full restoration and reconciliation with Him forever and ever in a state of paradise, bliss, health, and love. Comfort and joy are indeed promises of God, part in this life, but with their ultimate fulfillment in the afterlife.

If you don’t know this eternal security for yourself, I beg you, don’t put it off any longer. Because of the Cross, if we know Jesus, we can know God’s peace. But if we have no Jesus, no matter what we do, we will have no peace.

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. – Romans 5:1

If you would like to receive God’s original Christmas gift, Jesus Christ, click here:
https://peacewithgod.net/mobile/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhNGezJzg7QIVvBatBh3d5AN9EAMYASAAEgLc0PD_BwE

May the peace of Christ dwell in your heart richly this Christmas season.

Tim

P.S., Disclaimer: I am no doctor, BUT Dr. Vladimir Zelenko is a brilliant one. Because of his strong advice, I and my family have been taking Quercetin and Zinc as a preventative measure to strengthen us against viral infections including Covid-19. Please check out this video and go to time stamp 19:24 for Zelenko’s explanation of why even though he is considered high risk, he has zero fear of contracting covid from his patients because he treats himself with Hydroxychloroquine and Zinc, the hospital equivalent of Quercetin and Zinc.

First of all, a special thank you to those of you who have been faithfully praying for us and even giving generously to sustain us during this tough time. I was moved to tears when my wife told me about a young girl who actually donated to us from her own piggy bank when I first had the stroke. May God bless you more then we could ever repay you.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I want you to know that if you have contributed to us in prayer or financially, we have tried our best to be good stewards of your gracious gifts. We have tried to buy everything on sale and we have been double tithing on income we receive. 

But because of the amazing generosity of some of you (and because I’m a tight wad), we are able to consider a new application of a drug commonly known as Embrel. A doctor in Florida has an international patent on using this drug, known by its generic name as Etanercept, in order to help stroke patients and other people with brain injuries. He does this by injecting it into the neck so as to allow the drug to enter the brain, thus reducing inflammation. Some of the patients respond in near miraculous ways. If your’re you’re interested in seeing this drug in action, check out the 60 Minutes Australia program by clicking this link. https://youtu.be/_Yaaa-5NAX4

We spoke with the doctor at length and he feels very optimistic that I would benefit in many ways (e.g. balance, strength, brain fog, depression, stiffness, numbness, bladder and bowel movements, speech, fatigue, pain, all these and more should improve.)

Unfortunately, he did say that the two special areas of concern for me (fingers and vocal chords) are the most difficult to recover from in my kind of stroke and he was not as hopeful in these areas. Still, nothing is impossible for our God. 

In any case, we wanted to humbly ask for your prayers as we embark on a cross country trip with two little ones in tow. Our trip is scheduled during my wife’s Spring Break, March 19th. The doctor recommends 2 shots, 1 week apart. It will be a major ordeal and extremely costly. There is no insurance for this kind of thing and the doctor has a monopoly and charges astonishingly high prices.

After much prayer, we feel it is necessary for our family to at least, “give it a shot.”

Would you please pray for us? There are SO many obstacles and challenges in front of us. Covid just complicates everything. 

Thank you for your gracious support. 
Tim, Lillian,  Micah and Jojo 

Last night, I dreamt I was normal. 

Sometimes it’s hard just to go on. Lately, I wake up every morning in pain. Getting out of bed feels like trying to take a swim in wet cement. Simple tasks have the emotional equivalent of trying to move a brick wall with my face. Vertigo is my ever-present nemesis. By the end of the day, fatigue comes over me so thick, so oppressive, that I can’t avoid thinking it would be so much easier to just give up. During these times, a lifeline has been Isaiah 52:10.

I hear that some stroke victims never improve. Others rebound relatively quickly. For me, it has been a year and a half of agonizingly slow progress. I still long to be even half of what I used to be. I miss the ability to make music so badly, at least music that doesn’t remind one of a squealing pig!

Yet, as I look back, there is ample evidence of God’s grace. Imperceptible from day to day, but looking back over the months, I have experienced great healing and improvement as well as kindness and generosity from so many.

For the longest time, I felt like an old one-armed kung fu warrior hobbling around on a cane. Now, I’m using my awkward left hand in little ways. I can cook and scrub pans in the sink. I can care for my children, making them quesadillas, chicken nuggets, and green onion pancakes. I can help my son with his schoolwork. I can wipe bottoms after potty. 

I dare to drive my kids around WITHOUT my wife, taking trips to the grocery or the local donut shop. (No donuts for me though!) There are glimmers of hope among the heartaches. 

I wanted instantaneous healing SO BADLY,  but it seems God wants this time for my refining [1 Peter 1:7]. That’s the problem with character building, it doesn’t come cheap. It must cost us Pain and Time. We hate the first and hate to part with the second. But we must endure, if quality of character, more precious than gold, is our goal.

Rather, God’s goal. Honestly, I would have NEVER chosen such training in patience and pain. I’d just as soon be taken to heaven in all my inglorious human immaturity! But, God often has a different, but better agenda than our own. [Isaiah 55:9]. It reminds me of Joseph in the Bible where God silently allowed such betrayal and trauma into his life, only years later, to work it all out for the benefit of many. [Genesis 50:20]

But back to hope among the heartaches. How is God getting me through this furnace of testing? At first, I thought my young family was the reason I couldn’t give up. I felt I had no choice but to improve, by God’s grace, for their sake. It certainly would’ve been easier for me to die! But now looking back, I can see that God used them to produce healing in my life. Without compelling me to serve them, I would have given up long ago and would never have made the progress I did. 

God knew exactly what I needed to keep me going. By “living” for them, they have given me new life! By making it challenging along the way, God is trying to teach me to be tougher, more compassionate, and more sensitive to other’s struggles. By serving my family at home (during Covid-19), I’m enjoying a closer relationship with my kids than ever before. 
The Devil may have meant it for evil, but God allowed it for good! This doesn’t mean I’ve made it. I still have very far to go. But I have glimpses of Hope.

How about you? Has Covid-19 got to you? Has the daily grind ground you down? Are you in a desperate situation?Maybe you can turn the tables and become a Victor, instead of a Victim! Look for Hope among the Heartaches. You may find them in the most unexpected places.

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you. – Isaiah 52:10

Thank you for your prayers.

God actually used one of my therapies to give me a sudden improvement in my walking. An amazing, anonymous benefactor made it possible for me to benefit from a rather non-conventional therapy and there was dramatic and immediate improvement last session!  Unfortunately, this time, it only lasted a couple of days and then my balance problems came back. Perhaps next time, the effects will even be better than last!

Also, a special prayer request if I may, for my son, Micah. He has been crying every night since he’s been back at school. He says he misses home and wants to go back to homeschool. Obviously, I’m touched and my immediate response is to shelter him and baby him. I actually like teaching him at home, but he really needs the socialization that the school offers him, especially during this time of Covid-19. It’s practically impossible to get my kids to interact with other kids. Please pray that he will overcome his shyness and learn to love making friends.

Thanks and God bless.

Just a quick note to ask for your prayers.

Lillian has been working at her new job at Lodi Christian School. It has been exhausting for her. Please pray that she gets enough sleep.

I have been homeschooling Micah since he is hesitant to take part in in-person learning. Please pray that he will feel secure and overcome his homesickness in order to physically attend if that’s the Lord’s will.

Of course, please continue to pray for my rehab and recovery. I have been struggling with balance problems and  fatigue.

Thank you so much for your kind and thoughtful praise and support.

Tim, Lillian, Micah, and Jojo

P.S. And here’s a thanksgiving. There has been more opportunities to minister via zoom and preaching videos on the internet. Thank God for these gracious opportunities.

As a child, I would often see characters on TV plucking daisy petals, mumbling to themselves, “He loves me, he loves me not…” Even as a youngster, it was clear that this poor, tormented, lovesick soul was attempting some means of superstitious divination to determine the feelings of her one true love. “He loves me, he loves me not…”

I, too, have been struggling with my own particular brand of torment. When faced with tragedy, sickness, or misfortune, it is natural to wonder, “Did I bring this upon myself? Am I being punished? Does God hate me? Why is my pain unending and my wound incurable?” (Jer 15:18).

Now, I’ve been trying to maintain the proverbial stiff upper lip. But frankly, after a month or 2, or 12, or 16, it gets kind of old. I begin to understand why people in my position give up and why those who suffer from the ravages of ischemic strokes typically take much longer to recover than those with hemorrhagic strokes. The statistics tell me that I will never fully recover from this horrible life sentence. Do I passively roll over and just take it? Do I continue to fight like some deluded Don Quixote? I get so very, very tired. And yet, the demands of life keep piling higher and higher each day. Does anyone care? Does God even care?

In the deafening silence of solitude (remember I have tinnitus), I’ve no choice but to wrestle with the existential realities of my faith. Does God exist? Does He care? Does Jesus make a practical difference at all?

My mind scrambles to gain a grip on the slippery slope of Doubt, so common when pain or suffering refuses to go away. I consider the alternatives. Evolutionary Darwinism? I find it scientifically contradictory and statistically impossible. Buddhism. You mean creator-less reincarnation with the nothingness of nirvana as the ultimate purpose? Even the Dalai Lama cannot overcome his desire to free Tibet. How about Extremist Islam? Sure, let’s blow ourselves up along with as many Christians as we can to get rivers of wine and 40 virgins a piece. I suppose in a more twisted world, it would make for a popular video game, rated M for mature.

No, Christianity is the most rational, reasonable, historically accurate, and scientifically sound belief system I know of. Just the staggering numbers of fulfilled prophecies** are impossible to discount; the great numbers of changed lives and contributions in terms of universities, hospitals, charities, and good works done in the name of Christ, are compelling to say the least.

For me, the simple fact of the 500+ eyewitnesses to Jesus’ resurrection, many of these early martyrs who went willingly to their deaths, is powerful proof enough. All they had to do was admit that Jesus had NOT been raised from the dead and they would’ve saved their own lives! They must have been convinced that they had seen Jesus back from the dead in order to be willing to die for their testimony. No ONE would die for a lie, let alone so many.

And then, of course, there are events in my own life and in the lives of many others that we would consider miraculous, impossible to explain apart from divine intervention. No, I’m convinced Jesus is the Way, as the Bible declares (John 14:6). But where is He now and why is He taking so long to heal me? How can I accept it if the healing stops?

This brings me back to my petal-plucking pondering. Can I believe in a loving God even when pain and suffering continue? Does God personally care for me even when my circumstances tell me otherwise?

Oswald Chambers said:
“Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.”
But how do I know I can trust His character?

I’m reminded of Abraham and Issac. God does the unthinkable by asking Abraham to offer up his most precious, only son on the mountains of Moriah. Of course, it’s only a test. God stops Abraham at the last moment. But it is also a picture of things to come as then, God Himself, sacrifices His own Son centuries later as a ransom for humanity. Jesus goes through the crucible by being scourged, scorned, and crucified for me. I try to imagine how God the Father felt as He witnessed the degradation and death of His Beloved, beaten beyond recognition, hanging on a bloody cross.

I ponder this as my own son is curled up warm and safe, his head on my chest, asleep without a care. How different is this loving, peaceful moment compared to the panic and desperation I felt when they hauled me away in the ambulance for the third time, wondering if I would leave my children without an earthly father.

As I consider these things, I revisit the original question.
He loves me… He loves me not? There is no doubt.

HE LOVES ME!

“He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?” – Romans 8:32 (BSB)
Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

-Tim

**The odds of one person fulfilling just 8 of the numerous Old Testament prophecies concerning Jesus is one in one hundred quadrillion.  Consider that the Old Testament has over 300 such prophecies! If you’re interested, see
https://www.jewishvoice.org/read/blog/prophecies-about-messiahs-lineage-and-birth

Dear Friends,

This has been a challenging time for all of us, hasn’t it? I just found out that an out-of-town relative came down with covid. In addition, we discovered a dear friend is battling a life-threatening illness. If you would be so kind to pray for them, I would appreciate it. 

As for us, could I ask for prayer upon Lillian as she adjusts to a new job God opened up in Lodi? Please pray for her safety and that she gets enough sleep. She is exhausted. As for me, I am homeschooling Micah (Jojo also has her “homework”). Managing both of them in my weakened condition is quite a challenge. Praise God He continues to provide for our safety every day. I also thank God that I have been blessed with great progress. However, caring for the kids remains a challenge since along with the stiffness and pain, I have been struggling with balance problems and fatigue. God remains faithful, giving me enough grace to make it day by day. I am enjoying my time with the kids although we miss Lillian terribly.

My sleep at night is hit and miss. Lately, I have been waking up a few times during the night. Please pray that I can get adequate rest as well.

And here is a heartfelt thanksgiving. God knew that I was going stir crazy, feeling quite useless, and so He provided me some wonderful opportunities to share messages of hope at the request of some pastor friends of mine in the Bay Area. The latest one, “Peace in Troubled Times,” can be seen at 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KmHjTCn9bMUk-9OhGgA37iR4BO6vjta-/view?usp=sharing

Thank you so much for the continued prayers. You are our lifeline. May God bless you all. 
Tim

Thank you so much for your continued prayers! My wife read that the type of stroke I suffered is notorious for being more difficult and more unlikely to recover from. In spite of what my therapists have said, I cannot give up. Thus, your prayers are more precious than gold. I wanted to let you know of two recent breakthroughs.

As you may know, I really miss singing. Since the stroke, my voice has been weak, wispy, and warbly. I used to enjoy a range that allowed me to sing bass all the way up to tenor. Not anymore. Well, last week, I had a breakthrough. I was driving around town with my family asleep, as we often do this since the kids nap best in the car. I was attempting to sing along with various worship songs and I must say, I was growing increasingly frustrated. I couldn’t manage anything above a very limited lower range. Feeling angry and desperate, I ignored the advice of my therapist to “go easy” on my voice and instead, belted out some higher notes with all my might. I felt something snap inside me, like a release if you will, and suddenly, my voice became clearer, stronger, and more agile. Not quite a Class-A miracle, but a significant bump in the right direction! You can judge the difference yourself if you compare my speaking voice between Part 1(before) and Part 2 (after) of a message we recorded for a pastor friend. 
Finding Hope in the Storm

Part 1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15SDMfJKCQHzx5J3KQKNx1vLd9JuVFTBM/view?usp=sharing

Part 2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KTX0LT72sETdRmqyCkfDJnRx43bzbGKe/view?usp=sharing

Furthermore, I have had a hard time sleeping at night due to nocturia. Embarrassing to admit, but once, I got up 11 times in one night! Scary since I didn’t know what it was … prostate, diabetes, weight loss, ketosis – all of these and more could be to blame. My doctors were not able to help much. I was sleepless, exhausted, and desperate. After a lot of prayer and research, it occurred to me to do the opposite of conventional wisdom and actually eat something right before bed. Bingo! Three eggs and half a piece of sourdough toast, (which I hadn’t enjoyed in years) and for the first time I can remember, I slept all the way to a quarter to six. So far, I’ve had four such nights where I’ve only had to get up once before early morning. Once, I actually slept all the way to dawn’s early light!  Praise God and thank you for the prayers. God is so good.

Now, I’m not exactly sure what’s going on, perhaps my own insulin is recovering and lowering my blood glucose enough that I can sleep for hours without having to pee. Lately, my blood sugar actually reads significantly lower right AFTER I eat than BEFORE. Go figure.  All I know is that it’s working so far. The only problem is I can’t pull long extended fasts anymore and I have to eat late every night. Also, I have reintroduced bits of carbs after almost two years. I hope this doesn’t hinder my progress. I’ll have to tinker around a bit. Here’s to praying for a good A1C test this next time around. Thanks.  

Lastly, we do have a special prayer request. By a miraculous series of events, Lillian landed a new job as a teacher at a private school not too far away, just in time for Micah’s entrance into Kindergarten. However, this means that yours truly gets to take care of both Micah and Jojo and help the boy with homework all by his lonesome for many hours every day. I still can’t fully care for myself yet let alone two little ones! Please pray that God will accelerate His healing and grace upon me. It has been an intimidating and exhausting venture. Thanks again. 

Tim