Speaking at Ada Bible's Union Service

Kendra and I had the incredible opportunity to speak to the young adult group called "Union" at Ada Bible Church a while ago. What a blessing it was to encourage a group of folks that were in a very similar stage of life as Kendra and I when we were diagnosed. We felt so blessed and overwhelmed by the support and community of this group and church! Thanks so much for the opportunity.

Please continue to pray for Kendra and I. God is opening more and more opportunities for us to share our story. I'm speaking 5-10 times a month right now and Kendra is able to join me for a couple of those a month! It is such a blessing to be able to share this with Kendra and see God using her in such a powerful way.

If you're interested in having us come to your church or group let us know. We'd love to come share what God is doing in our lives and teaching us about obedience and living in high definition.

Below is a link to our message at Ada Bible

Union | March 13,2012 - Ada Bible Church Media

To stay up to date on where we're speaking, what we're writing about, or special updates on our journey, consider liking my facebook page!

https://www.facebook.com/RyanSPrudhomme

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Here was my Facebook status from Sunday night:

I'm so glad that we chose to ask people for prayer this week.

Here are very, very specific answers to prayer that we've had:

1. We felt more peaceful heading into these scans than I think we ever have before.  Sitting in the little room is always agony for both of us, and we were jovial and joking around the whole time.  My stomach only danced a couple of times inside my abdomen, instead of doing the cha-cha for 24 hours straight before the appointment.
2. I had a meeting on Monday afternoon that went as well as I could have possibly hoped for.  I can't share details at this point, but praise God for the results of it.
3. Ryan's scans showed that everything (tumors, blood work) totally stable again four weeks after starting the new treatment.  This is the best that I hoped for!  We have scans again in eight weeks and I'm going to throw my prayer energy into asking God for some shrinking of these darned tumors at that point.
4. Our oncologist mentioned that there is a new chemotherapy drug in the midst of FDA approval right now that he is excited about with regards to the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma.  I REALLY wish that I had asked him what the name of it is, but I forgot to. :(  If you read this and you're interested in learning more, I can get ahold of him and I'll ask for you.
5. Ryan is continuing to get more and more inquiries on speaking engagements. He is speaking several times this upcoming month and we are both sooo excited about how God is using this trial in our lives to impact other people!  By my estimate, around two thousand people have now heard Ryan (and/or me) speak at various events, and we have now had over 75,000 hits from 8,000 unique visitors.  I'm not boasting, because this has nothing to do with us, two ordinary people.  I give God the glory for how He has turned a painful situation into a way for people to draw closer to Him.  If we have to walk through this (which we do, unfortunately), there may as well be some eternal value to it!

We are in high spirits right now.  It feels like life is moving forward, ever so slowly...and even though the future still remains a giant question mark, we continue to remain absolutely certain that we serve an all-powerful God who works miracles, and has plans to prosper us - not harm us.  He gives us HOPE and a FUTURE!

Playing Dodgeball for God

Speaking at Bridge Bible Church North

It's been a busy four days for Kendra and I. I've spoken at four different venues in four days, drove an hour and a half to watch my cousin play basketball, trained my horses with friends, went to a Super Bowl party and started a new chemo cycle this morning. It's been busy but it's been great!

Tonight I spoke at New Era Reformed Church to their junior high youth group. This was a great group of extremely well-behaved junior highers. I've been sharing the same message for the most part that I shared at the Relay for Life and you can watch that here.

Tonight though I was surprised to meet an extremely special and beautiful young lady. Nikki can relate to where Kendra and I have been living as she has battled cancer and other difficulties in the last year. This young lady was a joy and sought me out to pray for me (please pray for her and her journey). What a blessing to get to know her and see her smile and joy for life. She hasn't been around kids much lately and this was one of the first times she's been back around other people. She was excited!

At the end the group played dodgeball. Nikki was asked if she wanted to sit on the stage and watch and she said she was playing! So then I asked if I could be her partner. Together we tore it up on the gym floor and Nikki did a great job. 

It was such a blessing and encouragement to meet this young lady. This was my High Definition moment today. We've been blessed to be getting stories and e-mails back from students and families about how God is working on their life through our story. What a blessing to be used by God and be allowed to see some of the fruit from the seed planting. 

We were too fast for the camera!

Sometimes God calls us to do something dramatic and "big" as we're being obedient and living in High Def, other times it can be something simple but just as profound and important. I love that I can play dodgeball for God with a new friend!

Be careful what you wish for!

A couple weeks ago I asked if you guys would help Kendra and I tell our story to new folks. Well the request was answered.

I'll be speaking four times in the next four days!

Sunday - Kendra and I are speaking at the Bridge North Bible Church
Monday - I'll be speaking at Holland Christian High School
Tuesday - I'll be speaking at Providence Christian High School
Wednesday - I'll be speaking at New Era Reformed to their youth group

There are others scheduled farther out, but this will be a big week for us.

Kendra and I are very very excited about all these opportunities. Please pray for us as we prepare and deliver the messages that God has for us. Please pray for those that will be listening that God would work on their hearts and minds.

Thanks so much for all your help in spreading the word about our story. There are some very exciting things happening in our lives and we can't wait to see where it goes!

We have a neat opportunity this weekend!

Something that I never thought I would do in my life is about to happen.

I am going to speak at a church this weekend.  Yes, Kendra Prudhomme, reformed bad girl, reformed slinker-to-the-back-of-the-church, the girl without a wise word to say to anyone...I am going to actually speak at a church's Sunday service.

Okay, okay.  So Ryan is also speaking. Actually, we'll call him the main speaker, and I'm his trusty sidekick. We all KNOW that he's the main attraction, and I promise you that he's a better speaker than I am. :)

Anyway, if you're interested in coming to hear what we have to say, here's where we'll be.

Bridge North Bible Church

1500 Whitehall Road, North Muskegon (WinterSun Preschool)

Service starts at 10:30 a.m.

Hope to see some of you there!

A humble request

What's the purpose of all this Lord?

Why me?

What will my legacy be?

These are all questions that at one time or another have rattled around in my head. This has not be an easy journey. There have been moments that have almost been crushing. When the world seems to be caving in there are a few things that keep me going.

1. An uncompromising decision that God is in control and I can trust Him.
2. My network of family and friends.
3. The knowledge that God is using Kendra and I to help those with our story.

There is something exhilirating about God opening doors for us to share our story. Whether it was at a major Christian concert (the next day a news article about me speaking headlines our newspaper instead of Newsboys!), speaking to football teams, churches, this blog, or interacting with individuals one on one, there have been so many times God has blessed us by allowing us to encourage those around us.

When I was diagnosed I would've never imagined all of this, and I still feel like it is building. I know what my purpose is no matter how much time I have left. I am desperate to help people see life in High Definition without having to go through the struggle Kendra and I have.

Getting the chance to encourage others and help others really does make it worth dealing with this cancer.

Would you please help us? If you have been blessed by our story and the lessons God has been teaching us, would you do something for us? Would you be willing to help us share our story. There are a few ways you can help us.

1. Please help pass our blog along. You can share it to Facebook or Twitter, e-mail it to prayer chains and networks, or recommend it to your friends and family.

2. If you would be willing, would you consider helping us to find more places we would be able to share our story in person. Kendra and I desire to encourage, challenge, and inspire other people. If you think there might be an opportunity for us to share our story we would be so grateful if you would help connect us. We're not seeking any kind of compensation or reimbursement. We really just want to help out. If you know of an event, church, group, school, or team that it might be beneficial, please be willing to speak to someone on our behalf.

3. Please pray for open doors. I serve a big God and know that He will use me however he sees fit. Every day I pray that God would use me to help others and that He would open doors that I can't open. Would you join me in this prayer please?

I hope you have been blessed and ministered to by reading our blog. If you have would you please help us? We'd be so grateful.

If you have questions feel free to e-mail me at ryan@graceadventures.org. Thank you so much for your continued prayer and support. We can't tell you how much we value and appreciate it.

PS I'm feeling much better. We decided to just postpone my second dose of chemo and we'll start over again with my next cycle as scheduled. We'll also be having another set of scans done at that time.