Renee - health update

Renee attended Capilano College last year learning about film
production. She got a summer job that grew into a more or less full
time job as Production Assistant on a number of TV shows and movies.

In the last few months she developed a persistant cough and in a
recent blood test her counts were low. She had a bone marrow tap
today so the doctor could try to figure out what was going on. She
has an appointment at the clinic tomorrow to get preliminary results.
Needless to say, she is quite worried about the situation. She would
appreciate your prayers on her behalf, that God would give her and her
family the peace and calm that only God can give, and that if it be
possible her test results be good.

Thank you for your prayers.
--
Raymond and Martha Dueck

Renee email ReneeDueck@gmail.com
Keep up to date by reading Renee's blog at http://reneedueck.blogspot.com/

See our pictures at http://www.dueckpics.blogspot.com/
We live in E St Paul MB Canada R2E 0L2 and attend Eastview Community Church
See Renee's hospital at www.mskcc.org/
Visit us at www.Duecks.com/
Support our favorite charity www.TheLifeLight.com

My Friend Dennis Kroeker

DENNIS KROEKER 1948-2007
It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of Dennis Kroeker on Saturday, March 17, 2007, while serving his Lord and Savior in Nicaragua. We are comforted to know that he is in paradise. He will however, be greatly missed by his wife Janice of 35 years; his sons Nathan (Genevieve) and Merle (Lorna) and his daughter Karla (Harri) Leinonen, and his beloved grandchildren, Nico, Teya, Mia, Brynn, Tyrone and Blake.
Dennis is also survived by his mother Elizabeth Kroeker, and eight brothers and sisters: Rosalind (Irvin) Dueck, Laura (AI) Friesen, Irma Kroeker, Dave (Agnes) Kroeker, Elda (John) Enns, Ray (Luella) Kroeker, Clarice (Roger) Plett and Vern (Anne) Kroeker, and numerous nieces and nephews. Dennis was predeceased by his father, a brother in infancy and two grandchildren, also in infancy.
Dennis was born in Morris, Man., but he grew up and spent most of his life farming in the Riverton area with his brothers. His life was always filled with adventures, including many winters spent hauling freight to various northern Manitoba communities. In 2000, Dennis left his career on the farm and moved into the town of Arborg in order to pursue other opportunities.
With a love for agriculture, he thoroughly enjoyed working for Manitoba Crop Insurance as an adjuster, enabling him to interact with farmers throughout Manitoba, as well as serving on the Board of Directors for the Puratone Corporation. In addition, he enjoyed traveling, mission-work, snowmobiling and camping, allowing him to make many precious memories with his family.
Dennis always had a passion for people, whether it was his children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews, neighbors and friends, or the new people he enjoyed getting to know during his last afternoon in Nicaragua, and he always had time for conversation. He will be missed by many.
We would like to express our appreciation for the tremendous outpouring of love we have been experiencing during this difficult time. Thank you so much for all the prayers on our behalf.
His Family

Blessings

A true friend is the greatest of all blessings and the one that we take the least care of all to acquire. Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca

Quote in a box

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Oliver Wendell Holmes

Tuesday in LA

Spent the day at Disneyland and California Adventures. Had bought new shoes and they created a lot of foot pain for me on top of the knee pain. Wish I had rented a wheelchair. That would have got us to the front of the line faster. More pictures

Memorial Day in California

Memorial day
5/29/07 Star wars- slow to get here. Saw the helmet display, spent some time in the fan room and bought a few things.

At 3 o'clock we went to Hollywood. Kara was anxious to see the Kodak theatre. Not quite what she expected. Bought some stuff. Had a bite to eat and went back to watch the History Channel's coverage of the phenomena of the Universe of Star Wars. What a story!

You never outgrow the need for a mentor.

Try not. Do. Or do not.

Padme Amadalla embodies love. Her daughter Lea blossoms to become stronger.

"I love you." "I know." The most romantic line in all literature.

Evil exists. Darth Vader radiates the glamour of evil. Unstoppable. Anakin was gripped by anger and power and that ultimately destroyed him. Impatient. Spoiled teenager. Listens to the wrong mentor just ike Eve in the garden of Eden. Sells his Soul to the devil as in Paradise Lost. Lucifer's pride way is his downfall. Anakin ends up in hell. So much symbolism. He lost his humanity. He paid the price.

We need to watch Star Wars when we get home.

Tomorrow we go to Disney's California Adventure. Wednesday to Universal and Hollywood and Thursday to Knott's Berry farm and the beaches. A bit of shoping on Friday and home by 9 pm

Back to work next week.

Today at Star Wars

5/27/07 were planning to go to the 9 am service at Saddleback but when we saw they have a 6:30 service we decided to go to Star Wars in the morning
10:00 am Creating new worlds interviews w the designers and model makers.
11:00 am Fan Fair hall where the fan clubs demonstrate their diorama and model building skills.
Long line up for a Starbucks Coffee. I'm so tired I could go back to the hotel for a good sleep.
1:00 pm One Man Star Wars trilogy. By Charlie Ross, who started it as a one man show off Broadway.
2:30 pm Billy Dee Williams and the Lando diaries. Hosted by Scott Chernoff - Star Wars nerd. Very funny. Debonair.
4:30pm The Force of The Fetts in Concourse Hall with Jiay La'Guya from Australia
Reunion of friends.
the youngest- Daniel Logan from New Zealand now in college. Boba Fett as a child.
Jeremy Bullock the flying adult Boba Fett
Temeura Morrisson Jengo Fett

6:30 pm www.saddleback.com for church. Got there 15 minutes late partly because there were 2 Portola parkway exits.
Rick Warren pastor preached on "Setting Financial Goals"
Tithe 10% save 10% no matter what. He has a dozen billionaire friends. They all follow that principle. Only buy what you need. Wear it out. God wants to be your financial advisor.
Provide for family needs. Not greeds. God expects it. 1 Tim 5:8 Don't live beyond your needs.

Testimony: Mary Hunt grew up poor and wanted to be rich to have what she wanted. Maried Harold - a banker. She got a credit card. Got into fights with her husband. He quit his good job to get into multi-level marketing. Lost everything. She finally saw her cheating heart and made God a promise to tithe and save. Spent 10 years in frugality and thrift. Her husband started calling her "my little cheapskate" They paid back more than $100,000 in unsecured debt. Now they own a business.

Use some money to grow your character. Grow Spiritually with Seminars Conferences Fitness memberships.
He bought his first Bible as a teenager. Cost 2 month's allowance. Still have that Bible today. Better to have wisdom and knowledge than to have gold and silver.
Buy some good books.
Use some money to help others. The only safe investment for eternity. 2,000 verses about helping the poor.
Saddleback Church is the most generous church in North America. 1.6 million $ raised in one offering for the tsunami plus $1.7MM for hurricane victims.
Nothing becomes great without sacrifice. Are our greatest days behind us or before us? Start tithing today!
Luke16:9 Give to get some friends into heaven. That is the highest use of your money. There will be people in heaven because of your help.
Only people who don't know God are always worried about money. Circle the words about heaven.
You can pile it up on earth or in heaven. If your treasure is on earth, you get one day further away from it every day.

8:45pm dinner at Memphis Bar B-Q Company. ''We didn't invent Bar-B-Q it just tastes like it"

Saturday Star Wars

11:00 VFX Rock stars
12:00 Wait
Carrie Fisher Autograph
3:30 bite of Pizza
4:00 501st Costume Bounty Hunters
5:00 Wait
6:30 Star Wars in 30 min
7:30 laser tag
8:00 Wait
9:00 Conversation w Carrie Fisher $15 each
10:00 Celebration

Sitting in Line

I'm blogging from my PDA
Karalee and I are sitting in line waiting for Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) to come back from her break. We've been in the line since 12:10 and we'd like to go to the next stage show at 2:30
It does not look like that will happen.

Martha called from Peter & Trudy's cabin. She's out camping on Hecla with the Reimer family this weekend.

Justin went to Lonnie's place so he wouldn't be home alone. He still has a very serious case of the flu he's been battling for 3 weeks.

Renee now has a job at Value Village. Not her first choice but something to keep busy.

Alayna is going to start painting houses soon. She wants to earn her own way thru university. Very independent of her parents. Enslaved by her boyfriend. Pray for her.

Karalee is trying to decide what to do next year. She'd like to go to university to study film production. Her parents would like that to be in a Christian environment. Pray for her.

Business is more than busy and often requires more wisdom than I have.

We did eventually get that wonderful signature after a 3 hr wait. Then it was time to go to a costume making work shop and from there to a play "star wars in 30 minutes" after a 1-1/2 hr wait.

After that it was time to line up for "a conversation with Carrie Fisher". Another 1 hr wait for 1 hr show.

All in all - not a bad day -

What is the moral of the story of Star Wars?

Anikin Skywalker is born of a virgin and has more ''Life" in him than anyone else. He is looked up to as the Promised One.

He thinks he knows more the his teachers. He wants to be recognized as a Jedi (leader) before he is ready. He has nightmares about his wife Padme dying in childbirth. When he starts to listen to the Dark Side he is convinced he can save his wife, if only he turns to the dark side. When he does, he loses everything and becomes the evil Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith. In the end his son Luke demonstrates real love and he turns away from the Dark Side just before he dies.

In short- listen to those who love you and you will avoid the dark side of life.

Star Wars Celebration IV

Father Daughter graduation trip.

Karalee selected where she wanted to go, and I'm really enjoying my time with her. We left Calgary on Tuesday morning after Tyler and Chrystel's wedding (Monday). Los Angeles is a lot crummier than Karalee had imagined. I am posting the pictures to www.dueckpics.blogspot.com.

George Lucas's Star Wars 1st showing was 30 years ago today, in 30 theatres. The word blockbuster was invented to apply to Star Wars. It ran in theatres continuously for more than a year. Many of the words invented by George Lucas, are now in the standard dictionary.

The US Post Office released 15 new stamps yeasterday to celebrate the 30 years of Star Wars and the impact it has had around the world.

Happy Birthday, Renee

Happy Birthday to Renee - today 23

Click on the title to read her blog

This picture was taken on the beach in Vancouver in November 2006. More pictures on our PictureBlog

Trip to Thailand (Siam)

Does this look like Thailand?

No - we went to Vancouver for a nice visit with Renee, and then headed off to Thailand. We took some 600 pictures and those can be found on our pics blog. There are some detailed descriptions about our experiences in Thailand.

Renee is doing well and enjoying her studies at Capilano College. Check her blog.

In Vacouver there has been an extraordinary amount of snow, and the snow caused us to get to Thailand somewhat later than it should have. We had a good time. Would have loved to stay longer, but we are glad to be home.

One Year Later

Friends:
One Year ago TODAY we sent the email included below. Little did we know what was in store for us.

Renee was initially admitted to Cleveland Clinic for intravenous antibiotics to treat the swelling in her legs as a result of AML. She had gone into the Clinic on Monday, back on Tuesday, saw the specialist on Wednesday and Thursday, was admitted Friday, and we got there Saturday. Tuesday she was transferred to New York’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. During the 6 months in treatment, she received 3 rounds of chemo. Normally they would do 6 rounds in 6 months, but her recovery was too slow.

On Dec 23 she was discharged and returned home to Winnipeg. She enrolled at CMU for the winter semester. When that was complete she found a job at Global Connections at the Forks Johston Terminal. She has been working there ever since.

She has enrolled at North Vancouver’s Capilano College Film School for next winter. We have really enjoyed getting to know her again and seeing her more often. We will miss her terribly. We know she wants to be in the center of God’s will for her life, and so we bless her in that decision. For more information check http://www.capcollege.bc.ca/programs/film/diploma.html

Thank you for asking. Her blood tests and bone marrow tests are normal. We trust that she will remain leukemia free for the rest of her life.

Thanks again for your prayers. They have sustained and healed.

Raymond & Martha

Check out Renee’s blog at www.ReneeDueck.blogspot.com and www.Duecks.com


From: Raymond Dueck
To: Undisclosed-Recipient:;
Sent: Friday, June 24, 2005 11:52 PM
Subject: Renee is in hospital
She was admitted today at Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland with acute leukemia our flight leaves at 7 a.m. Saturday morning we have no idea when we will be back please pray for her and God's hand of healing on her and wisdom for her doctors
Renee has been admitted to
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/
Her doctor is Anjali Advani, M.D.
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/cancer/physician/docs.asp?StaffID=4490
She is on intravenous antibiotics
The phone # at her bedside is
Your prayers are much appreciated!
Raymond & Martha Dueck
2 Eagle Court
East St Paul MB R0E 0L2
204-661-5348
cell 204-782-2112
Martha's cell 204-771-7559
204-364-2454 fax
Raymond@Dueck.net
http://www.duecks.com/
Check out
http://www.thelifelight.com/

oFF TO nEW yORK - tIME FOR A cHECKuP

Friday morning early Renee and Martha are heading off to New York to do some shopping etc, and to see Dr Steinherz for a bone marrow aspiration and a complete checkup. All indications are that Renee is in remission and we hope and pray that she is cured of the leukemia. They plan to stay at the Ronald McDonald House, but the social worker was not sure a room would be available,so we are looking for alternatives. They expect to return Tuesday.

We celebrated Renee's 22nd birthday in March. You can see her pictures at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=54n7ril.2ggx6p75&x=0&y=-d2q6i0

Thanks again for your prayers and support for our family.
--
The Duecks
We welcome your calls
Martha 204-771-7559
Renee's NEW PHONE # 204-296-0493 NEW email ReneeDueck@gmail.com
Keep up to date by reading Renee's blog

See our pictures
We live in E St Paul MB Canada R2E 0L2 and attend Eastview Community Church
See Renee's hospital at www.mskcc.org/
Visit us at www.Duecks.com/
Support our favorite charity www.TheLifeLight.com/

Time to Celebrate!

Renee will be 22 years old on Saturday March 18. We plan to have lunch at the WAG, and Renee wants to party with her cousins in the evening.

On Sunday we are inviting all of Renee's cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends to our house for the BIG PIZZA PARTY! Sunday – March 19, 2006 - Come to our house after 3 p.m. – pizza (and other goodies) are served 5 p.m. Please email Martha@Duecks.com to let us know you are coming.

Her recent blood test showed normal everything. She wants to get her central line removed ASAP. She needs the New York doctors to advise our family doctor to zip it out. Hopefully that will happen soon! Early May she plans to go for a New York checkup.

Greetings may be sent to Renee directly at her new email reneedueck@gmail.com or
to our home at #2 Eagle Court, E ST Paul, MB, R2E 0L2 Canada

May God bless you! Thanks again for your prayers.

--
Raymond and Martha Dueck

Keep up to date by reading Renee's blog at http://reneedueck.blogspot.com/
http://daddydueck.blogspot.com/

See our pictures at http://www.dueckpics.blogspot.com/
Visit us at www.Duecks.com/
Support our favorite charity www.TheLifeLight.com/

Praying for our children

Praying for our children, adapted from Shattering Your Strongholds by Liberty Savard

Lord God, I thank you that I am your child, seated with Jesus in the heavenly places. I ask Lord that you will bind __________’s body, soul and spirit to your will and purposes for his/her life. I ask you to bind __________’s mind, will and emotions to your will. I ask you to bind him/her to the truth and to the blood of Jesus. I ask you to bind his/her mind to the mind of Christ, that the very thoughts, feelings and purposes of Jesus heart would be within his/her thoughts. I ask you to bind __________’s feet to the paths of righteousness that his/her steps would be steady and sure. Bind him/her to the work of the cross with all of its mercy, grace, love, forgiveness and dying to self.

I pray that you, by your mighty power, loose every old, wrong, ungodly pattern of thinking, idea, desire, belief, motivation, habit and behaviour fr0m him/her. I ask You to tear down, crush, smash and destroy every stronghold associated with these things. Please loose any stronghold in his/her life that has been justifying and protecting hard feelings against anyone. Loose the strongholds of unforgiveness, fear and distrust from him/her.

I ask you Lord to loose the power and effects of deceptions and lies from him/her. And to loose the confusion and blindness of the god of this world from __________’s mind that has kept him/her from seeing the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Bring to his/her remembrance every precious word of Scripture that has ever entered into his/her mind and heart that it would rise up in power within him/her.

I pray Lord, that you would loose the power and effects of any harsh or hard words spoken to, about or by _______. Loose all generational bondages and associated strongholds from __________. Loose all effects and bondages from him/her that may have been caused by mistakes I have made. Father, I ask You to crush, smash and destroy generational bondages of any kind from mistakes made at any point between generations. May they be completely destroyed so that they will not bind and curse any more members of this family.

Lord God, I ask you to bind the strong man, Satan that his house will be spoiled and that every material and spiritual possession he has wrongfully taken from __________ will be returned. I ask you to loose the enemy’s influence over every part of his/her body, soul and spirit. I ask you to loose, crush, smash and destroy every evil device Satan may try to bring into his/her sphere of influence during this day.

I bind and loose these things in Jesus’ name. Thank you, Lord, for the truth. Amen.

Thank God for a Happy Birthday!

I just want to give thanks to God for so many blessings He has bestowed on us. I thank God for our family. We had such a good time together this weekend celebrating my birthday. Saturday night we went to an Ethiopian restaurant. We really like the food and it is fun all eating out of the same dish with our hands. Then as if we hadn’t had enough to eat, we went to Baked Expectations, just up the street a bit for dessert. On Sunday I made a roast beef for lunch with potatoes and carrots. That really went over good. It is so convenient that Justin and Renee live so close together, when it comes to picking them up, etc. I’m sure that was no accident.
Martha

Hello God

Hello God,
I called tonight
To talk a little while
I need a friend who'll listen
To my anxiety and trial.
You see, I can't quite make it
Through a day just on my own...
I need your love to guide me,
So I'll never feel alone.
I want to ask you please to keep
My family safe and sound.
Come and fill their lives with confidence
For whatever fate they're bound.
Give me faith, dear God, to face
Each hour throughout the day,
And not to worry over things
I can't change in any way.
I thank you God for being home
And listening to my call,
For giving me such good advice
When I stumble and fall.
Your number, God, is the only one
That answers every time.
I never get a busy signal,
Never had to pay a dime.
So thank you, God, for listening
To my troubles and my sorrow.
Good night, God, I love You too,
And I'll call again tomorrow!
A man whispered, "God, speak to me"
and a meadowlark sang.
But, the man did not hear. So the man yelled,
"God, speak to me"
and the thunder rolled across the sky.
But, the man did not listen. The man looked around and said,
"God let me see you." And a star shined brightly.
But the man did not see. And, the man shouted,
"God show me a miracle."
And, a life was born.
But, the man did not notice. So, the man cried out in despair,
"Touch me God, and let me know you are here.
" Whereupon, God reached down and touched the man.
But, the man brushed the butterfly away
and walked on.

Alayna is home!!!!!!!!

It is so good to have her home again. She arrived late last night, and slept a good part of today. She went to the chiropractor this morning, had a voice lesson this afternoon, and theory this evening. She is planning to perform at the Music Festival at the end of February.

Thanks for praying

Maybe we overreacted. Alayna called us late Monday night to tell us she was OK! She said they were on a rock-climbing trip for the fun of it, and to visit Katie in Phoenix. She said she had done "nothing wrong". They have separate sleeping arrangements, and nothing improper was going to happen. When I offered to buy her a ticket to fly home, she was clear that she did not want that. We made it clear that we felt that what she had done was highly inappropriate to say the least. She said she knew that she would have to live with the consequences of her decisions.

Some time ago I asked her if she knew what was the best gift her mom had ever given me. When I told her that it was that her mom had given me her virginity on our wedding night, she was emphatic that that is what she wanted to give her husband-to-be as well. So many marriages break up for lack of purity before the wedding.

Alayna is a vivacious, articulate, highly skilled individual. She sings, acts, and generally knows everything about anything. She loves the Lord and wants to walk in the center of His will. She is searching for God's will to be revealed to her. We look forward with keen anticipation to see what that will be! Please continue to pray for her.

--
Raymond and Martha