KUCEY KORNER
September 16, 2017 - see also Special Update, Sep-29, 2017 and Oct-3, 2017, below
12 Hours:
That’s about the amount of time spent praying and spiritually preparing for Darin’s appointment with a specialist.
As I spent hours before the Lord in intercession, I was especially impacted by the weighty words of David in Psalm 143:
That’s about the amount of time spent praying and spiritually preparing for Darin’s appointment with a specialist.
As I spent hours before the Lord in intercession, I was especially impacted by the weighty words of David in Psalm 143:
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1.Lord, hear my prayer,
listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief. 2. Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you. 3. The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in the darkness like those long dead. 4. So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed. 5. I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. 6. I spread out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a parched land.[a] |
7. Answer me quickly, Lord;
my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. 8. Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. 9. Rescue me from my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in you. 10. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. 11. For your name’s sake, Lord, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble. 12. In your unfailing love, silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am your servant. |
There is not one word that David writes that doesn’t resonate with me. I wrote his whole prayer out in my journal. I read it and re-read it. I read it again as I laid my head on my pillow at the end of the day. I read it again before I even put my feet on the floor this morning. I read it once more during my morning devotions. I have left my Bible open to this portion of the Old Testament so I can read throughout the day.
It amazes me how a man who lived generations and generations ago would put the same petition before the Lord as I have in my heart! That David would cry out before his God with a similar level of distress, essentially saying, “Lord, I need You! Now! Come to me quickly or I am not going to make it!"
7. Answer me quickly, Lord;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
On a surface reading, it may seem like nothing but I took note of it almost immediately; David wrote, “the pit” not “a pit” but “THE pit.” I am convinced that David was very familiar with THAT pit. He had been down in THAT pit before. It was familiar to him. I, too, have been down in that pit more times than I can count. I have been in that pit so many times I have tried to decorate it figuring that if I was going to have to stay there, I may as well try to make things comfortable. I have tried to make THE pit pretty but there is nothing pretty about pain. It is still pain no matter how I try to dress it up. Pain is still pain. Brokenness is still brokenness.
THE pit may be a place of pain that is anything but pretty but I have also learned that THE pit has the potential to be a place of transformation if you know who to turn to. I sense that David knew pain but also understood where to turn and who to put his trust in in times of trauma.
8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
There may be pain in THE pit of Darin’s physical sickness, we don’t quite know yet. We are still waiting for the results of a 2nd biopsy. However, we do know that THE pit is not without purpose; to learn to turn to the only One who is trustworthy at all times and in ALL pits.
12. In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;
destroy all my foes,
for I am your servant.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.
We tasted of the Lord’s unfailing love and we know, that we know, that we know that we are His servants. We have entrusted our lives to His purposes. We can and do trust Him…..even in THE pit, as ugly as it is.
Prayer Partners Prayer Requests September 2017
It amazes me how a man who lived generations and generations ago would put the same petition before the Lord as I have in my heart! That David would cry out before his God with a similar level of distress, essentially saying, “Lord, I need You! Now! Come to me quickly or I am not going to make it!"
7. Answer me quickly, Lord;
my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
On a surface reading, it may seem like nothing but I took note of it almost immediately; David wrote, “the pit” not “a pit” but “THE pit.” I am convinced that David was very familiar with THAT pit. He had been down in THAT pit before. It was familiar to him. I, too, have been down in that pit more times than I can count. I have been in that pit so many times I have tried to decorate it figuring that if I was going to have to stay there, I may as well try to make things comfortable. I have tried to make THE pit pretty but there is nothing pretty about pain. It is still pain no matter how I try to dress it up. Pain is still pain. Brokenness is still brokenness.
THE pit may be a place of pain that is anything but pretty but I have also learned that THE pit has the potential to be a place of transformation if you know who to turn to. I sense that David knew pain but also understood where to turn and who to put his trust in in times of trauma.
8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
There may be pain in THE pit of Darin’s physical sickness, we don’t quite know yet. We are still waiting for the results of a 2nd biopsy. However, we do know that THE pit is not without purpose; to learn to turn to the only One who is trustworthy at all times and in ALL pits.
12. In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;
destroy all my foes,
for I am your servant.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.
We tasted of the Lord’s unfailing love and we know, that we know, that we know that we are His servants. We have entrusted our lives to His purposes. We can and do trust Him…..even in THE pit, as ugly as it is.
Prayer Partners Prayer Requests September 2017
- Pray for a miracle to be manifested in Darin’s body, guidance and wisdom for the doctors. He has had a camera put up his nose and down his throat twice now and nothing has been found. He has also had a CAT scan and it came back clear. He is having another second biopsy on the lump in his neck. We get the results on Tuesday, September 19th. We are likely looking at surgery on the lump no matter its source.
- Praise God with us for the exceptional support and encouragement provided during our Deputation tour.
- Praise God for His mercy on Haiti and his minimizing Hurricane Irma’s impact on the country.
- Pray for the Kucey family as they experience separation as a family.
- Pray for peace for each member of the family, especially the Kucey children.
- Pray for Cory as he begins his third year at Olivet University.
- Pray for Christ’s covering over the Kucey marriage and ministry.
- Pray for healing of heart wounds experienced this past year in the Kucey household.
- Please pray for Ryan’s spiritual awakening as well as the Lord’s blessing on his position of employment.
- Pray for our Work and Witness staff; Colson, Fatil, Asnat, Wilio, Michel as well as the 35 other contracted employees; masons, welders, painters etc.
- Ask the Lord for Spirit-directed wisdom for all the many ministry and family related decisions needed to be made on a daily basis.
- Ask for the Lord for his blessing on the other Nazarene missionaries in Haiti and ministries; NCM, Haiti Water Project, Haiti Hot Lunch Program, the 57 JESUS Film teams and Seminary.
- Pray for revival in Haiti!
- Pray for the at-risk children of Haiti, especially the street children, Restaveks and orphans.
- Ask the Lord to provide encouragers for the Kucey family; sidelining those that would add harm to their household.
- Please pray for Karissa and all aspects of her life; spiritually, mentally, emotionally, physically, academically and socially. Pray for healthy friendships for her here in Haiti.
- Petition the Lord for his protection upon the Kucey family as they live and travel throughout the country; that no weapon forged against them will prosper against them or their ministry.
- Pray for physical health and healing for each member of the Kucey family.
- Ask the Lord to increase His level of love in the lives of Darin, Tonya and Karissa for Haiti and its people.
- Pray for Tonya as she travels back to Nova Scotia on September 19th to see Darin and attend a Pastor and Spouses’ Retreat.
- Pray for protection for Karissa while both of her parents are in Canada.
SPECIAL UPDATE - SEPTEMBER 29, 2017
Bonswa tout moun!
Thank you for your on-going prayer support for our family as well as our ministry here in Haiti. Each of you are treasured and very much appreciated. We know that we know that we know that our ability to not only survive but thrive in our calling is because of the grace of God and the faithfulness of His people praying for us.
It is this very grace we need right now. It is your on-going faithfulness in prayer that we covet during this particular time.
Darin is scheduled to have surgery in the morning of October 4th in Halifax, NS. He is expected to be in the hospital for 3-5 days and, God willing, should the surgery go well, he will need no further follow up treatment. Our prayer is that God’s grace would guide the surgeons and that Darin would be able to return to Haiti as soon as possible.
Both Darin and I are in agreement that I remain in Haiti, taking care our daughter, as well as continue in our ministry responsibilities. This means that I will not be able to be with Darin during this time. Thankfully, my family is in Halifax as well as our oldest son, Ryan. We also have several people from our home District who are expecting to be able to visit with him. We are comforted in this situation of unwanted separation, that Darin will not be completely alone.
Please pray for the Lord to minister his power and presence in the midst of all aspects of this situation. Pray for peace for our family, especially Ryan, Cory and Karissa. Pray for protection against any strategies of Satan sent towards us especially fear and anxiety. Pray that our faith will be strengthened and sustained and that our witness would honor the Lord and point others towards Him. Pray for comfort for our Haitian staff as they, too, are impacted by the situation. Pray that the Lord would distract any and all who would be an added burden to us right now, that he would shelter us in the storm and not allow us to be overwhelmed by the wind and waves.
Mesi anpil!
In Him,
Tonya
Bonswa tout moun!
Thank you for your on-going prayer support for our family as well as our ministry here in Haiti. Each of you are treasured and very much appreciated. We know that we know that we know that our ability to not only survive but thrive in our calling is because of the grace of God and the faithfulness of His people praying for us.
It is this very grace we need right now. It is your on-going faithfulness in prayer that we covet during this particular time.
Darin is scheduled to have surgery in the morning of October 4th in Halifax, NS. He is expected to be in the hospital for 3-5 days and, God willing, should the surgery go well, he will need no further follow up treatment. Our prayer is that God’s grace would guide the surgeons and that Darin would be able to return to Haiti as soon as possible.
Both Darin and I are in agreement that I remain in Haiti, taking care our daughter, as well as continue in our ministry responsibilities. This means that I will not be able to be with Darin during this time. Thankfully, my family is in Halifax as well as our oldest son, Ryan. We also have several people from our home District who are expecting to be able to visit with him. We are comforted in this situation of unwanted separation, that Darin will not be completely alone.
Please pray for the Lord to minister his power and presence in the midst of all aspects of this situation. Pray for peace for our family, especially Ryan, Cory and Karissa. Pray for protection against any strategies of Satan sent towards us especially fear and anxiety. Pray that our faith will be strengthened and sustained and that our witness would honor the Lord and point others towards Him. Pray for comfort for our Haitian staff as they, too, are impacted by the situation. Pray that the Lord would distract any and all who would be an added burden to us right now, that he would shelter us in the storm and not allow us to be overwhelmed by the wind and waves.
Mesi anpil!
In Him,
Tonya
UPDATE, OCTOBER 3, 2017
Dear Prayer Partners:
We are drawing greater strength and comfort from your prayers. Thank you to those of you who have taken time to email us, sending words of encouragement. We are literally able to put our feet on the floor each day because of the love of God expressed through so many of His people. We are truly, truly grateful. This past year has been one of the toughest we have known, with each storm surge getting bigger and bigger. We haven’t drowned, however, because of God’s grace and the support of His people.
Thank you.
Today Darin went in for a full body scan to see if there is any other areas of concern in the rest of his body. He has already had his pre-op blood work done and so is set to go into surgery tomorrow morning at 8:45 a.m. Atlantic time. The surgery is expected to take 4-5 hours. He tells me that he will not be able to speak for some time afterwards but hopes to be able to text me to let me know how he is doing. Our son, Ryan, will be taking him to the hospital and my mother will likely try to be there when he is able to have visitors. The stay in the hospital is supposed to be 3-5 days.
If possible, we would hope to have as many as possible praying during this time frame.
Praying:
Again, grateful for friends and family who have committed themselves to stand in the gap on our behalf. We ask the Lord to bless you for it.
In Him,
Tonya
Dear Prayer Partners:
We are drawing greater strength and comfort from your prayers. Thank you to those of you who have taken time to email us, sending words of encouragement. We are literally able to put our feet on the floor each day because of the love of God expressed through so many of His people. We are truly, truly grateful. This past year has been one of the toughest we have known, with each storm surge getting bigger and bigger. We haven’t drowned, however, because of God’s grace and the support of His people.
Thank you.
Today Darin went in for a full body scan to see if there is any other areas of concern in the rest of his body. He has already had his pre-op blood work done and so is set to go into surgery tomorrow morning at 8:45 a.m. Atlantic time. The surgery is expected to take 4-5 hours. He tells me that he will not be able to speak for some time afterwards but hopes to be able to text me to let me know how he is doing. Our son, Ryan, will be taking him to the hospital and my mother will likely try to be there when he is able to have visitors. The stay in the hospital is supposed to be 3-5 days.
If possible, we would hope to have as many as possible praying during this time frame.
Praying:
- Peace and comfort for Darin
- Strength for myself and our children
- Supernatural guidance over the surgery and the skills of the doctors.
- Everything that needs to be removed from Darin is located.
- No further follow up treatment needed
- Quick recovery and return to Haiti.
- Any strategies of Satan be stopped by the power of Christ Jesus and protection against anything or anyone that he would send against us.
- For our family to be a strong witness for our Lord throughout the entire situation.
- Glory being given to our great God be it in sickness or in health.
Again, grateful for friends and family who have committed themselves to stand in the gap on our behalf. We ask the Lord to bless you for it.
In Him,
Tonya
