Pray and Donate for John Kostelyk's Cancer Journey

The Heidelberg Catechism opens with this question: What is your only comfort in life and in death? Over the past month, the Kostelyk family has deeply contemplated the answer -

That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

In mid-August, my dad, John Kostelyk, was diagnosed with stage two Multiple Myeloma - an aggressive bone cancer that is also impacting his kidneys. The cancer was discovered largely thanks to a recent back surgery he had. He wasn’t healing as expected, and after much testing, the cancer was identified. He began chemo the last week of August.

If you are reading this, know that my family has a deep faith and trust in God and His plan for my dad. In life and in death, my dad belongs to his faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. Later in Question and Answer one of the catechism, we read that, “not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.” We trust that all things are either for our good or will be used for our good by our Father in heaven, including this cancer. Through it, we trust that God’s will will be done and His name will be glorified.

I created this fundraiser to do two things. First and foremost is to ask you to pray for my dad John, my mom Arla, and my adopted five-year-old baby brother, Noah. Pray for my siblings, Phil, Angela, and Joel, and their spouses, Charlotte, Johnny, and Lindsey. Pray for me (James), my wife Paige, and our three boys Teddy, Wally, and Artie. Pray that we might all place our trust fully in the will and good pleasure of our Father in heaven. Pray for healing. Pray for our daily bread. Pray that we would rest in our special status of “belonging to Christ.” Many are already praying, and we believe the prayers of righteous people are powerful and effective (James 5:16). God allows Himself to be moved by our fervent prayers!

The second aim is to raise funds. Chemotherapy and hospital bills present a significant challenge. My parents don’t have traditional insurance, so a lot of these costs are coming out of pocket. If you feel so moved, please give; your gift would be a significant blessing to my family in this time.