There have been multiple phone calls over the last few months that we definitely were not expecting, but at the same time, God has been very sweet and given such good gifts in between.
During the first few days of November, during a routine doctor’s visit, the doctor decided to follow up with an ultrasound. Both the doctor and the ultrasound tech said that they didn’t see anything concerning, but just wanted to wait for the ultrasound doctor to look over the results. In the afternoon, while we were putting the finishing touches on the past update, we received the first call we didn’t want to receive. Hearing the words, “Mr. Roseland, I don’t have good news. There are concerns that it could be cancer and I have you scheduled for surgery tomorrow.” is something that we were not ready for and could never have been. In less than 24 hours, we were in surgery to remove the cancer and starting the recovery process. Our minds and emotions were thrown through the ringer for a while! But we moved forward with life while we were waiting for the upcoming oncology appointments.
After going to the CAFO conference in September, Richard was able to experience a little bit of what a foster dad community would look like. So, he started a group call Adoptive and Foster Dads of Memphis on Facebook and started reaching out to people. In November, they were able to have their first meet up over BBQ and an Axe Throw. There were 6 adoptive/foster dads that showed up and it was such a cool time. It was great to all have something in common and know the struggles and pain that comes with adoption and fostering. It was just an immediate connection! And getting to throw axes while we were at it was even better. Some of the guys were even getting the underhanded throw by the end of the night. We are going to continue to try to meet up every 2 months to grow this community.
And then it was time for Thanksgiving!!! Two of Ximena’s friends from elementary school were studying at a university in Kansas and so we invited them to join us for Thanksgiving. It was going to be their first time to celebrate Thanksgiving, and for our two girls as well! We did the turkey and all of the sides and had leftovers for days as usual. Richard was also able to take Inti and Nico out for their first Black Friday experience. It was definitely more lowkey this year than previous ones, but they still had fun! We were even able to make it out to Nashville for a quick day trip to experience some country music. The week went by so incredibly fast, but it was good to be with friends and family.
The second call that we received went like this “Hi Richard, this is special agent Lisa _____ with FBI Tampa…” Yes, those are the calls that we never expected to hear. But we are in the middle of it! Since both of our teenage girls experienced human trafficking, they are in the process of submitted their stories to the FBI to be able to move forward with the visa process for victims. It has been so hard to sit with them as they share their stories and details with their lawyer and other officials. One of our girls even wanted to go back to the restaurant where she was forced to work, which was such an emotional experience for her. But we were glad that we were able to walk alongside her and process the emotions, letting her know that it is normal that she was shaking and feeling cold. She is also the one who was looking to be reunited with her mom and returning to her home country. In November, she received the news that she would not be able to, because it was too dangerous and her mom is asking for her to stay in the US. It was a hard blow that we had been preparing her for…so after crying for a bit, she accepted it and wants to do whatever God has for her. We are currently working on becoming permanent guardians for both of the girls until they turn 18.
Richard has been involved with Tennessee Kid’s Belong and their “I Belong Project,” which creates videos for the kids whose parent’s rights have been terminated and are awaiting adoption. Back in September at one of the shoots, Richard was able to meet Austin and had an immediate connection. He contacted Youth Villages to see if he could mentor him and the rest is history. Over the past few months, Richard was able to spend more time with Austin, leading up to permission for the off-campus passes that Austin loves. Youth Villages is a large campus about 2 miles from our home that has 100+ kids in a cottage style orphanage. Austin has a really difficult past, but is slowly starting to open up about life and who he is. We were able to go on a few different “excursions,” one of them being to Sun Records here in Memphis, which was the first recording studio where Elvis recorded a few of his ballads. Austin usually calls during the week and we go on these dates a few times a month. Please join us in praying that there will be a family willing to adopt him soon! I’m including the video that was made at that video shoot a few months back.
And then Christmas was upon us and this year it was a white Christmas…well, it was still a little bit white by then! We were spoiled this year with our WRAP team agreeing to get the gifts for each one of our kids, which allowed us to plan and execute a few new traditions for our kids. Ximena was the mastermind behind all of the Christmas Eve events and it was fun to see how giddy she was as she planned them. She started a few days before by having us watch Elf and then got up super early to make “breakfast” for the kids. Their expressions were priceless! On Christmas Eve, we started off with the traditional Christmas Eve dinner, but Ximena out did herself! She had found a neighbor giving away a turkey on our neighborhood Facebook page. Since we had already had tons of roasted turkey, she decided that she would treat it like a really big chicken and make chicken fried turkey. It was amazing!!! Add in the most delicious Puerto Rican macaroni salad that she makes (we are all addicted to it!) and we were all a little overstuffed.
Just in time for the scavenger hunt! We created the scavenger hunt using 10 clues and items that they had to collect Amazing Race style. They were running all over our neighborhood and throughout the house. Let’s just say that they all learned where the hot water heater was! The grand prize was a wireless speaker, so they went all-in. We then continued with the ping-pong ball down-the-stairs game, where they release 10 ping-pong balls and see how many land in the plastic cups. Nico was by far the winner, raking in a cool $43…thankfully everyone else missed the $20 cup!!! And then we ended the night with the wrapped Christmas present that you have to open with gloves and the plastic wrapped present pass around. They had a blast and it was so fun to see how competitive they are! For Christmas morning, we woke up to unwrap presents and have the traditional eggs and cinnamon rolls that Richard grew up with. It was beautiful!
For New Years, we headed down to Texas to help our Uncle Mark with the Texas Marathon Kingwood. For the past 14 years, Uncle Mark has been running in different marathons to raise money for our ministry. This past year, he was asked if he wanted to take over this marathon outside of Houston. He agreed, and along with our cousin Matt, they were tasked with all of the logistics. The coolest part is that 100% of the proceeds from the race went to three different ministries, one being ours. So, we packed up the car and headed to Texas! It was such a beautiful time to spend with family, while also working alongside them. It was exhausting for everyone with very early mornings and late nights, but it went great! They had people congratulating them on their leadership of the marathon and even Santiago is pumped up now to train to run the half marathon this next year!
Now that brings us to this week…but we need to go back a few weeks to share about the season we are now in. In December, we had met with an oncologist two different times, but both appointments did not go well. We were left with more questions, no answers, and feeling like we were all alone in making treatment decisions. After a lot of discussion, we decided to do a physician switch and were able to get the appointment the day we got back from Texas. It was a complete 180! Dr. Pallera was incredibly thorough, going through each detail and checking to make sure nothing had been missed. He was also going to share with an oncology panel about his findings to see if they thought there would be need for 1 round of chemotherapy or if it would be best to just do regular observation and tests. The day of the panel, they received the new blood work and looked over the previous pathology reports.
The doctor called immediately after, and that was the third difficult phone call we received. Dr. Pallera shared that the cancer markers in my blood had spiked and the panel of doctors had seen something in the pathology reports that made them think that the cancer was more aggressive than previously thought. There would be a need to do 4 rounds of chemotherapy, starting as soon as possible. It was crushing for both of us to hear it, knowing that our family dynamic and the next few months will be very different than expected. By that afternoon, Richard was getting a chest port put in where the chemotherapy will be administered. Melissa, Richard’s mom, flew in on Sunday night and we were at the cancer center yesterday morning for a CT scan, doctor’s visit, and chemo. The CT scan did come back showing that the cancer has spread into his lymph nodes, so they are even more confident of moving forward with the chemotherapy. We still don’t fully know what these next few months will hold, but know that God is good and will continue to be, even in the midst of suffering.
So these two little “Christmas Elves” are slowing down our activity for the next few month, focusing on Richard’s treatment and just making sure our kids are taken care of. Amy Sullivan, who we always refer to as our fairy godmother, is partnering with a few of our friends to help love on our family. Many people have asked how they can help during this season, so here are a few options!
1. Amy is organizing meals and other ways to help. Here is the link for the meals: https://takethemameal.com/MCCC3205. If you have any questions or want to know more, feel free to reach out to her at 901-483-4963.
2. Praying and sending mail! We have so felt the prayers and greatly appreciate the notes and cards. Receiving letters in the mail are so encouraging, especially some of the written prayers! Our address is 8240 Rebecca Woods Dr., Arlington, TN 38002.
We are so grateful to each person who reads our update and loves on us in so many ways. We are always needing new supporters, so if God places it on your heart, here are the links:
Family Support: CLICK HERE!
Ministry Expenses Support: CLICK HERE!
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