Seeing the Good in It with Cancer Survivor Phil Zielke

[00:00:00] thanks for being here this evening my name is Kevin Conover and I’m your host on educate for Life radio we’re broadcasting down here in Southern

[00:00:06] California on kpra 1210 a.m. the largest Christian station down in San Diego

[00:00:11] we’re also on FM 106.1 in North County and then of course we’re on Spotify and

[00:00:17] and podcast all over the place and on YouTube we have all kinds of incredible guests I think we’re up now over 300

[00:00:24] interviews which is pretty amazing and uh I’ve been interviewing people from all over the world who have been impacted uh by Christ and then allowed

[00:00:32] Christ to work through them to minister to others um all kinds of incredible testimonies and shows and my guest this

[00:00:39] evening has an amazing testimony um his name is Phil zil and he’s a speaker

[00:00:45] teacher Coach and he’s a two-time stage four cancer survivor um absolutely

[00:00:51] incredible he’s dedicated his life to ensuring that no one faces cancer alone he founded Phil’s friends which is an

[00:00:58] Outreach Ministry that sends cards and care packages to those with cancer and

[00:01:03] uh I think it’s incredible um what he’s doing Phils friend.org is his website

[00:01:08] Phil thanks for being with us today great to be with you Kevin we appreciate the time absolutely um you know I think

[00:01:15] cancer is scary for not just the people that get it but it’s scary for everybody

[00:01:20] around them too because they’re a lot of people they do not know how to respond when somebody gets cancer and I I can

[00:01:28] speak to this personally um I’ve known quite a few people who have had cancer um sadly uh when I was 20 years old a

[00:01:36] kid in my youth ministry I was a volunteer in the youth ministry and a kid um who got saved in high school was

[00:01:44] on fire for the Lord and all of a sudden I found out he had cancer and I honestly

[00:01:50] I panicked and I was as a young Christian who was trying to be a a

[00:01:56] mentor I did not know what to do I was really honestly uh at a loss for God how

[00:02:03] in the world do I offer any hope in a situation like this and I so wish that I

[00:02:10] had somebody like yourself somebody with um the wisdom the experience and the knowledge and the the story The

[00:02:17] testimony of what you’ve gone through or a book like the one that you just recently wrote seeing the good in it um

[00:02:23] that would have given me the counsel I needed to be able to minister to him because he was desperately needing hope

[00:02:30] um in that situation um tell us your story uh what happened to you that

[00:02:36] caused you to end up ultimately uh with God working through you where you’re at today yeah so I grew up in a Christian

[00:02:42] home but I knew that was right for my parents and other people I’d go to church on Sunday and it was maybe kind of you know way I describe it as I had

[00:02:48] one toe inside a church on Sunday for an hour and the rest of the time I was living my own life when I was a senior

[00:02:54] in college I was sick for about a year doctors didn’t know what was wrong with me I was a college athlete so sometimes

[00:03:00] I’d run 15 20 mil a day uh play soccer as well and um I just started getting

[00:03:05] really sick so IID lost 40 lbs over the course of that year I’d get night sweats every night when I fell asleep and I I

[00:03:11] kept on going to the doctor for about a year and they didn’t know what was wrong with me and I think sometimes in life whether it’s cancer or whatever it may

[00:03:17] be it’s that fear of the unknown can be crippling and um it’s almost like a toxic gas that enters in the room before

[00:03:23] you know it you’re just full of fear and and so I ended up um when I was student teaching in a fourth grade classroom I

[00:03:29] had a fever for about 104 for the entire week then I had lymph nodes in my neck swell up about golf ball size finally

[00:03:35] they referred me to a surgeon and I went in the surgeon’s office remember well clearly I was with my mom and I was

[00:03:40] nervous she was nervous they felt her on my neck and said we’re going to do a needle aspiration I remember thinking myself needles I don’t I don’t like

[00:03:46] needles you know I didn’t like those since I was a little kid yeah threw so much fluid out of my neck that it spilled all over the floor and I saw the

[00:03:52] doctor look at the nurse and look back at me and say Phil there’s a 50% chance that this is cancer so they rushed the

[00:03:58] results next day they say we don’t know what it is we’re not sure but as a precaution come in and we’ll get a lymph

[00:04:04] node taken out so again very scary for me to kind of surrender to the doctors and nurses like how am I going to get

[00:04:09] through this surgery um I I’m going to have to trust and and lean on other people and uh that next day my dad got a

[00:04:16] call we had arranged for him to get the information he was a high school principal at the time came home early sat on my bedside and he said Phil I

[00:04:22] don’t want to tell you this but I talked to the doctors and you have cancer and I just remember looking at him saying oh

[00:04:27] my goodness like are you even being honest with me you know is this true and then of course obviously no dad would

[00:04:33] share that news with their son if it wasn’t and right there he did something really important with me he prayed with me on my bedside and he said Lord I know

[00:04:39] Phil’s your child I just pray that if he’s supposed to live another year another 40 years whatever it may be that

[00:04:44] he can bring you glory um through this circumstance and you know the light can be shown on you when he said amen I

[00:04:50] started feeling a little bit of of Hope and uh just a very tiny bit because they knew what was wrong and I think again

[00:04:57] that fear of the unknown not knowing what it is can be devastating so I I had to tell my girlfriend it was our two-ear

[00:05:03] dating anniversary I had to go tell my fourth grade classroom the next day it’s my last day of teaching and then I

[00:05:08] checked into the hospital for the next six months wow yeah and that’s just um

[00:05:15] changes everything right your whole life changed from there on out and uh you know so you you had a very particular

[00:05:22] kind of cancer um that you had to deal with tell us a little bit about the specific type of cancer you had yeah so

[00:05:29] I had lymphoma and it’s basically a cancer of your lymph nod so um you know your lymph nodes are in your neck they

[00:05:35] other areas and they keep you from kind of disease and so mine clearly weren’t working correctly and and so when the

[00:05:41] doctor delivered the news to me uh later that night after my dad did he called me and it was a doctor from another

[00:05:46] hospital teaching Hospital said we heard about your story and you can come in tomorrow you don’t need an appointment

[00:05:52] but he’s like I need to ask you those questions you know send us the slides over so we did that he said how long have you had the symptoms of the night

[00:05:58] sweats and the hip pains and the fever and I said it’s been at least 9 months cuz I had recorded it and he said those

[00:06:03] are symptoms of stage 4B the most advanced stage of the disease and when I hung up the phone I walked in and I

[00:06:08] faced my family and I just lost it uncontrolled um and uh so it’s you know

[00:06:13] the type of cancer I have there’s so many different cancers that are out there and I think just hearing those words you have cancer can be devastating

[00:06:20] and we always think of the physical effects when someone’s diagnosed but there’s the emotional psychological you

[00:06:25] know it affects as your affects your whole body it affects your your family uh your friend Network there’s no going

[00:06:31] away from it once you hear those words yeah um you know you say that the biggest toll cancer takes is on your

[00:06:36] mental state can you expand on that why what’s going on there yeah so when I ended up on my hospital bed and you know

[00:06:43] I didn’t have visitors or I couldn’t have visitors there’s just times where you get really weak and you know the

[00:06:48] devil will that’s when I started realizing the devil will you know play tricks on you and enter into your mind and try to say you’re not going to make

[00:06:53] it you know put all these types of thoughts in there and so it really becomes a war you know mentally uh when

[00:06:59] you’re through it not just physically but you know those attacks continue to come and thankfully I had people who lifted me up and prayed for me um I had

[00:07:06] people who visited me did a lot of tremendous things for me but you know there’s times when you go through your cancer Journey where it’s not just you

[00:07:12] know living for that day it’s not just living for that hour it’s living minute by minute depending on those treatments that you’re having and uh but let’s be

[00:07:19] honest we’re all in a spiritual war and you realize that uh when physically you know this could have been the end of my

[00:07:25] time it wasn’t and God had a big plan for that so obviously um you know the dark Forces or demonic forces evil you

[00:07:32] know didn’t want that to happen yeah so so how did you end up um recovering from that the first time what

[00:07:38] what happened because stage four that’s not something um a lot of people come back from right uh what happened yeah so

[00:07:46] I did six months of chemotherapy so I’d basically do three days of infused straight um with the chemotherapy hooked

[00:07:52] up to the port that I had inserted in my chest then I’d go home and quote unquote rest for the next few weeks do an

[00:07:58] outpatient treatment so I did cycles of that and then they ended up testing me doing a pet pet scan towards the end of

[00:08:05] it and said there’s no evidence of cancer you know so we can stop so I went back to to teaching fourth grade I

[00:08:11] taught from September until April that year then I got the Pains of my hips again where it was attached to my bones

[00:08:17] and I went through a bunch of tests and I’m thinking there’s no way this is back and eventually they figured out through

[00:08:23] some hip guided CT scan that there were a couple cells that never went away and so it came back again still stage four

[00:08:30] and uh I barely made it through the first time and I remember telling myself I don’t know I could never do this again

[00:08:35] you know do this again on my own and and now I had have to break the news not only to not to my girlfriend but my

[00:08:40] fiance because we’re three months away from our wedding you know tell my siblings my parents and then check back

[00:08:46] in and basically it’s all your dreams and all your aspirations and everything that you want to look forward to

[00:08:51] personally it’s just it’s gone overnight what’s going on in your mind as you’re going through this you know as you’re

[00:08:57] moving through these the tree treatments you you you recover then it comes back

[00:09:04] and like you said it affects you mentally um how did that affect your relationship with God what was going on

[00:09:10] there in the dialogue between you and and the Lord yeah so first time through I got to say people showed up to me and

[00:09:16] I’ll I’ll maybe share a little bit later of what people did and how the ministry was born but that second time when I

[00:09:22] heard those words uh I was angry I was so mad at God because yeah I had felt

[00:09:27] like he brought me through this I’m teaching fourth creers you know I’m sharing my faith with them and now all of a sudden all this is being taken away

[00:09:33] from me I could not understand it so I wounded up that first treatment back in the hospital 3:00 in the morning my

[00:09:39] Dad’s sleeping on the couch and I am just yelling I’m furious at God how could you let this happen to me don’t

[00:09:45] you understand you know I’m about to get married how could you do this to my fiance you know how what about the kids

[00:09:50] I’m teaching so I started just pleading with him and I was being very honest and raw with how I was feeling and then I

[00:09:56] just kind of felt this whisper after that and it was basically you know I can continue to try to fight

[00:10:01] this on my own and struggle or I can release this situation to God it’s really my choice and so I decided after

[00:10:07] all that anger and kind of blowing up like Lord I’m going to give you this situation I’m going to surrender it to you I’m asking you to take me by the

[00:10:14] hand and walk with me as we go down this journey and that’s when I was able really to have the fruits of the spirit

[00:10:19] in that surrender of saying all right God I want you to walk this with me and really experience peace and even joy in

[00:10:25] the midst of you know that difficult circumstances of fac in your life yeah and that seems almost impossible

[00:10:31] honestly I mean you look at a situation like that and especially for somebody looking from the outside in trying to

[00:10:36] comprehend like are you for real I we had a a kid at here in San Diego at the

[00:10:42] school I teach at he got cancer he’s one of my I was very close to this student I ended up through some U different

[00:10:49] situations I ended up having him three years in a row as a student and um he got cancer and he was weeping um he

[00:10:57] called me on the phone and and said uh Mr connover um I need to meet with you

[00:11:02] I’ve got to meet with you and we met we sat and the first thing he said to me was is everything you’re teaching me

[00:11:08] true um and he was a junior moving it was his summer of his senior year going

[00:11:13] into the school and and we sat down we had this long discussion and um I’m just you know for somebody

[00:11:23] who’s um looking at somebody going through this maybe somebody who’s they just found out they have can answer what

[00:11:30] advice do you give to somebody as far as how does that person show up to be a support to them um through this very

[00:11:38] dramatic situation like you said you’re screaming at God you’re so angry at God and a person is kind of like whoa what I

[00:11:45] I don’t know what to do you know how how do you show up as a Godly person in that situation yeah I think the first thing

[00:11:51] just kind of as a general rule is to really empty yourself and pray and say God how do you want me to show up for

[00:11:57] this person I feel like this is what I should do but can you direct me you know in a certain way and then always just

[00:12:02] keep it in mind what’s your normal relationship with that person you know when someone hears the words that they have cancer if you’re used to you’re

[00:12:09] very close with them they’re not looking for you to disappear during that they want you to and especially if someone Journeys with cancer we’ve we know we’ve

[00:12:15] supported people who’ve gone through cancer seven eight nine years in a row and people are there in the beginning but then it’s almost like this is normal

[00:12:22] for them so people kind of disappear and it’s I don’t think it’s on purpose it’s just we’re all busy you know in our

[00:12:27] lives but and so I think to just being able to meet people where they are is important my dad did this so well he

[00:12:33] slept almost every night on my Hospital couch and I went through a lot of ups and downs he’d come from work and he’d

[00:12:38] knock on the door and he’d just kind of look in you know at me and I’d kind of give him a nod if it was okay to come in

[00:12:43] but he he matched my energy level which I think was really important when we got in there we don’t want people coming in

[00:12:48] you know enthusiastic like a high school cheerleader coming into your room yeah someone to be there and I think

[00:12:54] sometimes too we feel like we have to have the answers and it can get awkward when it’s silent however what’s

[00:12:59] important is sometimes people just want you to be there there’s so much power in your presence uh of a visit or maybe

[00:13:05] just writing a personal note and sending that to them or you know showing up and doing things and checking with the people that are close with to them you

[00:13:12] know their caregivers what would be helpful you know I think asking those questions would be good because

[00:13:17] sometimes we want to show up we want to do something or fit it into our schedule when really we need to take a step back

[00:13:22] and you know pray ask God for guidance and then show up uh in need and and be his hands and feet and that’s what

[00:13:28] that’s what Jesus said in his word right when you were when you were sick it was as if you visited me and so it’s a command you know for us to do that yeah

[00:13:36] help people in that way so I would say do what’s normal for you in their their circumstance and situation then reach

[00:13:41] out to the people that are closest to them and they’ll be able to guide you as to what makes sense um you know a lot of people are

[00:13:49] uncomfortable with emotions uh they’re uncomfortable with regard whether it’s a

[00:13:55] person going through something like cancer whether it’s somebody going through a divorce whether it’s somebody going through the death of a family

[00:14:01] member a lot of people are uncomfortable with the emotional ups and downs that

[00:14:07] are so out of bounds for maybe normal life um can you speak to that a little

[00:14:12] bit how did your father’s presence uh because I’m he knew what you were going through right and I’m sure he

[00:14:18] was going through a little bit of that himself also um or a lot of that um how

[00:14:24] did his how did he show up in that regard with your emotions was he

[00:14:29] emotional with you or was he more even keeled as you were going through the ups and downs uh what what what

[00:14:36] recommendation do you give in that kind of a very even Keel for the people that around you especially when you’re facing

[00:14:42] you know a difficult disease like cancer you already have a lot of stress on your body and staying positive is really important you think about a sports team

[00:14:49] you know if you’re on there they’ve talked about it’s kind of like a cancer is the word that they use to the team if you have someone that’s negative or

[00:14:55] that’s on there and could be so in this circumstance it’s really important to be even Keel so if you’re dealing with

[00:15:01] something personally that’s really difficult you definitely don’t want to bring that to them you know they want to be as as positive as they can while

[00:15:06] they’re going through it um and again it affects the whole body it’s not just physically but emotionally and spiritually uh that you’re dealing with

[00:15:13] so really you need to check yourself and check your heart to make sure that you can be an encouragement to them um I’ve

[00:15:18] had people that came into my room and you know they said things like don’t you understand this is hard on all of us you know you you need to get out of here and

[00:15:25] that’s not obviously not what want to hear right when you’re facing you’re facing your life uh you know wondering

[00:15:31] if you’re going to live tomorrow so yeah it’s just you know making sure that you’re a healthy person when you’re showing up for somebody else that’s in a

[00:15:38] time of need I think is really really important um it’d be better just not to show up if you’re just going to stress

[00:15:43] you know stress somebody out so that’s the reality of it I I had another close friend who went through cancer and he

[00:15:50] actually passed away uh not too long ago but um he would call me and we would talk for long periods of time and um I

[00:15:57] kept praying and asking God give me wisdom on how to respond to him how do I talk to him and and um you know there

[00:16:04] were times where he was very upbeat and like okay I think you know maybe God’s going to get me through this and and

[00:16:10] even if he doesn’t we’re good but but um on the other hand there were times where

[00:16:15] I started to feel hopeless I started to feel like man this is not looking good

[00:16:21] um but would you say because it’s interesting he would say to me the doctors won’t tell me how I’m doing this

[00:16:28] is what he would say say to me the doctors won’t tell me where I’m actually at they keep being vague and you

[00:16:35] know uh just not clear and so are the doctors doing that because they are

[00:16:41] trying to keep a positive outlook they don’t want to be negative because it’s that important um and if if so is that

[00:16:50] the proper approach like if a person feels like I don’t actually feel real

[00:16:55] hopeful in this particular situation how do they how how do they bring hope to a situation that seems hopeless when they

[00:17:02] themselves are dealing with that but they yet they want to be um a support and a and a presence that is for good

[00:17:09] yeah so let me think probably the best way first of all to address the doctor situation I think Honesty is what should

[00:17:14] always be you know the right policy from a doctor if you’re doing medical care and that’s what I had when I was at a teaching hospital but we think about

[00:17:21] that word hope you know that’s kind of thrown away so carelessly in society today right you know I live in Chicago I

[00:17:27] hear people all the time I hope it doesn’t snow this winter you know things like that or someone goes into the gas station to buy a lottery ticket I hope I

[00:17:33] win the lottery you know they’re they’re talking about merely a wish but that word hope is something we can count on

[00:17:38] you know it’s it’s in Jesus that’s that’s what our hope is the true meaning of that and so I think when people are

[00:17:44] sick they pray for three things the first one’s physical healing I mean we all want that why wouldn’t we but if we

[00:17:49] look at you know our lives everyone’s going to have a beginning and an end here on this on this Earth the second thing is being able to see the good in

[00:17:55] it you know seeing when you go through something difficult to see God’s perspective to see his eyes when you go

[00:18:01] through that and I think that’s another that’s another miracle as you go through it um physical healing doesn’t always

[00:18:06] happen that Miracle the other one doesn’t always happen but then the last one is the most important one that we should focus on and that’s really what

[00:18:12] Jesus did for us you know going to the cross and dying for us so that we can have eternal life and um through faith

[00:18:18] in him and so I think um going through that and supporting people it’s really

[00:18:23] important to know I I don’t think it’s wrong to pray for physical healing and all that but we also realize it doesn’t always happen you know our physical

[00:18:29] healing may come in that next life uh which which is the most important one so keeping that perspective in mind staying

[00:18:35] close to the Lord as you go through this journey being in God’s word you know praying I think is so important and

[00:18:41] having a close team around you that is positive no matter what’s no matter what’s happening because to be honest

[00:18:46] none of us know about tomorrow right I mean yeah we’re having this conversation we have no idea what’s going to happen tomorrow yep yep um so um you started a

[00:18:57] Ministry and for those of you listening my guest is Phil zil um he’s been through he’s a two-time stage four

[00:19:03] cancer survivor and out of that has birthed a Ministry called Phil’s friends

[00:19:09] and this is a Ministry meant to reach out to people suffering with cancer and

[00:19:15] um tell us uh where the idea for this ministry came from when was there a moment in time where it was like whoa uh

[00:19:22] I can see what God’s doing here yes so there is definitely a moment where I could see where God God is doing things

[00:19:28] here and then there was a culmination of what happened how people loved me over the course of those two years so about a week after I was diagnosed with cancer

[00:19:34] the first time a group of people put a care package together for me they all assigned their names to it they said they were thinking about me and praying

[00:19:40] for me that caused me to break down and cry to know that people took time out of their busy schedules to do this many of

[00:19:46] who I did not even know and then it also symbolized for me it was okay to accept other people’s help which as a man and

[00:19:53] as other people sometimes it’s a it’s a hard lesson for us to learn and uh the third thing is that I was going to have

[00:19:58] people praying for me and I was going to learn so much over those next couple years uh not knowing when I was diagnosed about the power of prayer and

[00:20:06] then when I was well enough to be at home I’d lay upstairs on the couch in my parents house and I’d look forward to

[00:20:11] when it was 1:00 why 1:00 because that’s when the mailman came and so I’d work my energy to the edge of the couch make my

[00:20:16] way down the stairs out to the front door to see who remembered me and every single week for two years I pulled a

[00:20:22] card out with my name on it and so even though that Journey from upstairs to downstairs could wear me out for that

[00:20:27] day once I had that c encouraged my hand it gave me the strength to go back up those stairs again and so I’d sit down

[00:20:32] on the couch I’d open up that card I’d be all out of breath but it was always the right message at exactly the right

[00:20:37] time there’s a Bible verse people told me they were praying for me and it was as if God personally put that letter you

[00:20:44] know into his into the mailbox himself and um then I had my grandfather uh a

[00:20:49] couple couple months after I was diagnosed he was a pastor and he had driven 300 miles from my house from St

[00:20:55] Louis he went to my house and grabbed my Bible which was on my shelf and he showed up in my hospital room and so I

[00:21:01] woke up one day I was pretty sick and I could barely make out you know he was sitting in the in the corner he had a

[00:21:06] bunch of books and which is not abnormal for him he was a lifelong learner and he said Phil I went to your house I grabbed

[00:21:11] your Bible I highlighted all the verses with hope and strength and peace and so I read those aloud to me and then he

[00:21:17] came over to my bedside he got down about ey level and he said Phil I need to tell you something your Grandam and I we love you but most importantly your

[00:21:23] heavenly father does then he took that Bible put it on my nightstand and he walked out and so when I couldn’t have

[00:21:29] visitors or even didn’t want visitors God’s word is where I got my got my strength from so I had that care package

[00:21:34] I had those cards I had God’s word I had people that were praying for me and so the second time when I was diagnosed I

[00:21:40] kept a journal the whole time of what people did for me and I going through the circumstance you know I think of

[00:21:46] Romans 8:28 that you know all things work to the good of those who love him and as I went through that journey I had

[00:21:52] this mentor of mine uh this lady who gave me my first job mowing her lawn when I was in third grade and she called

[00:21:58] called me she got to the point her name was Ruth she was in her 80s at the time she said Phil I heard you’re diagnosed with cancer you’re going to want to keep

[00:22:03] a journal because when you’re done with this you’re going to want to share with the world of what God’s done in your life and I I kind of get the chills of

[00:22:10] thinking that she it’s like God gave her an insight into knowing what was going to happen you know in the future in my

[00:22:15] journey yeah and so there I was during my stem cell transplant second time I was diagnosed after doing six months of

[00:22:22] chemo I’m on oxygen hooked up to tubes um you know couldn’t have a sip of water

[00:22:27] for about a month because I had such bad had sores up and down my esophagus and I laid there during that time and that’s

[00:22:32] when I finally hit my breaking point and I got over myself and I said Lord I believe Jesus died for me I want to go

[00:22:39] to heaven I don’t want to be in this pain anymore but if it’s not my time you have the rest of my life literally whatever whatever else you have planned

[00:22:46] and so through that you know it was clear that it wasn’t my time so I started setting these bite-sized goals I want to get out of bed by myself you

[00:22:52] know and eventually I’d make it out into the hospital hallway so I’d have my IV pole and a nurse or family member by my

[00:22:57] side and I’d set sites on that very first door so I’d get to the first door the first day next day the second door

[00:23:03] eventually around the hallway and um it started with I was just going to write a book and here I am you know 20 years

[00:23:08] later from my journey this book is out here now but a nurse came into my room and she said Phil I think there’s more

[00:23:14] than a book here why don’t you pray about it and so I did I’m like all right God is there anything else you want me to do and then I realized I’ve gone

[00:23:21] through this disease so that I can learn how to help other people in similar situations the same way that God helped

[00:23:27] me through others you know while I went through this and so then my dad gets a phone call and he says hey we been

[00:23:33] listen to the radio there’s this organization Johnny and friends they help the disabled I know your son wants to help people who are sick and uh I

[00:23:40] think he’s going to have to have a name you’re going to need to write down Phil’s friends on that paper so that’s what we wrote down on the paper and then

[00:23:45] I had people who came in and help sign the paperwork and then eventually we started going out you know providing Christ centered support and hope to

[00:23:51] people going through cancer by sending these care packages shipping them across the country started with a little girl

[00:23:57] named Jenna who was four years old had brain cancer who I’d sit next to during treatments sometimes she was our first

[00:24:02] recipient and then things just went word of mouth and here we are 18 years later you know last year we helped nearly

[00:24:08] 10,000 patients and families in 2024 um we’ve sent over 100,000 cards

[00:24:14] because once someone gets a care package it’s either a delivery in the hospital or we’ll mail it to someone’s house and

[00:24:20] then it’s full of comforting items like a blanket and journal and crossword and there’s a Bible in every package and

[00:24:26] then we the volunteers decorate the side of it so when it shows up with everybody who signed their names to it people they

[00:24:32] don’t know we also now see hear the exact same stories of what happened to me people are in tears then they get the

[00:24:37] cards that go consistently for a year and it’s always the right message at exactly the right time and and so God’s

[00:24:43] really been using this ministry and you know for people to come to Faith to be encouraged uh in their faith and then a

[00:24:49] lot of times people don’t know what to do and so it’s not we have many volunteer opportunities that people can do as well from where they are across

[00:24:55] the country uh to work into this mission so say that again how many um care packages did you send out last year last

[00:25:02] year was about 10,000 care packages and it cost incredible yeah it cost us about $125 for us to support a patient for a

[00:25:09] year that includes the care package which is about $100 then $25 because we’re able to do bulk mail for all the

[00:25:14] cards that go consistently for a year now is this um how do the people

[00:25:20] how do how do you choose those 10,000 people H who is the ones that get selected to to be able to receive this

[00:25:27] yeah well the good news is God chooses those for us so people can go to our website Phils friends.org which is p i

[00:25:33] LS friends.org and when you get on there you can request a care package so it’ll

[00:25:38] take you to a form and you’ll put in your information as the requester and then all you need is the address of

[00:25:43] where this is going to be sent across the country and then we’ll put that care package together our volunteers and our hope centers right now we have three

[00:25:50] where we bring in groups up to 50 people at a time they pack care packages and make cards um and then when they’re done

[00:25:56] everybody cheers and they ring a bell and then we pray over all those packages well those get shipped out every week

[00:26:02] and so you can do that free of charge you know the it costs 125 to support a patient for a year again but you know

[00:26:07] we’re a Ministry and we want to step forward in faith first as we send those out and then the cards go consistently

[00:26:12] after that we also have a prayer team that people can sign up for uh as well

[00:26:18] how how often do the cards go out cards go once a month for a year okay wow

[00:26:23] that’s got to have a huge impact on a person’s life um who’s sitting in the hospital

[00:26:28] and the hospital is so often times lonely and just um you know it’s boring

[00:26:34] and you just feel almost forgotten to a degree in the hospital very true what an

[00:26:41] incredible um way to minister to people do you get stories back from people uh I

[00:26:47] can’t I imagine you must um have you had anybody actually come to Christ through

[00:26:53] this process we have we have we’ve had many people that have come to Christ through this process other people have been encouraged bried in fact about two

[00:27:00] it was two months after I so I left my job in my teaching job I was a fourth and fifth grade teacher left my job in

[00:27:06] 2009 after we had launched this out of our basement and people would come in and put packages together and it grew

[00:27:12] into my garage and eventually we got out into the the community but I was questioning I’m like God where’s the

[00:27:18] impact here like should I really keep going I know that this is the direction but can you just send me something well then I got a letter in the mail that

[00:27:24] next week that basically said there was a person in Florida so someone in Illinois that had requested a care package they had a broken in

[00:27:30] relationship with their sister who lived in Florida she was diagnosed with cancer so they came and packed a care package

[00:27:36] and then they went and delivered it to her um and she was at the end stages she only had you know like three days to

[00:27:42] live is what the doctor said at that point so they took out the blanket and said this is to be covered in God’s word you know here’s the Bible in there we

[00:27:48] also have a gospel letter that explains you know if people if it’s the last thing they read we want them to be able to read you know what Jesus has done for

[00:27:54] them and so they can spend eternity you know with him yeah so what ended up happening is they said we’re going to go

[00:28:00] to church this weekend and she goes I can’t you know I can’t get out of here to go to church but I’d love to be able

[00:28:06] to be baptized so they ended up taking her to the Gulf of Mexico she got baptized you know accepted the Lord and

[00:28:11] she went with him the next day and once I heard that I’m like okay God I’m not gonna qu anymore you know I had and all

[00:28:18] we’re doing is going stepping forward in faith you know we’re not the one doing the changing we’re just being faithful what he what he’s asked us to do and now

[00:28:24] we have an army of people that are faithful uh to to volunte to put the packages together do the cards make the

[00:28:30] blankets you know pray for people uh get sites going across the United States and as God calls a person we want to be able

[00:28:36] to equip them because that’s really what this ministry is about and we want to teach and be able to train people where

[00:28:42] they are to connect with their local hospitals you know get get uh packages out to people in their Community whether

[00:28:48] it’s co-workers whoever it is do volunteer events because we kind of call this a 50-50 Ministry and the reason we

[00:28:54] do it’s for the patients and families who get the support but it’s also the opportunity that we all have as volunteers to step forward in faith and

[00:29:01] grow in our faith uh to be able to put our faith into action absolutely wow this is ABS this is incredible um I

[00:29:08] think your ministry is amazing and it’s so uh timely right I mean you’re

[00:29:14] reaching people that it you don’t know when they could pass away and and move on and and so you’re reaching them with

[00:29:20] the gospel and um and you’re offering the hope and everything you said is just

[00:29:25] incredible I I want to share this with my patient I’m not my patients sorry my patients my students I teach uh I teach

[00:29:32] seniors in high school and and we’re always looking for opportunities for them to find ways to serve and to you

[00:29:37] know put their feet to their faith um that they don’t don’t just take stuff in but actually have a outlet to be able to

[00:29:43] serve and see Ministry take place and what an incredible opportunity good friend like I said who lives out near

[00:29:49] where you are and if I come for a visit I’d love to be able to help uh with your class as much as I could oh let’s please

[00:29:54] um you know what if you’re out here uh you know I’ll talk to our Pastor I’m at Shadow Mountain with uh uh Pastor David

[00:30:01] Jeremiah and uh we are always looking for Chapel speakers so if you’re ever out this way please um please because I

[00:30:07] think your story your testimony and your ministry is just a perfect fit um for what we want to encourage the kids with

[00:30:14] um you know one of the questions that you have down here is how do our fears tend to exaggerate reality and this is

[00:30:22] something that I’ve noticed when um I’ve spoken with people with cancer is that a

[00:30:27] lot of times they’re actually taking it to a whole another level which cancer is

[00:30:32] bad enough as it is but they’re making it even way worse and I it was weird

[00:30:38] because I got into this habit of saying hey are you in a lot of pain right now and they’d be like no I’m not and I’d be

[00:30:45] like okay is there something immediate where the doctor has just told you that you know you’re going to go anytime soon

[00:30:50] and they’d be like no I’ve not and I don’t it’s almost like I had to talk them down off of uh off the ledge in a

[00:30:57] sense can you um expand on that yes and I I can say just from personal experience

[00:31:03] feeling this or seeing a lot of other people that have gone through it I mean if someone’s if you’re going about life and then all of a sudden like you don’t

[00:31:10] you don’t think that you’re going to have this major disruptor in your life once it comes you’re questioning everything I mean you you are wondering

[00:31:17] what’s going to have life is not what you thought it was you know it’s all of a sudden overnight things have changed

[00:31:23] and so I think again we talked about earlier in this conversation the battle you know mentally that goes on spiritually so it’s really important to

[00:31:30] have yourself centered on the Lord as you go through it I think when people go through cancer they start asking a bunch

[00:31:35] of questions where am I going to go what’s going to happen tomorrow how am I going to get through this you know who’s going to be there for me so there worry

[00:31:42] can really take over and that’s where God’s word really needs to come in we get God’s word into people’s hands they

[00:31:48] read that they’re able to grow that’s really what becomes their lifeline and then having a good prayer team you know

[00:31:53] around them that’s praying for them with with what they’re going through not just them but also for their caregivers because it’s It’s A Hard Road you know

[00:32:00] for the entire family uh people that are there but yeah it’s it can be like a toxic gas that enters in the room you

[00:32:05] can’t see it and all of a sudden it’s just that fear has like a wh on you almost like a panic attack in a sense um

[00:32:13] you know that’s another thing that seemed to pop up frequently when I was talking to people was um people began to

[00:32:19] doubt their salvation people that I had known were Christians for a very very long um time all of a sudden were

[00:32:25] thinking to themselves I’m not sure maybe I’m not maybe I’m not right with God maybe these sorts of things um is

[00:32:32] that also something that’s a a pretty common thing because you are you’re dealing with the immediacy of

[00:32:38] potentially you know going to to see what you’ve never experienced before

[00:32:43] which is the afterlife right um that’s common I it is and I think really faith

[00:32:48] is what it’s forged in the fire so I think it’s very normal to ask those I asked all those questions too you know

[00:32:54] um I thought of the people that I knew who had gone through cancer or something similar you know before and how they

[00:32:59] responded I had a a cousin when I was uh 8 years old he was six and diagnosed with cancer lived for 2 years and his

[00:33:06] name was Eric and he had just tremendous Faith so when I was diagnosed the first person I thought of was Eric I’m like

[00:33:12] wow he has so much faith and the Bible talks about having faith like a child and coming to the Lord so I I think

[00:33:18] again it’s really important it’s it’s a testing time and that’s why getting God’s word into people’s hands and uh surrounding them with his love and I

[00:33:24] think he wouldn’t have given us those two greatest commands to love the Lord your God all your heart all your mind all your soul and all your strength and

[00:33:30] love your neighbors as yourself if he wasn’t serious and so I think when someone’s going through that you know the difficulty it’s just praying maybe

[00:33:37] they have nobody in their life but they’re listening to this and just praying and asking God will you send somebody to me I mean he’s faithful with

[00:33:43] that I’ve seen it time and time again he knows our needs so much more than we do um but yeah I think it’s a very normal

[00:33:50] thing to just question your faith because again your your life could be flashed in front of your eyes there yeah

[00:33:56] absolutely um and so as far as people getting involved in

[00:34:02] this what’s the best way um for people because you said it doesn’t matter where you are you can be involved in this and

[00:34:08] uh how do how do people reach out um we have your website Phils friends.org um

[00:34:13] what is the process of getting involved well let’s say somebody like myself right um they have a church group or

[00:34:19] somebody else that they want to get involved what’s the process of doing that yeah so I can give you our um Phils

[00:34:25] friends.org there’s Vol there’s a volunteer page on there there which you can take a look at there’s different howto instructional videos so you could

[00:34:32] like make a blanket you could have a care package item drive you can go and assemble to put care package together

[00:34:37] you can also call our office um at 224 653

[00:34:42] 8315 it’s 224 653 8315 and so there’s opportunities for

[00:34:49] you for example like at your church we’re looking for someone who’s going to be a team leader there and just find out who has cancer can organize things and

[00:34:57] put things together for example at my church this last summer we did a packing event with 550 people over 3 days we

[00:35:04] packed 750 care packages and so that was in cor you know cooperation with the local church then we’re able to get

[00:35:11] those out to the local hospitals and people can put those inside of their hands and they had more people walking to church during that time in their

[00:35:17] 40-year history than ever before you know neighbors but I think again we talked about it’s such a huge need and

[00:35:23] so everybody knows someone with cancer they’ve been affected with it so get people there rally around that need and

[00:35:28] then bring hope uh to them so it’s such a tangible way too to bring Christ’s

[00:35:33] love um to the community um it’s not just going to reach uh you know one of

[00:35:39] my favorite verses is in Matthew where Jesus says do your good deeds in front of men that they may Praise Your Father

[00:35:44] in heaven and I just think this is such a clear reflection of the love of God

[00:35:50] that your community is going to be impacted and they’re going to want to get involved because they see a church

[00:35:56] ministering to people or even nurses at hospitals I was going to ask you that too is is is there any particular um way

[00:36:04] a person should approach a hospital is that is is that um you just walk in and

[00:36:10] and there people are dead you’re like hey yeah you know or or is there the any advice there I think the best way is to

[00:36:15] contact us again go to Phils friends.org or you can send us an email too at infoinfo at Phils friends.org and we

[00:36:23] have a lot of experience getting in the hospital so we can coach you through that but what we found too is if there’s a Christian nurse or doctor inside that

[00:36:30] hospital God has already strategically placed them there so it’s really kind of working with that person and then we can

[00:36:36] facilitate getting the care package of the hospitals because they have already have relationship to those patients this is a way for them to take their faith to

[00:36:43] another level and then for example uh what’s coming to mind right now is in Cape Gerardo Missouri you know in the middle of the US there is a church there

[00:36:50] where they have trained volunteers and we’ve worked with them so they go in every single week and visit patients and

[00:36:55] they give care packages out and they pray with them and so every situation can look a little different it’s kind of

[00:37:00] like we have a long menu of options you know to work with us and however when God calls a person will work with them

[00:37:07] and then help them with what fits that uh situation wow that’s amazing uh well for

[00:37:13] those of you maybe uh just catching the tail end here uh my guest is Phil zil uh

[00:37:18] incredible testimony um incredible Ministry Phils friends.org he’s he’s reaching cancer patients in hospitals

[00:37:25] and making sure that they’re not suffering alone that they know there are people that love them there’s a God that loves them and um Phil you recently came

[00:37:33] out with this new book seeing the good in it and uh that’s a very appropriate

[00:37:38] title because so often it doesn’t look good but um God can work good through tragedy and through these difficulties

[00:37:45] um and so uh people can buy the book on your website or yeah you can find the

[00:37:51] book wherever books are sold but also on our website if you want to make a donation uh at Phils friends.org uh you

[00:37:57] can do that there and I’ll be happy to send a signed copy out where anybody who makes a $50 donation or more will send a

[00:38:03] signed copy out um otherwise you can find it online and then at the end of every chapter there’s questions

[00:38:08] discussion questions because as you read through this people say it’s a pretty quick read and you know it goes deep

[00:38:13] very fast but it gives you an opportunity to be able to process things we also have some Churches and other people and who’ve decided to read this

[00:38:20] as book studies and which has been a great experience for them um it’s been neat to see how God has used this book

[00:38:26] and um I’ve heard many testimonies from it and I always said it’s worth it just like this ministry if we can support you

[00:38:32] know we can help one person uh all the all the work if there’s one extra person in heaven or one other person encouraged

[00:38:38] you know on God’s path for them it’s totally worth it and we’re just grateful for all the um testimonies that continue

[00:38:43] to pour in yeah amen and um is this is this I mean I know it’s for anybody but

[00:38:50] is this good for would you give this to somebody who has cancer or would or is this more for somebody who knows

[00:38:56] somebody who has cancer yeah so really it’s it can it’s really kind of across the board people who are going through

[00:39:02] cancer people are caregivers they know someone uh who’s going through cancer and then really uh it’s written in a way

[00:39:08] with the story which we hear all the time it connections with people have gone through anything that’s been difficult in their life uh and to be

[00:39:14] able to find Hope as they go through that Journey Phil thanks so much for what you’re doing uh it’s huge blessing

[00:39:20] hearing your story and um I really am going to try to get you to come out to San Diego and and um speak at one of our

[00:39:27] chat I think you have such an amazing and encouraging testimony um do you

[00:39:33] travel uh all over the place to speak or I do yeah I go across the C uh mainly

[00:39:38] stay in in the country um yeah occasionally I’ll get out of the country and do things but my boys are 9 and 11

[00:39:44] uh right now so I try to you know not be not be gone too long but I will be we have a big packing coming up with uh in

[00:39:51] Arizona in February and I know we’re going to try to get out to you know out to your area sometime soon we can get

[00:39:57] something said okay well let’s stay in touch and um I’ll be praying for your ministry and sharing it with uh lots of

[00:40:03] people so um I I just can see this really uh has such a big impact it’s

[00:40:08] such a blessing so thank you so much for your time God bless you God bless you Kevin thank you amen for those of you

[00:40:15] listening we’ll be back again next week we’ve got some other fantastic guest lines up it always blows my mind all the

[00:40:21] different people that God is working through all over the world with all the different Ministries uh it’s just

[00:40:26] incredible what Christ has done if you don’t know Jesus um there’s nothing

[00:40:31] better you can do than turn your life over to him he has nothing but love for you in John 10:10 Jesus said I have come

[00:40:38] that they might have life and have it to the full he wants you to give a good life now and a good life in the future so uh please take the time to to know

[00:40:45] the Lord um he loves you so we’ll see you again next time have a great night

[00:40:50] how can you live in San Diego and miss out on enjoying the water fast lane kayaking sells popular h cat kayaks that

[00:40:58] you pedal not paddle that means your hands are left free for fishing and fun just throw these on your roof rack

[00:41:04] they’re light and they’re easy to use and maintain just rinse them off try one free on the demo ride for 36 years Ron

[00:41:12] and Debbie Lane have served San Diego with fun familyfriendly water sports of all kinds learn more fastlanes

[00:41:19] sailing.com 619 222 0766 educate for life helps you build

[00:41:25] your life on the Rock LG equipment helps Builders build on good soil Luke Gibson’s team at LG equipment is your

[00:41:31] local source for grading demolition hauling and more learn about their bulk water services from trucks to tankers to

[00:41:38] Towers at rwater tower.com get your questions answered call LG equipment at

[00:41:43] 619 988 924 learn more at LG equipment.com 619 988

[00:41:52] 0924 hi this is Jason Hall president of Team Home Loans a branch of synergy One

[00:41:57] Lending I just want to take this opportunity to thank Kevin Conover for the profound impact he’s had on mine and

[00:42:03] my wife’s spiritual life as well as being an incredible teacher while our kids were his students his knowledge and

[00:42:08] passion have taught us all how important it is to be Defenders of our faith it’s our honor and privilege to support Kevin

[00:42:15] and his show it is our sincere hope and prayer that you will continue to learn to be Defenders of your faith through

[00:42:20] Kevin’s radio show and through his educate for Life teachings thank you Kevin from the hall family and team home

[00:42:26] loans when you need tires or service count on Conover tires wheels and service in Oceanside for a full range of

[00:42:33] affordable options in all the brands you trust see their great customer reviews and special offers online hours Tuesday

[00:42:40] through Friday 7:30 to 5:30 and Saturdays 7:30 to 5 call Dan and his team at 760- 4391 1631 Conover tires

[00:42:49] wheels and service 2405 Oceanside Boulevard in Oceanside 760 4391 1631