Nahum & Arin to Appalachia - formerly Nahum and Arin to Norway

02/17/2026

Chemo Round 3.6 - Up in Columbus for another round of chemotherapy. With baseball on the horizon, I chose to represent my ! I’ve watched many a Red’s game during treatment over the years, which helps the time pass by more quickly. I am looking forward to the coming season. Go Redlegs!!!

The latest PET scan revealed that the cancerous lymph nodes are stable, some having shrunk ever so slightly, others having grown ever so slightly, but appear to be less active. On the one hand, the scan was somewhat disappointing, we had hoped that chemo would have eradicated the cancer at this point. On the other hand, the chemo has prevented the cancer from spreading any further, and my blood markers continue to show no sign of cancer, which is most definitely good news. Arin and I have long since determined that whether we have good scans or bad, we will continue to praise the Lord, for He is worthy of all glory, honor, and praise, no matter the circumstances of life.

Not only this, but we will continue to give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! Psalm 107:1 is still true, even in the midst of a cancer diagnosis: “Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for He is good, For His lovingkindness endures forever.” The fact of the matter is that even though God has ordained this trial, He has been far more gracious to us than we possibly deserve. He is good. And thankfully, His lovingkindness endures forever.

We are grateful to God for His goodness. We are also grateful for the medical care that we have received over the years from ,the support from the , and the prayers of all of you. In spite of cancer, Arin and I consider ourselves to be most blessed.

spes mea in deo est

12/22/2025

Back in Columbus for Round 3.2 of chemotherapy and immunotherapy. The past two weeks since the last infusion has had its ups and downs. The worst day was the day of infusion, which was accompanied by significant fatigue and nausea, as well as other side effects of chemo, such as severe cold sensitivity (no ice baths this year), side effects that were to linger for a few days afterward. By the next day, I was feeling 50% better, even though I wore a chemo pump for an additional two days, after which my wife graciously disconnected me from the pump, allowing me to shower for the first time in three days. On the fourth day (post infusion), I injected myself with a shot designed to cause my bone marrow to rapidly produce more white blood cells. The main side effect of this is moderate to severe bone/joint pain, which can feel as though the bones are breaking (for lack of a better description), which lasted up to 48 hours. With the effects of chemo, the effects of medicines to combat the effects of chemo (steroids, anti nausea, etc.), and the effect of the aforementioned shot, suffice to say those first five days post infusion were less than pleasant. The remainder of the two week cycle was largely spent recovering from the previous five days, feeling relatively back to normal at the end of the second week. The next two week cycle begins today and such cycles will continue for the next 4-6 months.

What should one think, say, and/or do in light of this? Arin and I have decided to, as the doxology commends, “praise God from whom all blessings flow.” The truth is that, even in the midst of this trial, Arin and I enjoy rich blessings from God. I could list off numerous examples of such blessings from God, but I will rather point to the greatest blessing of all, the blessing of being redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ. This too, being found in Christ, is a source of endless blessings, for as Paul notes in Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” As we learn from the Book of Job, God is to be praised no matter the circumstances of life simply because He is God and as such He is worthy to be praised. How much more then shall God be praised in light of the blessings that He so graciously bestows? So then, Arin and I will praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Psalm 148:13

Let them praise the name of Yahweh, For His name alone is set on high; His splendor is above earth and heaven.

11/19/2025

https://mailchi.mp/36258b9e7f57/life-goes-on-obrien-newsletter-nov-2025

As you know, Arin and I were notified that the cancer had returned in June 2024. Since that time, I underwent another ten rounds (or so) of chemotherapy for the remainder of that year. This kept the cancer at bay leading up to the HIPEC surgery in February 2025. That was a major surgery designed to....

11/07/2025

The audio from the Jesus and Cancer Seminar with Mike Abendroth has been uploaded:

Session 1

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6nBH29ZqSVOferbVpoFBan?si=be1b596631ec4b4e

Session 2

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3FkqE8lxXWh0NSqSoRyaAW?si=5ee23c4faab140aa

Session 3

https://open.spotify.com/episode/47Q64wdPn2GJ0TqYyfY8su?si=cbab8bd274fe4c12

I hope it will be a blessing to many.
SDG

09/13/2025

Fall Ministry - O'Brien Newsletter Sep. 2025 -

This fall has the potential to be a busy season of ministry. I continue to pastor Fairview Missionary Baptist Church. After nearly 70 sermons I have concluded my series in the Book of Job and recently began a new series in The Gospel According to Luke. Arin and I continue to serve with EveryEthne he...

08/20/2025

A true blessing to be able to visit Trinity Ahie in Los Angeles, CA - a brother from Norway (by way of NZ) - a fellow “Son of Thunder” - He gave Arin Martin O'Brien and I a tour of The Masters Seminary and Grace Community Church.

07/29/2025

I visited the oncologist today to discuss the results of the latest scan. It seems that the suspicious lymph node on the last scan, which was then thought to be nothing concerning, has grown ever so slightly. The oncologist is still 50/50 as to whether or not this lymph node is cancerous. To be safe, he will present my case to the tumor board on Wednesday and see what the others (surgeons, radiologists, etc.) think. He says that I will most likely be scheduled for an MRI to take a closer look at the lymph node. If cancerous, it is possible that a small laparoscopic surgery could be done to remove the lymph node, but due to its location being “hard to reach” it is more likely that spot radiation will be used to zap the lymph node into oblivion.

I am somewhat discouraged to be dealing with concerning lymph nodes this close to major surgery, nevertheless I am comforted in knowing that my life is in the hands of He who declared the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10), a righteous God and Savior (Isaiah 45:21). God is a righteous God, therefore all that He does is righteous. Or as king Nebuchadnezzar says in Daniel 4:37, “all His works are true and His ways just.” And God is a Savior, granting salvation to even the vilest of sinners such as I, to any and all who trust in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. For these reasons, I echo the words of Job (13:15a), “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.”

07/09/2025

The Grace of God -

The Lord has been gracious to Arin and I, abundantly more than deserved, which is the very nature of grace after all. Grace IS receiving that which is NOT deserved. To break this down even further, there is that grace that God extends to all, that so-called common grace that God grants to both belie...

04/28/2025

O'Brien Newsletter - April 2016 Easter Update -

Arin and I hope you had a blessed Easter! While secular America focuses on a bunny, eggs, and candy, none of which is inherently wrong of course, Christians rightly recognize that our focus ought to be, as always, centered on Jesus our Lord and Savior. Easter is that time when Christians commemorate...

03/03/2025

Surgery Update - Day 6 - Recovering well. Walking about 2.5 miles per day. Post surgery tubes are being removed. Cleared to eat tomorrow for the first time in 8 days, albeit a clear liquid diet. Oh, I’ve also been told I’m currently the “favorite patient.” Thanks for praying.

02/27/2025

Surgery Update

Lamentations 3:21-23 ESV

“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

I’m sitting here next to my beloved this morning and so thankful for the blessings of God that have overflowed over our lives! The surgery was a success yesterday! The surgeon said that all the cancer spots were removed! He was pleasantly surprised that he found a smaller amount of disease than he expected. From the time Nahum was wheeled back to the operating room to the time we met with the surgeon was only about 8 hours. Then we waited around 5 more hours before we were allowed to see him.

Nahum was helped up this morning and he took a small walk down the hall. He did very well for his first time out of bed after the surgery! Praise the Lord!

I ask for your continued prayers. I so appreciate the army of people who have prayed for us! What a blessing! We have a potential 7-10 day hospital stay. Please pray for a smooth recovery and no complications. And I also ask that you would pray for Nahum’s complete healing. God is able and I am so thankful!

⁃ Arin

02/15/2025

Health Update: I have completed 12 rounds (6 months) of chemotherapy and the latest scans appear stable. As such, I will undergo major surgery near the end of February. This will be a 7-10 hr surgery, in which the surgeon will attempt to remove all the cancer that he is able to find in the peritoneal lining (aka abdominal wall lining) and in other places if necessary, among other things. After the surgery, I expect to recover in the hospital for 7-10 days.

I’ve sat on this news for a week, processing the emotions that accompany the anticipation of major surgery. I do not look forward to this surgery and the lengthy recovery. Nor do I have fond memories of the first major surgery in 2022. Prior to that surgery, I felt horrible, near death, and so I welcomed the surgery. This time around, I feel perfectly fine, though I know I am not, and so surgery feels unnecessary, though I know it is. Best case scenario, the surgery might add 2-3 years to my life and in some rare cases may even be curative. To do nothing, as in no surgery, would be to place all hope that chemo has killed all cancer cells, which is highly unlikely in my specific case. Therefore, surgery awaits.

The anticipation of major surgery has been a reminder to my wife and I that this cancer thing is very real. I have felt so well in the past few months/ years that it is easy to forget (so to speak) that I have cancer, oddly enough. The surgery is a reminder of the seriousness of the situation and, quite frankly, of the fleeting nature of life itself. As the Scriptures teach in James 4:13-14:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

I have been reminded that life is but a mist, here one moment and gone the next. And yet, for whatever reason, this fact is easy to forget or ignore. Often have I trod through life with nary a thought to its fleeting nature, mindlessly presuming upon tomorrow. This I ought not to have done, for as James notes, I do not know what tomorrow may bring, or, I might add, even if there will be a tomorrow. Why? Because life is a mist which vanishes in but a moment.

How then ought I think? James continues in 4:15,”Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” I ought to think and live with this thought in mind, that all of life is dependent upon the will of the Lord. If the Lord wills, I will have a tomorrow. If the Lord wills, I will have surgery in a week or so. If the Lord wills, etc,. The point being that nothing happens apart from the will of the Lord. Nothing happens that the Lord does not will to happen.

My friends, the Lord Jesus Christ is absolutely sovereign. Nothing happens in all of life that He does not will to happen. I find this to be incredibly comforting, for nothing happens to me, nothing occurs in my life, that the Lord does not will to happen, to include cancer, surgery, and death. Add to this thought that the Lord is good and His steadfast love endures forever (Psalm 100:5). Simply stated, my life is in the hands of the sovereign Lord, who loves me and gave His life for me, and nothing happens that He does not will to happen. Therefore, as David wrote in Psalm 27:1, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” That our Lord is sovereign, that He is our light and salvation, ought give us the courage to say with Christ:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.