“This has been one of the hardest years of my life, yet Jesus moments are everywhere”

1. What’s the best way to reach a woman battling a chronic illness, transferred to a mega hospital far away from home with an abundance of both questions and frustrations? Give her a roommate that has walked in similar shoes, with similar questions, frustrations and pains. Give her a roommate that can laugh and cry with her and understand her pain. Roommates would sometimes come and go three times in a week. To end our 84 day stay at Cleveland, the Lord placed Sue with us in our room for the last three weeks. It’s unclear where the Lord stood in Sues life. They told Sue that going home on hospice was the best they could do for her. No matter your age or circumstance, that is not an easy thing to process far away from friends and family. We prayed together and cried together. Sue told us she had peace. Peace wasn’t a complete enough answer, so my wife asked specifically if she knew Jesus as Savior. Sue said that she did. two weeks later we received a card in the mail with a copy of the obituary and a note. It said “she talked about you every day, you had a big impact on her”. Did Jesus put us through this long, exhausting medical journey just to be next to Sue? I can’t answer that, but if He did, it was worth it all.

2. This year we were able to lead reviveVBS :: Gospel Party at our home church. With all the medical issues leading up to it, it was unclear what our availability would be during that week. Although our hearts were all in, we still had prepared backups for our backups. We loved well, served well, and never gave up. Even though we spent two nights in the ER that week, and then took an ambulance ride back to Cleveland the day after we finished, it wasn’t before we were able to see 15 boys and girls make Jesus the Lord of their lives. It’s only by His grace that we were able to serve that week and it’s for His glory that we did.

3. Although we had already been a patient at the Cleveland Clinic, and were still under post operative care, we had nothing but red tape and road blocks trying to get financially cleared to return. Our health care coverage is a Christian share program that looks like self pay to the hospital. After I had already driven nearly two hours, I got a call from the hospital saying that all efforts had failed and to return back home. In frustration I called our doctors, I called the financial offices and go nowhere. In desperation I called Samaritan Ministries for input or advice. They listened and prayed with me. Literally just blocks away from returning to our local hospital, I got a call we had been approved for transfer. So after a quick run upstairs to give my wife another kiss goodbye I was back on the road  to Cleveland. Another hour passed when I got a call from the hospital, because so much time had passed and a storm was moving in, the helicopter transfer was no longer an option. We were given the option between an ambulance and a jet. I asked what the doctor thought and while I waited I prayed. “Ask for the jet” is what I heard, when the nurse returned to the line, we all agreed on the jet. Another ten minutes and the phone rang again. The jet needs to be paid in advance and its twelve thousands. That no longer became an option so we were left with just the ambulance. No more than ten seconds later Samaritan Ministries called to follow up with my prayer request from earlier in the day. I talked about all the medical developments and then finished with the transportation issue. He quickly asked if a jet was needed. I said that she was in septic shock and was being transferred from one ICU to another. He asked if he could call me right back. I don’t know how it happened because our share ministry doesn’t work this way, but I got a call back within minutes for a twelve thousand dollar answer to prayer.

Merry Christmas and God Bless you all!