Good evening, Family! ๐
THESE TWO UPDATES ON SETH CAME FROM KRISTINA FOLLOWING HIS SURGERY. WE WANTED EVERYONE TO CELEBRATE GOD'S FAITHFULNESS AND GOODNESS WITH US! THANK YOU FOR PRAYING!! ๐ฅฐ
Update #1:
Seth's out of surgery. He's still sleeping but dr said everything went well. Now we just have to wait until he wakes and dr checks him. If all is good we'll be good to go home but if dr thinks it's still not right Seth will have to go back into the OR for adjustments. Keep the prayers coming! ๐
Update #2:
PRAISE GOD Seth did NOT need to go back into surgery! Dr was able to get it right the first time and we are on our way home! Thank you for ALL the prayers!
He's in a lot of pain so please continue praying for a speedy recovery!
TO GOD BE THE GLORY! โ๐ฝ
GREAT THINGS HE HAD DONE! ๐๐ฝ
This week, we praise God for:
๐ Micharen praised God for all the prayers the church family has lifted up for her and her family after her uncle's passing. She is blessed to have sizing a living and thoughtful church family, and prays that we will ALWAYS be a church that finds joy in serving others,
๐ Angy praised God for His goodness and faithfulness over her children and her family, for traveling mercies for Matthew and Ashley and Karina and Alejandro, and asked for continued prayers as Karina and Ale add they travel back home at the end of the week.
๐Vasthi thanks God for allowing her brother to return home safely after travel.
๐ Vasthi also expressed gratitude for Carole, who overcame her fear of public speaking and offered a lovely welcome to God's people.
We are also praying for:
๐ Each and every silent prayer request lifted.
๐ Seth, who is having surgery on Thursday for his eyes. Kristina askrd that we pray for all to go well with the surgery and his relcovery. She also asks for a reprieve; that this might be the last surgery or procedure for our beloved Seth.
๐ Sydney, Jordan's girlfriend, who had shoulder surgery. May God grant her a full and speedy recovery.
๐JC 's friend, Kevin add he battles addiction. May Kevin enlist God's help in the battle so that he gets the victory over this disease!
๐ Monkey, Beloved Guerrero Family pet, who is hurting after his visit to the groomer, due to "senior dog" muscle strain. May the Lord infuse his little busy with healing, strength and vitality!
๐ Christine, Sue's friend, who was just diagnosed with stage 3 cancer and is in desperate need of healing and strength.
๐ Catheryn, Connor and growing Baby Llibre. May the Lord watch over and protect them, their new home and their future plans as they continue to walk with Him.
๐ Amel; that God would grant him traveling mercies and protection from Covid as he travels for work again this week.
๐ AJ as he begins a new school year on Monday in his new home of Georgia. May God help all of the right people to see and be drawn to AJ's amazing purity of heart. May He also protect him from kids and people who would be a negative influence, and surround him with His mighty angels.
๐ Astrid's twin brother, who received a tough diagnosis. Astrid is requesting prayer for him, that God might help him turn it around. Please keep him, Astrid and the rest her family in your prayers.
๐ John; that God will continue to strengthen, heal and eradicate any trace of cancer from his body.
๐ Healing for Carole's dad.
๐ Protection and intervention on Elijah's behalf while he is in Florida. May God grant him and his family resolution on his custody case, that he might return to his family soon.
๐ Traveling mercies and protection for David add he travels to Las Vegas for business this week.
๐ Brianna Solis, who is taking a college exam this week. May God grant her the ability to recall all that she's learned and studied. May her hard work be rewarded as she looks forward to graduation in December.
๐ Doris' granddaughter, Skylar, and for her entire family.
๐ Karina and Alejandro as they travel to St. Croix to visit his mom, and then to Grenada for their delayed honeymoon. May God watch over and protect them as they travel, and keep them safe from Covid.
Tonight's Prison Fellowship Devotional reminds us once again of the immeasurable influence Angel Tree volunteers have on children of incarcerated parents for s lifetime! Are you inspired yet? โฅ๏ธ
JUST ONE WISH FOR JASON
When Jason* was in the fourth grade, he wrote down what he thought was a far-fetched Christmas wish. He stuffed it in an envelope and addressed it not to Santa Claus, but to his father, John, in prison. It was his mom's idea. Jason's dad had written a letter explaining he had signed up Jason for Angel Treeยฎ.
Angel Tree is a program of Prison Fellowshipยฎ that gives incarcerated parents a way to provide a Christmas gift to their child.
Now, at 28, Jason can still remember how he felt writing that one wish down: a scooter. He wasn't hopeful. While his mother always did her best to make sure he enjoyed the holidays, Jason still desired to be with both his parents at Christmastime. And he wished he could open gifts from both of them. That warm, holiday-movie kind of magic usually skipped his house. But that changed with Angel Tree.
'AN AMAZING FEELING'
It came down to Christmastime, and I got the scooter โฆ it just made me feel like my dad did his part to get me something. I was shocked. I remember the gift had my dad's name on it. To see my mom's face, when she [saw] me happy, and realizing that hey, my dad made a way even though he's not here, to get me the one thing I asked for, for Christmasโit was just an amazing feeling. I felt love from both of my parents at the same time, and that had never really happened up until that point.
Later Jason learned that church volunteers, who didn't even know him, had made this delivery possible. "I understood they were giving from their heart," Jason shares.
That heart-felt expression of God's love gave him strength beyond Christmas.
Even though I was happy the majority of the time, there would be certain thingsโyour first sports game, or a graduationโthat really you don't know how to deal with. I feel like the family might not always know how to help you deal with those feelings either. โฆ It's not like your parent is deceased, but they aren't there, and it's hard to find someone who can relate to exactly what you're going through. It was hard not to internalize anger and frustration.
Angel Tree gave Jason and his father John a special way to maintain a close relationship, despite their physical separation throughout Jason's childhood. The year before graduating college, Jason was the best man in John's wedding in prison.
But while 95 percent of all prisoners are released, two out of three are rearrested within three years. The spring of Jason's college graduation, his father returned to prison.
The strength of the father and son's relationship was about to be tested.
BURYING THE HATCHET
His dad's reincarceration unearthed some negative feelings that Jason had never properly addressed. But he remembered the days of Angel Tree, when his relationship with his father meant everything in the world.
Jason sought therapy, gathered wisdom from his family, and dealt with the emotional baggage he'd tucked away for so long. On Thanksgiving Day, 2016, he chose to take a phone call from Dad. It was the first time they'd spoken in over four years.
That first phone call was nerve-racking because I didn't know how it was going to go. โฆ So all this was in front of family and everything. It was at Thanksgiving, and normally Dad calls and the phone gets passed around, and for the past few years I'd just say, 'No, I don't want to speak to him.' But this time I did.
I could just feel everyone around me like holding their breath not knowing what I was going to say or do. It was actually really good. We didn't speak on the past. It was more of a 'I'm just really happy to hear your voice' type of thing. That's when Jason realized, What better place to rekindle their relationship, than around family? "And I was like, I can't keep harboring hate around so much love," he adds. "So that inspired me to go ahead and just bury the hatchet and start new." Since that Thanksgiving, Jason and John have talked faithfully every Saturday.
THANK YOU, ANGEL TREE
Jason appreciates Angel Tree even more now than he did back in fourth grade. The kids that are affected by the Angel Tree program, they're innocent. Regardless of what their parents have done to land in that situation, the kid is innocent, and they deserve that love and attention and support that their parent may not be able to give them. So people like mentors and Angel Tree donors are always so appreciated, and I thank them for all of it.
In 2012, Jason earned his bachelor's degree in marketing. He went on to earn his post-graduate degree in nonprofit management in 2016. Today, he lives in California and works as a website content category manager. Because of the impact of Angel Tree, he plans to continue serving and mentoring children with stories like his. John was released from prodding in 2018.