I periodically return to a file folder that I made of answered Prayers and things God has done in my life.  Yesterday as I reread this, I felt lead to share it again.  So as you read this, remember it was about 16 months ago.

Dec 31, 2014

Just got off the phone with my Brother, in Rockwall.

He hadn’t heard anything until I dropped him the text message. But just wait until you hear the rest of the story!!!!!

Debra you know had knee replacement surgery just a little over a year ago. It really did not work out.

So just over two weeks ago she went back in to have it reversed and corrected, however that was to be done.

Continue this reading from Gary himself.

When Debra and I returned from Kenya in October, we began praying that God would allow us to experience him as fully and forcefully here as we do when we are there. A week ago tonight, he answered that prayer in a way we did not expect.

From knee surgery earlier in the week, she developed blood clots that lodged in both lungs and the brain. She was moved to the Neuro ICU at Med Center Plano, where they also told us she had 2 strokes and had a previously undetected heart condition. And a broken ankle to top it off. (Gary told me they also found broken tibia and fibula) Saturday morning, the doctors described her condition very clearly. Recovery, they said, would take time and be slow at best. She was placed on powerful but dangerous meds.

God was very near, but the scriptures I had often quoted about trust and faith and not living in fear, which were easy to rattle off when things were good, now took on a different meaning.

The Church in Rockwall as well as the church in Kenya was praying.

(Gary hasn’t widely shared this, but Doreen (one of the Church elders at the refugee camp) stayed up 2 to 3 days praying constantly and organizing those in Kenya to pray 24/7. She called Gary every 4 hours like clockwork to get updates so they could pray effectively for exactly what their “Sister” needed. He said he is convinced she would never have stopped until God lifted Debra up from danger!)

Sunday morning, after another CT scan, the doctor came in and reported that the brain clot, which he had said might take weeks to resolve, was totally gone…??

Monday, he reported that the lungs were also clear of clots, and she was breathing at 100%.

Tuesday, the Cardio doc reported that he could no longer locate the hole between the left and right chambers of the heart,that he had diagnosed.
By Wednesday, she was talking totally normally, with almost all signs of the strokes gone. She began telling the nurses how to do their job…. I knew she was going to be fine.
Thursday, we were released and sent home.

I have learned what the Body of Christ is really all about. The support and love that we have been shown, by our church, friends in Rockwall, and dear friends in central Kenya, has blown us away. But even more powerful has been the prayers of so many, prayers that God heard and honored with a miraculous healing. I have experienced the Love and Mercy and Compassion of my God who reached down and touched Debra. As Paul said, “that you may grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge and understanding”. Friday night, as I was weak and trembling and scared, His love held me up.

So, maybe Facebook is not the perfect venue to say thanks, but we know that many people were on their knees supporting us, people we are not aware of, and might hear a thanks from us here.
To God be the Glory.

• with Debra

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Brian writes…Gary and I were talking on the phone today, with me sitting in my own hospital room in Fort Worth. I’m not sure but I think we were both crying in joy at the goodness of God!

And for what it’s worth… I want to go to Kenya too! I want to hug Doreen and pray with them!

Brian