Being the church

Last night the Euphrony's spent a few hours eating dinner and praying over a family, good friends of ours. The DeCarlo's have been friends of ours since we moved to Houston seven-odd years ago. On April 1^st they laughed and celebrated the birth of their second son, Justin (his picture is on the right). And then came the diagnosis, one they had been expecting since they first saw him - Down Syndrome. So far they've had many positive reports from the doctors: no renal problems, his hearing is normal (which means communication should not be hampered). The one area that Justin has real problems is his heart.

In two weeks he goes in for heart surgery. They need to repair a few small holes in the walls dividing the chambers of the heart. There should be two valves inside the heart, but he only has one; the doctors will divide it into two (isn't that amazing!). Also he has some shunts that all infants have in the womb but go away after birth - his are still there and will be removed so blood flows better to the lungs. The whole surgery will last around 5 hours, followed by a few days in ICU and another couple of days in the hospital.

Please join with me in praying for Justin and for his parents, Randy and Danielle. One of the things we do best as the people of God is wrap our arms around those who are hurting or afraid, and show them God's love and compassion. And right now they need peace and encouragement.

Proud parent moment: As we sat in a circle and prayed last night, around 50 of us, Lil'E leaned over to whisper in my ear. I figured she was going to ask if she could go play - I'm glad to say I was wrong. She asked me if she could say a prayer for Justin. So a few minutes later, when it got quiet, I nudged her to let her know she could pray now. She prayed beautifully, asking God to take care of Justin and thanking Him for everyone who was there. And then someone else started praying, because they couldn't hear Lil'E, and she gave me the maddest look for being interrupted. But still, wonderful.