Prayer Update on Brandon - Wales

 

 

Good morning all,

 

 I just returned from visiting Brandon and want to give you an update.  He and his family just returned from DisneyLand, Paris.  The Joshua Foundation paid for the family trip due to Brandon's condition.

 

The Friday before they left his mom and dad and Brandon had to spend the weekend in hospital.  Brandon now has a feeding tube and his parents needed to know how to feed him before they went away.  The reason Brandon has this tube is because whenever he drank liquids his brain could no longer react fast enough to tell his throat to open.  Because of that the liquids were going into his lungs.

 

Although the personnel in DisneyLand gave him the royal treatment in everything, he was still unable to eat those foods that the others were eating.  This caused him much distress.  Aside from that he had a great time. 

 

Please cry out to the Lord for this young boy.  The other day he spoke to his mom and said "I'm not going to get better am I?"  It will take a miracle from God to change that statement.  Our God is still in the miracle business. God is able.  Pray for Brandon, please.

 

Pastor Bob

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Check out AOL Money & Finance's list of the hottest products and top money wasters of 2007.

The 1 Minute Painting

Why does it rain every time i come to ocean city?

New blog feature!

Bored? There's a new feature on the blog! On the right side under Adam's phone number, look for the section titled "Web Clips." I'll put interesting factoids that I find on the web here! Check 'em out!

Prayer Requests 11/11/07

Here are the giants we are dealing with this week. Don't forget to pray for each other!

• Family
• School
• Bullies
• Deaths of loved ones
• Debt
• Children

"Lift your eyes, giant slayer. The God who made a miracle out of David stands ready to make one out of you!"

MANHUNT This Wednesday!

That's right! The return of MANHUNT comes to Elvaton this Wednesday night. If you're new to youth grup this year, or haven't experienced MANHUNT in the past, here's what you need to do:

1. Wear warm and DARK clothes. If you want, you can even paint your face and hands black.
2. Bring a flashlight for when you are out looking for people.
3. Get ready for a TON of fun!

MANHUNT is one of our most fun nights of the year! Bring a friend to youth group with you... the more people we have playing, the better!

OH! And don't forget to BE ON TIME! We'll get started a little earlier than usual this week.

MOVIE NIGHT!

Guess what?! We have our projector back! We're going to celebrate this week by having a movie night for youth group. Come prepared to get comfy on the floor or couch and watch....

Oops cake

Okay so this is how I imagine this conversation went:
Walmart Employee: "Hello 'dis Walmarts, how can I help you?"
Customer: " I would like to order a cake for a going away party this week."
Walmart Employee: "What you want on the cake?"
Customer: "Best Wishes Suzanne" and underneath that "We will miss you".
Walmart Employee:

Is it REALLY ONLY Monday???

Is it really only Monday??? It sure feels like Friday...

October 31 Youth Group

A lot of you have been asking what the deal is for youth group next week since it's halloween and all. Here's the deal. We will be going to Severn Christian Church for youth group next week. They have a cool event every year and it will be a lot of fun. Hay rides, candy, games, candy, candy, other fun stuff, and then more candy. Get the idea?

We will meet at Dianne Brown's (Taylor's mom's) house at 6:30pm and we will be back there by 8:30. Click here for a map if you don't know how to get there. We will carpool over and back. In case your parents want to know where the church is, click here for a map of the church.

Finally, if you weren't in youth group on Wednesday, click here for the note that was sent home.

LIGER!

On a typical day he will devour 200 lb. of meat, usually beef or chicken, and is capable of eating 100 lb. at a single setting. At just three years old, Hercules already weighs half a ton.

He is the unintentional result of two enormous big cats living close together at the Institute of Greatly Endangered and Rare Species, in Miami , Florida , and already dwarfs both his parents. "Ligers are not something we planned on having," said institute owner Dr. Bhagavan Antle. "We have lions and tigers living together in large enclosures and at first we had no idea how well one of the lion boys was getting along with a tiger girl, then lo and behold we had a liger." These two cats don't normally have the opportunity to breed in the wild, as most lions live in Africa and most tigers in Asia .

He is a 50mph runner... Not only that, but he likes to swim, a feat unheard of among water-fearing lions. In the wild it is virtually impossible for lions and tigers to mate. Not only are they enemies likely to kill one another ... But incredible though he is, Hercules is not unique. Ligers have been bred in captivity, deliberately and accidentally, since shortly before World War II

Today there are believed to be a handful of ligers around the world and a similar number of tigons, the product of a tiger father and lion mother. Tigons are smaller than ligers and take on more physical characteristics of the tiger.


Look at the size of the head on this thing..

ABA YAG YIC DAY!

We had an awesome time on Saturday prayerwalking in Curtis Bay, praying for different communities and ministries, and meeting some of the residents by conducting a needs survey! We prayed with many people and were encouraged by their openness to Christ and finding a church!

We'll have another one of these in April! Hope you can join us!

Painted Pumpkins!

Check out these cool looking pumpkins! Have you ever tried to paint or draw on a pumpkin before? Think you could do better than this? You might have a chance to prove yourself sooner than you think...

KITTY!

CHEESE!

I'm excited... Can you tell? Make sure you're at youth group this wednesday night! We will have a special guest with us... Not telling you who it is though... Come and find out for yourself!

Can you read this?

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Prayer Requests 10/10/07

Here are prayer requests from tonight.

• Brandon in Wales
• Nick's cat
• William's mom and Grandma
• Nate - the staph infection at his school
• Lauren - Her pastor's brother is in the hospital in critical condition
• Lauren - For her youth leader's family
• Courtney - The fall carnival
• Andy - Friend Sean is in ICU for 3 weeks
• Ryan - Brother's collarbone is broken
• Tyler's dog
• Laurian's family
• James's uncle going into the military
• Mary's car is fixed!

Some Prayers Answered about Brandon...

Here's the newest email from Pastor Bob...He's coming to the USA tomorrow, so pray for travel.

================

Good morning,

Just a quick update before we leave for the USA. Last night was such a blessed night. Brandon along with sever others were baptised. I included two pictures of Brandon, one shows Brandon and his Mom and Dad. This was the largest baptism service since we've been here. God is so Good!




Brandon will be picking up his new electric wheel chair on Wednesday. His grandfather aske me if it was ok for him to start coming to church on Sunday. Yes!

The other seven who were baptised ranged from a man who lived on the street and did drugs to a woman who has been in church most of her life and just placed her faith in Jesus. The other 5 fit in between those 2.

Thank you all for your prayers. Please continue to pray for Brandon and his family.

May the Lord bless you,
Bob

YAG YIC DAY!

We're going to be participating in a missions day in Curtis Bay on Saturday October 20. We'll be doing prayer-walking, flyer distribution, and servant evangelism! Get more details from Adam!

Get the Flyer!

Prayer Works!

Thank you all so much for continuing to pray for Brandon in Wales! Here is the latest... don't skip it cuz it's great news!

======================


Hi,
Just a quick note on what God is doing through your prayers.

1. His electric wheel chair. His parents needed $3,500 to purchase the chair. They had collected just over 1,400. I pprayed that somehow through our small congregation God would provide the balance ot the money needed. This would have to be of God as our church members have barely enough to live on. Today I delivered the money that was received in an offering during a concert in our church. $2,084. Brandon will have his chair on wednesday. Praise God!!

2. I prayed that his parents would allow him to be baptized. Remember his parents are atheists. Brandon is the only one in his family that believes in God. Brandon will be baptized this Sunday. But wait. His Dad will be in the water with me as I baptize his son. That's not all. His whole family will be in church that night and hear the gospel, approx. 30 of them. Praise God again and again!

My prayer is that the family will see a miracle on Sunday. God is able. The bible states that the purpose of miracles is to authentic God's message and His love.

I don't know what God will do in this but He has been doing amazing things throughout the short time we have been praying for Brandon.

Will Brandon's eye straighten while he's in the waters?
Will Brandon walk out of the water? Something he is unable to do because f the tumor.
Will God melt that tumor?
Will his Dad accept Jesus and be baptized while he's in the water with Brandon?

Only God knows.
Only God is able.

Our part is to pray. Thank you all for your prayers.

Love in the Mighty Name of Jesus!
Pastor Bob

Weekend, What Weekend?

I've discovered something. When you grow up there are a lot of things you give up. Here's a list that should help you appreciate being a kid and all:

...weekends become all about doing things you didn't get done during the week


...summer is lost when you have to work EVERY DAY...YUCK!


...all nighter's... forget it... you're tired for days


...you really are ready for bed early!


...irresponsibility...


That's only a few...

DON'T GROW UP!!!!

Another Brandon Update

Keep praying for Brandon in Wales! The latest update from Pastor Bob is below!

===================

Hi,

I had a real nice visit with Brandon today. His parents agreed to bring him to a Baptism service on Oct. 6th and possibly Sunday School. Brandon requested both of these and right now the parents are trying to do everything he wants.

I spoke with his Dad yesterday and hid Mom and Dad today. I can sense a slight softening in their hearts towards God.

Keep Praying.

Bob

I broke my clock!

Moral of the story...

So, in October of last year when I started this new job, we decided to get me a more reliable car. Well, it's a year later and 27,000 miles has been added to the cars mileage (yeah, I know that's a lot.) Now, there's so many problems with it that we don't know what to do. =0( Please pray for a good result! I know that all of you prayer warriors are gonna help this get solved!

Thanks!!!

Update on Brandon!

Please keep praying for Brandon... see the e-mail from Pastor Bob in Wales below...

=================

Good Morning All,

Just a short note about Brandon. He is going through his Chemo and radiation now. Last week he was very sick because of it. However, he is better this week. I was with his Dad today. We were setting up a bank account for the funds that have been raised to purchase an electric wheel chair for him and hopefully we will be able to raise enough to send him to Disney Land in Paris also.

The people here are very generous. We will be having a concert in our church on the 1st of October to help raise funds also.

His Dad, David, and I spoke about his funeral arrangements. As I said in my prayer requst, Brandon's mom and Dad are atheists and want nothing to do with God. As we spoke about the funeral Dave (his Dad) said he would like to have it at our church but he wanted a humanist funeral. I told him that I would only do a Christian funeral. This opened the door to start to talk about Jesus. He was still very cold but in the course of the conversation, he said, in a very humble way, that he knew people around the world were praying for Brandon and if God healed him he waould have to rethink his position about God.

I will be with Brandon on Thursday. Prayerfully he will be strong enough to meet with me.

Please continue to pray for Brandon and the family.

Trusting in Christ,
Bob

Laughing Baby

You gotta have sound for this one... it's hilarious!

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!

Don't forget to vote for your favorite gum sculpture before Wednesday!
If you want to vote for #6, you have to email me or comment somewhere and let me know...



Click here to see the pictures!

Voting issues

I had to reset the voting, so if you voted before, vote again because the system messed up.

The voting thing will only let me put five choices on, so here's what we're going to do. If you want to vote for gum sculpture #6, leave a comment somewhere telling me so, or shoot me an email letting me know.

Blog updates!

Just a quick note to let you know that there are now a new feature to the blog. Along with Adam's email address and the poll on the right hand side of the page, you will also find links to flyers and permission slips (corn maze, movie night, website picture permission form) if you have missed them or lost them. Check it out!

Prayer Requests 9/19

Here are the prayer requests from last night's youth group!

• Ryan's Leg (not broken!)
• Courtney and Brandi's softball team
• Miss Dianne's hand and chest
• Damien and Patrick's football team
• Mr. Keith's friend's family
• Marcus's concussion
• The Della Family
• Brandi
• Haley's itchiness
• Praise for Mary's car
• Praise that Tyler is home
• Praise that Nate's grandmother can have the surgery she needs
• Praise for Patrick's new helmet

VOTE for your favorite GUM SCULPTURE!

Alright, here we go... to vote for your favorite, click on the right hand side at the top of the page (where the poll usually is).

#1 - Pumpkin

#2 - Snowman

#3 - Leaf

#4 - Tree

#5 - Bush

#6 - Pumpkin and Candy

PRAY FOR RYAN!!

Ryan was in P.E. class today and hurt his leg pretty bad. The amulance was called because we thought it might be broken, but the paramedics and the doctors say they don't think it is broken. We are waiting for X-rays to come back. We will post updates as we receive them.

UPDATE: Ryan's X-rays came back and there was no fracture! It's a little hard to walk, but they say he'll be fine very soon.

Like Summer is Now Good Night, States!!!

Elvaton Church is proud to announce that Good Night, States (formerly known as Like Summer) will be appearing at Elvaton Church on Saturday, October 13!!! These guys are an incredible rock and roll band from Pittsburgh and we're extremely excited to have them for our Fall Carnival this year! Wanna hear some of their music? You can check out their blog at http://blog.goodnightstates.com for a video or their myspace at http://www.myspace.com/goodnightstates (check with your parents if you're not allowed on MySpace...)

I read this and thought it was HILARIOUS!!! Have you ever felt this way about your parents? Is it ever really really hard to obey that commandment that says "Honor your father and mother"? Comment about it and let us all know!

Movie Night Friday September 28!

I'm sure a lot of you have alerady seen Facing the Giants, but we're going to show it here at church on the big screen! All ages are invited so younger siblings and parents can all come! Click below to view trailers, clips, and more!

Click HERE for the flyer and more information!!!

More Video Fun for You

This dog is mean!

Check out Heather's crazy cat eyes!

Prayer Requests 9/16/07

I have a huge praise for Mary and I! We got Mary's car fixed and it was FREE! WOO HOO! PRAISE GOD! Here's the rest from Sunday School this morning...

=============================

Prayer Requests

Robert's Grades
Matt's truck's A/C
Dave's family as his grandmother died
Andy's sickness
Alex's game Friday vs. Meade
Alex's leg
Adam's allergies
King family

Praises

Alex's team won game vs. Broadneck
Andy's new car
Mary's car fixed for free

Krazy Kitties

These are my cats. They're not normal. They practically refuse to drink out of their bowl if they think you might leave the water running in the bathroom.

FLYERING TIME!

"What the heck is FLYERING?"

I'm glad you asked! This year our church is putting on a fall carnival for our community. Since it's FOR the community, we need to TELL the community about it! We're making up some really cool flyers and we need YOU to come help us deliver them! We'll hop in cars after church on Sunday September 23, (probably around 1:00 or so since we're going to eat first) and then drive around putting flyers in doors about the carnival! We did this last year with bags for canned goods, but this year it will be even easier because it's just a piece of paper!

"What's in it for me?"

I'm glad you asked! PIZZA!!!! We'll feed you first, the set you loose!... well, not that loose... anyway, if you have questions, let me know... my email is on the top right of the blog page!

Prayer Request from Wales

Some of you may know that some of the youth from Elvaton went on a missions trip to Wales two summers ago. This is an email that he sent to our church family earlier this week. Please pray for Brandon.

========================================================

Good morning,

It's not often I send a prayer request to you all. Perhaps I should. But this one is so special. Let me explain.

As most of you know the majority of people in Abertillery do not believe in God. Many of them that acknowledge there is a god, hate him and blame him for every bad thing that has ever happened. The parents of the boy I am about to tell you about are the "God hater" types.

Brandon James is celebrating his 8th birthday today, September 11th. Brandon has never come to church or Holiday Bible Club or anything like that. The only time he ever saw me was through the local school when I would be there to speak at assemblies.

About 4 weeks ago this healthy young boy was on holiday with his parents in the caravan. He went out to play with the children and he fell down and could not get up by himself. His mother went to him and he was not able to use his left arm or leg, they were just limp. As she spoke with him his right eye crossed. They took him to the local hospital where he was immediately transferred to a more specialised hospital. After a series of scans the doctors found a tumour on his brain stem. The tentacles of the tumour had already spread through his brain. His parents now take him every morning to a hospital 60 miles away to receive radiation and chemotherapy. The doctors told this parents after 30 days of treatment Brandon may have 6 months of a fairly normal life and then in the blink of an eye the tumour will come back with avengance and that will be the end.

The reason I told you about his parents and how Brandon knew me, is because he asked his mom and dad if they would contact Pastor Bob so I could visit him. I did that last week and he was too tired to talk. His words were all slurred and he couldn't keep his eyes open. While I prayed for him he was attentive. I am going to his 8th birthday party tonight and his parents have agreed to phone me at anytime when he is not so tired as before.

The parents don't want to hear about God, they say He is cruel for what He is doing to Brandon.

Now the Request. Please, please pray for such a miraculous healing of the boy that he would be able to live a normal life and grow up to love and serve the Lord. Pray that through his healing that the parents and the rest of the family may come to place their faith in Jesus. This is a desperate need. Please ask others to pray also.Our hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Bless you,
Bob

Angela's Case was Dismissed!

Thank you everyone that has been praying for Angela's case. For those of you who do not know. Angela is my sister and she was in a pretty bad accident in June, where she could have lost her life. The officer, following the law, gave her a ticket. And she had a court date on Thursday morning. She was quite scared because she thought she could go to jail. But she got there and she took pictures of her car, which by the way looks like a total mess, and her driving record. She showed the judge the pictures of her car and her driving record and explained she didn't know what happened and that she thought it was a malfunction with her car. The judge looked at her, after reading the letter that we wrote for missing her court date in July because of the loss of my father, and said something to the sort of: you are a very lucky girl. She quietly said, "I know" and the judge said that with everything else that happened that he did not feel that she needed anymore. Her case was dismissed and she does not have to worry about it ever haunting her in the legal sense again. Thanks so much for praying. That is one less thing that we have to worry about.

Heather King

Prayer Requests 9/9/07

Here are the prayer requests from Sunday School this morning.

• Robert's bug bites and getting better grades this year
• Amy Ross's family
• Mary's car
• Alex's parents to have a safe trip home
• King Family
• Praise for Angela - all charges were dropped
• Praise for Matt's new futon and AbLounge?
  
  

Fun with a Porta Potty

Corn Maze!

I totally forgot to announce this in youth group, but the next event we have planned for you is our annual trip to the corn maze! If you've never been to a corn maze it's really really fun... it can also be really frustrating, but nonetheless fun. They also have plenty of other things to do as well if you're not feeling like getting lost in a corn field. Click here to check it out!

The date will be September 29 with a rain date of October 6. Afterwards, as long as all goes well, we're planning on having a bonfire back at Elvaton! Hope you can join us!

Click HERE to get the flyer!

Prayer Requests 9/5/07

Here are the weekly prayer requests so you can pray for each other!

• Amy Ross's family (car accident)
• Angela's court date
• Kayla's finger smash and braces
• William's grandmother's back
• Brianna's brother possibly going to Afghanistan with the Navy
• Nate's grandma's surgery
• Ryan's family - safe travel to O.C.
• Mrs. Laine
• Ramsey family
• King family

Goldfish Swim in Peanut Butter

For those of you that missed our first youth group of the school year, we had some fun with peanut butter to say the least. Did you know that Goldfish stick to peanut butter really well? Well William, Kayla, and Sam know that all too well... We had a contest to see who could come up with the most creative way to decorate a face with peanut butter and goldfish...

William... what a trooper... his team decided that he should look like a pirate... ARRRGGGHHHH!

Honestly, I can't remember what Kayla was supposed to be, but they were pretty creative...

And finally Sam... I think Sam won the "it took me a half an hour to get this stuff off my face" award...

So do you think they'll be smelling peanut butter for the rest of the week?