still praying.

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray for these two souls mentioned here, Terry and Dona Lucia, who are in such bad physical shape

You are the Healer and Great Physician. Please regard these struggling ones and be with them

In Jesus' name...

Abba, it's me again. I come again as a Daughter of Your House. We need Jesus so much.... My Bridegroom, these wounded ones need Your healing power. You formed us, nurtured us, blessed us in the womb. You alone know the how's, the why's, the wherefore's of our bodies and how to repair them.

My Jesus... please... We will bow to Your will, but the families of these two wounded ones desire their return to health. They are not yet ready for them to rest until Your return. My Jesus, I ask a healing. A complete healing for both Terry and Dona Lucia. I ask not because they are worthy, but because You are Love, and You are Worthy...

We will be most careful my Bridegroom to give You the Honor, the Glory, the Praise, and the Hallelujahs. Pour out Your Living Blood, filled with healing power upon them. Let them be living testaments to Your Power on the face of the earth.

Jesus, my wonderful King, I do not know Your heart in this... You see the end from the beginning, and I do not. But I do have faith that You are perfect Love, and perfect love casts out fear. So I know that You will do what is best, for Terry, for Dona Lucia, for their families, even if in the short term it causes them grief.

Jesus, I have no righteousness of my own, but I wear Your Armor every day, and part of it is Your Righteousness, which makes me righteous. So, if the prayer of one righteous one will avail anything, I ask for Your Grace and Mercy, new every morning to encompass all those involved in these situations. I ask for healing, for a return to the arms of the families who will miss them so much if they are called to rest until You come in Glory.

Jesus, if is not Your will to restore these two, then comfort their families, in such a way that they feel Your comfort in a tangible way. Oh Jesus, I love You so very much... Help me to love You more.

Thank You for answering this prayer.

Clio

Thanks so much for all your prayers! I know that the Trecartin family and the family in Costa Rica really appreciate it! As soon as I know anything more I will post it here.

Taylor

Here is another update from Terry's Dad. Terry is still in critical condition but there is good news. Please keep praying!

Sincerely,
Taylor

If Monday was like a roller coaster, Tuesday was like trying to push start a truck on a hill - going uphill! It seemed that nothing was happening. We were all exhausted, and there was little change. I knew that was good - at least Terry was still alive and wasn't getting worse. But as I crawled into bed I wondered what tomorrow would bring. Well, today was like the truck engine firing once, twice, then three or four times - it just seems that everything is about to roar to life!

This morning they told us Terry's blood pressure was still holding without medication, his heart had remained strong all through this trauma, and they had taken him off the medication they had used to paralyze him during all the procedures they were doing yesterday. His color looked much better to us, and we were all feeling at least a little rested so things seemed a little brighter. Then the really good news came!

After lunch a friend who works in the trauma floor (where Terry will go if he gets out of Trauma ICU) bumped into the nurse who was on the Life Force helicopter that picked Terry up. He said Terry was breathing on his own when they took him into the helicopter. He said he started the respirator as a precaution. He said he had talked to the paramedic who had been right behind Terry and had helped to stabilize him till Life Force could arrive. The paramedic said Terry had been breathing while he was working on him. Suddenly we felt a bit of hope that maybe there would be no serious brain damage after all. I got goose bumps and started to cry. Shannon (Terry's wife) got out her guitar and began to play some songs. Our mood was good and we were all trying not to let ourselves get too excited.

This afternoon Terry's nurse and the trauma doctor told a few of us that he was having a really good day. They showed us that he was breathing on his own. "Well", they said, "not totally on his own, but above the respirator." He was breathing faster than the respirator, and when it would fill up his lungs, he would breathe even a little deeper. They were very pleased with that.

I asked when they planned to do some EEG or something. They said there was no indication of any brain damage, and they didn't feel they needed to do anything like an EEG - at least not at this point! They said if he had drowned and been resuscitated or his brain and body all seemed to be shutting down, they would do one to see what was there, but they had nothing to make them think he had major brain damage, so were not worrying about that at this point!

We realize Terry is still in very critical condition and that we are grasping at anything that seems positive, but there has been quite a lot today and we are rejoicing. We have had a number of pastors in to see us from the surrounding area. Jerry Fore, a close friend and former pastor, (now the Georgia-Cumberland Conference General Vice President) rearranged his busy schedule so he could come to the hospital and see us. When he came it wasn't visiting hours so he called us and changed more things so he could come back later in the afternoon. Hundreds of you have been emailing (I now have 326 emails I haven't gotten to yet). People have been bringing food, loaned us cars, offered to let us stay with them, and prayed and prayed and prayed. In fact, 100 Pentecostal churches in the area have been praying for Terry and two of the ladies said they were going to be anointed for him by their elders. (Note: The Adventist Church doesn't practice anointing for others, but we certainly appreciate the thoughts and prayers of these dedicated people who are going out of their way for someone they don't even know.) By the way, I can't remember if I told you that John Swafford, the Georgia-Cumberland Conference Pathfinder Director, came up on Sunday and had an anointing service for Terry (following the council of the book of James) while we were still in flight here.

Today Barbara and I have been married 30 years. Last night I prayed and told God it was really just a little thing, but tomorrow was our anniversary and I just wished He could help us get some really good news - Thank you Jesus for answering that prayer with a resounding "yes"! We are continuing to look for even more improvements in the next few days, but are trusting God to do what He knows best. Thank you for holding us up in your prayers.


Homer Trecartin, Secretary-Treasurer
Middle East Union of Seventh-day Adventists

This is awesome news!!!! Still praying!

Another report from report from Terry's Dad. Please keep praying!

Taylor


Sorry there hasn't been a report for a few days, but there just hasn't been too much to report. Terry is doing MUCH better than the first few days, but no dramatic changes since the last email. They still have him sedated, but are reducing that some. He is breathing more on his own. They have had some problems with a low grade fever and the continued problems with his badly bruised lungs. They hope to do a tracheotomy soon. That will be much better for his lungs, more comfortable for him (allowing them to remove more of the sedation), and make it easier to move him for some of the surgeries, etc. he still needs. They have tentatively scheduled back surgery for Wednesday.

A few quick stories will illustrate the ups and downs of emotions we are all experiencing. One minute we may be tingling with excitement and anticipation. The next we may be standing in the corner trying to hide the tears streaming down our cheeks:

1) A couple of days ago our daughter, Becky, arrived at the school where she teaches (they were here in Tennessee on Sunday and went back to Virginia on Monday). As she walked around the corner she almost screamed to herself in anger - someone had pulled up the bushes at the end of the building as part of the remodeling they were doing. After raging and crying away to herself for a few minutes she suddenly stopped and said, "Why in the world am I so upset about some dumb bushes?" Then it dawned on her - it was just one more loss, and right now any loss, even a little one, was more than she could handle. Somehow, just knowing that helped her to feel better though. She still liked the bushes and would miss them, but at least she understood the reason. With her brother it was different. He was laying in the hospital many hours away - struggling for each breath. She didn't know why, and couldn't do anything to help.

2) About the same time here in Tennessee, Shannon (Terry's wife) was struggling with a decision. She was looking at the checkbook and the stack of bills that were due. Their checks had just been direct deposited to the bank, and there was no where near enough money to cover all the bills. Besides that - Terry wouldn't be working for a long time, and she was also missing work to be with him. How would they survive? Finally she took a deep breath, said a little prayer, and wrote out the check for her tithe and offering before starting to pay any of the bills.

We got interrupted just then with the drive to the hospital to visit Terry. When we got back, someone had come to bring lunch (the church has organized different people to bring lunch each day). They had also brought laundry detergent, toilet paper, and other odds and ends they thought we might come up needing. They had also left an envelope with a note - "please use this to help pay bills." Inside were 10 crisp $100 bills - many times the amount she had just written out in the check for tithe and offering! Goose bumps crept along her arms and tears came into her eyes as she realized that the promise in Malachi 3:10 had again been fulfilled - she had been faithful to God and He had opened the windows of heaven to support her.

3) Last night I had been standing in the room, rubbing Terry's puffy left hand and arm when I saw Shannon bend over the bed and lay her head on his right hand as she quietly wiped the tears from her eyes. Suddenly I couldn't stay in the room any more, and sobs threatened to engulf me as I walked toward the hallway door.

4) This afternoon they had reduced Terry's sedatives a little. His body seemed to be moving more and his heart rate spiked twice - once when the nurse was suctioning out his nose, and once when Uncle Paul told him he had cracked the security on Terry's computer and given the password to Shannon :-). It may or may not have been a reaction to what was said, but it gave us a good laugh which we all needed.

We love God. We know He loves us. We see evidence of His care and healing. We rejoice that Terry is still alive, and that he is better than he was at this time last week. But we do still have questions, and we do still have tears. So if you come to visit, don't be too surprised if you see some of us laughing and some of us crying, or if you see the same one of us doing one at first and the other a few minutes later. Just give us a hug, whisper a prayer, and know that someday we will be OK. In the mean time, your love and support are helping us through this difficult time of waiting and wondering.


Homer Trecartin, Secretary-Treasurer
Middle East Union of Seventh-day Adventists

Taylor,

If you can... Tell Shannon to claim her spiritual authority as Terry's wife and ask for his life in Abba's Will. And if they haven't already, ask for an anointing.

Jesus Grace is sufficient... and He is in control.

Clio

I totally believe with all my heart that the Lord has preserved Terry for a reason. The times I have lifted him in prayer I have felt a strong impression that the Lord was hearing and answering these prayers and I don't get that all the time. So now I want to pray, Heavenly Father, please continue to sustain Terry's life and work Your miracle of healing upon him. Please place Your hand directly upon him and swiftly bring his vital functions back to normal, his consciousness to normal, and his body back to 100% working order, Lord. Please strengthen the faith of his family and friends during this time, give them courage to endure the waiting and the uncertainties, and hope fortified by how You have answered their prayers thus far. In Jesus' name, amen.

Thank you so much for all your prayers! I know Terry's family really appreciate it a lot!
Taylor