for cesar, defying the odds is normal
late sunday afternoon we got a call from andrea that cesar was worsening. she said she had never seen him like this before. he was throwing up, wincing in pain, and unable to sleep. when we got there, he seemed to be slipping in and out of consciousness, his eyes opening for only a moment before nodding off again.
if you have visited us before, you probably met cesar. without going into great detail, i can confidently say that he is the most amazing person that i have ever met. 7 years ago he was given a few days to live - his spine is fusing together and his body is withering away due to an unstoppable degenerative disease.
he fights on... confined to his bed, he shouts out praise songs, gives glory to Jesus, and clings to scripture for his strength. he knows more scripture by memory than you can possibly imagine. it keeps him full of joy and hope. it keeps him going. from his bedside, his faith convicts and challenges all who meet him. often times, it leads people to their eternal salvation.
on this day it seemed to be the end. at one point he said, "this is it, i cant take it anymore." one by one, we all knelt at his bed and said our goodbyes. even his relatives came through, saying what seemed to be their final words.
he faintly quoted scripture. when he would open his eyes, clearly longing for strength to even speak, he would repeat over and over "God is good, and he'll always be good." somehow, as he struggled to stay with us, he began shouting worship songs.
it would be appropriate to say that we could't believe what we were seeing. but because i have been around this man and his family for the last couple years, it simply felt normal. with cesar, he makes radical faith seem normal.
the image that is stuck in my mind is when his little girl joselyn (7) laid on his chest sobbing as he stroked her head and told her that it would all be ok, that he would always be with her, and that God would take care of her.
today at 7:15am my phone rang. when i saw "cesar & andrea" on the caller ID, my heart sank, assuming he had passed away. but she said she was calling b/c cesar wanted her to tell us all thank you, that he was feeling a little better. he said that as all the kids (johnsons, schmidts, bunsos, steeds) came by his bed with words, prayers, and tears, he felt as if angels surrounded him with comfort. andrea said he really just wanted to say thank you to all the gringo kids.
cesar, andrea and their family are fighters. their love for Jesus, for others, and for life itself, is nothing short of incredible. cesar is still in a lot of pain and not sleeping. please join us in prayer for them during this difficult time.
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Jesus tells us in John 14: "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." When our prayers aren't answered the way we want them to be, then we question the strength of our faith."I just didn't believe hard enough" and maybe that's true, but that certainly isn't the plan Jesus laid out for us.Tonight and every day that I have prayed and will pray for Cesar, I will believe he is healed. When it seems hard to believe, take heart from the 9th chapter of Mark when Jesus heals the boy with an evil spirit.The boy's father tells Jesus thathe asked the "disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not." Jesus responds '"O unbelieving generation
...how long shall I stay with you?"' The boy's father then says, "'if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.'"
"'If you can?' said Jesus. 'Everything is possible for him who believes.'
Immediately the boy's father exclaimed,
'I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!'" Jesus responded to the man's faith. I have written next to this passage the words of a godly teacher: "Don't limit the power of God by our lack of faith." We serve an all- powerful, great and mighty God of miracles! Let's believe Him for great and mighty miracles-