Article

I Peter 1:6-7, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

We are honored to know Greg R. He is a Christian brother with a faith proven genuine. He is a member of our church of whom we are proud. And he has made medical history. Greg contracted ALS, Lou Gehrig’s Disease last year. Bedfast and paralyzed since January 2, 2008, in early April he received the first ever stem cell treatment for that disease. He is showing improvement.

Since this letter, Jackie reports that Greg is improving. He now has increased movement in his left arm and leg, and can straighten his left foot. Last Wednesday, April 23, his shoulders and neck were strong enough so that he could sit up in a wheelchair without pillow support. We praise the Lord.

Our prayers continue for Greg.

Nehemiah led the Jews who returned to their homeland after the Captivity. He organized
them to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. To the amazement of their enemies, the Jews
completed it in fifty-two days. Nehemiah wrote, “When all our enemies heard about this,
all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized
that this work had been done with the help of our God” (Nehemiah 6:16).

To our amazement, as well, they built the wall with all volunteer labor. God’s work is nearly
always done best by motivated volunteers.