Storyline Spring 2015

It was Thursday, December 11, and
as I live close to the church, I had
headed home for lunch. Because we live close to Deerfoot
Trail, it’s not unusual to hear sirens from time to time. But today was
different – there were a lot of sirens, and they persisted. I stopped to
pray; praying for the situation, the people and trusting God to work
in the midst of whatever was going on.
Forty-five minutes later when I went back to the church, I discovered
I’d actually been praying for two of our pastors, Jon Caldwell and
Spencer Young. They had been seriously injured in a collision on 130
Avenue. Immediately Jonathan Klein and I went up to Foothills hospital.
When we got into Emergency, we were led back to the trauma
bays where both of them were being cared for. It was a very serious
situation. I’ve seen my share of trauma, but there’s something different
when it’s friends and colleagues – guys you really love and care about.
Immediately people were beginning to pray. The news was spreading.
Family began to arrive and Spencer’s parents were urged to fly in
from Regina. Throughout that afternoon and into the early evening
they continued to be assessed and cared for and ultimately both of
them were transferred onto the Trauma Unit at Foothills. Jon began
to respond and recover even as they were continuing to find more
injuries but Spencer was not improving. He was still very altered and
Left Photo: http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/asirt-called-in-to-investigate-serious-crash-insoutheast-calgary-1.2143665
(Published Thursday, December 11, 2014 MST)
incoherent. As the next couple of days unfolded Jon continued to
improve. The medical staff were able to figure out and stabilize more
of Spencer’s injuries and yet his head injury was still a major concern;
he wasn’t responding the way the medical staff would have liked. By
then there were hundreds of people praying.
Dawn and I left the hospital on Saturday with mixed emotions. On
one hand, Jon was making good progress as he waited for surgery
on his badly broken arm and nose; but Spencer was still not responding
well. Dawn commented that maybe God was waiting to
heal Spencer until his Grade 5&6 students could gather and pray.
Saturday and Sunday we shared the news at church. Now there were
thousands praying, including all those students! Saturday night and
Sunday God moved in a miraculous way! Going up to see the guys
on Sunday after church was amazing. The turnaround in Spencer was
stunning. We walked in and there he was, sitting up in bed chatting
with visitors. He was back!
Looking back on the accident, you
can see God’s hand. They were
driving a rental car with the latest
in crash protection. If not for that it
could have been much worse.
Jon and Spencer continue to heal from the trauma, both physically
and emotionally. Jon is back at work part time and Spencer is still
waiting to be cleared to come back to work.
Continue to pray for their complete healing. We’re so thankful to
God for the way He has intervened in their lives and the miraculous
way He is restoring them. • Written by Pastor Les Bon-Bernard
B
efore I accepted Jesus as my
Saviour, I was struggling with
a lot of things in life. I didn’t know what I
wanted to do with my life or what my purpose in life was. I consistently
had depressing thoughts and feelings of hopelessness.
I was abused as a child, and as a result of that I was stripped of
my dignity. I was confused and felt like I couldn’t talk to anyone
about it because I would be judged and made fun of. I felt myself
going through a downward spiral and it was happening fast, I
was doing nothing but destroying my life. I was confused by all
of this and it felt like no one was there to help me. I was scared to
ask for help from anyone; I didn’t know what to do. I feared a lot
of things in life, including the people that loved me the most –
my parents.
Since I accepted Jesus as my Saviour, my life has
changed. I was very skeptical at first but very soon
after I noticed a big difference in my life. My relationships
with my friends and family shifted, the bonds grew stronger to
the point where no one or nothing can break them. I am filled
with love and joy for everything and everyone. I’m working on
overcoming my past and becoming a better person for it, and
forgiving those involved. I am more humble and understanding
of others. I no longer feel stuck in life; I feel that I have someone
guiding me along the way. I have overcome those depressing
thoughts and feelings of hopelessness, and am a strong individual
who now loves his life and is ready to take the next step in
life and in my faith. The best thing I ever did in my life was believe
in the Christian faith. Words can not describe how much better
my life has been over the last two and a half months. I am able to
talk with my parents openly about anything I need to and they
are there to listen to me and love me. I feel that I am on the right
path in life – the path God has chosen for me. • Steven Sita was
baptized January 18 by Pastor Brad Young (pictured above).
What’s your story? We’d love to hear about the difference Jesus
has made in your life! Email: storyline@faccalgary.com.