Prayer Request

As I promised before, this something I would really ask yall to pray for because it's a serious situation that's arisen here at Lakeside.

The pastor Derek Jones has four children, the eldest of which is Matt. Those of you that were here over spring break will remember Matt's wife Becky and their daughter Ansley. When Becky was pregnant with Ansley she went into early labor around 22 weeks, but eventually delivered her safely at 27 weeks. Now pregnant with their second child, which I mistakenly said was a girl before but is actually a boy, Becky went into labor very early at only 17 weeks. Doctors say a viable delivery can only be expected after a minimum of 24 weeks and even that can be difficult. Becky underwent cervical stitching to prevent early delivery, but they're afraid they might have to be removed. She's on muscle relaxing medication to help with the contractions. They baby is now at 20 weeks, and the couple is hoping and praying that they can go as long as 30 weeks.

This past Sunday Matt gave a sermon discussing how children are possessions of God and not their parents. He gave a testimony of a couple whom he and his wife are friends with, and how while they were missionaries in Africa they gave birth to a son only to see him die less than 24 hours later. The father of the boy considered his lost son to be a "seed" of faith planted in the soil of Africa, and that he "gave his life for Christ" quite literally.

Men and women, I want to pray that Matt and Becky do not have to go through the pain of that kind of sacrifice. So I ask that you keep this them in your prayers, for Becky's body to react well to the medication and for the boy to be born healthy and live a long, Jesus-glorifying life.