The Virtual Pew Daily: Urgent Prayer Request and Help for my Wife

In the past I have had to send out urgent prayer request and thankfully those familiar with this ministry has come through. Today is another such request for my wife. As most know, our family has made the decision to be involved in ministry to the poor, and as a part of that is living a life where we don’t make much money. While we have money that comes in from Mary Jane’s teaching salary, and my salary from Youth Horizons and The Virtual Pew we give a lot of that back. In fact, with me, I only take a combined salary of $375 a week from The Virtual Pew and Youth Horizons. With the unique nature of The Virtual Pew Ministry sometimes money comes in, sometimes it doesn’t.

I am in the need of making the request that if possible some individuals provide some level of help for Mary Jane, my wife. A few years ago she lost her sister Geri to cancer and during that time, we were blessed to have people help us. With the help we received, as well as some of our own finances, we were able to visit with Geri for a few weeks as a family, and Mary Jane was also able to return for the funeral. Without the help of others this would have never been possible.

Unfortunately, our involvement in ministry, and helping others has made the reality of being with family very difficult and at times impossible. I know how much my wife has given to me as a wife, and this ministry over the years. There were months that the only tithe or offering checks that came in came in through my wife, and that money in return went out to others in need. It is with a humble heart I ask you to make it possible for my wife to visit with, and be with a member of her family again.

For the last weeks, Mary Jane’s brother Larry has been suffering with cancer, the same disease her sister died from. We had been talking about trying to get Mary Jane to Larry to spend some time with before he died. This morning things took a turn for the worst and we don’t know how much time Larry has left. We expect the same need as with her sister. We are asking for help in getting her there to spend some time with her brother before he dies, and then some help to go back home, to Tennessee to be there for his funeral. For those who know my wife, you know how special she is. You also know how lucky over the years I have been. You also know that we have never had much money, and how little over the years we have been to Tennessee to visit family. I will assure you, if not for the love and generosity of my wife, the ministry I have been involved in would have never taken place.

I am asking that for those that can to contribute to helping get Mary Jane home immediately to spend some time with her brother Larry, and then hopefully we will also have enough to send her home for the funeral which is inevitable to happen. She needs to leave for the Tri- Cites in Tennessee as soon as possible, and will have to make a return trip. To fly from Wichita to the Tri-Cities even with the family emergency discount will cost around $400. We also realize that some friend may have a travel voucher that would get her there, this as well would be greatly appreciated. While our family, myself and our two children would love to be there for one of their Uncle Larry’s, (the other is actually Papaw Larry), we are not asking for this. It is our expectation that we just won’t be able to go as we know we can’t afford it and we don’t want to impose on others to give the amount needed even for one trip for all of us.

I ask and implore you to please give to help Mary Jane spend the little time left with her brother. You can do so by sending a gift to Mary Jane at 5410 Annapolis Avenue, Clearwater, KS 67026, or The Virtual Pew at 5410 Wichita, KS 67217, or by giving on line. If wanting to, or willing to give on line with your credit card or some other form of support you can copy and paste the following link and give via on line, this gift is instant. The link is as follows: http://www.furches.org/donations/index.html

For those that know me, and know this ministry you know how important the concept of integrity is. Last time we made a donation request of this nature, for a funeral to attend, We requested $400 and within 2 hours had enough money and sent out a notice that we had enough money and to not send any more. This time is a little different. We don’t know exactly how much we need, outside of the air travel. There will be some additional minor expenses but we anticipate those to be minimal. For Mary Jane, with the two air trips anticipated, and some additional minimal costs we will have a need of around $1,000. It is possible, that Mary Jane will also have to take some time off of work without pay, we are not certain yet as we don’t know the details surrounding everything. Again, we are also not figuring in any costs for our family, if anyone wanted to designate money for that we wouldn’t turn it down as long as we had enough money for Mary Jane. Her getting to spend time with her family, brother in particular, is our first priority, until this need is met, we won’t under any conditions won’t accept money or support for us being there. Again, we are not talking about just money, the donation of a airline voucher or ticket would also be a great help.

I don’t know what else to say, other than we really appreciate your prayers right now for all things, not just getting Mary Jane there, but her brother, the rest of the family, and the incredible hurt my wife is feeling right now. It has been hard to stay focused during the last few weeks, some may have noticed. Now you know why. Please don’t hesitate asking any questions, you can do that by calling me at 316-258-3952, or at home at 620-545-7029, and if you wanted to speak to Mary Jane you can call her on her cell phone at 316-350-4969