[__ Prayer __] URGENT PRAYER REQUESTS

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Dear Saints:

GBY, and greetings in the Name of Jesus. First of all, I want to grovelingly and humbly apologize for not sending a follow-up E-mail or response from any early message you sent to me; on January 27 of this year, I began a temporary full-time job, working as an aid in supervising a Special Education students. This job was 62 miles round trip a day during school days. Ergo, I used and traveled public transportation a total of about 5-6 hours a day when going and coming there. I also had to do all the shopping, cleaning, laundry, paying the bills, applying for other permanent full-time jobs (which can be a full-time job within itself), various life’s surprises, etc…, being my wife was pregnant. This and other fiery darts I’ve been getting hit with have really made it hard for me to be on-line to E-mail like I would desire to; so I really am sorry again if I didn’t get back to you sooner if you replied to me with an E-mail previously.

Secondly, I want to thank you so much for your prayers for us (my wife Marline, my baby Grace, and I), and do so with all my heart. I also am grateful for any advise you may have given me previously; I appreciate that, too.

Thirdly, the temporary job I was working, I humbly believe I was doing well, working it with all my heart as though I’m working it to God. The nine year old boy I was at first working with has an infirmity called Lissencephaly (which literally means “smooth brainâ€Â; it is a rare, gene-linked brain malformation characterized by the absence of normal convolutions (folds) in the cerebral cortex [i.e. his brain’s surface is smooth, and therefore has no nooks and crannies to attach to other nerves outside the brain]). He does not have the mental capacity past a one year old. I had to feed him and change his diapers. However, he’s a beautiful child. He had seizures that require me to constantly and diligently monitor him. But I was certain that he knew when he was being loved. I was doing very well with him. I was told by the medical personnel there that he’s the only human on the earth that they know of that is diagnosed with this disease, and he still is able to walk. They also said that “miracles†were being done while I was with this boy (just quoting them), i.e. his improvements in his behavior and abilities. I thanked God for this opportunity.

However, a little while later, I was pulled into the principal’s office. I was working with three other people there who have told me that I’m doing well, and have stabbed me in the back. The principal told me that they complained basically that I was trying too hard in attempting to do my job. They said I was too “intense†and “intrusive†(whatever that means). Other criticisms included that I walked into the room where they were changing the diapers of one of the students- even though I myself had regularly went into the room to change the diapers of the one I’m with. I was even criticized by one of them when they told me that when I use the faculty bathroom on their floor, that I should bring matches from now on, being the smell offended one of the teachers up there. I told the principal that I go there to do my job, and that I’m not there to please my peers in being what they want me to be. I told here just some of the things that I endured by them being one of them was bragging right before his lunch break that he was going to have sex with his wife during the break, come back an hour later, and (when he saw I was turned off by his open talk before the children and all there) asked me in front of the others if my “view on sex was conservativeâ€Â. I explained that since I don’t fit in the crowd, that they are just trying to nit-pick on me, indicating that they are trying to dissuade her (the principal) into hiring me as a permanent employee of the school for this boy after my assignment term has ended. She basically told me that she was the final say so in evaluating me on my job; however, since I work in close quarters with them, it’s my job to get along with them. I basically told her I’m not going to participate in the kind of discussions that they are trying to encourage me to participate in; …and that’s the reason why I concentrate so much about my job, turning the topic of discussion. What I didn’t tell her (but she knew) was that the teacher there was a staunch, open, Anti-American Atheist. God delivered me when I then was transferred to the autistic children’s class. I did so well there, that the teacher there gave me a high letter of recommendation. Finally, I was assigned a full-time job in very late April of this year to monitor a Special Ed student (2nd Grade) with behavior disorders at another school. I believe I did very well this last semester; many people in charge there told me so, including the student’s parents. I found favor with many people there, including the student’s parents. School then ended for the summer. I left there with an uncomfortable feeling. The teacher of the student seemed to be jealous, always telling me she wanted to take the credit for the improvement that this student was making, that several people were raving about, and harassing me about things that she herself was guilty of. There were also a couple of things that happened to me right before school ended for the summer that made me feel very uneasy about my status there. Pray for me that God blesses me to keep this job this coming fall, and that he preserves me there, until He blesses me with even a better job.

In all this experience, I feel that my calling is being a Special Ed teacher. I seem to be very good at it, at least as what other people tell me. Pray for me about this. It means that I have to go to school again to get a degree in it to teach these kinds of students.

Fourthly, God blessed us with the most beautiful baby girl in the whole wide world this past May- Praise God. I’ve been so busy doing everything for our family so my wife could concentrate on her birth. She was in 17 hours of labor; our girl had to be born C-Section. She is a miracle, very smart, very alert, and very healthy so far. Please continually pray for our baby’s health, welfare and protection.

Fifthly, when I unjustly lost my job last September, my wife and I had to cash in on our 401K’s to survive. This has left us with a very large tax bill; the IRS is threatening to garnish our wages. We also have medical bills that are piling up. I also have a large hospital bill that I need to pay from last year (for heart palpitations, going into Intensive Care, after losing my job). I also am not working this summer (I was not hired full-time early enough to get summer pay). Right now, I don’t know how we are going to pay our upcoming rent; we are almost at our financial end. However, my wife and I have much peace about this, regardless of what our dire circumstances look like. Pray that Jesus deliver us from all our financial problems. We are getting so bombarded that sometimes I feel I just can’t keep track of all our bills any more. My paperwork piles up faster than I can do it, too. Pray that God helps me get organized and be the fully responsible husband and father that he wants me to be, and get my paperwork done.

Sixthly, God has recently blessed our marriage, and our relationship with each other. Please continually pray for my wife and I that we be the spouses and parents that He would have us to be in Christ Jesus. I Love my wife as Christ Loved the church, and want to be the best father a daughter ever had.

Seventhly, I recently went to my doctor. My bad cholesterol has soared, and good cholesterol had dropped to 27. My doctor wants me to increase my unsaturated fats. Consequently, that and not being able to exercise has made me gain unwanted weight. I’m not allowed to fast, too; I use to fast (and pray- in sincerity) until I was down to 155 lbs (I’m about 6’ 1†tall) emaciate a few years back; therefore, due to this, and the digestion medication that I’m on, I’m not allowed to fast anymore. Please pray for me that God heals me, and that my weight does not get out of hand like is had done in the past in my life. It’s been very hard, especially with the incredible stress that I had been experiencing these past few months. Please pray also for my wife’s health. There is an infirmity that she is dealing with that I will leave unnamed that she needs healing of very much.

Also please pray for us:

1) That He helps me overcome my unbelief;

2) That He blesses and preserves our marriage for the rest of our lives;

3) That my wife overcome her confessed anger and unforgiveness problems;

4) That Jesus helps me make sense out of all the wrongs and evils that have happened against me, and helps me go on; it seems I’ve made many enemies for doing the right things in my life. My sufferings have made me so weak. Pray that He helps me spiritually in my life.



Thank you so much. I greatly appreciate it. I intend to keep in touch, Lord willing.



In His Love, Ben