Category: Prayer & Updates

Rand Holm, GCI pastor in Southern California requests prayer. He will be having surgery on September 10 to replace his right hip joint.

Cards may be sent to:

Rand Holm

599 Rio Grande Circle
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360-1555

As we pray for persecuted Christians around the world, our prayers can be informed by a letter sent recently by Evangelical Christian leaders (including NAE President Leith Anderson) to U.S. President Barak Obama, encouraging him to strengthen actions to protect religious minorities in the region (particularly Northern Iraq) that is being severely impacted by the terror inflicted by radical Islamists seeking, by force, to establish an Islamic State. To read the letter, click here.

We were saddened to learn that GCI-Oregon elder Woody Corsi died on September 2.

Cards may be sent to:

Elaine Corsi

7205 SE Villa St.

Hillsboro, OR 97123

This update on John Halford’s request for prayer is from his daughter Becki Halford Brown.

I wish I could give you all a little more of an uplifting update regarding my dad. He is still very weak, hardly eating at all and sleeps a lot of the day.

We (and he) were hoping for a little more progress by now. However, we have been told that his condition is normal—the chemo and radiation he has gone through really takes a toll on the body. Still, it is heartbreaking to see him in a lot of pain and tired all of the time.

Though Dad has been given permission to eat anything he wants now, he says everything tastes like dry cardboard and is hard to get down. His body aches all the time, especially around his shoulders. Although he stays positive and tries to smile, he really is miserable. He so badly wants his life back and to be visiting with his friends. One short visit wipes him out for the rest of the day.

We would greatly appreciate your continued prayers for my dad’s healing and recovery and for some rest for my mom. She is dad’s full time nurse and is very tired too. Cancer is a truly horrible disease that affects the entire family.

Cards may be sent to:

John & Pat Halford
5836 South State Road 129
Versailles, IN 47042

This prayer request is from Kalengule Kaoma, one of GCI’s mission developers in Africa.

As you know, Ebola is spreading rapidly in the West African nations of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Global media have been reporting rioting in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. Food shortages there are due primarily to travel restrictions.

Although there is noticeable reduction in travel by air, a lot of people are still travelling and it is easy to spread the disease that way. Thankfully, some countries have taken measures to educate travelers about Ebola. In Malawi, all travelers are screened for Ebola at airports.

Robert Browne, GCI director in Liberia, reports that the situation is, “Like being in prison—prices of commodities have gone high and almost every pastor of GCI in Liberia is stranded.” We will be looking for ways to assist them. We ask our worldwide family to lift these people up to God in prayer.

This is an update to a previous prayer request for retired GCI pastor Willi Mandel and his wife Ingrid.

Willi thanks everyone for their prayers and cards. His thoracic surgeon says that the lump under Willi’s breast bone is a thynoma—a type of tumor. It could be new or something he’s had for a long time; it could be benign or malignant. The doctor gave him three options: 1) surgery to remove the tumor (the surgery would be similar to open-heart surgery, with a long recovery period); 2) chemotherapy to shrink the tumor (assuming it’s cancerous); 3) another cat scan in about 6 to 9 months, then make a decision about further treatment. Willi and Ingrid have opted for the third option, since Willi has no current symptoms or problems related to the tumor.

Thanks for your continued prayer for Willi and Ingrid. Cards may be sent to:

Wilhelm and Ingrid Mandel
747 Tanner Drive
Kingston, ON K7M 9G7
CANADA

We are saddened to learn of the recent death of Robert Haycraft, a member of the pastoral care team in our Bowling Green, Kentucky congregation. Robert died within ten days of being diagnosed with terminal cancer. He was 80 years old and is survived by his wife Judy, five children, five step-children and several grandchildren.

Cards and letters can be sent to:

Judy Haycraft
338 Clark Circle
Bowling Green, KY 42103

Please pray for Manfred Kraus, who at age 75, leads a GCI house church in southern Germany. Manfred was hospitalized recently due to serious intestinal bleeding. The specific cause for the bleeding has not been determined. He is home now and sees his time in the hospital as a blessing as he was able to use his stay to share the gospel with four people.

Cards may be sent to:

Manfred Kraus
Donauwörther Str. 8
86154 Augsburg
Germany

This update on a previous prayer request for Lorraine Wilson is from her husband, GCI pastor Warren Wilson.

Lorraine has healed well from her thyroidectomy, though without a thyroid her TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) levels are low, causing her to feel very tired all the time. The next step is for her to have thyroid ablation using radioiodine. She is still working, but that’s getting increasingly difficult given her lack of energy.

Please pray that Lorraine can hang on until she can start taking synthroid (synthetic thyroid hormone).

Cards may be sent to:

Lorraine Wilson
220 Waverly Way
Clarksburg, WV 26301

We are saddened to learn of the death of Lexie Ellis, wife of retired GCI pastor Mark Ellis and sister of GCI Australia director John McLean. For a previous related prayer request, click here. Here is a report from John:

Lexie Ellis died in the early hours of Monday morning, August 18, after a long battle with melanoma. She and her husband Mark served our fellowship in ministry for over 40 years. They pastored congregations in England, Scotland, Ireland and Australia. Lexie and Mark have four boys: David (partner Celine), Ben (partner Laura), Charles (partner Mara), and Edward, and two grandchildren Zoe and Sam. Lexie’s mother, Merle McLean, and siblings Keith, Peter and John are all part of our church family.

Lexie was incredibly brave and positive throughout the ordeal of her illness. She knew her life was in Christ’s hands, and was a great source of encouragement to others. She was, as Ben said, “The most positive person I know.” She had a real love for people, and took an interest in everyone she met.

Lexie and Mark have a well-deserved reputation for friendliness, acceptance and outstanding hospitality wherever they have been. Lexie never expressed self-pity, but in her inimitable style “got on with it” throughout her illness and operations, continuing to express concern and care for others.

Mark and the family would like to thank everyone for their prayers, and the many messages of support and comfort. We thank God for Lexie’s life and for the wonderful human being we were blessed to know. In the words of a fellow pastor, “She was such a beautiful person, and will be greatly missed by so many.”

Cards can be sent to:

Mark Ellis
Oscar on Main
Unit 15
1 Hughes Ave
Main Beach
Qld 4217
Australia