Help the Mitchell's with their BIG life change!
Joseph Mitchell is a 41-year-old family friend of many years. I wanted to reach out to start a GoFundMe page for him and his family. If you feel the Lord leading you to donate, there is no amount that is too small. Every bit helps. I just recently learned his story about getting diagnosed on February 24th, 2020 with Frontotemporal Dementia, the rare hereditary illness that his father died from in his 40’s. The disease resembles Alzheimer’s but affects people much younger. March 8th, 2020 was his final Sunday as the pastor of Stewiacke Baptist Church. Joseph is now transitioning to long-term disability.
While his news is sad, God has giving him wonderful peace. Joseph loves being a pastor, but he is also very thankful for the opportunity to focus his time & energy on his loving family well. His children, ages 5, 10, 11 and 17, are his most important “congregation.” He is hoping to make this the best summer that they’ve ever had!
He learned about 2 years ago that he could meet with a geneticist and confirm whether he had the inherited the gene that causes the disease. Joseph decided to do the testing. If it came back positive, he would then invite friends everywhere to pray for him. Joseph welcomes your prayers for miraculous healing! Joseph tells this story to encourage your prayers:
A few weeks before Christmas, Stewiacke Baptist had a visit from Teen Challenge. Because they were our guest speakers, I did not have to write a sermon that week, so I decided to take a couple days to fast and pray about my health. Sometimes when you read the Bible, you read systematically through a particular book, and other times, perhaps, you just let the Bible flop open randomly and start reading. At the very start of my fast I was thinking, “God, I need a word from you.” I let the Bible fall open and it fell open “randomly” to 2 Kings 20, the story of “Hezekiah’s illness.” The paragraph heading immediately grabbed my attention! As I started reading, I was reminded that God sent the prophet Isaiah to Hezekiah who was sick and told him, “Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness” (v.1). Hezekiah responded in tears and began crying out to God. Before Isaiah had even left the courtyard, the Lord gave him a new message saying: “Go back to Hezekiah….Tell him….I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will heal you….I will add fifteen years to your life!…” (v.5) …WOW!
Needless to say, I was stunned by this “coincidence” at the start of a fast about my health. If God wants me to have faith for healing, then please pray that God will increase my faith! And that’s a little story to encourage your faith as you pray for me!
Please pray for my family as they will be processing lots of emotions. Please pray for Stewiacke Baptist Church. Please pray for wisdom and guidance as we try to sell our home and downsize into something smaller and more affordable. We are trying to simplify our lives in every way possible so we can focus on what really matters in the season ahead.
Finally, the photos I posted here are a beautiful piece of art work in Bayers Westwood, the community I loved with all my heart when I was a youth pastor in Halifax. The words “BELIEVE” speak volumes! I took these photos a couple years ago, but I was obviously thinking about my health. In the third photo, I intentionally placed my head between the crutches of a person who was miraculously healed. FAITH in the name of Jesus is powerful! Whether I’m healed in this life or in the life to come, I will be full of JOY, celebrating with the Jesus who has conquered death and made a home for us in Heaven.
May the Lord bless you all. Please stay in touch