On Thursday, September 28, in the middle of teaching his class of first-graders at Dean Highland Elementary, our dear Abel suffered a seizure and was rushed in an ambulance to the nearest ER. He would suffer several more seizures later that day, requiring heavy sedative medication and intubation, and a battery of tests under the care of a neurologist.

Thankfully, there is no evidence of a tumor or of damage related to these seizures; however, Abel is currently uninsured by his employer due to a pending teacher certification and faces some staggering medical bills in the coming days. Though he works tirelessly as a full-time bilingual classroom teacher—planning lessons, instructing, assessing, and supporting a class of first-grade, English language learners—Abel is only compensated as a substitute teacher until he attains full certification, and he did not have health insurance coverage at the time of his hospital admittance.

While we wish none of this had ever happened to Abel, we are asking friends, colleagues, and acquaintances to help bear this tremendous financial burden with a donation. We are grateful for Abel's life, the way he loves God, his thoughtfulness, his tender heart, his care for others, his joie de vivre, and his infectious laughter. Will you help us in meeting this initial goal of $20,000? Your donation is an act of love.