About seven years ago, my husband and I drove to Oroville, California, to do a parenting class for several churches in that area. We belong to a fellowship of Christian churches worldwide, and some friends of ours who pastor in Oroville had invited us down for the weekend. I spoke at a Ladies' Tea on a Saturday afternoon, and that evening my husband spoke on parenting - afterwards we did a time of questions and answers, and the next day he preached for the church there.
One of the couples attending the seminars that weekend was Lee and Belinda Alvarez - they have attended our fellowship church in Redding, California for over twenty years. They have five beautiful children, and over the years Belinda and I have become friends via email and Instagram.
Belinda started a small accessories shop called JuJuBee Creations, and several years ago she sent me a package of adorable hair bows and skirts and scarves for Lily... she did the same for my daughter-in-love and her sister, who also attend our church here in Corvallis. We were so blessed to receive these surprise packages at Christmas time, and I prayed for a way to bless Belinda back.
Through a series of emails, I learned that Belinda's husband, Lee, was diagnosed with diabetes 23 years ago. In 2010 he was diagnosed with kidney failure - he was placed on dialysis for several months until his kidneys improved ... four years later his kidneys failed again and he was diagnosed with end stage kidney disease. He was placed on dialysis again - he is currently still on it for the foreseeable future.
All of this took a toll on Lee's body - he began experiencing circulation problems in his fingers and feet, which led to having three of his fingers partially amputated. He then developed sores on his heels due to poor circulation and lack of blood flow to his feet ... he had several procedures done to help improve circulation, including an artery bypass to the left leg that was unsuccessful.
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| Lee, prior to surgery, giving his daughter away |
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| Lee with his daughter, last year |
Because of this, Lee had his left foot and part of his leg amputated two weeks ago. He is now having problems with his right heel- the doctor told Belinda he has a 50/50 chance of saving that foot. He has been on a waiting list for kidney and pancreas transplant but was recently placed inactive due to all the open wounds he has. Once all is cleared, he will be active again. He has accumulated 4 1/2 years waiting time so far.
Friends, I want to repost some of my friend Belinda's words from Instagram here, because she is a living example of grace under fire. Every time she posts an update on Lee and what he (and she) are going through, she speaks of God's goodness and help and strength- I have never read one word of complaint or despair in all of the years of knowing her. She has never questioned why they are going through things, never doubted that God would take care of them through it all, never expressed one hint of anger or bitterness or regret about where life has taken them.
Her faith is incredibly inspiring to me, and I am moved by it - I am humbled by it.
"God is faithful."
"God is so good."
"YET I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD!"
These words were spoken in the midst of one of the most difficult seasons in my friend's life.
Belinda, when you read this, I want you to know : you are my hero.
Because of Lee's condition, he has not been able to work for quite some time. He receives disability - $1,000 a month. Belinda has tried to work from home (between dialysis, recovering from surgeries, etc. Lee needs her full time care) but their situation has become desperate. They were not able to renew the lease on their home, and they moved in with her sister and her family. Lee does have medical insurance, but they have accrued medical bills for uncovered procedures and medicines and co-pays... they are just scraping by right now.
Sam and I have been praying for the Alvarez family for quite some time now- and praying for a way to help them. I know the world is filled with intense situations like the one Lee and Belinda are facing right now. I know we can't help everybody we meet who is going through some type of crisis... but we know this family. Maybe we can't solve every problem in the world, can't rescue every hurting child, can't donate to every charity there is out there.... but we can try to meet a need that God has put on our hearts that is right in front of us. We can do our part and ask God to move on hearts to do the same.
Last week, after praying for some time about what we could do for the Alvarez family, my husband came to me with an idea. . . and I am shaking a little as I type these words .... because so far I have only done giveaways for adoptions, and I'm going out on a limb here. But Sam and I feel compelled to help Lee and his family, so here it goes ...
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38mm Space Gray Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band |
Announcing the Hope For Lee Giveaway, featuring a brand new, just released, Apple Watch Sport, valued at $349.
The rules are simple :
Donate ANY amount, ten dollars or above, to be entered to win the Apple Watch Sport.
YOU MUST COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE A COMMENT SAYING THAT YOU DONATED TO BE ENTERED TO WIN. (You do not need to share the amount that you donated.)
Because Go Fund Me does not allow giveaways on their site, it is important that you : a) understand that I am hosting this giveaway, and not the Alvarez family. Their Go Fund Me page is being hosted by Belinda's sister, not myself. b) come back here to leave a comment to be entered to win the Apple Watch. We will compile a list of donors based on the comment section here, and verify that donations were made to the Alvarez family.
ADDITIONAL entries in this giveaway will be given for the following :
Share this giveaway on Instagram, using the above photo (or photo of your choice) and the hashtags #applewatchgiveaway and #hopeforlee (if you are private on IG, screen shot your post and email it to me to verify that you posted it. ) Please leave a comment letting us know that you shared this giveaway there so that you receive an extra entry.
Share this giveaway on Facebook or twitter, and mention it in the comment section below. Please include a twitter username as well as Facebook username, so we can verify entries. Please make sure to let people know they must leave a comment here to be entered to win.
This giveaway will run through May 22nd, 2015, and a winner will be announced the next day. All donations and entries must be recored by midnight on May 22nd to be considered valid.
We will select one winner from our list of entries, and that winner will be selected by using random.org.
You may share this giveaway every day leading up to May 22nd ... please include a comment for each separate entry so that we know how many entries to record.
Friends, if you've never participated in a giveaway on A Perfect Lily before now, I'm asking you to do so today. I know we might not be able to cover every expense the Alvarez family is facing, but together we can make a difference in their lives.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading and joining with us in donations and prayer- God bless you for your kindness.
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