Day: June 8, 2024
Tragedy Strikes Pastor’s Family as 6-Year-Old Suffers ‘Freak Accident’ Playing Badminton – ‘We Heard Screaming’
From westernjournal.com
A New Jersey pastor and his family are in the thoughts and prayers of Americans in the wake of a terrible accident that left a 6-year-old girl dead during a vacation in Maine earlier this month.
According to the New York Post, Lucy Morgan died Wednesday in Maine after a freak accident left a fragment of a badminton racket in her head.
“The tragedy unfolded Saturday as the Morgan family of six enjoyed their last full day at their rental cottage in Limerick, Maine, according to her father Jesse Morgan, a pastor at Green Pond Bible Chapel in Rockaway,” the New York Post reported.
“We were eating a quick lunch by the lake and the kids decided to try badminton in the front yard. Bethany and I were relaxing in the back when we heard screaming,” Morgan said on his blog.
“Due to a freak accident with a racquet that broke on a downward swing, a sharp piece had entered Lucy’s skull while she was sitting on the sideline and caused catastrophic injury.”
The girl was breathing when EMS responded to the scene, but after airlifting the girl to Maine Medical Center in Portland, she flatlined on the operating table after surgeons tried to remove part of her skull to relieve pressure.
She was resuscitated, but doctors warned the family that she had “a very slim chance of survival, given the arterial bleeds caused by the wound.”
At 4 a.m. Wednesday, the girl died.
Reports said the shaft of the badminton racket — which was aluminum — came loose from the wooden base and struck her through the head.
Maine State Police said that her death was caused by “unintentional injury from her 10-year-old brother.”
“Every time I looked into the rear view mirror, wishing I saw Lucy munching on some chicken nuggets after we stopped at Wendy’s and only ordered for 5,” Jesse Morgan wrote in a blog post, remembering the car trip up to Maine.
In the post, the pastor shared heartbreaking anecdotes about his daughter’s journey with God.
“Four weeks ago she asked [her mother] Bethany how to be with God and be saved,” the blog post reads.
“Bethany explained it to her and offered to pray with her, but ‘Miss Independent’ wanted to do it herself. She went to her room and prayed to God to forgive her and that she believed in Jesus’ death and resurrection. What a gift.”
As for the pastor himself, he wondered in the post if he could take his own lessons.
“I just taught on processing grief in the last Adult Bible Class I taught before sabbatical,” Morgan wrote.
“Am I willing to submit to my own advice? Right now holding her hand I’m not sure, but I want to. I’ve been physically beating my chest asking for faith.”
He added he’d “been reading yesterday about phases in our spiritual lives where God shows us something hard and walks with us through it.
“I observed I have been a bit resistant to this in my journaling. Bethany and I then discussed Job as she finished her Bible reading plan with that book. Yesterday we were discussing how terrifying the book is. It’s even more so now. So gravely terrifying and mysteriously comforting.”
Meanwhile, the girl’s siblings — 10, 8 and 4 — were apparently “blaming themselves and taking it hard.”
The brother who accidentally caused the injury asked his mother and father “how we could ever be happy again,” according to one post.
When they first arrived home with one less family member, “We just sat on the front steps for a while crying until I finally mustered up the courage to open the door. We again collapsed in a pile on the kitchen floor crying harder as a family than we ever have,” he wrote.
It is consolation — albeit scant consolation in the acute, earthly sense — that, after a freak accident that was nobody’s fault, Lucy is in Heaven with the Lord. Beyond that, our prayers should be not only with the pastor and his wife but also with the children.
For those who want to go beyond supplication, a GoFundMe for the family has amassed almost $100,000 as of early Saturday morning. If you can give, do
Please pray for this family. I cannot imagine how devastated they are
MARANATHA!
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NICK VUJICIC: HOPE FOR IDF AMPUTEES
From allisrael.com
In this moving ALL NEWS feature video, motivational speaker Nick Vujicic shares his incredible story of resilience with severely wounded IDF soldiers at Sheba Medical Center’s Rehabilitation Hospital. Born without limbs, Nick’s message of hope and perseverance resonates deeply with the soldiers, many of whom are amputees or facing life-changing disabilities in the wake of the tragic events of Oct. 7 and the subsequent war.
Hi. Kayla Sprague for ALL ISRAEL NEWS. Thank you for joining us on this ALL ISRAEL feature. Today, we witnessed an incredible event here at Sheba Medical Center’s Rehabilitation Hospital. Nick Vujicic, a world-renowned motivational speaker, shared his inspiring story with severely wounded IDF soldiers, many of whom are amputees facing life-altering disabilities.
Born without limbs due to a rare condition, Nick has turned his challenges into a powerful message of hope and resilience. As he spoke to the soldiers, the room was filled with a sense of connection. Nick’s visit comes in the wake of the tragic events of Oct. 7, and the subsequent war that has already left many soldiers and civilians with severe injuries and trauma. The attack has a profound impact on the nation, and the need for support and rehabilitation for the wounded has never been greater.
NICK VUJICIC: It’s something that’s deep, deep in my heart, and that’s why we’ve come to Israel, that for such a time as this, hope is so important, especially for the people who are fighting for the freedom; who are still with us. To let them know that this is not the end for them. It’s everything to me to come here to encourage everyone. and as a U.S. citizen, I am a little short of words in how to describe my sorrow in us not really being the greatest ally we could be at this point, with a lot of the Western media.
It’s one thing to say something or even to state where you stand, but for us to have the ability to come in person and hug the soldiers and be here with the medical people, I think it says a lot more than any words can say, and we do that with all of our hearts.
SPRAGUE: Nick’s words resonated deeply with the audience as he shared his own struggles and triumphs. He emphasized that no matter how difficult life may seem, there is always hope and purpose to be found. His message was clear: If he could find joy and success in life without limbs, then these brave soldiers – these heroes – could overcome their own obstacles and share their stories of hope to offer to others, as well.
STEVE WALZ, Sheba Medical Center: A lot of the soldiers have told me that telling their story to these people is cathartic. In other words, it helps them overcome some of the PTSD that they may have. They feel it’s important for them to release what they’re holding inside. And so I’m proud that, you know, we have always soldiers who like to talk to the media, whether it’s the Israeli media or international media. There’s so many stories to tell, unfortunately. But every time a story comes out, I think it’s to the benefit of the world. It’s not the benefit just to Sheba, it’s to the benefit of the world to understand what these young men are experiencing.
SPRAGUE: Throughout the event, Nick took time to connect with soldiers personally and offer words of encouragement and crack jokes to lighten the mood. Faces lit up, and it’s a testament of Nick’s impact and his presence that focuses on relationship over difficulty.
VUJICIC: Look, in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were commanded to stand by Israel, to bless Israel, to help Israel, no matter what – and its people. I think this is the time where we need to turn our hearts closer to God and we need his help. We cannot change other people’s minds but what we must do is what he’s asked us to do. And so with prayer and faith and unity, I think it’s really important. I think everyone’s realizing the times that we’re living in. I don’t think we’ve ever seen, such – in real-time – the world morphing into what it’s becoming. And it’s a war against evil. It really is. There’s no other way to describe this, and we must win.
SPRAGUE: I said it was incredibly moving to see how Nick’s story touched the hearts of these wounded heroes. We got to hear from a few of them, and many expressed how his words had given them a renewed sense of purpose and motivation to face the challenges ahead. It was clear that God’s heart for healing and wholeness shined through Nick, and it ministered – the peace he carries – ministered to everyone present.
ARIEL DUBOVIKOV (IDF soldier): I was really motivated before, also, you know about this whole process, about starting walking again. But after meeting him and hearing his story and what he told us, it just made me even more motivated to, you know, start my life again. And, it was really, wow. It was really amazing to hear his story. It’s really a mind-blowing story and it’s really, really amazing. And I’m actually really excited. I found out that he was coming to see us – was really cool. Yeah. So that’s what I can tell. It really helped me. It really – even though I was, you know, in a good place, it put me in a even better place.
SPRAGUE: As the event came to a close, it was clear that Nick’s visit had made a profound impact on everyone in this room. His message of love, faith, perseverance and hope struck a cord, reminding us all of the importance of supporting and uplifting each other, especially those who have sacrificed so much.
Brethren, we need inspiration in these dark days, and THIS is definitely inspiring! Thank You JESUS!!
Pray for the IDF soldiers that they would be drawn to YESHUA and be saved!!
MARANATHA!
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IDF rescues 4 Israeli hostages from Gaza: Noa Argamani, Shlomi Ziv, Almog Meir Jan and Andrey Kozlov
From I24new.TV
‘The four are in good medical condition and have been transferred to the ‘Sheba’ Tel-HaShomer Medical Center for further medical examinations.’
The IDF rescued four Israeli hostages from Gaza on Saturday, extricating them from Hamas terrorists and evacuating them to the Tel Hashomer hospital in southern Israel. The four were named as Noa Argamani, 26; Shlomi Ziv, 40; Almog Meir Jan, 21; and Andrey Kozlov, 27. This is the largest hostage rescue operation since the Gaza War began on October 7.
Argamani, Ziv, Meir Jan and Kozlov were abducted from the Nova raid, the site of the biggest Hamas massacre of all those that unfolded on October 7.
