Thursday, June 05, 2008

See You Soon Dear Friend

Hello All,

Six months ago, we asked you to pray for Alan Brown, who had been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. Our prayers were for his bodily healing and restoration to health. As time has passed, our prayers have turned from miraculous intervention, to merciful completion. Today, I received the news that Alan has gone home to be with the Lord.

I admit that even though it was expected and even desired for him to cast off the suffering that his physical body was experiencing, it was still a great heart break to hear Annette's pained voice over the phone. In that moment, we both shared grief, that turned to praise, as we both understood that God had answered our ultimate prayer, choosing to heal Alan totally, in His very presence.

The sadness and pain however, will not diminish for those of us who knew him, and especially so for those who knew him well. Alan was a man of great humor, who loved and honored his wife and daughters. I can almost hear his hearty guffaw now in the annals of my mind, as I survey the moments that we had together. Many of those moments include a hearty laugh and a piece of meat, only complete because both of our families were there sharing in the fun!

We ask that you pray for Annette, Sarah and Katie, who will now face the memorial service and the weeks that will follow. Pray for their strength and comfort during this very difficult time of their lives.

One final request for prayer: The memorial service will be next Wednesday at the Packinghouse in Redlands. Alan, prior to his death, asked me to officiate his memorial service. His sole desire was that I make sure to present the gospel as clearly and poignantly as possible, something that I intend to fulfill each and every time I do a memorial service. I ask that you would lift me up in prayer and that the Lord would speak very clearly through me at that time. What a joy and privlege it would be to see God do the work of drawing people to Himself at this occasion. Pray that we might see it happen.

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

2 comments:

Cowen Family said...

Amen. Mike will be out of town but I am hoping to have both the kids there. If not at the funeral, at the Cowen's after. We sure will miss him but oh what a sweet reunion we will all have some day:) Thank you for being there for the family.

Anonymous said...

I will be praying for Wednesday!!