Joe’s Awesome God Encounter
So sorry for the delay. Obviously there’s just a little bit
of resistance to me writing Joe’s story..God must have huge plans for Joe, it’s
a miracle I was even able to post this with all the difficulties I’ve had.
It’s been quite the awesome, scary and amazing rollercoaster
ride of emotions the last week..we are all taking this in and in awe of all God
is doing..he is so amazing.
The timing of finding Joe was very symbolic. God has been
speaking to us about trusting HIM completely with our adult boys and
surrendering them to him completely. God was definitely displaying his awesome
sovereign hand of protection over Joe’s life.
The timing of me walking in the house and finding Joe
unconscious was surrealL.
After the trauma of the last five years, everything from the horrific suffering
Boey endured for two years, especially at the end before Jesus mercifully took
her home..the trauma from all of that plus the excruciating grieving, is all to
much for any human to live through. We could never be where we are without our
amazing faithful loving Savior Jesus Christ, he gets all the GLORYJ.
Last Thursday when I walked into the house and found Joe, I
thought he was playing a prank cause he is a comedian at heart and loves to
joke around. He had what looked like mud all over his face, hair, it was all
over the carpet, floor..I thought he was outside playing in the dirt and got
hurt..nothing serious..until I looked closer and saw him foaming at the mouth,
completely unresponsive, freezing cold to the touch, barely breathing..
Rob told me to call 911 right away.. As soon as they got
here, they turned him over on his side and that’s when he puked endlesslyL still unconscious but
puking up in large volumes, I was bawling not realizing what was going on and
at the same time it was sinking in how serious the situation wasL It was at that moment
Rob got down and smelled alchohol coming from all the puke, he ran around the
house to find it..
Joe had found our liquor we have for all the cooking and
baking I do, NEVER having drank before, he had NO idea how much or what effect
it would have..Joe had been struggling for the last few days trying so hard to
get close to God, he has sooo much pain inside of him and guilt built up from
Boey..he said he wanted to escape but was NOT trying to hurt himself..he just
wanted to escape the pain and he was mad at GodL
When he got to the
ER, the medical staff were very clear how serious of a situation this was, that
he had been unconscious for at least a couple hours and it’s a miracle he
didn’t asphyxiate/drowned on the massive amounts of vomit in his throat and
stomachL.
I remember when I first found Joe, I felt the most peaceful powerful presence
surrounding him and told Rob angels had been ministering to him, God kept him
alive..tears.. thank you Jesus, thank you..
Joe was hooked up to IV’s, catheters, had x-rays done,
stayed over for a night..it took him a few days to fully recover, his blood
poisoning was .38L ..when
we told Joe how serious it was and how God had preserved his life, he started
crying and apologizing for what he did, especially with me being pregnant and
finding him in such a traumatic wayL..this
wasn’t the first time I was the first to find him in a life threatening
situation, just last year he had almost bled to death from a fireworks accident
that almost severed his carotid artery, he was a millimeter away from death..again,
Gods sovereign protection over Joe’s life, thank you Lord..
Joe was processing all that happened to him, he was very
apologetic to me and Rob, but not remorseful to God at this point or a
repentant heart.. he was extremely down, depressed, discouraged and feeling
hopeless..ready to run away from home and make bad decisions that were not
lined up with Gods will.
He then stopped himself, called out to God and said “God, I
don’t know what to do anymore, just please tell me, show me, and I’ll do it. “.
Joe heard God tell him to go to church the next morning, Joe reluctantly went,
but with a good attitude of being willing to receive all God had for him..
Sunday morning came, Joe was afraid of everyone judging him
and looking down on him for what happened..when we got in the car to leave for
church, we were pleasantly surprised when he said “I don’t care what anyone
thinks anymore, no one but God understands what I’ve been through, I need him
and want him more than ever, I owe him my life”. With that, we were off..little
did we know what our amazing Father in heaven had in store for our Joe Joe!!!
As soon as Joe
stepped into the church he was bombarded with hugs, love and tears from people
that love him and were so happy to see him, they were praising and thanking God
for sustaining his life. Joe was overwhelmed with the unconditional love he felt
from God and his friends...so much more was to come..
The amazing Amy Sollars was a guest speaker from Hawaii, someone
Joe had never met before.. we were all so blessed by the worship and her
powerful sermon, Joe was very happy he listened to God and was thereJ. Amy then came down
from stage to pray for everyone. As Amy began praying for Joe,she began to
prophesy and pray over him..this is what she said.. “as I was walking towards
you the Lord told me the enemy has tried to take your life, and more than once,
God saved you and preserved your life, he sent ministering angels to protect
you, he wants you to know this isn’t a game anymore, you need to make a choice
for him if you’re serious. If I came all the way to Albany just for YOU it was
all worth it. “
She continued to pray for Joe and say the most encouraging
beautiful words..Joe was in tears and very overwhelmed..he came over and sat by
us without saying a word..he was in total shock that she knew what she did
about him and how powerfully God was moving on his behalf.
About a half hour later Amy and her friend came over to talk
to Joe again..at this time Joe had NO IDEA that Amy is the DTS leader of YWAM based
in Kona, Hawaii. Her friend Andrew York that was with her, is the main leader
over all of the AWAKEN school in Kona. So here are these amazing people
surrounding Joe, loving on him and encouraging him in the most powerful
beautiful ways..
Amy passionately said to him, “Joe, I just realized who you
are. I’m usually not this intense, but God has put you strongly on my heart”.
Amy went on to tell Joe “you are almost 19 years old, this is a time for you to
go hard after God, you have so much inside of you , a huge calling and destiny
on your life, if you can give God a year of your life at YWAM in Kona, we will
all be there to pray, encourage, support, and love you through this, but YOU
have to make the choice. I believe in you Joe. You are a mighty man of God. You
need time away from all these other voices and to just focus on the voice of
God. Ywam is just the place for that”.
Joe was very grateful and excited with everything Amy
shared, but still very doubtful of how he would come up with the funds. Amy encouraged
Joe and said “if God calls someone to go to YWAM, he provides the funds for
them to get there. I’ve never seen anyone that was truly supposed to be there
not go cause of lack of provision “. She told Joe he has to trust God to get
him there.
After Amy spoke over Joe’s life, Joe was excited but still
struggled with doubt that God had a purpose for his life.. he felt conflicted
because he also felt Gods goodness, kindness and love at the same time J. It had been a very
long time since Joe had felt Gods true direction, guidance and wisdom. He was
very grateful for Amy and all her encouragement.
I have to add in here that it was pretty cool that Joe just
happened to be wearing a Hawaii lifestyle shirt to church, none of us had seen
it before, including Joe. We asked Joe
where he got it and he said he just found it laying there in his room
lol..thought that was pretty awesome timingJ.
Joe is very excited about this awesome opportunity and the
exciting doors God is opening his life. He is passionate about running hard
after God, being a friend and knowing God intimately. He wants to be
transformed by his love and receive healing so he can transform the world.
We are asking all our friends and family to believe with Amy
Sollars and her team that we can make this happen for Joe by July 5th,
that’s only 4 weeks away! So exciting!! He needs $11,000.00 for 6 months of discipleship
training at YWAM, this includes the lectures and outreach, airfare, and all
essential necessities that are needed to go. Amy said that if half the money
can be raised in time for him to go, he can continue to raise funds after he’s
in Hawaii. So exciting! I BELIEVE!!!
It’s going to be so hard when Joe leaves in 4 weeks, we
already miss him! We know in our hearts this is why God blessed us with our
beautiful children..he entrusted us with them to raise them up in HIM, to be
sent out among the nations. They belong to him, to be used by him and for him,
for HIS Glory.
Amy Sollars and her team BELIEVE in Joe, we hope and pray
you will believe with them in helping us get Joe to YWAM to be all who God
created him to be. Please pray about supporting Joe. All donation options are
available on this site. Please bookmark this page so you can stay updated on
Joe’s God adventure at YWAM. Prayers are cherished. We are so proud of our son.
Thank you to all those who believe in Joe and support him.
We love you and cherish you all. God
Bless.
JOE'S YOUCARING YWAM FUNDRAISING PAGE:http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?fundraiser_id=3347&url=runninghardaftergodinywam
If you feel more comfortable sending a check, please send to:
Joe Byers
851 NE Granger Ave Corvallis, OR 97330, thank you so much
