This is from Shane, and we very sad to hear that his friend Chris Gennaro has passed away, but we know and have faith that God's plan for us is for our ultimate good, and we believe that Chris is on his way to heaven, continuing his eternal life which began at his baptism in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. May God's angels surround Chris' family and loved ones giving them strength and comfort, and we thank you for your prayers for them and for the repose of the soul of Chris Gennaro. God bless you and your families, Teri & Michael (see below)
Michael & Teri -
It's bittersweet that I bring you the news of Chris Gennaro's passing. While it is unfortunate that we have been deprived of his physical presence, you can already see that Chris's gifts live on and God's grace abounds in the powerful sentiments shared by his wife Michelle:
"To all of you all over the world who have been praying fervently for us
through this time, this is Michelle. I am letting you know that Chris is now
whole, healed, and safely in the arms of his loving, gracious Savior.
Chris was actually pretty stable today, but has been having tremors or
seizures over the last few days. These were extremely painful for me to
watch him endure. Throughout these weeks, as we have had knowledge of
Chris' brain being involved, I have been asking his Heavenly Father to heal
Chris completely, make him whole, and not give him more than he could handle
if there WERE outcomes that involved blindness, seizures, or brain damage of
any kind. Chris has always been VERY specific with me that QUALITY of life is
a priority for him. As his tremors increased this afternoon, they had to
reduce the medicine he was getting for pain because it was causing his blood
pressure to fall pretty rapidly. It was at that time that I knew what God had
so mercifully decided for my beloved.
Present at Chris' bedside were me, my mom who had just arrived from California
two nights previous, Dudley & Jan Pate, and a number of the nurses who had so
faithfully and lovingly ministered to Chris. We shared the most intimate,
deep, immensely moving worship time that I have ever experienced. We prayed
over Chris, Dudley kept up a continuous prompting of beautiful hymns and songs
that we sang together, Jan read passages from the Word about Heaven, and at
different times, nurses would come in and pray with us, embrace me, and
personally pray for me. God freed me of my fear of death so that I could be
at Chris' side, embrace him, and assure him as he entered Heaven. I sensed
and incredible strength and peace.
I can testify that God has taken my BIGGEST fear, the ONE JOURNEY I had told
God I was unwilling to take, and made beauty from the ashes. In addition, the
hardest thing I have EVER had to tell my kids was also like being on holy
ground. ALL of your prayers for us have been answered. We will have hard
days, we will miss Chris deeply. He has been my best friend, my constant
companion, and my PERFECT partner for more than half of my life. However, he
has left a legacy in his kids and they were already laughing about stories
about Dad as we sat and talked about him being in Heaven.
My prayer is that you will also see CHRIST high and lifted up, glorified,
sovereign, and GOOD as you have walked this journey with us. Your prayers
that Chris would be healed completely for wholeness and fullness of life have
been answered. We got to witness it happen before our eyes as the striving
and tremors ceased and he calmly rested.
Please pray that the seeds that Chris has planted throughout his life will
bear much fruit. That God would be glorified among the NATIONS and through
our family as we testify to His presence and goodness in the midst of our
suffering. Pray that Chris' life and Homecoming would bring revival in
Lesotho, the mountain kingdom that he has grown to love so much. That they
would know the ONE TRUE GOD, Sovereign over all spirits, the one who has known
Chris from when he was knit together in his mother's womb to this evening when
he received his Heavenly reward.
Words cannot express my gratitude and the sense that God has already used
Chris' life to unite the Body of Christ for something powerful. We covet your
prayers for this next season of our lives.
FINALLY at peace,
Michelle
whole, healed, and safely in the arms of his loving, gracious Savior.
Chris was actually pretty stable today, but has been having tremors or
seizures over the last few days. These were extremely painful for me to
watch him endure. Throughout these weeks, as we have had knowledge of
Chris' brain being involved, I have been asking his Heavenly Father to heal
Chris completely, make him whole, and not give him more than he could handle
if there WERE outcomes that involved blindness, seizures, or brain damage of
any kind. Chris has always been VERY specific with me that QUALITY of life is
a priority for him. As his tremors increased this afternoon, they had to
reduce the medicine he was getting for pain because it was causing his blood
pressure to fall pretty rapidly. It was at that time that I knew what God had
so mercifully decided for my beloved.
Present at Chris' bedside were me, my mom who had just arrived from California
two nights previous, Dudley & Jan Pate, and a number of the nurses who had so
faithfully and lovingly ministered to Chris. We shared the most intimate,
deep, immensely moving worship time that I have ever experienced. We prayed
over Chris, Dudley kept up a continuous prompting of beautiful hymns and songs
that we sang together, Jan read passages from the Word about Heaven, and at
different times, nurses would come in and pray with us, embrace me, and
personally pray for me. God freed me of my fear of death so that I could be
at Chris' side, embrace him, and assure him as he entered Heaven. I sensed
and incredible strength and peace.
I can testify that God has taken my BIGGEST fear, the ONE JOURNEY I had told
God I was unwilling to take, and made beauty from the ashes. In addition, the
hardest thing I have EVER had to tell my kids was also like being on holy
ground. ALL of your prayers for us have been answered. We will have hard
days, we will miss Chris deeply. He has been my best friend, my constant
companion, and my PERFECT partner for more than half of my life. However, he
has left a legacy in his kids and they were already laughing about stories
about Dad as we sat and talked about him being in Heaven.
My prayer is that you will also see CHRIST high and lifted up, glorified,
sovereign, and GOOD as you have walked this journey with us. Your prayers
that Chris would be healed completely for wholeness and fullness of life have
been answered. We got to witness it happen before our eyes as the striving
and tremors ceased and he calmly rested.
Please pray that the seeds that Chris has planted throughout his life will
bear much fruit. That God would be glorified among the NATIONS and through
our family as we testify to His presence and goodness in the midst of our
suffering. Pray that Chris' life and Homecoming would bring revival in
Lesotho, the mountain kingdom that he has grown to love so much. That they
would know the ONE TRUE GOD, Sovereign over all spirits, the one who has known
Chris from when he was knit together in his mother's womb to this evening when
he received his Heavenly reward.
Words cannot express my gratitude and the sense that God has already used
Chris' life to unite the Body of Christ for something powerful. We covet your
prayers for this next season of our lives.
FINALLY at peace,
Michelle
In Loving Memory
Almighty God, through the death of Your Son on the cross, You have overcome death for us. Through his burial and resurrection from the dead You have made the grave a holy place and restored us to eternal life. We pray for those who died believing in Jesus and are buried with him in the hope of rising again. God of the living and the dead, may those who faithfully believed in You on earth praise You forever in the joy of heaven. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God, through the death of Your Son on the cross, You have overcome death for us. Through his burial and resurrection from the dead You have made the grave a holy place and restored us to eternal life. We pray for those who died believing in Jesus and are buried with him in the hope of rising again. God of the living and the dead, may those who faithfully believed in You on earth praise You forever in the joy of heaven. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer of Solace
May Christ support us all the day long, till the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over and our work is done. Then in his mercy may he give us a safe lodging, and holy rest and peace at the last.
Amen.
May Christ support us all the day long, till the shadows lengthen, and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over and our work is done. Then in his mercy may he give us a safe lodging, and holy rest and peace at the last.
Amen.
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