Fruit of the Spirit

Jeff gave his talk to the Morrisville Presbyterian Youth Club, the one that was postponed in January when he ended up in the ER.  This was his longest talk so far – 45 minutes – and the first time he used a PowerPoint presentation. The night was bitter cold and attendance was light.  After a meal of breakfast-for-dinner, the youth circled their chairs to hear about Jeff’s medical and spiritual journey and the parallel story of his donor, Nicole.

Jeff began by asking the young people how many of them had been affected by cancer - any family member or friend.  Several hands went up.  Jeff said, “Yes.  When I was diagnosed, I asked my congregation for prayers during a Sunday morning service.  After the service, many people told me they were cancer survivors.  I had no idea so many people that I knew had dealt with the disease.”

He talked about his faith background, the many folks who prayed for him throughout treatment, the progression of his disease, his recovery following bone marrow transplant and the concerns we had about his donor before and after transplant and the eventual contact we had with her.  He talked about the humor and joy he continued to find.  He showed pictures of the spoons he turned for those who assisted him in some way including those who drove him to treatments, his doctors and nurses, Nicole and the staff at Gift of Life who facilitated finding his donor.  And he talked about the things he has enjoyed since being given the gift of life, especially granddaughter Rosie.

This year’s Youth Club theme is “Fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23) and the kids identified several of those in aspects of Jeff’s story: joy, patience, kindness, faithfulness and love.  Jeff was happy to tell his tale to this attentive, faithful group of kids.