Ange's Testimony

As a child I went to church with my mother who is a very devoted Catholic. In about 1979 I went forward during the altar call at a Benny Hinn service which I attended with my girlfriend and her family . In 1982 we got married. My son Corey was born in 1984 an then my daughter, Nicole came along in 1987.

My son passed away on Sept. 23, 2008. He was 23 years old and he passed away from brain cancer. That was quite a battle; about 3 years of going back and forth to chemo and radiation, physical therapy , oncologist and nuerologist. The brain is quite a tricky thing with a lot of things happening. After he passed away, as you can imagine, I was quite devestated. We all were. You're never ready for it. We spent a week in hospice with him when he was dieing .. you're never ready for it.

When we came home i knew I needed some encouragement. I was just empty . I had a laptop, an old one, and i searched for Christain chat and I found Christianity Oasis, which was the first one that came up. I'd never been in a chatroom before. I figured it's got to be good, what do i have to lose. So i did join Oasis. I met some great people there who gave me great encouargement, Splash being one i'm not sure who else. They encouraged me and prayed for me, and you could say that I found God again through his people. I was already born again and spirit filled, but nowhere near where i am today.

I'm sorry to say my son passed away ande that's what it brought. Was it worth it? I don't know. God does work in mysterious ways.

Just three or four months after my son passed away, I was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. That was pretty devestating to my family, my wife and my 20 year-old. I had lung cancer, and was going through chemo. The chemo i was on the first time was quite aggressive and dramatic. I lost all my hair, had skin problems and lost weight, but through it all I trusted him and my faith was still there. Of course i'm human so it's wavered some while going through all those chemo meds.

My cancer diagnosis and the loss of our son took a toll on our marriage. My wife left me and my marriage ended. A few months after I was diagnosed, I left the house and moved in with my sister. We're still married, but she's living with another man now.

My friends at Oasis embraced and encouarged me. I just see God in people. When you're down at the bottom of your barrel, He tells people to lift you up .

With me being out of the house, my wife never paid the mortgage. Then she just left it and went to live with her boyfriend. The house went into foreclosure by the bank. I was married 27 years .. 27 years of stuff. I lost all my stuff. What little I was able to salvage went into my room at my sister's house and the trunk of my car. Now the car is gone as well, and I've moved to Florida to live with my mother who is 91 years old.

I'm in the process of selling my house to get it off my conscience. I had a contract for sale but the buyers cancelled out on the day of closing and the house has gone into foreclosure.My wife was willing to just walk away and let it go. She was on the deed but not on the mortgage.
All the bills were in my name... gas, electric cable. They're all coming after me, of course.

Through it all, losing my house, health, my son ...I still tried to maintain an attitude of praise and thanksgiving, cuz His word says, In all things, good and bad... Give Praise to Him.

I am just so blessed. I owe it all to my God. To listening to His Word. Thanksgiving and praise and worship in faith. I owe it all to my friends here and in church who consisitently remind me who I am and encourage me.