The Prayersurfers Story
When a life threatening illness strikes a family, many things that you and I take for granted every day are suddenly changed dramatically.
The loss of freedom, control and contact is as devastating to a person as is the diagnosis of the illness itself.
In my case, that diagnosis came in January of 1998 when I learned that I had Leukemia. Over the next three months I battled complications and the cancer itself, nearly losing that battle many times, but by the grace of God and the power of prayer I was healed and entered remission.
For the next nine months I was in and out of the hospital for chemo-therapy treatments, etc. Some of the stays in the hospital lasted 4-5 weeks.
During those hospital stays you go through many ups and downs both physically and emotionally. You most definitely feel trapped, alone, cut off from the world. When you are feeling well, boredom and anxiety are ever present.
My family and I were carried through the ordeal by our faith and the prayers of friends, family, and yes, strangers. Little did I know that the small thread of life I was clinging to was being reinforced by the prayers of people of faith whom I had never met. Friends of friends, churches of co-workers, prayer groups of friends, etc. all shared the strength of their faith with me through prayer. What a gift!
As I looked back on my experience, I started to think about what could be done to help others who are going through similar ordeals.
Trapped? Alone? Cut off from the world? No freedom? No control? Bored? Anxious?
Then it occurred to me...The Internet!...News, Entertainment, Information, Contact with family and friends.
And so the PrayerSurfers concept was born. It is my prayer that providing this support via the Internet will be a tremendous outreach to hurting people everywhere!
Kevin Rather, Oconomowoc, WI
