A heart attack is not something people wish for. We certainly didn’t want it nor expect it. God orchestrated it perfectly so the outcome was His plan: a new heart for Gordon and the opportunity to work with God in what He is doing in the life of Gordon’s cardiologist.

We have told this story many times on our Zoom calls. I was sure we had shared this story in an email, but I cannot find it. So, perhaps we never wrote it up.

Helping Hands

It all started in July 2019 when Gordon had a heart attack. Perhaps you were praying with the tense emails and rejoicing with the incredible answers to prayer. Gordon was on the operating table within the “golden hour” after the incident. According to medical science, he had the best chance of a favorable outcome. We know that God was orchestrating quite a few other things to take care of him. For example, our daughter, Miki, and myself “happened” to be at home that day. Without Miki’s ability to translate, we would have had a much more stressful experience. Without our presence, Gordon could possibly have had a fatal outcome. Our first “pattern for good” evidence.

In His “pattern for good,” God also provided not 1, but 2 doctors in the ER who spoke English. Is this normal? NO WAY! Gordon said he was conscious during the entire procedure and was able to pray for the surgeon as he was performing the angioplasty. Praise God Gordon’s most severe blockage was able to be treated with a stent. The second blockage wasn’t cleared to the surgeon’s satisfaction. He told us he would go in again to check on the clot.

We asked people to pray that God would dissolve the clot. When the doctor went in for the final angiogram, he found the clot was dissolved! Praise God!

Giving Peace

Gordon and I both experienced an incredible amount of peace during that first day and the days following. I was so peaceful, the ER doctor asked me if I understood the severity of Gordon’s condition. When showing me pictures of Gordon’s heart procedure afterwards, Gordon’s surgeon asked the same question.

Gordon needed to see the cardiologist regularly. We liked this young, handsome doctor. One day, Gordon said he wanted to invite the doctor and his family over for a BBQ. The first surprise is they said they were interested! It took a couple of months to coordinate schedules, during which time we wondered if they really did want to come over!

Dr. K, his wife and 2 sons visited in early December. When the older boy (first grader) came in the house and saw the Christmas decorations, he asked the kids (in Japanese) “Oh, do you know Jesus, too?” The K’s are not Christian yet they enrolled their son in a Christian elementary school, one affiliated with American Baptists!  After only 6 months, the son knew the Christmas story and some Christmas carols. He said he knew how to pray so we invited him to pray for the meal. He did! Coincidence? No, it’s God’s pattern!!

Dr. K and his family visited again Feb 8! We had a chance to talk with the parents without the children around. Two of our kids took their 2 boys to the park. The parents had some questions they had been wanting to ask! Question 1) Why are your children so kind and helpful? Of course I wanted to say it was our stellar parenting that made them such great people. The answer we had to truthfully give, however, was that it was their relationship with Jesus that had made them who they are. Question 2) Gordon, why did you smile so much at the hospital? Gordon had a chance to talk about the peace he experienced because of his faith in Jesus!

Their third visit was to introduce them to the Inomatas, a family from church. We were anxious for them to meet some Japanese Christians. We hoped they might go to church with them since we were leaving Japan.

Gordon is anxious to renew his relationship with Dr. K. He will continue to see him as his cardiologist when we return to Japan. We saw that God had been working in the family before we met them. Please join us in praying for the K family!

Much Love,

Lee Ann (and Gordon)