The PONDS in the Pines Retreat for Mom's with near drown children is in 7 days, here's a list of all the mom's coming along with some prayer requests

I'm so excited!! It's only 7 more days until the PONDS in the Pines Retreat. To say that I'm excited about meeting all the mom's that are coming is a huge understatement. The mom's are all flying in on Friday beginning at 6 am and ending that day at 11:30 pm, I am so blessed to have some friends that are helping with Airport pick up's and drop off's. As mentioned in a previous posting we have been blessed by the out pouring of money, gifts and food that is being given for the retreat. We have close to $2,000 that has been given, we will be able to bless the mom's with their entire day in Seattle paid for along with giving each of them a bag full of wonderful surprises and some spending money for the weekend.

I know that many of the mom's that are coming are dealing with some huge obstacles right now and desperately need some prayers going their way. I would like to ask you that have been so faithful in praying for Luke and our family for so many years to take time today to pray for these sweet mom's and their families. Here is a list of everyone that is coming along with some prayer requests for each of them:

Jill Hostetler from California, she has two beautiful children, Autumn and Seth. Seth had his near drowning accident when he was 21 months old on September 15, 2002 to read more about Seth you can go to www.prayforseth.hugs4ndc.com. Seth could really use your prayers right now he was almost admitted into the Hospital yesterday with what they thought was pneumonia, but thankfully he was released with what they think is a viral infection, he is doing a little better, but still really needs some prayers. Of course Jill could also use some prayers, times like this are so stressful on mom's too.

Peggy Hostetler from California, who is married to Gene, she is Jill's mom, grandma to Seth and many other children and grandchildren. Her husband Gene is the Founder of the Hugs Foundation which is for near drowning children who suffer neurological damage to the brain after the accident occurs. Through the HUGS foundation they have raised a lot of money to help support the families of near drowning children, for more information about HUGS go to www.hugs4ndc.com.

Tiffany Vara from Hawaii, who is married to Ray, they are blessed with 5 amazing children, Caleb, Kyle, Chase, RJ and Abbie. Abbie had her near drowning accident when she was 2 years old on May 3, 2004 to read more about Abbie's journey just go to www.prayforabby.com. Tiffany has graciously allowed us to use their vacation home in Eastern Washington, of which we are all so thankful. I know that Tiffany's dad could really use your prayers right now, he was taken to the Hospital earlier this week with some internal bleeding, when I last spoke with Tiffany she told me he was still in the ICU and they had given him 7 units of blood, please be praying for his recovery and of course for Tiffany as she is so far away, they live in Oregon. Also please keep Abbie in your prayers that she will stay healthy, along with the rest of the family while Tiffany is gone.

Annie Pettigrew from Oklahoma, who is married to Matt, they are blessed with 4 beautiful children, Amanda, Bailey, Emelia, and Isabelle. Isabelle had her near drowning accident when she was 21 month's old on May 16, 2004, to read more about her journey just go to prayforizzy.blogspot.com. Annie has been sick the last few days, she could use your prayers to feel better. Also be praying that all will go smoothly with feeding Izzy while Annie's gone, Izzy takes her food best from her mama.

Sue Searles from Washington, who is married to Gordy, they have 7 amazing children, a son in law and daughter in law, Daniel (Sarah), Amy, Natalie (Josh), Isaiah, Ezekiel, Luke and Lily. Luke had his near drowning accident when he was 17 month's old on August 30, 2004 to read more about Luke's journey go to howsluke.blogspot.com. The Searles family has been dealing with some colds lately, Amy, Isaiah & Ezekiel have all been sick this week, please pray for them to all feel better. Luke has been having hard nights lately needing lots of extra suctioning and repositioning, therefore Sue has not had much sleep, please pray for some sleep before the retreat.

Teresa Jewkes from Utah, who is married to Tom, they have 5 wonderful boys Tanner, Wesley, Ben, Samuel and Nathan. Samuel had his near drowning accident when he was 2 years old on July 19, 2005 to read more about his journey go to samuelsmiracle.com. The Jewkes oldest son Tanner is going on a missions trip to Sao Paulo, East Brazil with the LDS church, please be praying for his safety while he is gone for 2 years. They have been very busy getting him ready to go, he leaves on November 9th. Their family is currently in CA doing ABR therapy for Samuel, so needless to say Teresa is extremely busy with all she has going on right now, I'm just thankful she's taking the time to come to the retreat.

Lindsey Black from Arizona, who is married to James, they have 3 busy sons Jett, Santana and Tyree. Santana had his near drowning accident when he was 22 months old on December 16, 2006 to read more about his journey you can go to www.prayforsantana.org. Lindsey has not been feeling well for quite awhile she is very dizzy often and has been dealing with some horrible headaches, I know that Santana has also been very congested lately and her 3 year old son Tyree was knocked down by one of their very large dogs and broke his Clavicle bone yesterday, this family is in desperate needs of some prayers right now.

Julie Stafford from California, who is married to Jeremy, she has Jessica, Jack and Joey. Joey had a near drowning accident when he was 18 month's old on January 16, 2007 to read more about Joey's journey you go to www.josephslifejourney.com. I know that Julie has been sick all week long, spending a lot of the time in bed, please pray for her to feel better soon, also be praying that none of her family come down with what she's been dealing with.

Kehau Egdamin from Hawaii, who is married to Brandon have two precious sons Caleb and Micaiah. Caleb had a near drowning accident when he was 3 years old on March 6, 2007 to read more about Caleb's journey go to prayforcaleb.blogspot.com. Kehau wasn't sure she would be able to come to the retreat because she is pregnant but her Dr. told her that she would be fine, what great news. Please be praying that she will have the strength to get everything done that she needs to do before leaving, also for her family to all stay healthy.

Erin McSwain Wright from North Carolina, who is married to Russell, they have 3 sweet children Aidan, Evan and Graceyn. Aidan had a near drowning accident just 5 days short of his 2nd Birthday on February 16, 2008 you can read more about his journey at www.prayforaidan.com. Aidan has been very sick this week, though he is doing a little better, please be praying for Aidan along with the rest of his family to stay healthy and for Erin to have the extra strength that she needs to get everything done soon so that she can come to the retreat ready to relax and have fun.

Joanna Barona from Georgia, who is married to Guillo Barona, they have Ethan. Ethan had a near drowning accident when he was 21 months old on May 12, 2008, you can read more about his journey at www.caringbridge.org/visit/ethanbarona. Please keep them in your prayers that they will all stay healthy while Joanna is in Washington.

Sabine Summerville from Texas, who is married to Bill they have been blessed with 8 children, Samantha, Grace, Audrey, Evan, Jacob, Lauri Anne, Michael & Joseph. Michael had his near drowning accident when he was 21 months old on October 15, 2008, you can read more about his journey at www.caringbridge.org/visit/lovemichael. As you can see by the date above Michael just passed his 2 year anniversary of the day he nearly drowned, I know this can be a hard time of the year as all the memories of that day and time around the accident can overwhelm you with grief, please be praying for Sabine as she gets through this time.

Please keep all the moms and their families in your prayers, that they will all stay healthy, for the mom's to have the strength they need to pull together all the details before they leave, for peace to know that all will be fine while they are gone and for them all to be safe while traveling. Thank you in advance for all your prayers, I know that soon I will be able to post a huge list of praise reports from all the answers to prayers we are going to be hearing about.

Love in Christ,
Luke's Mommy Sue